My Chow mix has tried to bite several children. Today he almost got a small child on our walk. What should I do?

Dear Mr. Frawley,

I adopted my dog about 2 years ago from a no kill shelter when he was about 8 months old. They told me he was found laying in the street with a bad wound leg from a knife or fence. He is a chow, yellow lab and Shepard or rottie mix. He is neutered.

I took him to obedience training from the very beginning but he would get aggressive towards the other dogs in class and the teacher suggested I put him to sleep or go to private classes. I have gone to private classes with him and he responds well and is not aggressive to the trainer or me. He is not totally trained to come on command but is very well behaved at home.

Walking him is a hassle because he is very aggressive to dogs that come up to him or walk by him while he is on leash and there are many stray dogs in my neighborhood. He bit a greyhound once in the park as I talked to a friend and the dogs walked by us. The dog ended up needing some stitches even though the incident was stopped fairly quickly.

My dog plays well with most dogs off leash but once attacked a dog in my sisters back yard for no reason except we let him out to play with the dog. He used to be very shy around men and other strange people in the house but has become much more accepting of people coming into the house and welcomes them unless they are a stranger to me as well.

I am mostly concerned with him attacking other dogs on leash but today when I was walking him we went passed a young child and his father walking to school. As we passed the boy and his dad my dog aggressively snapped and growled at the child. I am glad I had a good hold on the leash or I feel he would have attacked the kid. Maybe my dog was afraid because the child had a hooded jacket on but the reaction my dog had seemed more than just a warning bark. He also snapped at some little girls who were playing in my front yard and put their faces to my front window. I have since told them not to come into my yard and I put a screen in front of the window so my dog can't see out.

Do you think if I spent more time training him if he would not act out this way. I also feel that he might have some genetic problems that I can not fix. He is very loving to me and I am having a hard time deciding which direction to take.

Please write me back with your suggestions.

Sincerely,
Beth