Hi I have a 16 week old GR bitch, I have noticed latley that every time we go out when she approachs another dog all the hairs on her back tail to neck stand up right as if she is being very aggresive she does not do this with people just with other dogs, I took her to a puppy traing class when she was 12 weeks and has just finished (she did very well!!!) however whilst she was there she was vey dominant with all the other pups one in paticulr and they were glued to each other every week and played very rough her always winning and now I ahve just read that aggresion to other dogs is caused by letting them play to rough when they are pups is this my fault she now has a problem as Ive let her play to rough? please how do I rectify this and put it right as she is a lovley girl but I really dont want her to be aggresive to other dogs and for her to fell she needs to be please advise many thanks.

Not your responsibility - your trainer/tutor should have been supervising to ensure this didn't happen....

Digger, that wasn't very helpful. The guest is asking for help NOW, not last week.

Guest, firstly, don't panic. Your pup is still young enough to learn how to be a good pup Will you be going back to training classes? If so the first thing you will need to do is to go to the trainer and tell them that you think you have a problem and need help. If they don't pay any attention to you - go find a new trainer!

When you meet up with other dogs on your walk make sure that your pup sits down. This way you will be in control. If pup starts to lunge tell her (?) no and make her sit again. When she does give her lots of praise. If she lunges again try to turn her to face away from the other dog. Repeat the no and sit. Hopefully others will come on to give more (and probably better) advice

Your pup has learnt that she has been able to win games by playingwith another timid pup hwere the play bcame inequitable.

There is nothing wrong with pups rough and tumbling, but usually you will see them take turns being theunderdog in the games.

She has become oveconfident and likes being a bully.

In my view playing with a sensible adult would do her the power of good where she willlearn not to have things all her own way.

When you meet other dogs ask te owners what they are like (tolerant freindly and confident is what you want) and then she must greet politely.  do not get protective if she is put in ehr place by a sensible older dog.

Brainless gives good sound advice.
You say you have taken her to puppy classes which is a great idea.
Continue your good work by enrolling her in some adult training classes. Not only will you and the dog benefit she will socialise with older dogs in a controlled manner.
Don't panic now. No longterm damage has been done. Just continue on postive track you have started.

Just for now, this helped with a friends pup, when you walk her keep her on the side of you away from other dogs.  This way she is less likely to want to defend you or lunge at another dog, you also have a bit more leeway to stop her before she gets into trouble. 

As suggested go to a dog training club now puppy socialisation classes are finished and let her meet and greet other dogs in a controlled atmosphere.  Puppy parties are great but my boy was one of the bullied pups who hid under the chair, he is still picked on by other dogs and giving back confidence is harder that training your pup not to be too boisterous.

Brainless is absolutely right as regards older dogs disciplining the youngsters, again if this happens at a structured training room you shouldn't have any problems.  It is a bit upsetting when you first see it but your pup has to learn its place in the scheme of things.

Good luck with her she sounds very confident and you can make this work to yours and her advantage with regular training.

Be very careful about jumping to conclusions.

The fact that your dog's hackles are raised does NOT necessarily mean that she is being aggressive.

All it demonstrates is that her "fight or flight" system has gone into operation; she is in "alert" mode so that her body is showing that she could swing either way.  I would strongly suggest that your dog is showing apprehension rather than aggression ( a label that is too often used in too many cases without considering context, age etc etc etc).

Allowing puppies to engage in roughousing for too long can have two results a) they can, if they have not had sufficient exposure to a variety of sizes and breeds, expect ALL dogs to play the same, which can be a bit problematic if your GR approaches say a Sheltie; and b) it can encourage the dog to be more dog focused than owner focused which, when you are training your dog for recalls etc, can prove to be a serious problem.

I would suggest that you try and find suitable owners who have dogs of suitable temperament with an experienced trainer who will be able to demonstrate how to facilitate normal social interaction and what to do and when to prevent "tarzan" behaviour.

Often the situation is not helped by inexperienced owners giving out the wrong signals to dogs down the lead, this is where you will benefit from someone who has good observational skills and can guide with the correct advice.

HTH

Thats a very good point Tohme, my FCR often raises her hackles when approachd by other dogs, or spots the resident squirrel in 'her' garden, but she has never shown any agression to either.

Agree with Tohme and Liberty. Before you take any further action, you must find out why she is reacting the way she is.  That's essential to know, when deciding how to make her calm down when meeting other dogs.
I would contact a dogtrainer, for a private consultation. An experienced trainer will be able to read her signals, and point you in the right direction. So often insecurity is misinterpreted as agression in a young dog, which if you are unlucky,might turn into real agression later on in life, if misunderstood. She is still so young, given the right support she will grow out of this very quickly.
Don't let this behaviour continue for too long, the longer a dog has been behaving in a certain way, the longer it will take to correct it.
Good luck, I'm sure she's not agressive, just entering into a more uncertain and insecure period in her life.
Please let us know how you get on, in the meantime I will keep my fingers crossed for a quick improvement.