Kenny's in a right F................ mood today

I think we can all agree, walking the dog is the best, NOT TODAY, NOT MY BOY. Grrrrr
Kenny's pretty easy going, usually not dog aggressive, very friendly and playfull, but will stand up for his self. He's done my head in today. Been down the local park, it's allways a nice walk, loads of dogs, nothing different. We'd only been the 5 min's when we came across a German Shepard pup, Kenny was his usually, friendly self. Got a little further into the park, and OMG, every single dog, Kenny wanted to attack. I dont mean growling, i mean he had to be restained, Trying to throw himself at all the dogs we passed. He was quite sly about it too. Kenny, when he see's another dog, he lays down, tail wagging, this time, i could sence something wasnt right. he'd lay down as soon as he saw a dog approching, then crawl/walk low, as if hunting, the as soon as it got close, bang, full on off his head. Whats happened to my boy!!
This happened with 4 different dogs, an english bull, a Sheep dog, an adult German shepard, and a merle something, and yes, all male dogs

He is starting to be protective of you and the stalking is proof of it , when he see's another dog bring him to heel and get him to sit if you can , i know it's difficult stroke him and assure him that the other dogs are no threat to you , if he does as he is asked give him a treat , hopefully you can make progress from there..

Thanks Mickgill. We decided to leave the park after the 4 th dog. People were looking at us as if we had a devil on a lead. II will try you advice, thank you x

I'll need to nip this in the bud, i dread to think what would of happened if we'd had him of lead

When another dog comes use the watch command and show/let him smell that you have a treat and ask him to wait. I don't agree that you should stroke him or assure him at all, infact no affection until the other dog has passed without incident or it can be seen as confirming you need to be agro.

thanks hayley x

Agree with Hayley, no affection when he's like that. Affection is telling them you're happy with their behaviour, so when they're being aggressive or when they're scared, affection is the last thing you should give them. Best thing in that respect is to be calm and gentle, but not talking "soft" to him, if that makes sense. I can't really give you any advice on how to handle it or why he was like that, but I hope it was just an off-day. The 'watch' command has helped me walk Loki past dogs, but with him it's just friendliness and over-excitability. Worth a try though.

I'm with Hayley, if you stroke him you risk telling him that the way he is feeling is the right thing. Stand tall and calm and show him you have it all under control so he can relax. As Mick said get him to sit and praise any good behaviour. I'm sure this will pass

kenny d wrote:I'll need to nip this in the bud, i dread to think what would of happened if we'd had him of lead

tbh he may not have been the same way, its the lead keeping him in the same spot and removing his flight option. always best to err on the side of caution though. I wouldnt look at his behaviour today and think he's turning agressive, sounds like something silently spooked him or something put him a mood where he feels defensive.
After the first incident your were probably both banging defensive and tense signals out to each other without knowing it everytime you saw other dogs approaching.

If it happens again try and keep the lead slack and take a wider birth (just further than the lead length) away from other dogs in case he does lunge. just having a slack lead can make a world of difference.

Thanks all, i dont think he's turning aggressive (hope not), we saw his doggy friend when we got back and he was fine. I will keep a close eye on this though, as you can never be 100 %. It was 100% not like Kenny. We're going back again tomorrow, to see if he acts the same. I'll try your advice. Also, on the 4th dog, i was really pi...ed off, as i saw the dog approch, he crouched down again, i give a sharp firm tug on the lead and said "walk on", he did, but give a sly look and a growl. Can dogs turn aggressive over night? Im racking my brains to think if anything has spooked him, but cant think of anything. Do you think, maybe there could of been a bitch in season in the area, if so, would he act this way? xx

Could be that he has just been abit under the weather and not in the mood. One of our regular friends (a pug/chiwawa cross) in the park was playing up today barking and lurching at every dog, he was sulking and acts up after his mom leaves him home alone for longer than he likes mind you I'm wondering if there is not something in the park scent wise as we've just come back from our late walk and there was no one else out and given the amount of leaves on the ground I would of heard/seen if there was a rat or squirrel on the ground but Ledger went crazy tense at one point and pulled to rear up on his hind legs and wasn't budging his focus but there was truly nothing where he was looking