Etiquette for Dogs- How to Teach Your Pup to Avoid Scuffles
There are two very important things to dogs, these are personal space and possessions. When dogs are together they spend much of their time communicating to each other about each of these assets.  When one dog crosses the line by either getting too close or trying to take a possession of another, scuffles can happen.
A polite dog will- not make eye contact (look away, have squinty eyes), act distracted when approaching another dog (displacement sniffing), approach from an angle (not straight on to a dog’s head), keep their head lowered, not have tension in their body. These polite actions are often called calming signals. When displayed by a dog other dogs tend to calm down, they know this one isn’t looking to start a fight.
When polite dogs meet each other they quickly say hello by sniffing each others rears. Polite dogs don’t sniff for too long or force their nose too close.  You can allow your dog to sniff but not for too long.
I know one concern that owners have is that when walking they may encounter another dog that will cause some trouble. The best way to keep your dog out of trouble is to teach your dog to keep his eyes on you. Teaching him to respond to his name by looking up at you will force him to do the look way from the approaching dog.  Another method if a dog is approaching is to have your dog sit. This is a neutral position and a signal to the approaching dog that your dog isn’t into starting something. Your dog will probably be happy to display this behavior because he isn’t being submissive or showing dominance.