Encountering strangers on walks - goes from friendly to aggressive?

Cita

I guess I missed in here somewhere how the "help an owner with a timid-towards-humans dog" discussion turned into "search for past dog-on-dog issues in another member's household" discussion.

Actually, any help by any dog owner can be questioned! So, it is very important how long a certain member has been experienced!You think?

espencer, lip curling is not aggression, at least not to me, and honestly I can't remember the last time she did it....maybe 2-3 months ago when my father in law came into my house while I wasn't there and ran up to my dog, tried to grab her face.  If you run at a strange dog and try to grab it's head and it gives a short growl followed by backing up and running away, do you consider that aggression?  Maybe we just have totally different definitions of what constitutes aggression.  Yes she does have some fear based responses, most of which are now extinct, but that quote was taken out of context.  I was referring to her playing rough with Coke, which is neither aggression or fear-based, they love to play! 
 

n-whatever, I do not claim to be experienced, lol.  However, I worked under a number of trainers/behaviorists at the shelter and training club and and still stand by the statement that I have NEVER heard any dog professional advocate for correcting fear responses out of a dog.  Not that it really matters (but seems to matter to you) I have always grown up around Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Labrador retrievers..I've never NOT been around dogs, big dogs.  I don't see how questioning everyone's experience is helping the OP.  Maybe if you could offer some ideas of your own..... 

Moderator warning...

Folks responding to this request from a member for ideas and assistance need to keep that request uppermost in their mind. DO NOT make this about sniping at one another's responses....that is the same ol' same ol' and is not productive or useful to the OP.

Again..answer the REQUEST...inquisitions about responders experience, nit picking their methods, focusing on a one on one convo that does NOT include or reference the OP is off topic...so bear that in mind.

I adopted Jasper two months ago from a shelter. He is a mini dachshund.  When I take him out for walks I try to avoid people because he's recovering from highly contagious ringworm (he seems to be better now though and the hair has grown back in about 95%) and I never know how he is going to react. Today bumped into a man as we were turning the corner, Jasper looked excited and was wagging his tail and put his paws up on the man (bad I know), the man went down to pet him and Jasper freaked and made a sort of snarl noise and made a bite like motion. I apologized profusely and felt terrible that I didn't know how to react except say NO

Many small dogs find it intimidating and threatening for a large human to loom over them.  Instead of letting people greet your dog in this way, ask that they turn their bodies to the side, not stare, and not reach.  Let the dog make the first move.  Chances are, once he has had a chance to go investigate, and sniff, the person, he will not react so fearfully.  You can even set this up in advance by giving the human a few treats to drop on the ground after the dog sniffs.  Keep in mind that reaching for a dog is not the best way for humans to greet, any more than jumping up is a polite way for dogs to greet humans;-))

on another occasion a woman petted him and it was fine for a couple seconds then he let out a slight growl nothing overtly aggressive but enough to notice.

I would want more information on the context of this interaction before commenting, but there are a few of possibilities - one is fear, one is that the dog having pain somewhere (it's a hound, have you checked for ear infection?), or the dog is reluctant to have a human, other than you touch the top of his head (this can be related to status).

I haven't really had a chance to socialize him (and if you have waited beyond the age of 8-16 weeks, you may be too late) because of the ringworm (had it been me, I'd have invested in latex gloves for all my friends LOL - but, don't beat yourself up, you did the best you could at the time) but I want to start, but at the same time I'm scared he'll go off on someone. He sends mixed signals to people because he's a cute little dog and seems excited to see them, then he turns. (Get help from a pro and don't waste any time!)

What's wrong with him? Any advice, please???  (Nothing's "wrong with him" that you can't make a bit better over time.  But, it sounds like you need to invest in a few training classes.  That way, he gets to meet and greet new people and dogs in a controlled setting.  Meantime, read "Click to Calm" - the training protocol is a step by step one, and good to use with ANY dog, not just an aggressive or fearful one.  Good luck.

One thing I forgot the first time is the Calming Signals DVD.  When we first got Kenya she was scared of my DH because she had a scary incident involving another large man.  The DVD shows you different signals and behaviors dogs do and explains what they really mean (like for example, my dog yawns to try to calm herself or another dog, not because she is tired; she licks her lips when she is nervous, not because she is hungry).

Liesje - I have the book but have not seen the DVD. Have you read the book? Do you think it's worth watching the DVD and reading the book, or is one or the other better?

I haven't read the book, just was given the DVD by my trainer.  I liked it b/c I liked seeing various dogs for each example.  Thinking about it has eme laughing because one of the things she shows a lot is the "dogs doing other things" to avoid conflict, like one dog turning away and eating grass or pawing at the ground.  Phil thought this was a great idea, so as soon as the DVD was over, he crawled sideways over to Kenya and started yawning and pawing at the carpet like this was going to be a breakthrough moment in their relationship....she rolled her eyes at him and ran away! lol  I guess it doesn't work for humans to imitate the behaviors, but it was helpful for observing dog behaviors.
 

Hi things are going okay so far I think, I've been working a lot on commands outside at the park with treats and a clicker so hopefully I'll be able to redirect any aggression, and have been trying to avoid people on walks, we did encounter a woman with her dog and Jasper put his paws on her leg and she gave him some pets and he didn't show any discomfort so I was happy about that. Also when people come over I tell them to ignore him and let him sniff them out, then I have them give him a treat. He is still lunging and barking at the neighbor he hates, can't really avoid the neighbor, he's outside smoking a lot. Don't know what to do about that until I can redirect him, I'm not able to yet.

Yes, it's definitely way beyond the 8-16 weeks period since he's around 7 years old!! Don't know what his past was, or if he was socialized at all. I don't think he's having pain anywhere, he loves me to pet him everywhere and closes his eyes like in ecstasy, haven't found a place where's he reacted as if in pain..I think it's just really trust and maybe the energy people have when they pet him, some people seem to get growls, others don't seem to bother him, it's strange. I really appreciate all the thoughts and advice in this thread!! I love this dog very much and want him to be the best he can be

Sounds like you're doing great, and he's lucky to have you :) Keep us posted!