aggression

Question
My std poodle Fred is now 10 yrs old. he is wonderful with people. i have five grandchildren with whom he has grown up and he has always been gentle and loving towards them. He was my first dog and now I realize that I should have been a better pack leader. Nobody ever told me that in spite of all the obedience classes we attended. Any way now he is older and cannot run as fast as younger dogs, I tend to walk him in quiet areas and we don't go to off leash areas much. He is aggressive on leash and I wish I had known more than I do now about being the alpha. It is hard for a single woman with a dominant male dog, especially her first, to do the right thing. Overall, he is a wonderful companion, loves kids and cats, as he grew up with them, but our walks would have been much happier if I had taken the upper hand. Thank you for your expertise and I hope other dog owners will profit from it. June Wilson

Answer
Hello June,
You said that he has Obedience training, so put that to use when walking Fred.  During your walk put him through some exercises.  Have him sit, down, stay and come while on leash.  If you confront a dog, you need to have him sit and look away from the other dog.  If he tries to move, tell him NO!  You can even bump him with your foot to add emphasis to what you are saying to him.    
If you need to, you can even have him lay down and make him submit to you.  A dog will submit to you when he admits that you are the boss of him.  He will lay down with his head on the ground and will lay still.  Once your dog will do this for you, you know that he is ready to listen to your commands and will be more accepting when doing them.  
Another thing to know when asserting yourself is to make yourself sound like you mean it.  If you need to lower your tone of voice (making yourself sound like you are growling helps), do so.  Make the dog know that you are boss by your actions (because this is how he would react to a dominate male dog).

You might think about using a Halti Training Collar.  It goes around the face like a Halter on a Horse and works about the same way.  By guiding the dogs collar, if there is another dog present, the Halti will help you keep your dogs face away from the other dog.  You can find them at http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754854  If you have a PetSmart or PetCo in your area, they most likely sell the Halti Head Collars.

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim