Most of the time I find answers scattered through out the web site and I know you covered fear biting , and yes I've read every single section. I have a situation that has me a bit confused I'll lay out the facts:
1) I own a 9mo old male American Bulldog (save the comments, I've worked Mals and GSDs- sell it to somebody else) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
2) I did the research spent almost a year finding pup, both parents passed breed suitability tests, temperment tests, extensive working and conformation titles through line, OFA/ Penn Hip etc... this was a repeat breeding so i went and took a look at first litter when they were about a year old before buying this dog at 9wks. All had great stable temperments and still do, many fine working dogs from this breeding. So far in the last year I have managed to see 10 out of the 12 dogs produced from the 2 breedings. I have watched them work and show.
3) My dog has been showing a little territorial type behavior and some mild defense I attribute to entering that puberty stage. Becoming vehicle protective lately.
4) Not much of a dog fighter but he is game for it if challenged. I now kennel other dogs I own after reading a little more about "pack drive" theory.
5) Seems to be a bit soft, handler sensitive with me, a real stern command/correction and he tucks tail becomes submissive. (this seems to be common with ABs) He is a bit dominant though on other hand he wont "down" for my girlfriend.
6) He has been socialized to my standards with family , friends, vet, walks through neighborhood, kids, and rides around in truck on occassion. I do admit I don't go out of my way to socialize him with strange people.
7) On a few occasions he has growled at my 3yr old son....of course my son was using him as a trampoline. I do not tolerate this and subscribe to the "make him think he is gonna die" and then I correct the kid. Problem seemed to be solved.
8) He has some obedience thrown on him usual sit, down , stay heel. Not strict but he does what I tell him when I tell him.

Here is what happened:
While at a working seminar and show he aggressed at a conformation judge. It was the third day there , he had already been shown by my girlfriend once and a prior judge had checked his teeth etc with no problem, tail wagging. Next day the judge of a different race checks his teeth then walks behind my dog.(this judge was reaching down and grabbing tails to check length) When he got behind, the dog began growling and turned trying to bite the guy. Tail wasnt tucked but he was hackled. I spoke with the judge later who is a well respected trainer, judge and regional director of a certain major protection dog sport group and he felt the dog had serious issues, completely fear biting and I should take a hard look at what to do with him. This has never happened before. On a few occasions he has growled at strangers tail up, hackled. There are some other factors, a six hour drive to the event, the place was like a dog park full of other male dogs (I know, i know), he was in strange environment (first show) strange people, and some asshole was lighting fireworks off night prior which had half the dogs psycho resulting in a working event being cancelled.
I blame myself for alot of this, I know the first step is to pull my head out of my ass and think about what I am doing. My concern is this am I making excuses for the dog's behavior? Sometimes as owners/trainers we overlook the obvious because we are in denial. I know you are brutally honest and I can take the heat, this is something I want to be MY fault. Is it even fair to expect a working dog (prospect) to be so social he stands and lets strangers grope him? I think my dogs nerves were shot, but I have a hard time taxing it up to being a fear biter.....Mabye weak nerves , but how hard is he suppose to be at 9mo really? I can fix socialization problems and expose him to new things but this guy has given me a complex about the fear biting, if thats the case the dog is done. Please give me some direction on this I hate to get rid of him because I had intended on not only titling him but making him a foundation stud for my program. thanks in advance.

Mike

I do admit I don't go out of my way to socialize him with strange people.
Doesn't that say it all? And who else was the judge to your dog but a 'stranger'.

To start with, I wouldn't judge a dog's future just by one episode. Did you familiarize the dog with the show procedure, have someone act as a judge and go over him? If not, he's probably pretty normal to be a LITTLE wary or unsure, but to actually erupt into trying to bite is a little off the deep end for me, especially at his age.

Rather than depending on this one time to make any assessments, just try to have an objective eye when he is faced with new environments in the future. And you have to make those situations happen, take him to a lot of new places, around a lot of people, etc., and see how he acts. Be aware that there is a big difference between a dog with sound nerves/temperament and one who can be conditioned to accept new things. The first is breedworthy; the second can be a very good dog in the end, but shouldn't be bred.

Thanks Lee, makes sense I just wanna make sure I'm on the right track. He may be a great dog but you are right if the nerves are weak its back to the drawing board for another dog.

Jenn-- I think you missed the point on the socialization...i dont doubt that he could use some more exposure to new things but remember he had already gone through the same routine with another judge the day prior. The dog was exposed to 10-20 other "strangers" who physically touched him that weekend with no problem. Between friends, family etc...he is regularly around alot of other people. I just got home from the RV lot he came with and the saleman (stranger) pet him no problem. No i probably dont socialize as much as I could, but I dont think he should be suffering from being completely unsocialized either. And yes he was run through the show procedure by another breeder who helped us (stranger also) prior to show and no problem then either. This is why I am questioning my own judgement on this one. I even have the incident video taped and have watched it to see if there was some body language by the judge...i can only speculate. Thanks for the input mabye purposely put him in some environments to test those nerves ?

Quote..."Is it even fair to expect a working dog (prospect) to be so social he stands and lets strangers grope him?"

If you are going to compete with this dog in conformation...you bet it is. It's not only fair, but required. At 9 months of age, that behavior would concern me greatly, but one incident does not totally condemn the dog. I would be really aware, and try not to transmit your worries down the leash to the dog... very hard to do when your concern is a possible bite! The really rough part to come to terms with is: the dog was fine for several inspections, and one time it was definitely not okay with him.

It is such a heartbreaking thing when a dog with tremendous potential in conformation, and working abilites to boot, falls short in one area or another. Sometimes you just can't do it all. Aggression towards the judge in conformation will not be tolerated by any breed. I think showing a dog that you are fairly certain will not allow inspection is certainly not fair to the judge, and very irresponsible. In any case, dogs like this )in my humble opinion,) should never be bred.

I really hope it works out for you and your dog...best of luck to you!

Thanks Sandy. You hit the nail on the head "heartbreaking". I watched the video again today and I can clearly see the change in my dog from playful and a bit aloof to insecure or possibly a bit civil. The judge stood above him , grabbed both sides of the dogs head and held him there looking down at him (at his teeth , face , etc..) for about 20 secs , tail slowed to a stop....hair hackled. Then the judge immediately walked behind the dog.I am not making excuses for the dog. Bottom line is he did what he did and he will have to be closely scrutinized. His conformation competition may end with one 1st place win <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
In any case thanks for the time and advice especially when I'm a bit down about all this.

I might add the judge was a good sport about it. He didnt disqualify my dog. He simply stated he didnt feel comfortable placing a dog that tried to bite him....makes sense to me.

Michael, you kinda left out a bit of important info, bud! You didn't tell us the judge grabbed the dog and stared him down hard. That changes things a bit...not that I approve or condone his behavior, but the judge sure did challenge the dog with his actions if he did as you described, which set up the insecurity when he went behind the dog. Did the judge just stare the dog down while being still, or was he examining teeth, etc and not "locking eyes" actually?

Lee,
Ya i know i left that out. Somewhat on purpose because until I got home I was watching it on my video camera with a 2in screen and hadnt had the chance to see it a little better. Yesterday was the first time I sat and really studied the tape. And to be honest I can only say what it looks like from the video....and it appears that he is looking directly in the dogs face, cant tell if he locked eyes. You can see him kinda look at each side of his head, and yes check his teeth, but his body language in my opinion was challenging. There was a considerable amount of time where he kinda sat back and just looked at the dog while holding his head. I hate to speculate or guess. I have a hard time believing an experienced judge would do something that stupid ya know? We all know how easy it is to put a dog in defense with just the eyes.... But I also would think it probably unnerved the dog more than anything being 9mo old. He is still immature and far from being a civil adult. But lets assume this is what initiated the problem, because there are many indicators that it did. What do you think about the dog's temperment and reaction given this information?
Mike