Has anyone else dealt with this problem? - Page 1

I have a 6 month old puppy and he's very aggressive towards other dogs when we're on a walk and he has his leash on. Otherwise, he likes other dogs and always wants to play with them. For some reason, when he's on leash and we walk by another dog, he starts barking and lunging toward the other dog. Anyone have any suggestions to break him of this habit?

LOL!  Ever watch 2 guys in a bar fight?  They are always tougher when their buddies are holding them back! 

Vickie
www.PowerHausKennels.com

When a dog becomes aggressive on leash it's because he can't do what his brain would tell him to do.....meet the other dog. Preventing them from greeting can cause them to bark, be fearful, or react in a way you don't want. It's your job to teach him to pay attention to you.  With my Husky pack I have trained them to be neutral when other dogs are around.  If they meet, they meet, but it's a normal sniff, and everyone moves along after that.  I know how to read pretty much any dog, and when to address the situation (if we are walking down the road and there are off leash dogs, and there are many)  Your dog is just a puppy, take it slow, use whatever will distract him from looking at the other dogs.  What you should do is distract him at the first sign of him looking towards another dog......eventually with age you can start to give corrections on leash depending on your dog to ignore them.  If you distract him at the very first sign then you should be able to.......if you wait until he is already barking and lunging then most likely he won't listen.

He's just showing off.

Socialize, train, and allow time to mature.
I think Vickie has a point.

gsdguy08 is spot on with his advice.  I dont think he is showing off as such, and I would beware of waiting until he matures.    I am sure Two Moons means differently, as she has some great posts on here and really knows her stuff, perhaps like me sometimes, she has come on, answered quickly, and not as in depth - but the post above Tow Moons is exactly the way we deal with this at our training school, at whatever age, and it hasnt failed us.   Mo   Mascani.

When my pup was young I was making sure the social with people that I almost forgot the dogs at the end of leashes. I took her to puppy classes, and a rabble rouser group to learn social meeting with strange dogs on the end of leashes. 
Always,
Cee

have a toy and treat, and get her attention is the leash that creates the tention most of the time, rather than any kind of aggression. The dog needs to learn to ignoer other dogs and focus on you. If you keep your leash tense you sending the wrong message to the dog. Keep in mind that leash is a form of communication. rather than keep it tense pop it to get the dog attention and reward once she dose it.

Two Moons has three legs, 
itsa guy thing.....lol.

I was being a bit flip in my response, sorry.

The dog must pay attention to you regardless of the distraction, the distraction is a signal to pay attention.
I do this early on with the long line.
Socializing around other dogs is best done while they are young, and its safer than trying to go up to a strange dog later and expecting them to just say hi. 
Dogs off leash can be a problem if you cannot control your own.
Maturing just means experience with a situation.   Any situation with another dog can go wrong in a hurry, knowing your dog and having foresight on your part is important.
Control is important.
I have a place to train where the local bully thinks he owns the park, he puts on quite a show.   Actually there are two of them, but one is old and slow and only barks, the other approaches and threatens.     I have my dog sit and we stare him down until he realizes we're not running away.   Then we move towards him, take a few steps and do an about face.
He's already moving away when we turn.   We don't threaten him, just let him know we are not interested.
We do mix with people and other dogs but they are not strangers, best thing to do around strangers and their dogs is just keep moving, give them space and really just ignore them.   Anytime I feel a problem we stop and let them pass, or turn and change direction.
The dog does pay attention to you, and your emotions make a difference, important to remember.
If your dog is distracted, make a sharp turn or about face to regain his attention, then stop and allow the dog a moment to think about what just happened.   Praise when the dog responds to your satisfaction.
Don't try to meet and greet every Tom, Dick, and Harry you encounter while walking, it encourages the dog to break concentration on you and sets a bad example for the dog.
Avoid places where dogs run loose, especially if there are more than one.   You can't control that situation.