I would be grateful for advice on a problem behaviour which has arisen.
I have two entire male cocker spaniels, one 7 years old, the other 8 months.  I have had the older one for one year, know a fair bit about his background and am satisfied with what I know.  The puppy I have had from 8 weeks old.

The older one has a lovely nature, very chilled with other dogs, meets, greets and moves on, gentle with young puppies and old/disabled dogs.  Pup loves all other dogs and people, is very confident and exuberant, and solicits play or attention on every possible occasion (we're working on controlling this, and it's not my present concern).

At home, the older dog mostly appears to ignore the pup, doesn't play with him, (but will steal his chews and toys if he can!).  However, I have recently started to walk them together and am seeing a different facet of the adult.  He is very protective of the pup as far as other dogs are concerned, barks and growls to warn them off, even when they are dogs he knows well and has interacted happily with, and which I know to be well-behaved and well-trained dogs with good owners.  He does not cease his threats until either party moves on.  Pup would still like to play.  This morning after we had moved past the dog he was threatening, he disciplined the puppy.

I would like to control this behaviour, so that my older dog does not a) make all the other dogs and owners wary of us; b) teach pup to be aggressive.  And I certainly don't want it to extend to excessively protecting pup from humans.  I would be grateful for tips on how to deal with this, and will look for training help in the new year.  It would be inconvenient but not impossible to return to walking them individually until then.

I would suggest that walking them separately for now might be your best bet. Aside from anything else you do not want young pup to learn from the older dog's behaviour. Probably best for pup to be paying attention to you on walks rather than taking cues from older dog. This does not have to be a long-term solution but may help to relieve older dog of his sense of responsibility while ensuring pup learns how to rub along with other dogs when out. Once pup is a little older things may settle as older dog may not feel the need to be so protective of the pup.

Thank you for your reply.  I rather thought that might be the solution.  The joint walks have been taken only this last week, one walk together and one separately to allow the older dog to have one-to-one time with me and pup to continue his training.  (Anyway, with all the Christmas eating ahead it'll help burn calories ;) .)

He's not protecting the puppy.

He is protecting himself - he doesn't feel comfortable with the puppies behaviour during play or interactions with other dogs, it makes him anxious so he feels compelled to stop it happening, hence his behaviour on walks with the puppy.

I would walk them separately until puppy has learned self control when meeting other dogs and so doesn't show signs that he'd like to go over and play - and then when you do walk them together, make a point of avoiding interaction with other dogs, and rewarding them both highly for seeing other dogs but not reacting to them.

> He is protecting himself - he doesn't feel comfortable with the puppies behaviour

Hmm, thank you, will have to consider that proposition carefully :) . He knows most of the local canines, seems comfortable with them and has always come across as a calm, confident fellow in any situation.  But I'll be paying careful attention to his body language in interactions with other dogs to see if he's giving any new clues. 

We are back to separate walks :( .

I agree with theemx, this isn't about protecting the puppy.  It could be a couple of things, one of which is what theemx suggests.  Living with another dog is not the same thing as meeting another dog out on a walk, it's a whole different kettle of fish. 

I'd suggest that either, as theemx suggests, he is protecting himself from the sort of play and interaction which a boisterous young puppy will bring down on him, too, from other dogs... Or he could be guarding the puppy from the other dog.  Not protecting it.  The difference between guarding and protecting is subtle but significant:  'Guarding' something suggests the thing is viewed as a resource, or a desirable object, or a possession (like a dog might feel towards food bowls or bones).  It is very much about this being 'his' thing which the other dog should stay away from.  In the same way as some dogs can guard their owners and feel jealous if another person or dog approaches them.  'Protecting' on the other hand, has the interests of the puppy at heart (rather than his own interests), and is most often seen along with maternal behaviour.

It's a v subtle difference, but significant. 

But I agree you should walk them separately, but I would have said that anyway - it is good for a pup to develop some independence and to have one-to-one time with you, anyway.

Good points from both Theemx and Rabid. We all agree, walk and train pup separately for now...generally good advice for any pup. Learning impulse control and manners around adult dogs is incredibly important.

Thank you Rabid - could be he's guarding his source of extra toys, chews etc. :) lol.  I had not properly differentiated between guard/protect, (getting sloppy in my old age!).  He is not afraid of boisterous play, as he has such occasionally with a Welsh springer and also a terrier of suitable weight and temperament.

I had only been trying the joint walks this last week, and then only for one of their walks, as my older boy needs one-to-one time with me and the opportunity to really get under that shrubbery for a proper sniff :) , and pup needs continuing training ("leave that rubbish/foodscraps/tissue/pruning", "heel", "sit and watch me", "no jumping", recall etc.) in addition to his one-to-one time to bond him with me rather than overmuch with the adult. Laziness really on my part with the adverse weather and shorter days, now that pup's walks are longer, combined with a "romantic" notion of our all going for a happy little walkie together.

Longer term, how would you advise I work with them to be able to walk them together?  At present we can manage separate walks on the local network of footpaths, but will need to go to longer, more interesting walks sometime fairly soon, which will require a car journey and will be awkward to manage if they cannot walk together.

What happens if you pick one of them up, when another dog approaches?  (Either of them?)  Let one of them meet the other dog, and walk on, then put held dog down again?  Does the behaviour still happen?

> What happens if you pick one of them up

I haven't tried picking up either in this context.  I could probably pick up one of them if I had the other off-lead, the easier to pick up quickly would be the puppy.  If they're both on-lead, to be honest I probably wouldn't try it for fear of a fall.  With the adult off-lead I could pick up the pup. I pick up the adult for table grooming, but don't generally otherwise lift him up, so he'd be rather surprised;  I'd better start getting him used to it (cue training session!).  The other owners also would have to be aware of what I was trying to do and give me time to pick him up. 

I'm not being negative, but am not as young as once I was and find my back/hips/knees tend to make me aware of themselves :( .

The best thing I can think of is to get someone to walk with me and hold one or other of the dogs clear while the meeting takes place.

> What happens if you pick one of them up, when another dog approaches? (Either of them?) Let one of them meet the other dog, and walk on, then put held dog down again? Does the behaviour still happen?

Well, not exactly a "pick one up and see", but both of mine while being walked alone have now met the dog involved in the incident in my first post. In each case both dogs were on-lead. My Puppy was eager to greet him and play, and the other dog greeted him nicely, play did not take place, and all moved on without trouble.
This morning it was my adult who me the other dog, they sniffed, and I felt mine growl softly in his throat (he was on-lead) but there was no overt  hostility on either side, and they moved on with no trouble.
The "other dog" is an entire male of a medium-sized terrier breed, well-trained and with a sensible owner.

> He is protecting himself - he doesn't feel comfortable with the puppies behaviour during play or interactions with other dogs, it makes him anxious so he feels compelled to stop it happening, hence his behaviour on walks with the puppy.

This.  This is EXACTLY what River does.  She does it both at home and on walks, mainly when Linc and Paige are playing as they get very rough and she wants them to calm down but she can go completely OTT and quite aggressive with it.  On walks she'll do it with my other dogs or with other peoples' dogs, much more so with puppies or small, fast, active dogs.  What she will also do however is split two dogs that are getting lairy with each other and she'll do it quite nicely - so she isn't always OTT.  That has come about with my working with her, rewarding for not reacting as theemx says, and being careful how I respond (i.e. not getting annoyed with her as she gets stressed quickly and it gets worse).