I apologize if this is a really dumb question, but I've always wondered what caused a dog to be handler aggressive. I've always assumed that it stemmed from a dominance issue, with the dog trying to assert itself as alpha. I recently read somewhere else that is has something to do with the hardness of the dog.

I'm sure there are different "schools of thought" on this one and some of it I'm sure is environmental not just genetic, but I would love to hear the opinions of the experts on this board.

Thanks!

The thing this is called is a "Rank Dog". A rank dog is one that is willing to fight the handler to attempt to move to the top of the pack.

As with most things dealing with dogs, there are a lot of things that combine to create any set of chacteristics. Several chacteristics seem to be bred in conjunction. Hardness, dominance, and rank issues will tend to occur together. It doesn't always fall that way. Some dogs having varying degrees of each of these chacteristics.

So how do you deal with it? Got a sch2 male that doesn't like to be corrected. Muzzle him and work him in obed. anyway, platz him if he tries to turn?

Angelaw, it depends on alot of things (how to deal with handler aggression).
How long have you had the dog and from what age?
Is he allowed in the house? How old is he now?
If he isn't 'taking' to your corrections well you could try a few dominating 'tricks' that don't involve correction. Dominant dogs read alot into the little details of the way we act. IS your dog dominant or just scared of you?
If its a young dog I would avoid 'fighting' with the dog for a while at least and try to prove to him that I'm the BOSS in other ways. Meanwhile he should be getting used to that muzzle and he SHOULD NOT be allowed to ever get away with any aggression towards you. Just don't push him for awhile. I may be wrong as I know nothing about you or your dog but it sounds like you may be pushing too hard.
Play ball with him and end the game while he still REALLY wants more...
Don't pet or feed him unless he obeys a command or two.
Put a muzzle on him and groom him everywhere playfully.
Most important : if YOU are already intimidated by him try HARD to get over it and RELAX with the muzzles help. THEN begin practicing strict obedience "happily".
Is the dog showing FEAR aggression?
Have you intimidated each other? This can happen if you are correcting too severly.
If the dog gets scared of you, you will have to gain more of his trust through hugs and games.

You may want to see a good professional trainer, as handler aggression is VERY serious. There are alot of exercises one can do before he just all out 'breaks' a dog. That is bad bonding which is worse than no bonding at all.

I've heard from experts that many will not try to take you on as the alpha leader, most will never allow themselves to be less than second. That's with people as well as animals, pets, etc.

Then some the most rank dogs will of course try to take you on to be the dominant. I've heard it's genetic. Some people think this is necessary, but many experts I've read say this is false. A severly rank dog is not necessary to be a top PPDog or PSD.

some dogs are rank, handler aggressive, always fighting for the alpha position.
i personally have no time for this type. i don't think they make good working dogs. they don't want to do what they're told, every day's a battle, and they're so focused on trying to achieve alpha status he can't focus on his work.
then there are dogs that want to be equal or second in charge, and they will accept your position, but they may question it sometimes.
and there are handler defensive dogs that fight you because their scared.
i have a dog that is dominant, but he is handler defensive.
he accepts my alpha status, but he will lash out if he feels a correction is unfair. if he understands the correction, he accepts it.

Corgipower--

Your first two paragraphs above are classic. They deserve to be framed.

Pete

He's a few months over 3 yrs old, got him in April. Took him tracking a month after I got him, growled, hand fed this dog for 2 wks straight. Doesn't like to out toys, auto. outs sleeve (least he respects the helper)He lives in the kennel. Only got intimitaded after I got bit, nothing serious, just bruising and a couple scratches. Still continued working him since I did know that if he won I'd never be able to do anything with him again. "he will lash out if he feels a correction is unfair. if he understands the correction, he accepts it. " This he does as well. He will growl but accept it, but just want to avoid getting bit in the future and trying to figure out the best way to do it. If he's too much, I'll get rid of him. His level of training is beyond what I have for schutzhund at this point.

I have had good luck with rapid fire obedience in this type of situation. So called "puppy push-ups". Most dogs at this level of training will respond to a command without thinking about it. You can use that to your advantage. Move the dog around a bit, sits and downs, anything that you can do quickly. Part of what causes this is the dominant attitude combined with the dog thinking that the way to power is through aggression. The obedience commands teach the dog that you can control him with without having to over-power him. If you have to use corrections make them quick and move on to another command. Don't give the dog a chance to react before it needs to respond to a new one.

do you know what his history is from before you got him? why were they getting rid of him?
this behavior may have been reinforced by his previous owners. if he intimidated them and they backed off for 3 years, it may be difficult to teach him otherwise.
i had to train a dog that tried to bite me. i put a muzzle on him for training. it is human nature to flinch and pull away when you see those teeth coming for you. with the muzzle, i wasn't worried about it. after about a week (and with some dogs it may take longer) he realized he couldn't back me off, and he stopped trying. and i didn't need the muzzle any more.
if this is a fear based aggression, make sure there is enough positive reinforcement when it is deserved.
as for the question of him being too much dog, that is difficult to evaluate over the internet. if you feel he is not something you are able to work with, then it may be best to give him up. there are a lot of nice dogs out there.
maybe find a trainer that is experienced with aggressive dogs--not fluff like clicker training and not someone who just wants to jerk the dogs around. someone who has several tricks and can assess his and your needs and train you accordingly.
and some dogs are not suitable for one person, but are wonderful for someone else. the jack russell on frasier bounced from home to home completely unruly until the right owner came around.