Aggressive behavior or just play?

[coop522]

Our 3 year old collie/australian shepherd/who knows what mix, Shep, has issues - many. Excessive crying/whining, insane barking/jumping (for joy) when people come over scaring people off, etc. We also have a calm 11 year old collie/sighthound family/who knows what mix, Clyde. Both are males. Clyde was raised with us in NYC so very socialized. Shep has only lived in the suburbs. Now that Shep is over 80 pounds, walking him is hard enough but if he sees another dog, he goes berserk. I often am pulled to the ground by him & injure my back, no matter the type of leash. My concern is that the way he approaches other dogs seems very aggressive, with a bit of snarling, & it makes most owners not want their dog near mine. He's wagging his tail so I know he just wants to play but he spooks other dogs to make them defensive & it seems nasty when they go at it. How would I know if my dog is safe for other dogs? He's fine with Clyde.

[crazycrayonmom]

I don't think it'll be safe to bring Shep around other dogs until you can control him on the leash better. Not just safe for the other dogs but for you as well. If he's injuring you than that's absolutely not okay. Have you tried a Halti collar? My Koko is quite the puller. We tried every training collar known to man and none of them were any more effective than her regular collar. Until I got the Halti. They just can't pull at all using the Halti. If they try to pull it brings their head towards you and down a little. It's an awesome tool.

Also, a wagging tail doesn't necessarily mean your dog is going to be non-aggressive.

I would really suggest going back to the basics and start with the Alpha Dog training. If Shep thinks it's okay to yank you around and not listen he may need a little reminder that you are the boss. Good luck and let us know how things go.