I have made a lot of mistakes with my dog that I’m now trying to correct.

He’s a 5 year old mutt, approx. 30 pounds, male stray that I’ve had since approx. 6 mos. old. He’s always been a quick learner, quick to housetrain, crate train, sit, shake ect. Unfortunately, that’s about all I taught him as a puppy, he never went to obedience school and in my opinion is not socialized enough at all.
He’s territorial aggressive, from what I’m gathering. It’s gotten to the point that strangers cannot come in my house, although people he knows (my parents) he has absolutely no problems with. He’s never shown signs of aggression towards me, not even with toys or food.
It all began with snapping at a friend who walked into the house unannounced and leaned down on the couch to say hello to him (where he was laying), and it’s ended up that he attacked my boyfriend upon entering the house.
What I’ve done so far:
After he bit the first person (he’s bitten 2 people, both guys I have dated) I read up on some things and diagnosed a dominant dog. We did some things to change the pack order of the house, the “ignore” thing, he was not allowed to sleep on my bed (the dog bit someone while they were both on the bed), more recently the dog is not allowed in my room, nor on the couch. We also started obedience training thru a local trainer who used the clicker/treat method, which he responded to but I lost confidence in the trainer when she had my boyfriend come to the third session (in my house) and Gilmore tried to attack him while he was leashed and all she had my BF do was throw treats at the dog. Not effective.
My BF talked me into a prong collar and training him myself, so I purchased one and have just purchased the Basic Obedience video from this website (hopefully will arrive tomorrow or Monday!!!) and am very excited to begin this. The only thing I’ve done with the prong collar so far is taking him on walks and having him wear it in the house when I’m home. He has responded very well on the walks, I make him sit when I stop, I make him heel (I have been using the command “walk&rdquo when he sees another dog/cat/person. But I haven’t started correcting him in the house because I wanted to make sure I watch the video first and do it right (I’m hoping the video covers this?).

Here’s the deal, I know the dog needs discipline, and he has made tremendous strides. We both have. But I’m concerned this won’t be enough to overcome his territorial aggression, I want to be able to have people come in the house without him going berserk. Can he overcome this?
Also, what is the best way to proceed in introducing strangers to the house, by stranger, I mean my boyfriend. He just wants me to put the prong collar and a muzzle on (he’s never worn a muzzle) and correct him when the dog lunges and tries to bite him, there has to be a better way to do this! We have differing views on dominant/aggressive dogs, he wants to challenge the dog (eye contact, etc.), I want to set the dog up for success.

Any advice you could give Gilmore and me would really help. I don’t want to lose the dog or the boyfriend <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Pam,
You and your BF can meet each in the middle. He is right about the muzzle, wrong about eye contact. Get a basket-type wire muzzle which will allow the dog to pick up treats. Have your BF come in carrying treats. With your dog on a leash and a pinch collar, try to make him sit next to you while the BF gets inside. If the dog lunges, correct him, and make him sit. The BF should sit down on the floor and slightly extend his hand w/treats in it. If and when the dog settles down, give him some slack on the leash, a release command if you have one, and see if he goes for the treats. If he does, praise him calmly. NO EYE CONTACT from the BF during all this--he should have his head turned away from the dog. If all goes well, and the BF decides to stay, put the dog away—do not overwhelm him. This may take awhile. Keep the muzzle on the dog until you are 100% sure that the dog is happy to see your BF. All corrections should come from YOU, not the boyfriend.

Thanks for your reply Renee!
I'm a little leary of using treats, not sure why I think it's just from what the previous trainer did. I will give this some further thought and see how his training goes (with the video) before we try this.
And I will look into getting a muzzle. Those nylon ones they sell at pet stores look odd fitting, I'll look for a wire basket one. (Boy that should be fun getting him used to one of those!)

Another question: Is there any benefit to having him meet my boyfriend say, at a park a few times before he comes over to the house to try this?

Thanks again for the advice. I've been doing a lot of reading here the last week or so and look forward to any other helpful hints!
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Pam,
The treats are not for the purpose of rewarding behavior; they are for the purpose of creating a positive association with your BF. Food can be a great way to break the ice with a dog that isn't sure about your intentions.

Another question: Is there any benefit to having him meet my boyfriend say, at a park a few times before he comes over to the house to try this? Sure, it could help, especially if your dog feels comfortable at the park. If he meets your BF in a neutral location and gets familiar with his scent, it may be easier for him to accept your BF in the home. But don't assume that just because he's OK with your BF away from home, means he will be OK when your BF walks in the door. It is a completely different situation, so you will still need to take precautions.

Pam,

Your previous trainer isn't totally wrong to use food. Food is number one currency to a dog and every dogs needs food.

Renee and Lisa is both very correct. Get the wire basket muzzle nit the nylons and make sure it fits well. It would be an ugly sight and will set the wrong inprint if it suddenly comes off during the confusion. Get him to wear the muzzle and go everywhere with it. This will get him used to it. Best is for him to think that muzzle means get gets to walk in the park and everything nice comes with the muzzle. Once he is well adjusted with the muzzle, start at a neutral location with your BF feeding him. Then try other neutral location and slowly move nearer to your house like the walkway, porch and set up for success.

You need to be very patient as a 5 year old dog isn't going to be reconditioned that fast.