Beach questions (behavior good or bad?)

[AusnAsh]

So I took Asher to the beach today and I think that he did a lot better, but I don't know if I'm reading his body language correctly.

As most of you know, Asher has problems with other dogs. Before his "teenage" years, I fear I didn't do an adequate job with socialization. Now he is a 9 month old intact male with some issues. So we went to the beach and there were less dogs than usual. All of them seemed to be calmer dogs too. When they first approach, he'd drop his tennis ball, run back to me with his ears back & tail tucked, and wait. Once the dog was in 5 feet or so, he'd walk over to the dog and arch his tail up over his back, wagging it widely. His body would be very tall and right next to the other dog. Asher's mouth was also open and never tense. He did this to a few dogs who came over to greet him calmly. By the second dog, he didn't pin back his ears or tuck his tail (the first dog was a large Golden, that's why probably). When he and the other dog stood next to each other too long, I'd walk backwards and offer him an escape. It seemed to work because he didn't really growl (cept for at a chihuahua who growled at him first) and he didn't ever snap.

Sorry that I wrote a bit of a story. My friend is worried that he'll get into a dog fight because of his dog language and I am too. What would you guys do in that situation? Is walking away the best decision? I really want him to become more socialized instead of feeling like I'm cooping him up from the other dogs.

[bwibwigouza]

With Mozart, I find he'll usually greet other dogs fine if I keep the leash loose. He usually avoid yappy and jumpy dogs so those I won't push him to go and socialize. After the initial sniff and greet, I usually take a step back to see if he want to back up of invite the other dog to play. This I find gives him time to rethink if he want to re-approach the other dog or not. If he choose to, I will still keep the play short until after a few regular plays. If he re-approaches the other dog again with front paws up then I'll pull him way back cuz that's what my Mozart does when he wants to engage in "paw swatting" with the other dog.

[Toffee's Mom]

Did Asher go straight up face to face, or sort of sideways, stiff?
Yes, I would definitely offer him an out, sounds like a good day at the beach!
NEVER correct body language, never suppress it, even if it makes ur friend uncomfortable, just reading it is important, knowing when to call him off the other dog and NOT becoming tense yourself.
Often you get dogs to 'shake it off' if they were stiff at first, and don't let him over focus on another dog and stalk... then def put him on leash and walk away til you get his attention back

[AusnAsh]

I definitely try to keep a loose leash unleash he starts to bark at a dog from far away. I'm definitely trying to make positive associations with seeing/interacting with other dogs.

I can't quite remember correctly, but I think that he approaches another dog straight on, nose to nose. He'll sniff then continue to angle himself sideways a bit. I'll pay more attention to the details next time he and I go to the beach.

So not even at all. Alright I can do that. I'll just make sure that he can escape which I've been aiming for. The only thing is that he will bark at a dog in the distance and then sniff if they get close. If he stares for too long, I've learned to make him "look at me" and refocus his attention. The other night I watched a whole series on dog body language via Youtube. It was very helpful