dog friendly

Question
so happy to have found you. I walk my 80 year old neighbors dog.
She adopted Molly, a sheltie/pug mix, from an animal shelter this
past May.  Molly is 5 years old, smart, very obedient, friendly with
all people but VERY aggressive with other dogs. I have tried sitting
her down and praising her when she remains calm as another dog
passes, have taken her to watch other park dogs frolic (from a
distance) but so far I haven't seen her behavior change. It has been
suggested to me to take her to a leash free park and let her get
used to other dogs but that makes me very nervous since she is not
mine. What do you suggest? Thanks

Answer
Hi Ceily,

The question is not if you think she is aggressive but if other dogs think she is aggressive?  "Viscious sounding" even if teeth are showing is not necesarily an evil dog about to attack.  

What I would ask is how do other dogs respond to Molly?  

If they show teeth back and bite at her then they understand the threat.  If they just look at her like she is playing or has gone crazy then don't worry about her aggression.

If she gets along well with humans that's a great sign.  She just doesn't play well with other dogs.  I would definitely keep her on a short leash and do some socialization.  A trip to the dog park would be great, but she needs to stay on leash till you are certain she is not just an aggressive player.

Give her a job to do.  Try teaching her to play fetch.  She can focus in on fetch and not worry so much about the other dogs.

The problem is as they get older it gets harder to break that tendancy to be an aggressive player.  Enjoy the fact that she gets along with people so well and work with what you have.  

I hope that helps!

Dave