Why is my 3-year-old puggle aggressive on leash around other dogs?

This sounds like leash aggression. I suggest you consult a professional trainer for help but if you want to try on your own here is a link that may help you. ( https://positively.com/dog-behavior/aggression/leash-aggression/ )

It sounds like your pups may be a little under socialized and may need some extra help. Tugging on a extra short leash can just create more tension and stress which may encourage the barking and aggressive behavior. It is best to contact a local trainer or behaviorist in your area who can work with you on dog on dog aggression, usually with a training technique of BAT or desensitization to get your dogs used to being around and positively interacting with other dogs. It is important to work with someone in person that can be there to step in if there is a problem and observe/teach what behaviors are happening. If your dogs are able to, a basic obedience class may also be useful to teach some loose-leash walking manners, and help you and your dogs understand and work better together.

Leash aggression is a complex behavior issue that is best handled by a professional who can give you some hands-on guidance. I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist (www.dacvb.org) or a good reward-based trainer who has experience working with aggression issues in dogs (www.ccpdt.org) The general approach to treatment for this problem is to reward the dog for calm behavior in the presence of his triggers (people, other dogs, etc.), starting at a distance where the dog is able to be successful, then gradually moving closer as long as things are going well. For some dogs, this means that you may need a lot of distance at first! Having a professional to work with is very helpful, since they can help you set up controlled training sessions with "helper" dogs or people to practice until you and your dog have the hang of things. Punishment of any kind for this behavior (including verbal corrections, leash corrections, shock collar, etc.) is not recommended because it often makes the problem worse over time. Steer clear of any trainer who recommends these techniques, and look for an educated reward-based trainer instead.

I'm sorry to hear that your dog is having this problem! Behavior issues like this are quite complex, and often very difficult to handle successfully on your own if you don't have any training experience. And particularly with an aggression problem, it may not be safe to attempt to work on this without professional assistance. If at all possible, I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate your dog in person and help you put together a detailed plan to work on the problem. Although the initial visit may be somewhat expensive, in many cases owners are able to stay in contact with the behaviorist via phone or email about how things are going without the need for repeated in-person sessions - which cuts down tremendously on the long-term cost vs. working with a trainer every week. The behaviorist may also recommend medication or other adjunct treatment options that could be helpful in addition to the training plan. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist here: www.dacvb.org If your dog is mainly aggressive to other dogs when she sees them on-leash (the most common form of this problem, in my experience), I would also suggest the short book "Feisty Fido" by PhD behaviorist Patricia McConnell - it has very sound, useful advice for dealing with this issue that may help to get you started.

Some of this may be curiosity and not knowing manners on how to act around new dogs. Some dogs have a different personality and manners on a leash vs. off a leash. She is young enough that seeking a trainer to help socialize her both on and off leash, in new settings, and around new and familiar animals will help her behavior. The more interactions at a young age, the better as long as they are controlled and the proper behavior rewarded

Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not capable of correctly interpreting dog body language. For that reason, your best option is to work with a professional trainer. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Best of luck.

Aggression towards other dogs is usually a result of not being comfortable around them - it can happen due to a lack of socialization as a puppy, a bad experience with another dog at a young age, or even a genetic predisposition to this problem. It usually starts to appear around social maturity, so if Max is about a year old, this would be a very common age to begin seeing this problem. Aggression issues are complex and difficult to address succinctly in this format, so I would really recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist if at all possible - he/she can evaluate Max in person and help you put together a treatment plan to work on this problem. In general, I can tell you that treatment will involve teaching him to associate good things with seeing other dogs and behaving calmly around them - we normally use food rewards and other types of positive reinforcement to achieve this. Punishment for this behavior is not recommended, since it tends to make the dog more fearful and worsen the problem over time.