[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Emtnicki-

I have heard from some folks that lowering the protein will help with some forms of aggression. Not sure why or how, but that seems to be a “thing” that some trainers will tell you. With that said-

I have yet to see that solve an aggression issue. You are going to need to work at it. Get him into a basic obedience course so the dog learns new parameters in life-you give a command, he is expected to respond with the desired behavior. Never attempt to force the dog to give something up-each time you “lose” the dog wins. It’s best to avoid the situation and keep things out of his way. If he gets something that you need to get away from him, practice substitution until he knows and listens to the “leave it” command. In other words, bribe him to deescalate the situation and get the object of his desire back. In these cases, I take an item that is “better than” the stolen object-I use hotdogs or cheese and BEFORE the situation arises, I make a big deal of getting the item from the fridge and giving the dog small bites(Open the fridge, get his attention and say the item by name “Who wants cheese??? Whose a good boy?) Then when the issue arises, I casually get the treat, do the routine and within seconds the dog is typically sitting there sans item waiting for the special treat. Its important that you do it when he does not have a stolen item so that he does not learn that the special treat is linked to stealing/guarding items. I then have hubby retrieve the item while the dog is out of the picture, or put a leash on the dog to keep him in another room while I retrieve the item.

This part is going to sound harsh-If your dog is so aggressive that he scares you and will attack you., just who do you think is going to want him? Nice lab mixes are a dime a dozen at the local shelters and rescues and dying every day simply due to lack of a home-Your dog is a lawsuit waiting to happen and in my opinion, if you the owner can not rectify the situation, then you need to have him euthanised. No rescue or shelter is going to take on your lawsuit liability knowingly, and if you lie about his aggression(not saying YOU will, but many owners do) they will pts when its discovered.