When dealing with dog-to-dog aggression, it is important to listen to our dog.
There are many reasons why a dog may act aggressively toward another.
- He may be afraid.
- He may be stressed because his space is being violated.
- He may feel the need to dominate.
- He may be protective of us.
- He may be very curious.
- He may just be over-excited.
Sometimes, what we perceive to be aggression may be the result of hyper energy, eagerness, or natural inquisitiveness. Therefore, in dog-to-dog aggression cases, it is important to understand what our dog is feeling, and what he is trying to say.
When my dog meets a new dog, I observe both of them carefully. As soon as my dog starts to get stressed, I step in and interrupt before the situation escalates.
For dog aggression issues, it is best to take a dog’s age, health, temperament, and preferences into account, while coming up with appropriate solutions.
1. Be Calm and Decisive
Dogs are very sensitive to what their human is feeling. My dog picks up on my emotions and reflects them, except with much more intensity. Sometimes, I am not even conscious of feeling nervous or stressed, but my dog notices it and starts to act up. Once I consciously calm myself down, his behavior also improves.
A common mistake when meeting other dogs is to tense up, and get fearful of what our dog may do. If we are afraid, our dog will pick up on that fearful energy, and that will likely trigger an aggressive reaction.
Be careful not to put undue or continuous tension on the leash. Also, do not pull the dog straight back, as that will likely cause a lunge forward response. To remove my dog, I pull him to the side and quickly walk him past the other dog.
2. Teach Our Dog Avoidance
When I see another dog, I usually just ignore him and move along.
I have found that avoidance is most effective when I avert my eyes from both dog, as well as owner. I keep my eyes forward, and keep walking at a natural pace. In this way, my dog learns that when we see other dogs, we avoid rather than confront.
Be careful not to crowd our dog while walking. If he feels trapped between us and the other dog, he may think he has no choice but to react aggressively. Do not stand still while trying to tug our dog away. Move away, and he will come along with us. At the same time, we are creating space so that he will not feel trapped.
I do not let my dog obsess or stare intensely at other dogs. Sometimes, my Shiba Inu will drop into a stalking-down-position, stare, and wait for the other dog to pass. Some people think that he is such a good boy for doing a Down, when other dogs are coming toward him, but he is actually just waiting to pounce.
Do not allow this bad behavior, do not let our dog practice it, do not even let him think about it. Just move him along, and ignore. If the other dog is somehow blocking us (e.g. if the owner is unable to control his dog), then walk away in a different direction. Do not stare the other dog down and do not confront him, either through posture or by physically engaging him.
Challenging unknown dogs is a good way to get bitten.
3. Create Space or Block the Other Dog
We can do this by moving across the road or into a driveway, and waiting for the other dog to pass.
We may also move our dog behind a barrier, for example a car. If there are no barriers available, we can try blocking the dog’s view with our body.
By doing this, we avoid a head-on, more confrontational passing.
I have tried all of these blocking techniques, but what works best for me is to create space, and quickly move past the other dog. Whenever I wait for the other dog to pass, my Shiba uses that time to start obsessing.
Dog treats and trying to get his attention do not work at this point, because the other dog is too close, and Shiba Sephy is no longer listening. The advantage of walking Sephy briskly past the other dog, is that he has less time to stare. In addition, he cannot fully obsess, because he must partly focus on walking.
However, using barriers and blocking may work better for a fearful dog.
Some trainers suggest turning and walking away when we see another dog, rather than passing him or waiting for him to pass.
There are two problems with this method:
- If we turn away, the other dog will be following us. This may cause some dogs to keep looking back, to make sure that the follower is not a threat. I have tried this, and indeed my Shiba keeps looking back.
- If we keep turning away, we may meet other dogs and get boxed in; especially if there are many dogs in our neighborhood.
4. Create Neutral Experiences
I try to create as many neutral dog-to-dog meeting experiences as possible. If every time my dog sees another dog, we just pass by and nothing interesting happens, it will become a non-event.
Being consistent with neutral greetings will build our dog’s confidence. Through repetition, we are teaching him how to behave (just avoid and move along), and how not to behave (get over-excited, frustrated, lunge, and pull). He will be more calm because he is not waiting in anticipation of a highly charged encounter, either for play or for confrontation.
I try to set my dog up for success, and do not let him practice aggressive behaviors when meeting other dogs. The more he practices, the more aggressive he will be.
If my dog becomes agitated during a walk, I try to end the outing as soon as possible. Once in this mode, his adrenaline levels will be high for a fair duration, and he will likely react aggressively to all the dogs that we meet. In this state, he will no longer be capable of learning, and will only be practicing dog aggressive behaviors.
5. Protect our Dog
I usually keep my dog away from people and dogs with weak energy (e.g. fearful, excited, or frustrated energy). In addition, I also try to keep other dogs and owners from coming into my dog’s space. I say a quick ‘hi’ to the people I meet, and move on.
If people with weak energy stop and want to meet my dog, I ask them nicely to please move on, because my dog is easily excitable.
It is fine and good to let a dog meet people with calm energy, but make sure to let them know how to best meet our dog. In particular, turn away when he jumps, no quick movements, and no petting from above.
6. Keep Greetings Short and Sweet
While greeting another dog, we want to positively interrupt our dog every so often, and get him to refocus on us. Do this as many times as necessary, so that our dog does not get over-excited, and lose control of himself.
Whenever my dog is meeting a new dog, I interrupt him after a very short duration (2-3 seconds). I quickly move or jog away from the other dog, while giving the positive interrupt command, e.g. Hey, hey. Initially, I may have to lightly tug at my dog while moving away. I make sure to treat him well for moving toward me on a loose leash.
If our dog is too obsessed to move away and is strongly standing his ground, then we have waited too long to initiate the interrupt. Positive interrupts are also useful for dealing with human greetings, and getting our dog away from a dirty or unsuitable area.
The key to successful positive interrupts is to catch a dog early, before he starts to obsess on another dog or object.
7. Be Aware of Aggressive Triggers
Some dogs, for example Spitz-type dogs, have a natural look that may appear dominant (ears up, hair out, tail up). This dominant look may instigate other dogs to respond in kind, and start posturing as well. Conflicts may occur, and if neither dog is willing to back down, this may lead to a dog fight.
If I am unsure about a dog greeting, I just move on. Better to be safe than sorry.
8. Desensitize our Dog to Other Dogs
The problem with dog-to-dog aggression issues, is that in regular situations the “other dog” stimulus is too strong, and environment is too unstructured for any learning to occur. Often, our dog overloads quickly and becomes reactive, because the other dog is too close, is staring, is hyper, or is charging toward us.
In the desensitization process, we do training in a quiet, enclosed environment, and start with a very weak version of the problem stimulus. In terms of reactivity toward other dogs, we can use distance to weaken its effect.
In this way, we also weaken the strength of our dog’s reaction, so that he will be calm enough to listen and learn. This is necessary, to create opportunities where we can begin to teach our dog to be calm and relaxed, while in the presence of another dog.
I did quite a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization sessions with Sephy, when he was young, at our local SPCA. The trainers there had many balanced, friendly dogs, that we could do training with.
First, the trainer would engage the other dog in training exercises, so that he stays in a fixed position, and is not focused on Sephy (i.e., no eye-contact). Both dogs are on-leash.
I take Sephy a far distance away, far enough away that he is still calm and able to listen to me. Then, I get his attention by calling his name. If he looks at me, I praise, and treat him for behaving well. Sometimes, I also ask him to do very simple commands, e.g. Sit.
I let Sephy sit and watch the other dog as long as he is calm, and willing to give me his attention when I ask for it. Once we are both comfortable with this, I move one step toward the other dog and repeat the Focus and Sit exercises above.
Do not move too close to the other dog, too quickly. If we move forward too fast, our dog may become reactive, and will no longer be able to give us his attention. At this point, I no-mark Sephy (uh-oh) and move back a few steps. Once we are far enough away, I try to get his attention again. When he gives it to me, I stop, praise, and treat.
Note – for desensitization to be successful, we want to keep our dog below his instinct threshold as much as possible.
I always try to make sessions short, fun, and rewarding. This helps our dog associate other dogs with being calm, and with positive experiences. I make sure to stop before my dog shows any obsessive behavior, and long before he becomes aggressive. Once a dog becomes reactive or aggressive, it is usually best to end the session soon after.
As we make progress, we can slowly increase the strength of the problem stimulus. For example, we may allow the target dog to start moving around, or we may allow him to play with his handler.
The desensitization process can be long and difficult. Dogs with lower instinct thresholds (the point at which they lose control and switch to instinct) will be harder to desensitize. However, consistent practice will also help to raise this threshold.
What to Expect from Dog-to-Dog Aggression Training
Do not expect too much, too quickly, from our dog. Make sure to treat and praise him very well, if he voluntarily engages in avoidance maneuvers, when there are other dogs around. This includes looking away from the direction of the other dog, smelling and exploring the environment, or looking at us for direction.
Initially, treat and praise even small avoidance moves, for example looking away for just 1 second. If a dog will not accept treats from us, then he is too far gone and it is best to lead him away. Treats are only effective for shaping behavior when our dog is still thinking, and not operating on instinct.
If we keep practicing desensitization exercises, and teach our dog how to behave with other dogs, he will improve. As he matures, he will become more confident, be less dog aggressive, and be more comfortable around new experiences.
For aggression issues between two family dogs, here is more on how I help my dogs get along.
My daughter infrequently brings her mixed-breed dog to visit. On the last visit, my Flat-Coated Retriever and her dog were playing with a ball, which is one of my own dog’s most prized possessions. Unfortunately, her dog managed to retrieve the ball about 5 times in a row. My dog suddenly and viciously attacked her dog. He has never shown a slight bit of aggression in the past so I’m wondering if somehow we managed to exceed his frustration level. Should I have my daughter bring her dog back, and have her play with her own dog fetching the ball while my dog and I sit back and try to calmly watch? Would that desensitize my own dog? Any other suggestions? This is really bothering me because I’ve never seen this in him in the past 4-5 years I’ve had him. Thanks~
Hello Sue,
What you describe sounds more like resource guarding.
http://shibashake.com/dog/why-dogs-get-aggressive-over-food-toys
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
With my dogs, I set up clear play rules and I supervise during play. I do not allow any stealing, I manage their excitement level with play-breaks, and I make sure that play is fair, positive, and inclusive. I try to set my dog up for success by removing high priority objects, and redirect his behavior before any conflicts arise.
With desensitization, I start with a very weak version of the trigger stimulus. If the trigger is an object/toy, then I do desensitization with my dog by starting with a very low priority toy, in a quiet area, and without any other dogs around. I start small and then very slowly build up.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent. A dog’s behavior depends a lot on his temperament, past experience, surrounding environment, daily routine, and more. When trying to change my dog’s behavior, I first try to understand the source of his behavior – what triggers it, whether it is from stress, fear, anxiety, protection, or something else. The more I understand where my dog’s behavior is coming from, the better I can manage, redirect, and retrain it.
More on how I change my dog’s behavior.
In this article, I talk about Sephy’s dog-reactive behavior. In this case, the trigger is another dog, and not anything else. Sephy gets over-excited when he sees another dog, doesn’t know where to put his energy, and starts acting crazy. Other dogs may become reactive out of fear or nervousness. However, aggression can also arise from *many other sources*, including protecting resources, physical vulnerability, etc. Retraining behavior depends a lot on the source of the behavior.
This is why in cases of aggression, it is usually better and safer to get help from a good professional trainer. We visited with several trainers during Sephy’s difficult period.
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
hi i heard about this website i thought it was cool because i need help with my dog her name is misty and she is part begal and we think collie mix and she has a problem with other humans and dogs at my aparment area but what is strange i let her have a puppy sitter with other dogs she was fine even with her other people with dogs there and she almost hurt a tiny dog i was walking her at my m oms andall the sudden one tiny dog went rushing torward her i hold her and kept her head up so she couldnt bite the puppy she almost got its side of its body and this dog to misty it could be a chew toy not that she is really large but her agresion i saw all her back hair up please help im 11 soon to be 12 and i dont know if im strong in oder for her not to hurt or to get hurt by other dogs she thinks she is tough im worried she gose to a mean dog who is large and dose that stuff
Have you talked to your parents about this? What did they say?
Dog behavior is very context dependent, i.e. it depends a lot on the temperament of the dog, his past experience, his surrounding environment, daily routine, and more. To keep my dog safe and to keep everyone else safe, I got help from several professional trainers when dealing with my Shiba Inu’s aggressive behavior.
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi, my Yorkshire terrier has become very aggressive and even went for another dog, this has been since he was attacked by a dog that said hello and then turned on him, what’s best for me to deal with this?
Dog behavior is very context dependent – so each dog and each situation will be different. This is why in cases of aggression it is usually best and safest to get help from a good professional trainer.
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
When I was having issues with my Shiba Inu, we did private lessons with several trainers so that we could focus on his most difficult issues. It also allowed them to observe Sephy, read his body language, and guide us in retraining his behavior. With Sephy, I wanted to make sure everybody stayed safe, and that we properly diagnosed the source of his reactive behavior.
Desensitization exercises helped Sephy to become more calm around other dogs. I talk more about desensitization and the other things I did with Sephy in the article above.
I recently adopted a 3 yr old from a local shelter (they claim she’s an akita mix, but she looks like she has some pit, and other breeds in her as well). She’s very good around people, but very excitable. Unfortunately we soon discovered that she has major aggression problems with other dogs. If the dog is far away, she’ll pull, or at least stare. If the dog gets close, she’ll instantly start barking and growling, and trying to lunge at the other dog. I haven’t even been able to have her successfully meet another dog, because this happens every single time. This makes it very hard to socialize her, as I can’t safely get her close to another dog. Would you recommend starting off with the desensitization exercises as you talked about above? Thanks!
What I learned, the hard way, with my Shiba Inu is that I want to maximize successes and minimize reactive or negative encounters. With Sephy, socialization is not just about meeting lots of different dogs, but about meeting them in a positive, structured, and calm way. The more calm successful events we have, the more Sephy learned, and the more he improved. Similarly, the more reactive encounters we had, the worse his behavior became.
More on dog socialization.
A good article on dog social boundaries.
An article from BadRap on dog tolerance levels.
In the beginning, I took Sephy to the dog park, but his behavior quickly became much worse. The environment at the dog park was often chaotic, unstructured, and mostly unsupervised. Sephy would get over-excited, become reactive, and he was starting to get rough even with me.
Therefore, I stopped going to the dog park and started doing desensitization training. Desensitization exercises were helpful for Sephy. During regular walks we avoid and create neutral experiences. Structure, consistency, and routine also helped.
Note though, that dog behavior is very context dependent, so I always make sure to adapt strategies according to Sephy and based on our particular situation. For this reason, we also visited with several professional trainers to get advice, a new perspective, and also to train with balanced dogs.
Thank you for asking this question! For our three years with Mifflin (a 5 or 6 year old female American Bulldog), we simply avoided other dogs on walks and kept going and she did just fine.
Then, a setback: she spent a bit of time with our brother in law’s dog over last Christmas, a smaller dog who ate her food and nipped her heels, and since then she’s been VERY reactive on walks. Her previous owner had a small dog that bit and scratched her, and it took a lot of work to get her calm on walks again around other dogs. We recently tried a “meet and greet” with our new landlady’s dog, a smaller dog (smaller than Mifflin, at least), who is allowed off-leash sometimes (something we don’t like) and Mifflin lunged and barked, flanking the dog. Luckily, she responded to me and calmed down, but not without leaving my landlady feeling like our dog is “aggressive and dominant.” I feel very sheepish about Mifflin’s bad reaction.
I’m going to take your advice and continue as we were, to walk her assertively and gently, crossing paths with other dogs but not pausing. We’ve heard that her breed tends to not like other dogs once they get older. 🙁 She’s so good with people, though!
Also wanted to say thank you for your candid and thorough writing here! I’m finding all of your training advice extremely helpful.
With Sephy, we also did a lot of desensitization training to raise his reactivity threshold and to teach him new ways to cope with his over-excitement and stress. We did the training at our local SPCA, under the direction of a trainer. The trainer would pick appropriate dogs that we could train with, and then we would train several times a week under the trainer’s direction and guidance.
Desensitization was a very important part of Sephy’s re-training process. Creating neutral experiences and minimizing bad encounters prevented his behavior from becoming worse. Desensitization helps to improve Sephy’s behavior, by helping him to be more comfortable and calm in the presence of other dogs.
The article was very helpful. A few questions about my two year old lab/hound mix. We rescued our dog when he was very young, we were told he was 9 weeks, but when we first brought him to the vet she said it was closer to between 5-6 weeks. As a puppy we had him around many dogs and he was always good with them, he would play and not be aggressive. Lately, around some dogs, when I take him on walks he gets aggressive and lunges toward some dogs, but not all. He gets along great with say 75% of the dogs we encounter, especially the ones he knows and has played with. What can I do to help my dog feel more comfortable and safe and not be aggressive toward the other 25% of dogs he lunges at?
Different dogs have different social tolerances, and that may also change with experience, maturity, etc. Here are two articles that I like on dog social tolerance-
http://www.badrap.org/dogdog-tolerance
http://www.suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/he-just-wants-say-hi
My Shiba Inu was a pretty reactive dog when he was young. He got too excited, and as a result, many dogs did not like him invading their space. At the same time, he has certain interaction triggers such as butt sniffing, which he views as a threat when coming from unknown dogs. If he feels under threat, and his warnings are ignored, he will use force to protect himself.
He gets along well with larger, easy-going, playful dogs.
With Sephy, the first thing that I did was observe his interactions closely and try to identify his social boundaries. Then, I set him up for success and I do not expose him to situations that I know he cannot handle. The more calm encounters we have (even if we are ignoring and just passing), the more likely Sephy is to stay calm in the future. The opposite is also true.
Most of the time, we just move along and ignore other dogs. I use distance and barriers as necessary to weaken the “other dog” stimulus. When he was an only dog, I set up structured and supervised play-groups with friendly neighborhood dogs. We don’t go near dogs or people with nervous energy or over-excited energy. Sephy still does not like strange dogs butt sniffing him, so I also protect him from that.
When he was young, we did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. This helped him to be more calm around other dogs, and it also taught him what to do when around other dogs. I talk more about that at the end of the article above.
Another related article I wrote on the friendly dog.
I have a 5yr old rotty X akita. She has been the perfect dog up until about a month ago when she developed a chest infection. Since taking her to the vets (without any problems with other dog) shes had 2 fights where shes fighting to kill. Then straight after shes wagging her tail and back to normal. She didnt give off any warning signs prior to the events. Now she has to wear a muzzle on walks. I cant work out what could be the trigger. I also have a 2yr old son which im scare of walking the dog with him incase she fights again. She knows that im top dog and try to reassure her without speech or touch. But now suddenly shes not reacting to it. And i certainly dont want her to suddenly feel the need to challenge my son.
Did the other dogs come over to her and invaded her space? What were both dogs doing leading up to the fight? What was the body posture of both dogs like? Was your dog staring at the other dog or doing something else? Is she fully healed from the chest infection or is she still recovering?
Dog behavior is very context dependent, so when troubleshooting my dog’s behavior, I try to observe very closely and take note of as many details as possible. I also use distance and barriers to weaken the “other dog” stimulus and most of the time, I find that it is best to avoid and create neutral experiences.
Given that there is a young child in family, I would get help from a good professional trainer. A good trainer can meet and observe the behavior firsthand, within the context of our dog’s regular environment and routine.
http://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
More on dominance and aggression.
More on dominance and bad dog behavior.
I recently adopted a male German Shepherd (5 Months old) and whenever he sees a dog he stands there staring or he either try’s to bark at it and go to it. Recently when I was walking him with my brother there was a dog walking freely (my neighborhood has a lot of dogs and they don’t use leashes.) so the dog came up to my dog in its face, at first my dog was wagging his tail then he stopped and lunged to bite its face but it escaped fast enough not to get bit by my dog. I don’t know if he’s playing with the other dog or actually trying to hurt it. He’s not aggressive at all with people and is very calm.
Each dog is different and will have different social boundaries.
For example, my Shiba Inu is generally calm and friendly with people. However, when we go to the vet, he will not let strangers stick needles into him. If he thinks he is under threat, he will fight back.
Sephy is very good with dogs that he knows and trusts. He is calm with new dogs, but there are certain things that he does not like, such as butt sniffing. Here is why. I try to observe each of my dogs, and understand their social boundaries. I protect them and make sure *not* to expose them to situations that they cannot handle, and feel they have to resort to aggression. In this way, I set them up for success.
The more successful experiences we have, the more positive social lessons they learn, and the better their behavior becomes. Similarly, reactive/aggressive encounters will worsen their behavior and set back training.
I talk about some of the things that I do with my dogs in the article above. Here is more on dog socialization.
When I have having issues with Sephy, I also visited with several professional trainers. Because dog behavior is so context dependent, it was helpful to have a professional observe Sephy and help me come up with a good training plan.
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Your article is really intresting! i have a male goldenretriever, he is 2 years old! he is really calm and NOT aggressive! though at my place we have many dogs in our neighbour that they obviously have owners, cause they wear collars though they are free on the streets! most of them become really aggressive and sometimes i have used water to make them go away! that works most of the times but they are others who do not fear it! today we came face2face to a male german shepard! i said my dog to sit and i stand in front of him to make them avoid “contact eye” and the gs left! i ll try to use next time most of your tips 🙂 thank you!
My Shiba is a female, 5 yrs old, she has always dominated my 7 yr old male Lab. Very snippy, vocal, aggressive over toys, food, me, my food, my space. She does not like other dogs either. Last year she was viciously attacked ny a pitbull, he had her by the throat shaking her, when I was able to get him to let her go, she had a large hole in her throat. I took her to the ER, there was bruising & internal tissue damage. In October, she was spayed, in November we moved out of the house she was raised in, left the state, moved in with 2 roommates, she didn’t know & another dog lives there as well. She has been attacking, biting, drawing blood, screaming, at almost every turn lately. She has attacked my dog, the roommate’s dog, a neighbor’s dog & has even been snapping at me. Something has to be done or we are going to lose out place to live, she is going to get impounded, possibly put down. I love her to death, I can’t stand the thought of losing her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Dog behavior is very context dependent. For serious aggression issues, it is best to get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Sephy, my Shiba, really needs his consistency and routine. Whenever there are changes in his environment and routine, he gets really stressed and his behavior changes.
When we moved houses,
1. I quickly set up a consistent set of rules and a fixed routine in the new place. I have house rules, dog-to-dog interaction rules, dog-to-people interaction rules, walk rules, play rules, etc. In this way, Sephy know exactly what to expect from me, from the other people around him, from the other dogs around him, as well as what we all expect from him in return. This creates certainty and helps to reduce stress – for everyone.
2. I increased the amount of positive, structured exercise. We went for long walks in quiet hiking trails, which are low stimulus, low stress, and where Sephy can have fun exploring and smelling. This gives him a place to put his nervous, stressful energy, and helps him to relax.
3. I increased the amount of supervision so that I can properly manage Sephy’s day and environment. I make sure to set him up for success, provide him with enough positive structured activity for his Shiba energy, and at the same time, I can redirect undesirable behavior before it escalates.
What I do to help my dogs get along at home.
4. I also did desensitization exercises with Sephy to help him cope with his stress triggers.
More on dog anxiety.
5. The key with Sephy is not only to maximize successes but also to minimize failures. Management of his environment is very important, so that he does not keep practicing bad behaviors. We also visited with several trainers, and spent a lot of time desensitizing him to other dogs, under the direction of a trainer.
Hi i have two dogs, one is the mother, she is nearly ten, and the other is the son, he is nearly 4. When walking them, being aggressive towards other dogs isn’t a problem, and I’m always confident when I walk them that we’ll pass by other dogs without any problems. However I really want to start letting them off the line, but can’t because they’ll attack any dog passing by. Even when I pass other dogs the younger one will try to attack. Usually he never gets far but when he does he will attack any dog that crosses his path. And the mother will join in. They’re Goldens, so no one really expects them to be aggressive and are completely unprepared. We recently moved in to a neighborhood with lots of other dogs, and I just want to know when they are not in my control, how can I make sure they and the other dogs are safe?
To keep my dog and other dogs safe, I need to make sure that I am there to supervise, and that I am in control even when my dog is off leash. Some things that help me stay in control when my dog is off-leash-
1. Very strong recall training (come when called). Here is an article from the ASPCA on recall training techniques.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/teaching-your-dog-come-when-called
2. Management of my dog’s environment. I do not let my dog go off-leash in high stimulus areas that I know he cannot handle. I always start small, and very slowly build up his tolerance.
3. Desensitization training. I did dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with my Shiba Inu to teach him to stay calm while in the presence of another dog. I talk more about what I did at the end of the article above.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent. Therefore, for aggression issues and dogs with a bite history, it is best to get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/