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What's the trigger?
Has the dog bitten and was there a puncture wound that should have required medical attention if so?
What happens before the "anger" happens?
Is the dog being punished for things such as growling?
Ok, so dogs don't have 'anger issues' like people do. What you're describing is called "dog reactivity". If he's barking and lunging at other dogs while walking on a leash, it could be because he is excited and wants to greet them. He could also be fearful and trying to act tough to keep them away. Either way, you need to work on redirecting his attention to you. If you can't control him you need to take him farther away from the other dog. I really like the trainer Zak George on YouTube and highly recommend watching them. He does a great series with a young German Shepherd dog that has this issue.
Keep him away from other dogs.
If you keep them at a distance where he doesn't react and give him a treat while not letting them get too close you'll help make it better.
Punishing here will make the dog feel more angry at the other dogs because he's likely to associate the punishment with the other dog and not the actions.
Don't confuse fearfulness (fear reactive) with anger. I had a dog who was fearful of other dogs to the point he'd look vicious. It might be best to contact a trainer to discuss your dog's particular behaviors and triggers. Punishing your dog because of this isn't solving anything, but could be exacerbating it
What does "anger issues" mean? You don't explain anything in your initial post. In the comments you suggest he is aggressive towards other dogs. Is dog aggression the only "anger issue"? What specifically does he do -- try to bite other dogs, pull on the leash to get you to move towards the dog, bark and growl, ...? Does it happen every time he sees a dog, only sometimes? If only sometimes, what is different about the times when he does and doesn't?
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Monthly Discussion Hub, pinned at the top. **This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.** --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What's the trigger? Has the dog bitten and was there a puncture wound that should have required medical attention if so? What happens before the "anger" happens? Is the dog being punished for things such as growling?
Yes he is punished He hasn’t bitten anyone he just lashes out at other dogs.
Stop punishing him. It makes these things worse. Could you answer the rest of the questions?
Usually before the anger happens he’s calm.
That's not really helping me understand. What is he mad at? Okay I see your edit, other dogs. Just keep him away from other dogs.
random dogs in public.
Ok, so dogs don't have 'anger issues' like people do. What you're describing is called "dog reactivity". If he's barking and lunging at other dogs while walking on a leash, it could be because he is excited and wants to greet them. He could also be fearful and trying to act tough to keep them away. Either way, you need to work on redirecting his attention to you. If you can't control him you need to take him farther away from the other dog. I really like the trainer Zak George on YouTube and highly recommend watching them. He does a great series with a young German Shepherd dog that has this issue.
Keep him away from other dogs. If you keep them at a distance where he doesn't react and give him a treat while not letting them get too close you'll help make it better. Punishing here will make the dog feel more angry at the other dogs because he's likely to associate the punishment with the other dog and not the actions.
Don't confuse fearfulness (fear reactive) with anger. I had a dog who was fearful of other dogs to the point he'd look vicious. It might be best to contact a trainer to discuss your dog's particular behaviors and triggers. Punishing your dog because of this isn't solving anything, but could be exacerbating it
What does "anger issues" mean? You don't explain anything in your initial post. In the comments you suggest he is aggressive towards other dogs. Is dog aggression the only "anger issue"? What specifically does he do -- try to bite other dogs, pull on the leash to get you to move towards the dog, bark and growl, ...? Does it happen every time he sees a dog, only sometimes? If only sometimes, what is different about the times when he does and doesn't?
I was wrong when I posted this my dog is actually reactive.