Hi All, I have previously outlined the difficulty I have in keeping Nero calm during training class however he has improved loads in the past few weeks and is now one of the best in the class (If I do say so myself).  But another issue has now arisen!  Last night for the first 15 minutes he growled constantly at the other dogs.  There is one dog in particular that he doesn't seem to like (same age as Nero, 12 months) but he was growling non-stop (A really deep constant growl) at everyone.  I was quite embarrassed and didn't know what to do.  Eventually I took him outside for a breather and he was much better afterwards, by about 20 minutes into the class he was totally fine again.  My question is firstly any ideas why a normally easy going boy who LOVES other dogs suddenly became apparantly aggressive and secondly if he behaves the same tonight how should i react/deal with the situation.

Any thoughts appreciated.

just out of interest, what did the trainer do and say?

Hi Morgan
The trainer told me to stop Nero from making eye contact with the other dogs and try to continue as normal.  I spoke to him after class and he says its fairly common in adolescent males and that he thought there was no real intent behind the growling but he didn't really give me advice as to how to prevent/deal with the behaviour when it occurs in future. 
Rach

It is a bit like human males they feel the need to look and act tough but are actually far from as confident as they like to make out and feel quite threatened/frightened by other males.

I would take him straight out of the class the minute he starts.  If possible get someone he doesn't know well to take him out, he will like that less.  Don't leave him out for long, bring him in without making a fuss of him and keep doing the same if he persists in growling.

You are just showing him his enjoyment will be stopped if he growls. 

It is a male age thing, don't worry too much.

Ok, will do that tonight then.  every time he growls Ill take him outside (Or see if there are any spectators that could oblige!)  Interesting about the reaction being born out a fear rather than agression Brainless, is it just his hormones that would make him fearful of other dogs or do we need to do anything to overcome this?  He plays fine with all other dogs that we meet - I suppose then they are usually off lead though.

Being on lead will make a difference I think, also being in an enclosed area.

Trouble during puberty other dogs will view him as a potential threat, a yougn pretender, no longer a puppy with puppy license, so no wonder they are worried, as males will be a lot less tolernat and he will be less inclined to be told off.

I would not allow my dog to practice any behaviour that I found undesirable.

Also, you may be storing up future trouble between your dog and this other one that yours is eyeballing.

I do not allow eyeballing, it is very intimidating and it is often the eyeballed dog that gets into trouble after having to endure long sessions of intimidating behaviour by a dog whose owner has not recognised this.

Growling is a sign of being under some sort of stress too, so taking your dog out of the class will relieve this stress........ and give him time to recover.