Hi
My dog, sasha, is a nightmare with other dogs whenshe's on lead. We are sure this is due to having been attacked on a lead as a small puppy. She thinks that any dog who approaches her while she's on a lead is going to attack her again.
a few days ago two Shi-tzus (off lead) were behind us (sasha on lead, we were walking home) and as soon as sasha noticed them she became tense and the closer they came the more frantic she was. I tried to distract her and comfort her but she ignored me - hackles were up and tail between her legs. Then she turned and snarled at them, at which point the other came up and started barking at us, which made her worse. The owner didn't bother putting them on, though
This is a daily thing - I have to try and stop a fight on every second walk
Does anyonehave any idea how I can help her? There are many staffs and mastiffs around here and one day she's going to mess with the wrong dog
(only talking in terms of strength about the above - her best doggy friends ae staffys)
She almost had it when she went for a little staffyxboxer type puppy...who had an older brother! looked like an american bulldog x staffy type, came hurtling to her to defend the puppy and was obviously too large for us to stop! luckily, sash's collar slipped off and she ran away (the bit of greyhound in her came in useful there!)

I'm just worried that she won't be so lucky nxt time, or that she'll go for a small dog who won't be able to put up a fight against her.

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Training classes, where she's around other dogs in controlled conditions. should help. It will give you more confidence too.

When you see another dog approaching - turn round , detour until your dog is relaxed - then ask for a sit and reward it.
The moving away is the reward for the dog - the Sit gets them focussed back to you.
Here`s a good video -
BAT - Behavior Adjustment Training for dog aggression - YouTube

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We also have a fear aggressive dog. It was helped by training classes and meeting dogs in a controlled environment. Hasn't solved it and not convinced we can ever trust her with other dogs but it is now manageable.

Strange thing is she accepted another 2 dogs into the house with little problem.

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Stay away from problem areas for the moment, the more it happens the more stressed out she's gonna get.

I do recommend trying dog training classes so you can work in a controlled environment

Find dogs to walk with maybe ones she knows and gets on with

Turning around and walking away every time she starts will help her ease away because she can't concentrate on the dog

Good luck

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As you say it comes from fear - there is a dog we walk with sometimes who has the same problem and the owners solution is just never to have it on a lead which isn't something I would recommend(!) although he doesn't seem to have any problems but the dog is very old now and doesn't leave the owners side.

It's probably because she feels restricted and if she's in a situation where she needs to run away then she can't with the lead on.

How did you try to distract and reassure?

Do you have any friendly locals you can walk with so she gets used to being around other dogs whist on lead?

How aggressive does she get? Can you stop her from escalating? If she doesn’t get too aggressive (i.e. she’s just a bit snarly but won’t bite) then I'd suggest getting her attention, waiting for her to calm down then maybe present her rear to others dogs if there is a willing owner who will do the same with their dog (present the rear of their dog to yours) as this will teach her there is nothing to fear and will encourage more positive on lead encounters

Also classes where you can practise the above in a more controlled environment.

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Thanks everyone - not sure if training classes are an option though, cost&distance wise....will look into it.
When I distract her, I make her look at me and praise her if she doesn't react to other dogs. It only worked once, as she vaguely knew that dog.
If it's a dog she knows, she's fine!
she gets a lot worse if they sniff her, though. Even a dog she knows might be growled at if they dare to sniff her.
I don't really have any locals who would do that - at this stage it might be quite dangerous for their dog, though! if they don't ack off at her first warning growl, they're going to get bitten if i don't pull her away.

I'm trying to sort it and will use any methods suggested when out walking today.

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If you are really worried that Sasha will bite I would condition her to wearing a muzzle. Although muzzled dogs can hurt others it might remove a little of your anxiety to know that she can't bite perhaps?

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I have a similar problem with my dog. I am taking him to classes where he can meet other dogs in a "safe" environment. In the meantime the trainer suggested that when walking him, when we see another dog to give him a treat (liver cake is his favourite), so that he associates the treat with other dogs. There is a vast improvement when walking him, much less barking and rearing up.

Is she fine with dogs off the lead?

Not saying you should do this but my dog became aggressive on the lead after being attacked but was fine off the lead ..... I knew that if a dog was incoming, dropping the lead often totally diffused the situation. Not always practical and wouldn't recommend it unless you know your dog inside out etc as its quite high risk... but even just trying to keep the lead slack can often help as sure the dog then feels less trapped... if you can keep the lead slack whilst removing yourself from situations may help avoid something kicking off

In the meantime you can then work on building confidence in more controlled and less threatening situations - i used to do alot of walking behind other dogs which totally ignored him etc... starting out doing things that he didn't react at and slowly buiding up his confidence.

Still wouldn't trust him ona taut lead around another dog but probably says as much for my nerves in that situation as his - I take along time to forget too!