[Mahealani770]

Hello friends,
As most of you know, Nicky is a rescued Pom, 4-5 years old, neutered, and is the only "child" in the house. I have no idea what his previous existence was like or if he shared it with another animal but I've noticed that Nicky can be somewhat aggressive towards other dogs. Anytime another dog tries to come touch noses with him, he growls and sometimes snaps.
Our next door neighbor owns a Pitbull named Buddha and she is the sweetest, most well-behaved, non-aggressive dog I've ever seen. She wouldn't hurt a fly and that took some getting used to for me because she is a stocky, powerhouse of a pit, and looks very intimidating. When we're walking Nicky and Buddha tries to touch noses with him, he growls and snaps or worse. Buddha just stands there and eventually walks away but it's nerve racking to me because Nicky is so small and he's attempting to take on a Pitbull who could rip him in half, if she wanted to. Nicky is usually overly submissive with me and my partner except when he's guarding his rawhides or guarding my partner (We're working on that).
I want to take Nicky to the dog park but I'm afraid of what's going to happen if I let him off of his leash. I know that he probably couldn't do much damage, but I don't want another dog to do serious damage to him if he decides to pick a fight. Nicky just doesn't seem to have been socialized and he is signed up for obedience classes but they don't start for another month.
How do I correct him when he growls and tries to bite? Is it just a warning or is he really serious? I'd like to socialize him and just let him run and play at the dog park but how should I go about doing that, if at all?
Thanks,
Mahealani