Hi all. Really hope someone can shed a light on this. I have a hyper 2 year old beagle. He's the most friendliest dog ever. He's so friendly that he struggles to bite an itch let alone another dog or person. Anyway. He's been attacked twice in 5 days. Not severely but bad enough to make me terrified of other dogs. I keep him on a lead unless i know its a safe place. The first attack happened outside my house. Mylo saw the dog and immediately got excited as he always does, the other dog was not on a lead and was maybe 15 feet away to begin with so i dont believe mylo was in his personal space. The dog immediately ran to mylo, bit his back, ran back to its owner (who didn't even have a lead) and then ran back and pounced again. The second time was today. There was a staffie who was thankfully muzzled, it ran up to mylo and at first i thought it was ok. But after quickly sniffing mylo the dog immediately snapped at him. I was really grateful the dog was muzzled. The arsehole owner of course took absolutely no responsibility. As far as he was concerned, his dog had a muzzle, was a rescue and therefore was allowed to roam free and snap at any dog it wanted. Mylo is neutered and i am fully aware that other dogs dont appreciate the same hyperactivity that he does and this is why i always keep him on a lead. If there a reason that dogs are itching to attack him? Hes never had a problem before but now i am petrified of taking him anywhere further than the front gate. But at the same time, he needs at least 2 hours of active exercise a day so i have no option but to take the risk. Please help

Why does he need 2 hours exercise a day ?

I have Working Border Collies, a breed many"experts"state need lots of physical exercise if owned as pets. Wrong, a working sheepdog can work all day, but not all work is physical, most is mental control of the sheep and it isn't constant.

The same applies to breeds like Beagles, the more physical exercise like walking/running they get the more they need, and you get into a vicious circle.

Mental exercise tires a dog far quicker than walking/running/ball chasing. Getting a dog to use it's brain not only uses energy, but also acts as a calming measure & you get more control of your dogs behaviour.

How old was your dog when he was castrated ? How does he react when he sees another dog ? Does he bark, jump around, whine ???

Not excusing the other dogs' behaviour nor their owners having them off lead & not under control, however he may be unintentionally intimidating other dogs. You haven't given enough information about him being "hyper" to offer helpful advice.

I have seen overactive dogs behave in an  almost manic way, in their excitement on seeing other dogs, not something many dogs appreciate

It sounds like you may have just had a bad week rather than a trend, if this hasn't happened until this week.  So I wouldn't be panicking about it just yet from that POV.

That said, I would work on his responses to dogs if you can - start far enough away that he's not overexcited and reward everything calm and relaxed with high value treats (cooked meat tends to work best).  Then gradually work closer, moving away again if he gets giddy.

I also agree with Tommee that he may not actually need 2 hours a day.  I was reading a very interesting blog yesterday about this very subject.  Can't find it now but I'll post the link if I do.  It was about a small study looking at exercise vs. rest days.  Summary version is that dogs were happier and more relaxed with 3-4 rest days per week (with mental stimulation available) compared to those having 45 minutes' walk per day.

I've been feeling bad about my dogs only getting one 40-45 minute walk a day for a long time but realistically, they are happy as long as they've got something to do in the afternoon.  Abe in particular (very high energy dobe) is better with rest days, even though he does need a good hard run when he does go out to keep him steady - the off days are as important as the running days, for him.

Yep, put that down to a bad week of poor owners.   I suspect from what you have said that you have been far more affected by it than Mylo.   Some dogs just don't like some dogs simples.  I wouldn't over analyse it, just find ways to get Mylo more happy and focussed on you.  Out with the bag of fab treats and don't let your dog hang around waiting for an unleashed dog to come over to him, jolly him along in a firm calm manner in another direction.    We've all been there, hopefully you wake up tomorrow with a new plan of action after sleeping on it.