UPDATED: Reactive or Agressive dogs in Beginner Agility!

Fair enough, but its definately a concern when you have a toy breed vs larger breed.  My dog doesn't stand a chance if the other dog were to get a hold of him and that is my concern.

ORIGINAL: Ixas_girl
Here are some ideas:

Pick your dog up.

Be cautious and know your own dog before you do this!  It may work well with very small dogs that completely trust you to take care of them.
 
Picking up a larger dog can make you top heavy and make it easy for the aggressive dog to knock you over.  That would put you in the middle of a dog fight.
 
Picking up a dog that is determined to confront the aggressive dog can get the owner bitten by his/her own dog out of frustration.  The principle is "If you can't bite the one you want to bite, bite the one you can".

Just be careful and protect your dog at all costs.  Even if it means finding another class.  A scary incident from one of these dogs could turn your well socialized one into a fearful/reactive dog.

ORIGINAL: Firestorm

Fari enough, but its definately a concern when you have a toy breed vs larger breed.  My dog doesn't stand a chance if the other dog were to get a hold of him and that is my concern.

ORIGINAL: Angelique
I think part of this is due to these being trained through mostly clicker methods with little or no balance in other aspects of their training outside of the clicker and more "positive only" techniques.

Many of these dogs could probably also use some basic social skills through leadership principles in addition to their training programs.

I agree with spiritdogs.  There is no reason to believe that there are more aggressive dogs among clicker trained dogs than among dogs trained with any other technique.
 
If by "leadership principles" you mean manhandling your dog to prove that you are "alpha", I adamently disagree.  True canine alphas very rarely find it necessary to physically discipline other pack members.

There is no reason to believe that there are more aggressive dogs among clicker trained dogs than among dogs trained with any other technique.

Yeah, no kidding.  I don't recall reading that Firestorm mentions (or even knows) how the reactive Aussies have been trained....

No one can say for sure without seeing it, but my guess is that these dogs are just overly sensitive to motion and combine that being being reactive and undersocialized, they seem aggressive.  A truly dog aggressive dog really has no place in a group class unless the instructor has specifically invited them to participate.  It sounds like what these Aussies need is some basic obedience classes before starting agility.  My assumption is that it's sort of rude to try to start agility if your dog has no recall or can't work ok off-leash...?

I am hearing of out of control and/or aggressive behavior occurring far too often with agility dogs.

I think part of this is due to these being trained through mostly clicker methods with little or no balance in other aspects of their training outside of the clicker and more "positive only" techniques.

 
This is ridiculous. You get a bunch of young partially trained high drive herding dogs watching other dogs run past them and they go into reactive frenzies. It's not aggression and has nothing to do with their training.
 
I was at a trial a few months ago and the judge had left her five border collies loose in her truck. Anytime anyone walked past the truck they'd go nuts and bark and roar and fight with each other. During breaks the judge would let them out and they' d all walk in a calm little off-leash flock, beautifully trained and in control.

ORIGINAL: Firestorm

Fari enough, but its definately a concern when you have a toy breed vs larger breed.  My dog doesn't stand a chance if the other dog were to get a hold of him and that is my concern.

Then, my advice, rather than assuming that a dog is aggressive, without consulting your instructor, would be to seek out a class where all the dogs are fairly small - many trainers offer such classes now and your trainer might welcome the suggestion.  

Look, folks, have you been to a beginner level agility class lately? Have you been reading the reports here, over the past few months, of people who have? There are way too many amped up dogs in the hands of people who have no idea how to handle that energy! Too many dog fights, too many dogs getting away from handlers, too many handlers are too freaked out.

All the beginner agility classes and workshops I've been to, or observed, *are* ridiculous. Dogs are being worked up into treat frenzies (as if agility isn't exciting enough already), and many of the handlers don't have even the slightest grasp of basic obedience. And I'm one of the very few using a clicker.

Why give a hyped up dog a treat for running through a tunnel, when it's clear she really enjoys doing it? Fine; offer a treat to coax a disinterested pug or dane ... but otherwise, what's the point? The fiercest look I've ever seen on my ACD mix's face has been during clicker training - yes, treat frenzy. In agility, I'm careful about how I treat, and do it sparingly. One set of jumps, or a fly through the tunnel sets my dog into lift off!

You should not treat beyond your level of control!

The reason the folks in the advanced class next door can leave their dogs off leash and still have them focusing in working drive is that they have control of their dogs! I also don't see nearly as much treating going on over there.

OTOH, I will say that there's a lot of mislabeling of overly hyper dogs as "aggressive." But here again, when you've got a bunch of beginners together with a bunch of hyped up dogs ... inexperience leads to all kinds of anxieties.

ORIGINAL: Ixas_girl

Here are some ideas:

Pick your dog up.

 
Be careful, picking the dog up could nurture the behavior if the dog is afraid or aggressive []

I was simply looking for advice and expressing concern.  I did speak with the trainer and there is a bit of concern........for now they will be keeping those dogs away from the rest.  BTW all the work right now is on leash.  The dog did not take any obedience classes from this place before and I do not know what they did take if at all.
IMHO the "instigator"  has not had a lot of obedience work whether in class or not.  There are no places that offer small dog only classes around where I live.  Besides what is wrong with my dog socializing and behaving around all different sized dogs.
I want to be able to know what to do if it came down to one of those dogs off leash and going after my dog. 
I personally would make sure whatever breed or mix of dog I had...had plenty of obedience training on and off leash as well as socializing.  I put the time in with my dog and I think that it canf be rustratingwhen I spend the time to do it so my dog can participate and others do not.  Yes, I know it is part of life and it is what people chose to do  or not.
The two dogs which I have owned as an adult I have worked bery hard to make sure that they are great dogs and are very well mannered.  I do not take owning a dog lightly and I have learned a lot on here and have made adjustments with Harley for things I did not know with my Rott. 

The only reason I mentioned picking up the dog is because the OP has a tiny dog, and the 2 "aggressive" dogs don't sound so aggressive. The OP is nervous about the situation. To feel more comfortable, s/he needs a plan in case of a problem - to feel confident about being in control, and able to protect his/her dog.

IMNSHO, the important thing for the OP is to *feel* comfortable, and enjoy the class, not feel over nervous about the other dogs, and be sure his/her dog has a great time. Remember, most of obedience and training is for the human, not the dog! If the OP can think "no big deal, I got this covered", it's much less likely to be a big deal!

ORIGINAL: espencer

ORIGINAL: Ixas_girl

Here are some ideas:

Pick your dog up.

Be careful, picking the dog up could nurture the behavior if the dog is afraid or aggressive []

ORIGINAL: Ixas_girl

The only reason I mentioned picking up the dog is because the OP has a tiny dog, and the 2 "aggressive" dogs don't sound so aggressive. The OP is nervous about the situation. To feel more comfortable, s/he needs a plan in case of a problem - to feel confident about being in control, and able to protect his/her dog.

I saw an episode of you-know-who about a pomeranian in a dog park, exactly the same situation, 2 dogs wanting to fight with the pom and the pom going between the owner's legs to look for comfort, the owner picked up the dog and you-know-who said that nurtures the behavior, if the pom was agressive first and the owner pick him up that puts the pom on a higher level making him still agressive, if he is afraid if the owner picks him up is a comfort signal which nurtures the behavior

I think there is other ways to do it without affecting your own dog at the same time, one of those ways like you said  was the 3rd point "Lean towards the oncoming dog, look at it sternly, point at it, and firmly declare "no!" []

espencer, lol. Good explanation about you-know-what .... shhhhhhh!

So what if No or leave it doesn't work while body blocking my dog....then what?
 
 

Did the class trainer have any advice about it when you talked?