Agression upon arrival at dog park

[Cabo]

Just recently, at the beginning of each trip we make to the dog park, Cabo (10 months) has become increasingly agressive toward some of the first dogs that great him as we come in. It's to the point where he'll jump on them, and growl profusely, but doesn't really try to bite. Most times, the other dog gets offended, and growls/bites back. This usually leads to a brief scuffle where either I pull him away or the other owner intervenes. After this initial spat, he is perfectly fine with any dog at the park, and will play to his heart's content.

The only thing that has changed in the last couple of months is that we now have Lola, who is 12 weeks (have had her since she was 5 weeks). When the confrontation happens, Lola isn't around, and is usually already playing with another dog somewhere, so I don't think it's protection of her.

I'm assuming it's an agression thing, but I'm curious on how I can curb it or kill it altogether, because it seems to be getting slightly worse each time we go. We've tried different dog parks, all with the same results.

Neither of them have been to any type of doggie school.

Any help would be great.

[gmacleod]

Most likely it has nothing whatever to do with your new puppy, and everything to do with his age - he's an adolescent approaching maturity Is he neutered? If not, now would be a good time

You say it only happens when dogs rush up to greet you when you first enter the park? Is Cabo still on his leash at that point? A lot of dogs have some aggression issues when restrained by a leash, that don't present when they're off leash. I don't think immediately letting him off-leash when you arrive at the park is the answer - but you do need to work on his greeting ettiquette.

I'd suggest you do a search of the forums using terms such as 'leash aggression', 'greeting' and 'dog park ettiquette'. There is some very good advice given in the past that you could put to good use for Cabo. Good luck