7 Month old becoming aggressive?

Hello new to this looking for advise.

I have a 7 month old Staffy, we have had him since he was 8 weeks old and socialised him since then with dog of all sizes and ages, he has also been to puppy training classes.

About a month ago he has started to lunge, bark and growl at other dogs while on the lead, his fur doesn't stand up and his teeth aren't on show. It isn't all dogs and sometimes he will walk past a dog fine and then if we happen to walk past them again he will lunge at them. I did think he was just getting frustrated and wanted to play but I am increasingly becoming unsure. I don't know if my concerns are coming from other peoples reactions to him (there aren't many staffies around my area).

I would also like to add that before this he would walk off the lead as we live in the country side, we had an incident a while back where he was off the lead and darted away from us to bark in a dogs face (the owner of said dog didn't take it well to say the least) since then we have walked him on the lead.

Any advise would be appreciated, we want to get on top of this while he is young so he can be a happy healthy boy and our walks can be calmer!

Hi ya, welcome to the forum from Flo and me

From what you say it does sound like he wants to get off lead and play but hasn't quiet learnt that he can't just run over when he wants. This isn't meant to sound like a criticism but I would take him back to classes again. It maybe that all he needs is some refresher classes on how to be calm when on lead.

In the meantime you could use a distraction method. With my Flo we use her favourite toy to hold her attention when needed on walks, it works 99% of the time. It doesn't have to be a toy it could be a high value treat.

Hopefully others will be along soon to offer advice that I haven't thought of. Milo looks fab in your avatar there, a real character

I would continue the dog classes with milo i took my dog aged three when i rescued her found the classes very beneficial . I am guilty if i suffered training problems with mia was unable to think of different solutions . Milo just needs to learn what is acceptable amd what isn't.

I agree, more training classes and also lots of use of food. What I'd most strongly recommend, though, is that you swap to a long training line and work towards having no tension on the lead, especially when there is another dog about.

Try this yourself - get a lead or piece or rope and ask someone else to hold it. First ask them to hold it with no tension - that feels ok, doesn't it? Then ask them to pull. You will immediately feel the tension, which isn't nice, and it will also probably make you want to pull back. That's how it feels to a dog.

To avoid that, teach Milo to come to you to play and/or for a treat when you call him. I use the call 'this way!', really fun, while taking a few steps back. We have a tuggy toy that Chaos loves that I used to train him, and my husband still takes that with him on walks. Train away from other dogs first, anywhere you like, until Milo knows that 'this way!' means come over here to play. Practise on walks in nice quiet places and when it solid make it more difficult gradually. Use it when you first see another dog, even if they're miles away, so it's easy for him to do and so he can get used to the new reaction - dog = 'this way!'. You should then be able to use it in any situation to call Milo towards you and away from other dogs in a way that is fun and happy, avoids tension, reassures other owners and reassures you.

Thank you all for your help, we are going to look around for some more training classes. I have also bought him a halti harness along with a double ended lead, which I must say has been a god send (he's a very strong lad!)