I have a rescue male Rott. It attacked me yesterday when I was peeling scabs off his muzzle. I was bit in the arm and chest. Can I train this out of him?

Hello--I learned a lot from reading your web site. My dog and I need help.

I think my dog has "fight drive," to put it nicely. He otherwise is a very good, well-trained, obedient, Rottweiler, but when he gets angry he is practically unstoppable.

It's a problem for me, mainly because he attacked me yesterday. I was picking some dried scabs off his face ...I know it didn't hurt him because the scabs were practically falling off. He was growling, and I was warned, but I couldn't resist. So he bit my hand, and I pulled away, then he bit my chest. He wanted to attack me some more, but luckily another person was there to pull him away. He seemed insane!

All I did was scream at him, then yell at him to "lay down," and I tied him up on the front porch all night.

I am hoping that I can train him out of this bad behavior. I don't want to put him down.

I got him from the pound in January 2002. He had been abandoned. He is an obviously purebred Rottweiler, and otherwise very well trained, and otherwise very sweet and loving.