Hello all! I have two dogs both pound pups, one of which has been really concerning me lately when we visit the dog park.

He's a four year old mixed breed of undeterminable origins although I have strong feelings that there's likely a strong herding dog influence in one of the genetic contributions. He's an indoor dog who is absolutely sweet though has strong fears of the world that either lead to snuggling or crawling under the bed. We try to encourage independence and calming him, but he really just has issues with loud sounds, storms, etc.

When we're at the dog park his normally very mellow personality turns alarmingly aggressive although only with other dogs. He seems to patrol an area around me and/or my wife of about 10-20 yards growling at other dogs that enter the area and in some cases when the dogs come close he'll sniff them with his hackles up and about 2/3 of time he'll lunge at the them and nip at their hind quarters. I'm often amazed that he'll go after dogs of all sizes including those that are easily 2-3 times his size.

He also seems to like to chase dogs that are running after balls, sticks, etc and try to nip at them, even if they are running away from us.

As you can imagine this not a popular behavior with other folks at the park.

We don't go to the park often, primarily because of this problematic behavior and I'm afraid that we're just perpetuating a bad cycle of non-socialization leading to being more protective.

Any ideas on how we try to deal with this behavior? Is spending more time around other dogs the solution? What type of corrective action is best to stop the nipping at other dogs when he does it at the park?

Thanks for the help!!

Re the protective aggressive dog. I also go to the dog park and one lady has the same problem. She uses an air horn which makes a loud noise whenever her dog becomes aggressive or protective. It works very well. It is a great distraction and stops her dog in its tracks. Usually this behavior comes from not enough socialization as a puppy. That socialization with other puppies at a young age is so important. They learn to adjust and figure things out at a young age so that fear-aggression issue (dominance) does not arise when they are adults. Since you did not have your dog as a pup, it is harder. Maybe taking your dog out on walks, meeting other dogs at a safe distance, telling them no as soon as that behavior starts. I think you have to start at early training again and forget the dog park for awhile. Keeping your dog on leash but starting out at safe distances from other dogs, stopping the aggressive behavior as soon as it starts. Then shortening the distance as he improves. Will take lots of time and patience but worth it if you want to change the behavior.
K