How can I get my beagle to be nice to other dogs?

I really want my dog ( 9 year old male beagle) to be nice to other dogs. I have a lot of friends with dogs and we want to walk them together but mine always growls and tries to fight their dogs. He lived with another dog the first 4 years of his life so it isn't that he hasn't been around dogs enough...what can I do to make him be more friendly?

find him a gf.

Beagles have a stronger pack instinct than almost any other breed, so that is not normal.

Yes, but the dog he's lived with is part of his pack. This is why when people buy a puppy they still need to get out and socialize it with other dogs besides the ones that live in the house.You can try looking into an obedience class or something, but given his age I think the best you can hope for is for him to ignore other dogs on walks and focus on you. I'm not sure how likely it's going to be for him to be playful with other dogs.

With your dog being older, you might be expecting the impossible.Isnt there a saying about not being able to teach old dog new tricks. Not sure if I agree with that since my son taught our 6 year old cocker spaniel to sit and stay at that age.You might try taking your dog to a dog school. I know we learned alot from the school when we took her. I know for us we really enjoyed the Pet Smart training school and it was equally learning for us as it was for our dog.When that dog passed away and we got a new puppy we took her to the puppy school and it helped us alot with the training. Wish you the best with trying to teach your dog, but dont be surprised if you dont. Just keep loving and caring for it. It does sound like it has been 5 years since you socialized your dog with other dogs, so now it might not be use to being around others of it kind.

Take him to an obedience class where you can get training on how to help him and he will be around other dogs in a controlled environment with an experienced person to help. Even if he knows all basic obediance it is great to bring him just for the socialization.

training and socialization....i suggest researching that is breed specific