Please help my dog's barking/aggression problem!! :(

*** Coles notes at bottom for the time conscious ;) ***

I have a dachshund that's almost 2 years old...his name is Piper and he is the only dog in the house and he lives with my Sister and I. Ever since his 1 year old birthday he has started barking (and do dashshund bark LOUD!!! (for their size)...anyway) and he especially likes barking to other dogs. We were sure to properly socialize him when he was still a puppy (took him to obeidence classes and he usually had fun playing with the other dogs) but a few months after the classes ended, when he was looking out the porch door and a dog walks through, he will just BURST into barks like he wants to kill the other dog...usually this scares the hell out of everybody within the house since the barking is so loud and sudden!!

Anyway when we walk him in the park, he would bark at other dogs very loudly and pull very hard on my leash and try to run to the other dog..usually the other dog will be intimidated by his barking and fall back, OR they will take it as a sign of aggression and fight back. But the funny thing is, IF I do let piper off leash while he was barking furiously, when he ran up to the other dog he will stop barking and sniff the other dog in a friendly manner...no biting or anything.

So what I am sensing right now is that Piper has a lack of self confidence - he gets imtimidated by the other dog's size so immediately when he seems a larger dog he will run and be the first one to look "tough", but when they both come into contact he'll settle down and play nicely. But with a greeting like this, if I were the other dog I'd surely have a bad first impression him!! And because of this he hasn't gotten much canine friends with him in the park :*( but sometimes there are a few dogs in the neighborhood that are even more "mean" then him - he has been attacked by these larger dogs and I think it might contribute to his lack of self-confidence problem.

So the question is, what can I do to regulate his barking, and help him to be friendly to other dogs?

*** Summary: When I walk my dog Piper, and if he sees another dog in the distance he will bark furiously and run towards them...but when they come into contact Piper will settle down and sniff. However, the barking doesn't make him popular with other dogs. I am thinking Piper is lacking self confidence in his size so that's why he's barking so furiously. So what can I do to make him a friendlier dog?

oh and here's a picture of piper...look at him, he doesn't wanna hurt nobody!! :p

http://members.rogers.com/keith.lau/dog/IMG_0943.JPG

I know there are some products out there to control when the dog "talks". There's a collar that sprays water up when the dog barks or something. Apparently, it works well but I've never tried it myself.

Kai does a bit of this too. He likes to 'talk' to the dog then when he gets there, he's really nice. He's gotten better but when he was bad, I used a halti. When he pulls to go to the other dog, the halti closes, therefore not allowing him to bark. He then has no choice but to walk nicely with me to greet the other dog politely.

Oh, my gosh! Piper is sooo cute! He can live with me, barks and all. :D I don't have any good advice, my pomeranian Teddy is a barkaholic too. We call it "short man's syndrome". We just tell him "no!" and give him a timeout if necessary. So far, it isn't working. lol.