My boxer bitch, aged 16 weeks seems fine when she meets other adult dogs although she does like to jump on their heads, i've taken this as a form of playing(and remove her if the other dogs don't like it) but when we go to puppy class or meet any other pups she growls at them. What i'm asking is, is this normal or is she likely to always growl at anything the same size or less than herself, and has anyone got any advice as how to overcome this issue?  

Some Boxers can be very vocal when playing. Whether this growling that your pup is doing is something to be concerned about depends on how she is reacting otherwise. Are her hackles up at the time? If so, is the hair standing just on her shoulders, or just on her lower back, or both? Is she bowing when growling? Does she interact well with other pups apart from the growls? How do the other pups react to her? Does this occur when she meets older small dogs? What is your trainer's opinion of this behaviour?

If you could give more information I am sure someone here will be able to advise/explain.

Hi
yes she does raise her hackles, on both her shoulders and lower back. The only small older dogs have been old (10 years plus) so i tend to let her say a quick hello and carry on with walking. The one exception was a jack russell who flew at her growling, she just jumped around and then came back around my legs. Puppy class trainer asked this week how things were and i told her i had noticed its mainly at puppy classes when this happens and she reckons that its a little bit of trying to show her dominance with a bit of natural boxer puppy playfulness rolled into one. It didnt help that i had her on a tightish lead, i was told to allow her to greet other dogs on a loose lead so no tension is being fed down the lead.
We met an 8 week old pup in the park today with the mentioned jack russell who again flew at her and she didnt react but came back to my side, she sniffed at the little pup and then wandered off.
Any advice/suggestions anyone??

My young male (20 months) exhibits similar behaviour when playing with my older bitch. I was concerned about it at first but my trainer, who is very experienced, suggested that it was a case of the pup wanting to play but also being rather unsure of his ground. He was showing apprehension (lower hackles raised), plus trying to appear brave (shoulder hackles raised). He also is extremely vocal. When they are play fighting it sounds as though the mother of all fights has errupted - and that is just him, the bitch is silent.

Having a loose lead when meeting other dogs is good advice. I would also suggest that you find a word to signal that any growling has to stop (I use 'mouth'), and reward when the dog obeys.

On the surface it does not sound as though you have a potential aggression problem, but do seek your trainer's advise if you feel that the growling is escalating to something more than normal puppy behaviour.

Hi Sweety,

I've got an 8mo old Great Dane pup who started out like your Boxer pup - she was very boisterous and started to show "dominant" play behaviour like you describe at an early age: trying to jump on other dogs heads, put her paw over their shoulder, wrestle with them. It was OK when she was very young (eg. 12 weeks) but as she's gotten older, it's becoming more of an issue because it often provokes other dogs to attack her (especially the smaller breeds who feel threatened by her) but she now no longer backs down like when she was a small puppy and so things can turn nasty.
I am no dog expert at all (this is my first ever dog) and I could be completely wrong and I dont' mean to scare you but this might be something you need to keep an eye on. I often wonder if I had "corrected" my puppy more when she was smaller and more manageable (ie. not allow her to display such rough, dominant behaviour when she meets other dogs) - whether she might be more gentle in the way she plays now and less "dominant" when she goes up to other dogs - and her interactions with other dogs might be more pleasant. I don't know - But then other people have told me that there is notHING I can do and that it is just her personality and she is just a normal, albeit VERY confident puppy. I do still feel, though, that if I had restrained her more as a young pup, she might not have grown up thinking it's OK to jump on every dog she meets and might have learnt to be moe gentle and "polite' with other dogs.
She is not aggressive in any way, though - I want to emphasise that - and she does not growl when she plays. She is just very rough and dominant - but I just wanted to warn you and maybe prevent you from ending up on the situation I am in now!
Hsin-Yi