Aggression, Excitement, Or Fear?

[sammybeans]

So one of the issues I've been trying to work with Champ on is his reaction to other dogs.  The problem is that when he sees another dog he gets very reactive, pulling, whining, staring intently.  When he can't see the other dog but can hear the dog barking he gets jumpy and seems to want to get away from wherever the barking dog is very quickly.  Usually I just put him into a structured walk and keep going, ignoring his reactive behavior and when he ignores the other dog I give him praise.  The issue is that when we get close to other dogs who are off leash and seem to not care about their lives and come running at him he has a tendency to snap at them, no growling or other warning just tries to take a piece off their nose.  In particular there's this chihuahua that lives a few doors that will harass him at any chance he gets, I've talked to the owner about the fact that Champ is not very dog friendly and that he needs to keep the little guy inside or on a leash but he still is just roaming around and comes running right at Champ barking and all puffed up.  Despite my best efforts to stay between the two the little thing comes within inches of getting its face ripped off every time.  Am I doing the right thing to try and get him to ignore the other dogs or is there something else I should do?  Any advice on how to handle the chihuahua? (I've been told that putting it in their mailbox, while funny, is probably not a good idea.)

[Removed #5]

Actually, putting the little chi. in the mail box sounds like an excellent idea!

 

Your dogs reactions, with the exception of one, sound completely normal to me.  That he sees a dog running toward him as an attack is perfectly normal and his reaction is also.  But regrettably in today's litigious society if he responds naturally, you'll often be the one held responsible for any damages.  Depending on where you live you might have a leash law in effect and you can ask the enforcing agency to help you convince the Chi's owner to leash him, 'course that'll make you less than popular but at least both dogs will still be alive.

 

There's a thread here on dog body language that you might find interesting (but, of course, I can't find it at the moment).  Here's a good article by the ASPCA about canine body language that might help you define what he's feeling.  There's also a cartoon description of a dogs feeling done by lil Chin that's more than passable.

 

The one that *I* find odd is where you say "When he can't see the other dog but can hear the dog barking he gets jumpy and seems to want to get away from wherever the barking dog is very quickly."  If that's a true general statement then it makes me wonder what he's thinking.  I could picture curiosity but obviously he's "hearing" danger signs.  Were it just one penned dog, that would be more understandable - but if it's all (or most) dogs he can't see then there's a fear factor that comes into play and while being wary of a dog he can't see would be normal it's odd that it's all dogs.

[Elyse]

Here's the thread on dog body language that Al referred to: 

[Removed #5]

Thank you Elyse ...  I knew someone knew where it is.

[sammybeans]

According to the thread it seems he's more passive dominance when it comes to other dogs he encounters on walks and hikes.  As far as his reactions to not seeing other dogs I found it strange as well that he seems to get almost panicky when they start barking at him.  When he gets panicky I don't really do anything I just keep walking like nothing is going on even though he's practically tearing my arm off trying to get away.  Next time we go out I'll try to remember the camera and have my partner take pictures of his reactions so maybe we can puzzle out what's going on in his brain through his body language.  What would you all suggest for working on the passive dominance issue?  Whenever we get close enough to another dog (the few times he's been allowed close enough) he's tried to bite the other dog's face, and that's a bit of a problem...