Aggressive behaviour towards other dogs

Question
We have a 4 yr old collie who is aggressive towards other dogs
who enter his space as it were. It seems to me that he is trying
to control his environment as its not the other dogs who
provoke an altercation. Mackie is well behaved, obedient and
relaxed dog at home. When he is out he goes 'on duty' and is at
work, his great love herding dogs who run after balls. Or just
having a chase or being chased by another dog. He was found as
a stray when he was about 1 year old and was in resuce centres
and dog pounds for about 7 months so he has not had a good
socialisation past. We have worked hard with him and taken him
to obedience classes. At these classes his behaviour improved
slightly towards the other dogs in the class but it was not good.
I am sure that he picks up on our anxiety and concern. When he
does have an altercation we command him to come away which
he usually does. We then get him to lie down and ignore him for
several minutes - should we be doing something else? When we
meet other dogs while on lead he usually lunges at them....
despite my best efforts to be calm, inwardly I panic and don't
know how best to diffuse a situation or even stop it arising! I'm
thinking that I should call in a behaviourlist.  

Answer
Hello Sue,

In my opinion, I would work very strongly with socializing this dog in very controlled environments, like obediece class, fun matches, at home training with another friend and their dog, etc.

This behavior must be put to an end before your dog hurts another dog or someone else.  To do this, you must take control and use consistant corrections with good timing and also praise and reward for staying focused on you rather than other dogs.

You must turn your dog's focus on you at all times letting him know that you are the dominate force in both his relationship to you and all other dogs you encounter together.  There are specific exercises you can do with another dog handler to allow yourself to get in the corrections and praise you need to change your dog's focus and attention.  Ask your personal trainer for extra help with this if you need to or visit my website anytime.

Thank you for writing.

Ann Jordan
Border Collie Coach
BorderCollieCoach.com