My youngest male,who is 2 and a half yrs old has only recently started barking at other dogs while out on his run.He seems to pick smaller dogs,he runs around them barking,chasing them in a circle,never anything else,but I know it must be frightening for the dogs and owners.The owners have been ok so far,when I apologise,but I want to sort it before it is more of a problem.Is it his age and dominance coming into the equation,and how do I get him back to his outgoing friendly personality,I really can't think of any other reason for it other than his age,thanks.

> how do I get him back to his outgoing friendly personality

Are you sure this isn't freindly & outgoing behaviour?
This sort of thing can be friednly, I've met a couple of young dogs that act like this, it's thier way to try to get Buster to play. However, I've also met dogs that act like this that are NOT being friendly in the slightest.

It's really hard to tell, without seeing, what his intentions are.

How do the other dogs react? It may help to know this, but then it all depends on the temperment of the other dogs. Again using Buster as an example, he will play-bow at a friendly dog, but he will also play-bow at a dog that isn't being friednly, in the first case, it's his way of saying 'lets play', in the second case it's his way of trying to calm the other dog down. There are subtle differences between the types of play-bow, that really need to be seen to explained properly. (same with barking & circling behaviour, it can be playfull or not playfull, there will be subtle differences, afterall, canine play is made up of hunting/fighting/life-skill moves)

IF your dog is being freidnly, it can still get a negative reaction from a dog that is not well socialised, a nervous dog, an agressive dog or a dog that will not put up with a youngsters OTT bad manners, so you can't always judge on the other dogs reaction.

Whatever his intentions, do keep him on-lead around other dogs while greeting to prevent this forming a habbit for now, even if he's just trying to intstigate a game he could get him self in trouble with a grumpy/low tollerance dog.

As for dominance, I don't know about that, but as a dog enters maturity it can start to try to figure out the new boundries and see what it can 'get away with', a bit like a teenager testing the limits of others.

There was another thread very recently about this issue.  I think it was called '6 weeks dog free' or somehting similar.  There were many replies some of which may help you but it centred on the theory by John Rogerson that quite often the youngest dog in a multi-dog household had dog aggression issues.

It was thought it may be because the dog as a pup played rough with the others and got 'puppy licence' to do so without being told off.  Once mature, this inappropriate behaviour emerges when other unknown dogs are involved.

Perhaps if you search for the thread it might give some answers.

Thank you for your answers!!