responding to other dogs

[karateblossom]

ok so we go out every day at a specified time, me n odin, to pick up the kinder kiddo pack member from the bus stop.  We practice walk and heal (he can let his prance get the best of him but his muzzle never gots more than a foot ahead) and stop and wait with leash draped over his back...we live in the country.  Monday, spazz lab who is sweet but master of escapism from neighbors home is lounging in neighbors yard.......he approaches me n odin.  I say to max......aaaaa nnnnt Ki don't use no with odin, just the annoying sound above) to max but ears up n tail waggin (collared, tag, shots good etc) he keeps approaching.  Odin whip tail is beating me senseless but he does his best to stay in a heal and we continue our walk.  Max drops back about 100ft and he sits when odin n I stop at bus stop.....
Odin whines towrds the direction the bus will come (i SWEAR he is calling out my sons name) and then buss arrives and all is good.  As e walk back down the street, max is still sitting then walks towards us to greet us....tail waggin.  OK so now we are trapped but odie is on leash w reg collar n both dogs...ears perky n tails waggin heartily.  sme sniffin takes place then maxes ears lay flat n back and that head lowers and his lip lifts and those teeth are exposed and he gives a I'M GONNA SHRED U TO BITS growl.  Odin just about rips my pinkie off my hand (200 lbs of .....OH SH%#! jumps away).  Max doesn't back down n odin is like wtf!  To bring odin back to MY control, he gets a muzzle tap and a very strong aaannnnnnt!  he's  like.....oh man, I wanted some of that. 
My question is what causes a dog to show perk and nonthreatening signs then all of a sudden that meanie side?  moments later, the postman came and max was like....rowww, rowwww, rowwwww and approached the mailmans truck.  the neighbor came out and called max firmly but max just kept at mailguy then sat in my yard and watched as I held odin back n the 5 yo retrieved my mail.  It was perplexing for me cuz max is usually swet but he n odin do not socialize but I let the sniffing commence due to positive signals.  did I miss something from max?   

[London_Pyr_Lover]

Could it be that Max is an Intact male?  Is Odin an Intact male?  If Odin still has all his stuff, that could have made Max react that way because after the initial sniff he felt threatened.  Maybe?  I'm sure someone else will have a better idea of what I'm trying to grasp at. 

Question is, is your dog now safe, because you say that Max is an escape artist, is there any way he could get into your yard and start something?  Maybe you should talk to your neighbor (nicely of course) about working with you to figure out a way to keep Max in his own yard.

[karateblossom]

That would make sense....I'm not 100% sure but I think maxie is snipped but odie is "intact"!    odin is a 100% indoor poocher so he has never been out w/out human support so an unknown attack would be unlikely.
I've spoken to the neighbor several times (we are friendly) and he is very frustrated with max's escape methods.  He has replaced his fence to keep max from getting out and an electric fence (but wife has an issue with cruelty using the fence)....I'm pretty pooch tolerant (although NOT SO TOLERANT with cats running free) so maxie isn't  a real threat.  he's gotten in our trash a few times (but neighbors come pick it up).  They are very nice people and keep maxie inside now but on occasion, that turd bolts and u can hear them outside trying to g

[maxsmom]

The fact that your dog is intact, I have been told, can cause other male dogs, fixed and not, to be more aggressive towards him.  I have the same problem with Max.  He is intact and some male dogs seem to want to attack him.  He stands his ground and looks down at them, with a WTF expression on his face.  He won't run, or back up, but he doesn't respond aggressively either, unless the other dog is on our property.  I know he would fight back if he were bitten, because he does with Jake, but so far so good.  If Cody or Jake is with us, when other dogs growl at Max, they react strongly.  They look at Max like they are not sure what his problem is and then try to get to the other dog.  I think it is kind of like a big brother taking up for a handicapped sibling who is being picked on.  I call Max my ADHD kid.  He is so good natured that he is just a big goofball.  Another thing you might want to consider is your neighbor's dog may be trying to be aggressive in order to be defensive.  If he is smaller than your dog, he may be afraid of him and thinks that by growling and acting aggressive, your dog will leave him alone.  Lots of dogs will do this with bigger dogs, as a defense mechanism.  I would definitely talk to the neighbor again.  They need to find a solution for keeping their dog under their control.  If they don't feel that they can keep him out of your yard, could you and your neighbor get the dogs together and let them get to know each other.  Maybe if you let them do a meet and greet, both on a leash, repeatedly, they will acclimate to each other and it won't be a potential problem down the road.  If they happen to get together, maybe they would actually play.  I wanted to do that with my neighbor's dog, but Jake would probably eat the pom.  He is not tolerant of small dogs at all.
Kathy

[karateblossom]

kathy,
that makes sense.  I can be a ding dong at times and I never thought about a leash meet n greet with maxie! We live on a bay just off the coast n just a minute from the water and it is remote....ther e are so many people's puppers that are roamers (my fav is the chicken s all bark no bite dachshund that odin loves to run after) but we also have gators-found a 10.5 footer just a few houses over in july/aug so I'm sure roamers go missing frequently.  That being said, I'm so use to the country dogs that occasionally bless the area n just never thought about it w/ max......HOWEV ER, I SAW the neighbor w/ max on a leash today so my guess is that max is now being leashed while outside.   
Odie is a big dork and luckily, he's never been aggressed before  except by the other neighbors dog on leash and goof ball took the other dog jumping on him in a playful way until he'd had enuf snd the he just jumped up (stood up-at 6ft tall) and the other cowered down.  But maxie, he's a smaller  lab mix so I guess that would explain his reaction.  Thanks so much.  i'll let u know how it goes w/ the meet n greet....maybe this weekend would b a start!