I'm sorry for the long post in advance.

I'm starting to have a couple problems with Nicky and Hayden at the dog park. I'm finding they are spending more time on the leash in "time out" more than actually being able to run free and play. They pick out a dog at the park and form a pack and keep nipping it, make the dog cry and it will go submissive to them and they keep going after it! It's not aggression, I know they are trying to play, but the other dog owners are like "get you're dog's!!". I'm starting to feel like they are out of control and it's something new they just started last week and it's becoming more of a habit now. A person at the park even recommend that I get an electric collar for them. They've always listened and played great at the park (we go 5-6 days a week for a few hours) and never had any issues up until now. I feel like I should bring some treat's and practice calling them, but the other owners hate when people bring treat's, because it causes fight's with the other dogs. I'm at a loss

Also, Nicky is becoming a bit more protective on leash. It started out a few month's ago that when she saw a dog approaching her hackles would stand up and she would bark and nothing more. A puppy we frequently see and her owner approached us yesterday walking and Nicky started growling really viciously at the puppy and tried going after her, NOT in a playful way! We were not in the dog park when this happened, we were on the sidewalk. I was shocked, because she's never done that before! I corrected her immediately!

Anyone have any advise on either issues?

cant really offer much on this but i know that S&J like to "gang" up on dogs or a dog when we are at the park and take turns keeping that dog cornered or on the ground. if it goes on for more then a few seconds and the dog does not break free i walk over and tell S&J to go somewhere else and they will leave the poor dog alone, some times it happens again and i just do the same thing till they really leave the dog alone. Jack is a vocal player and will do the chase me i chase you neck nip to other dogs while talking and i have to just let the other owners know he is playing. if they are really bothered i just redirect Jack to some other area in the park. can you try to take them to the park one at a time so they dont thing park means gang up and see how they do when the other is not around? i bet this is starting now because the bond between them is growing stronger.

could the leash aggression be starting because of them being leashed in the dog park on time out?

I'm not sure about the first part. We take Herc and Callie at the same time but Callie's very independent and goes off on her own while Herc's a big baby. For the second part, it could just be that Nicky feels threatened on the leash. I had a noob mistake at the dog park last weekend and walked in with Callie on the leash, my mom did the same with Herc on his. Callie cowered behind me and wanted nothing to do with the other dogs and Herc turned around and tried to leave. The minute I unhook the leashes, they were off playing and greeting the other dogs. One of the guys at the dog park just said that on leash, they're vulnerable and bringing them around a bunch of loose dogs while they're on leash causes big attitude switches since they don't have the upper hand. Is Nicky only protective on leash in the park or is it even just out and about the neighborhood?

I never bring them in the park on leash, it causes way too many fights. This wasn't in the park, it was on the sidewalk.

Hmm. That's strange then. Especially for a husky! I expect outbursts like that from Callie with unfamiliar dogs and people because of the boxer in her. A husky around a familiar puppy I would think would just want to play. I wonder if anything's going on that's putting her on edge. I doubt it's stress related since I've been reading a lot of your recent updates and she seems to be doing just fine. But there could be some invisible stuff going on you can't see. It also could just be her maturing now so raging hormones and all that fun stuff. She goes in for spay soon, though, right? Maybe that will take an edge off the aggression. I don't have much experience on this one but I'm just trying to help think of ideas.

I take treats to the dog park. It doesn't cause fights. I take enough that I can give some to the other dogs too, if their owner agrees, and I ask the other dog to sit nicely for it same as I do with my own dogs. I don't necessarily get the treats out, but I have used them for training there in the past, and want to have the option (tbh I rarely go anywhere without dog treats in my pocket).

Dogs shouldn't be on a leash in the off-leash dog park. Where I live, it's actually one of the rules - you're not allowed to leash your dog inside the park.

You can practise calling the dogs to you while in the park, giving them a treat (or just saying 'good dog' if you don't want to use treats) and then sending them straight back out to play again. This will be hard for them to do when they are in the middle of a play session, so you have to build up to it - call them out at easy times for them to begin with, when they aren't doing much, or just reward them if they wander up to you naturally, and then say 'go play' again. The reason for sending them back is so they learn that coming to you means something nice, and it doesn't mean the end of the play session. Over time you can also make it more difficult for them by having them perform a command before getting the treat and going back to play (this can be useful if you need to keep them focussed on you for longer).

A good 'leave it' command can also be used to get them to leave other dogs.

I wouldn't recommend the use of a shock collar. They have the potential to cause harm, especially if used by someone without a lot of training. One of the risks is that a mis-timed shock can cause a dog to associate the shock with the wrong thing, and hence become aggressive with other dogs. Leaving moral issues out of it, there isn't any evidence that, when used by ordinary dog owners, they help with training, but there is evidence that they can cause behavioural problems.

As for the leash issue, I forget how old Nicky is? If she is still young, is it possible that it is just a fear stage? In which case just stay calm, don't make a fuss of it, and try and keep your distance from the other dogs.

You might also want to sometimes take them on their own to the dog park, or for walks, to let you work with them one-on-one. It's pretty hard training two dogs at once!

I've witnessed dog fights starting over treats at dog parks, and it's usually posted as a rule. Where I live no food, dog or human, is allowed in the park at all, no exceptions. It makes dogs that do not know each other that well to pack around you in a close vicinity, all fighting for attention and a treat, and usually does not end well from my experiences at dog parks. I agree with Jenn, redirection. Redirect their attention to another aspect of the park or another playmate.

Of course if they're not allowed, then don't take them!

For the second part, is it probably that Nicky is fearful of the approaching dog and start the growling/barking to warn the dog away. I have the same problem with Titus. It has been getting serious recently that he even snap at people when he is frighten. He is even frighten of other dogs approaching Lycan. We brought him to a behaviorist yesterday and after all the assessment, we were told that he has fear aggression. Probably because he was isolated and mistreated before we got him. All we can do is to build up his confidence around people and dogs.

For the first part I'm not sure as Lycan is the one that was surrounded and nipped by other dogs. The last time we went to a dog park, he was nipped really hard by a gang of three whippet.