I'm going to give as much detail as possible in a recent situation. I was on a walk, a little bit into the walk one of our neighbors had there male pit on a lead. When my husky saw him he stood to attention ears up tail wagging but I don't think he was excited, more like puffing up. I want him to get used to other dogs do I kept waking twords the dog but keeping a good distance in case they got into a fight. While getting closer the other dog started growling, pulling and barking and my husky "Zeus" started pulling on his lead harder. I know the other dog was in the wrong but is there something I can do. Also when Zeus meets a new dog he sort of nibbles at them like tiny bites and that usually gets the other dog going and then they won't get along. But he never growls or barks at other dogs. It's just his body language that says he wants to fight. What should I do to make him better around other dogs.

There are others here who will be able to provide better answers, but the way you went about having them meet is almost a guarantee that at least one of them is going to take exception to the situation.

For starters, a Husky - even in play mode - seems to trigger other strange dogs.  A lot of it, I think, is because Huskies want to play and when they play, they play rough! and other dogs and owners generally have no idea what's going on.  Two Husky's playing, often sound like and look like two dogs fighting!!

What you need to do is outlined here in several places --- and my search isn't turning up what I want -- it's how to introduce two dogs so that you cause the least possible 'confrontation' (literally and figuratively).  Once you're comfortable that your boy can meet dogs that you know are friendly then you can put him into situations with unknown dogs.

I've had to learn the "Husky Move" and what it is myself. As an owner of a Border Collie, I was NOT ready for the forward up-front-ness Kairo exudes. Everything about her says "dominant, I'm boss, and I'll take you down", but it's literally all play.

First rule with ANY dog - NEVER approach a dog pulling on a lead. Any dog pulling on a lead is already insecure or overstimulated. Cross to the other side of the path and keep going.

As for your own dog pulling, I plant my feet. If Kairo wants to move forwards, she sits or loosens the tension by stepping back or circling around to my side. She's still learning this, and it's not perfect. But if the other dog is walking along, and she continues to lean forward, guess who misses a chance for a meet-and-greet? She does! I'm starting to see this click on her face.

What I do NOT know is, if I have a special case with her. I am training her the way I had to train Ember, who pulled out of fear and then freaked herself out hitting the end of the lead. It's working for me, but I do not know if it works for all huskies. Kairo is extremely driven by "getting somewhere", so by stopping until she slacks up, she's getting rewarded for having a loose lead.

Christina, I wouldn't say that it's a special case - you're doing what most of us here suggest doing. Unless you're working with a 'working dog' ( on a sled for example ) then when your dog pulls, stop, They tend to get the idea quickly.

When you have a dog who is consistently pulling toward another dog - one they don't know - then the chances of a friendly greeting go downhill fast! As someone else said, if you're meeting a dog on your walk and your dog wants to pull toward them - cross the street or make them set and stay. Anything but the desired greeting (desired by your dog, but not neissarily the other dog / owner )

My girl is leash aggressive. I notice a difference in how far away she triggers depending on the dog coming her way. A dog that is allowed to stand super tall and stare at her will definitely trigger her growling and lunging much earlier on than a dog that is calm. The pit may have been fine with other dogs but not when they are putting off a 'challenging' demeanor from the get-go. Stopping, making your dog calm down, or distracting your dog by running them through some tricks may help. With my girl it's always been about breaking eye contact and then moving on. She has learned 'on-by' and that has made walking where we may see other dogs more tolerable. She still can't meet dogs on leash but at least she isn't snapping and growling from 30 feet away anymore.

On by works great with me, at least as long as we are walking a good clip. Sometimes I speed up at the same time as the "on by" command" - seems to sharpen the focus on the walk, not the scenery.

My rule of thumb with meeting new dogs, especially on leashes (and not just with huskies, we had a 10 lb miniature poodle who was the most aggressive dog ive ever met)- they are only allowed to greet each other if they are totally calm. No pulling, no barking, no growling, nothing. it's just not worth a hurt dog, human, or lawsuit. Also familiarize yourself with dominance "rudeness" when the dogs actually behave well enough to meet. Spot those and you might avoid a tiff. Things like putting a paw over the face might look cute but with the wrong dogs it could start something (like the golden in our training classes who was doggie rude as anything).

For walking, we use the same "on by" command that Amy uses.

Obviously you can't control the other dog owners of the world who insist fluffy is super sweet and wouldn't hurt a fly, so just keep an eye on both dogs while you're walking. It does sound like the pit owner had some work to control their dog. There are some dogs in our neighborhood that we've learned to cross the street for when we see them coming, because the big bad wolves we have set them and their humans off.

It's tough to socialize your dog, especially if you don't have more than one. We like to take our dogs out in public-, a friends house who has a dog we know, the park (not the dog park, the actual park), Petsmart, the vets office... Anywhere other dogs may be, where there's room to maneuver away from them if need be. Make sure you're dog knows to behave on leash, and slowly introduce your dog to other dogs. Praise your dog for being good. That's essentially how we socialized them... But other people on here might have better ideas!

I had no idea standing tall was a challenging demeanor. Both mine stand taller when they see another dog, and as the other dog nears, Kohdi is practically prancing, tail waving back and forth, I always viewed it as just being excited they get to see another dog. Having two, I always either cross the street or at the very least, go down off the sidewalk so we aren't coming at the other dog head on, a single dog will more than likely be intimidated by two coming at him rather than just one. My intention is always to just walk on by, but sometimes the other owner will want them all to meet, depending on their dog, I will let them...or not, but if I do, Kohdi's standing tall normally goes into a play bow once they've touched noses. With a scenario like the one described in the OP though, they wouldn't have met and we'd have crossed the street, not because mine are standing taller but because the other dog has issues.

Kairo stands tall too. I've learned that body language is a head to tail things, and most dogs understand this. What you do not know and have to be careful of is if either dog does NOT know the dog language - an unsocialized pup most likely will not understand body language.

I am finding it interesting that most dogs in this complex where I live do not read Kairo as aggressive or dominating, even though she approaches head on and as tall as possible.

These are my personal rules for meeting another dog:

Every Single Time...
Ask permission from a distance, even if I know the dog/owner

Walk On Past...
1) Either dog is pulling/whimpering
2) Other dog is barking (neither of mine bark or growl)
3) Other owner is on the phone, talking to someone else, or generally not attentive

Okay To Meet...
1) Both dogs are calm
2) My dog will sit on command (not over threshold)
3) My dog says they want it
4) Owner is attentive and willing

Things that Cause Pause...
1) Retractable leads
2) Prong/Shock collars (both my dogs play by collar grab, which I try super hard not to allow)
3) Either dog starts to approach head-on to the other dog front-on (a proper greeting consists of circling around without actually making eye contact, not a head on nose-to-nose meet)


On a side note, one of the most adorable things Ember does is sit and put a paw (or both) on the other dog's chest or shoulder. We have taught her this as a form of communication that something is "okay" in her book, and this is how she tells us she is okay with a certain petting, or person, or wants more of a treat we are trying. She's very selective about what dogs she will go up and paw. In fact, she's only pawed 3 other dogs that I know of. When she does it, it looks like she is patting them in a comforting manner.

The only time I've ever gone against my set of rules is with one dog in our neighborhood that the owner begged me to help rehabilitate. This dog is also a Border Collie, but a mix (I think part pit, honestly). She has all the nervous tendencies and sensitivity of the border, and has a "sibling" dog that is aggressive and dominating. This second dog has turned the border cross into a fearful and equally dominating dog.

I had started extending Ember's walking path past their building, and the owner insisted on bringing Lady out. He did so, and I had Ember off lead. Thankfully, I have full confidence in Ember's politeness - she knows when to leave other dogs alone, and is very good at teaching manners in return (flat out sat on a puppy that jumped to nip her face in greeting, several times, until it learned to stop). But for the first time, Ember pushed passed this dog's growling. She stayed really low, even rolled over. But she stayed in the dog's general discomfort-zone, and pawed her carefully. She would walk off after a few minutes to give the dog some space, then returned to try again.

The border cross actually ignored most of her efforts, even gave Ember the exact same face she gives Kairo when Kairo is being overbearing and stupid. I laughed and told Ember "What goes around comes around, eh?"

Within 5 minutes, this dog opened up to her, started playing, and has never growled again on subsequent visits.