Meeting Other Dogs While Out - On the right track?

Hi All, First time post so apologies if I waffle on a touch

We are the proud owner of George, who is 2 and a half years old. He was a rescue at a local centre who we took on around September 2014.
We don't know a whole host of his history prior to him being in the shelter. It was clear at his previous home he was well loved - however, reading between the lines i'm not convinced he received a massive amount of socialisation with other dogs.
He is the only dog in the household(shares it reasonably well with 3 cats!)

Weekdays, he gets 1 hour and half fast paced walk(3-4 miles) and then an evening 20 min round the block. Then he gets a longer walk on the weekends.

Recall is ok, the odd blip here and there but generally comes when asked. Knows basic cues for sit, wait and lie down. Generally an all-round delight to have around the house.
He is happy to share a home with another dog, I have taken the big fella to stay with relatives who have upwards of 4 dogs and he is ok(almost a little afraid of the little ones when he is on their turf!!)

The only area I would love to see him improve with is his meeting and greeting other pooches for the first time when he is out and about  and I seem to be getting conflicting advice on how to help him.

Ultimately, once introduced he can be a reasonable off-lead companion to other dogs and can play and chase with the best of them. We have been on walks with friends and family members who have both big and small dogs and once introduced he will trot along happily with them with no fuss.

However, if he doesn't know the dog and we don't know the owner then it becomes a bit more of a drama!

Given that he is built like the proverbial tank, when we are out and I spot a dog in the distance I give him a shout, he comes back, I give him a kibble as a good lad for coming back and then pop on the lead as I genuinely don't know how he will take to the dog. Plus I know, given the extremely undeserved media coverage that Staffies tend to get - other dog owners tend to get a bit nervy if they see this big lad barrelling over.

If I am walking towards the other dog and the other dog is walking directly to us, at 30 feet he will start pulling towards the dog, often lowering his body like a cat getting ready to pounce(mainly with the larger dogs who are walking directly at him)
Once he gets within 5-10 feet he will start with what sounds like really aggressive snarling, barking and trying to rapidly dart towards the other dog - We still don't know if there is any bite behind all of this or whether it is simply a load of noise from a nervous pup, but he certainly does make a big show!
Once the dog is about 10-15 feet past us, he will either lose all focus on the dog and do a couple of excited jumps and for some reason want to play with his lead. Or, he will keep looking at the other dogs and make whimpery/whiny sounds like he wants to go an play.
Once the dog is 30 feet past us he goes back to a serene calm.

If we see dogs playing or just standing and we are walking towards them, he becomes very focused on the dog and again there is the lowering of the whole body into what could be an attack or a play mode, his walking pace slows and once we get close he starts again with all the bluster - all is quickly forgotten again when we move past the dogs.

Its at this point where I am stuck for the best approach to help him. Particularly if its on a narrow path with very little option than to pass each other face to face - which quite often happens as I tend to walk him on tow paths.

I have tried giving him lots of treats when the dogs get near, but the moment the dogs get close the red mist comes down and he is back to scaring the heebie jeebies out of the other dog owners.

I have tried quickening the pace and getting him to past as quickly as possible in essence trying to minimize the time he is near to other dog(particularly if I am out running with him).

I have tried moving to once side as far as possible, stopping and letting the other dog pass.

All of which have met with little or no results. I know the key for dogs is consistency so I would really be interested in knowing peoples thoughts on what approaches acheive what results.

I know some dogs just won't socialise and if thats the case with George, no drama. However, after all his bluster he genuinely seems like he wants to play and interact - so if I could help my best bud do this then I certainly want to!  

Well... it just so happens that I've just finished reading a really fab little book that addresses exactly this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feisty-Fido-Help-Leash-Reactive-Dog/dp/1891767070/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425573841&sr=1-1&keywords=feisty+fido

I'd got almost there with Chaos but was missing the last bit of the puzzle that this book has given me. I read this and it all fell into place. 2 training sessions in and he's loving the U turn work so much I can't see it won't help.

Do give it a go, it's so simple but so effective.

If its just with some dogs id try the watch me technique , with some dogs do his hackles go up or does he do the classic stare? Sounds as tho hes testing the water with some dogs . Have you thought about dog socialisation/training classes. There will be all different breeds there and the person can teach you some good techniques least you know a bit of his weaknesses thats half the battle.

It's funny you should say that because I have the exact same problem with Axl and we're still working on it, he doesn't like dogs with people he doesn't know. Any of our friends could walk into our house with a dog and he'd be absolutely fine (this has been tried and tested and I'm 100% sure) or any of our friends could come for a walk with us and he'd play happily with the dog even if he's never met them before. If we come across strangers in the street and their dogs it's a whole different story!

I'll be interested to read the replies to this post!

My recommendation would also be what Liz has recommended! I spend a lot of my life U-turning.. But it saves any reactions! Patricia McConnell in general is wonderful, I would recommended "the other end of the leash" and "for the love of a dog" written by her also, for general reading

Thanks Rachael and Liz - I have purchased the book, fingers crossed it will help!

Debs - I can sympathise, I know there are dogs with a lot worse issues to work through but its frustrating nonetheless. I will let you know if I have any success with the recommended book! I genuinely think its the nervousness of the other owners transferring to their dogs causing them to react.

Mia, funnily enough his heckles very rarely raise up. We did get a trainer for a couple of sessions to get us on the right track but did not consider socialisation classes as to be honest I thought this was more of a puppy thing. The thought of popping George into a room of other dogs is an interesting one - think it would be a recipe for madness.
I have spoken to a couple of people who have suggested popping him into a doggy daycare centre to get him a bit more socialised but I am not overly sure if this would be the case

Suki was the sameway and still is to a certain extent. For us it was basically understanding body language, talking to the other owners before letting the dogs interact, and constant socialization. Suki still will pull to greet other dogs on occassion but very rarely acts in an aggressive manner. When we know there is a dog she doesn't like we use the uturn or the watch me command.

The longer you have him the more you will get in sync with him and understand what his intentions are.

This should help with the body language

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dog_body_language

Also remember he will take his cues from you so if you are nervous or uncomfortable he will pick up on that and react to it.

Debs - I can sympathise, I know there are dogs with a lot worse issues to work through but its frustrating nonetheless. I will let you know if I have any success with the recommended book! I genuinely think its the nervousness of the other owners transferring to their dogs causing them to react.

I think you have a point there, it would explain why he's fine with dogs we know or dogs with people we know. Keep me posted! I'll do the same