My dog is about 2 years old her name is Kiki, and she has quite a bit of behavior issues. Most of them are due to the inexperience on my part as she is my first dog. She's a sweetheart at home and a very good dog most of the time but in certain situations she has a lot of areas she lacks training in.
(1) She doesn't know how to play with other dogs
I think this is mainly because we took her to the dog park when she was too young. I don't remember how old she was but it definitely influenced her. When we first got there she would box with dogs, the other owners said it was okay they were playing. So we kept taking her, but she's bitten two dogs twice and one bled. My dad said it was because they were bothering her, that she didn't want to play with them but they bothered her anyway. Regardless, I'm still worried. Because of this, we stopped taking her to the dog park. I'm not sure what I should do?
(2) She doesn't know how to greet other dogs
I think this is due to the fact we took her to the dog park so often. I think along the way she forgot how to greet dogs. Every time she sees another dog she growls and barks, before she used to just look at them, sniff at them when they came up to her. But now, she gets all excited barking and growling. I don't believe she is aggressive but perhaps playful? Maybe its just me not wanting to admit my dog is aggressive but thats why I'm asking.
(3) She pulls a ton on leash
I tried training her with conventional treats and cues when she's behaving but she doesn't respond to treats outside. Outside, she's so focused on everything around her she pays no attention to treats. She jumps and barks at cars too, I've tried training her to ignore the cars but she doesn't care about food outside. Now all I can do is hold her collar and harness so she can't jump but I'd really like to train her out of this...
Thank-You for any insite you can provide, I take full responsibility for her behavior as I am an inexperienced owner.

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She actually has one already, and we've been using it for a long time but she hasn't improved..

Hi, welcome to the forum! I know she's 2 yrs old but it sounds like you need to enroll in a basic obedience class. They will be able to help you teach her where she's lacking. I've adopted dogs much older and the first thing I do is enroll us in class.
Good luck, post some pictures when you get a chance

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She's actually taken one, she did fine with basic commands like sit and come but I think I need a class that focuses on walking on leash training and socialization..

Yes, there's lots of classes you can take. I continue training my dogs for their whole life because it's fun, it's something we can enjoy together and it keeps our bond strong.

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I've not been to a dog park yet where there have been perfectly balanced dogs to socialize my dogs with. I wouldn't focus so much on her "not getting along with dogs at the dog park" because truth of the matter is a lot of people bring the most difficult animals to the dog park to socialize them.

I would just keep walking and walking with her and eventually they will learn.
My Hubby did that with our dog and she learned to walk so well on a leash.
I think more obedience classes would help and it would help her to greet other dogs, too. I would tell them the problems you are having, before signing up for them.

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Tonka & Tucker

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