I'm not going to directly address the aggression issue, but would like to address the "Koda is an unhappy dog" statement. Since Koda was living with you before the other dogs came around, he should have been respected in his position as top dog amongst the others. The dominant female you mentioned should never have been allowed to attack him, ever, and never allowed to take his bone away, or anything else he was eating. Just cause a dog displays dominance over another, doesn't mean you have to go along with it.

You would have shown Koda you were in charge if you had never let the female try to dominate him. This would have done more to establish your position to him than anything else. Yet you allowed it to happen. In my opinion, anything related to dominance issues with the female over Koda should stop immediately.

The alpha (you) protects each member of the pack. That's your job and the rest of the pack, most especially Koda, will take notice.

Your recent post about the dominant female clarified a lot about Koda's behavior. He just doesn't respect you as much as he would have, had you interfered from the beginning and not allow any dog to dominate him. He deserves the respect from the other dogs that being there first rightly gives him. Another dog continually trying to usurp his position, well that creates problems. You decide who's next in line, not your female dog.

Very well put and I thank you for that advise. What is so stupid on MY part is, I KNOW what I was suppose to do just like you said and I didn't. If I could reach my butt with my foot I would kick it.
I am working on being a better pack leader, especially since you all have given me such wonderful advise. I haven't allowed Sunny to even get near Koda and I won't let her until she learns who's boss.
I tell you, reading your post makes everything so clear to me now about Koda's behavior. He was always dominant but not always grouchy. How could I be so dumb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Quote: sandra faye johnson

Sunny will follow us toward the door and when she can get close to Koda, she attacks him. It doesn't look vicious but it's an attack nevertheless. ... Sunny is so dominant that if any of the other dogs have a chewie, toy or bone and Sunny has the exact same thing, she will leave hers and stand over one of the dogs until they give in to her. Time after time I have witnessed this and corrected her to no avail.

1. Regardless of the ranking .. regardless of ANYthing .. you are number one. You, the pack leader, decide on whether aggression is allowed. In my pack, it is not. Period.

2. Chewies and toys are not left out; you supervise them or they have the chewy in the crate.

3. If you correct a dog "to no avail," something is wrong. Do you mean that you take the chewy back and return it to the dog who had it? See number two.

JMO.

Something interesting is happening within my 'pack' since my original post. Sunny, the Tasmanian Devil dog no longer attacks Koda. She will get close to him but I immediately intervene and make her lay down so Koda can go outside. Since you all gave me such great pack leader advise, I decided to change the way I let the dogs go outside to do their business. In the past, I let them all out together and as soon as they were out the door, Koda would run towards a squirrel he saw in a tree and Sunny was right on his heels. When she got to him she would jump on him, bite him and pull his tail while he barked at the squirrel. All of that has stopped. I now take Koda out with one of my submissive dogs or alone and Sunny goes out alone. Period. She now is very good about coming back in when she finishes and is waiting by the porch door to come in. In the past, I usually had to go out with a leash and get her.
My house is a lot more quiet now than before. In the past, all four dogs would be in the same room with either me or my husband and usually Sunny would start rough playing with one of the others. The running around on the wood floors would make noise then the play-barking would start then the fur would fly. No one got hurt but all this commotion all the time was just too much.
Now that Koda stays in his crate and I am monitoring Sunny's behavior closely, my house seems back to normal. Sunny doesn't get away with anything now. I think back to when she was growing up and remember all the times she was exhibiting dominant behavior but I didn't take it seriously. Little things like sitting in front of me and staring at me wanting to be petted and I would pet her. Now I just ignore her and she goes away. I pet her when I want to, not when she wants me to. When I taught her how to shake hands I didn't think anything of her putting her paw on me without an invitation but now realize she was asking for attention. Every time she gets a correction she will submit but all the while, baring her teeth to me. No growling, no biting,just showing her teeth. She gets a correction for that too. I correct her two ways. One way is like what Cesar Millan does. Pointing a finger and saying, "Shhhhttttt". The other way is putting her on the floor or ground on her side with one open hand on the side of her face and neck and the other hand on her body. I give her the treatment a mother dog gives to her pups. I hold her there for a few seconds then let her up. She shakes it off then walks away. Sunny is incredibly easy to put on the floor because she is so lightweight and lanky and she doesn't fight it. She submits readily, so unlike Koda. I'm hoping one day Sunny will meet a rich dog, get married and move! ;-)

Hey Sandra, I'm glad things are getting better in your home! Isn't it amazing how the most subtle changes can make huge improvements? I'm glad were able to help. One thing I want to say is be careful when "alpha rolling" a dog. I've heard pros & cons from people about that. Cesar is one of my favorite's and that has become his "signature", but he is quite the exception, and most people can get into trouble doing that. Like a bite in the face. I have done it VERY few times with my very submissive girl, but I won't let my wife do it, or anyone else. Just be careful. I like the pointing a finger and "Shhhhttt" a lot better.

Hey Sandra, with you getting results so quickly on these problems I would be careful not to think everything was solved. It can be easy to go back to overlooking things again and have it all come back even worse.

 Quote: steve strom

Hey Sandra, with you getting results so quickly on these problems I would be careful not to think everything was solved. It can be easy to go back to overlooking things again and have it all come back even worse.

Funny you should say that...well, NOT so funny...
Yesterday prior to walking the dogs I let Koda out of his crate and let him go in the den where my husband was watching t.v. I was gathering up leashes and such and thought it would be a little break for Koda to be out of his crate for a few minutes.
Everything was fine on the walk, we even passed by an aggressive dog in his yard and Koda stiffened up but didn't lunge like he used to. We were headed home and rounded a corner when I saw two labs out of their yard on the sidewalk. There weren't any problems until one of the labs decided to circle around behind us while the other lab stayed close to it's yard. I was using a traffic leash and the dominant collar on Koda and my hand and wrist was through the loop of the leash so when Koda spun me around to go after the lab, Koda literally pulled me to the ground, dragging me a couple of feet on the asphalt. In one sense it was lucky that he couldn't break free of the leash but I was injured because I couldn't let go. I had all four of my dogs so they naturally freaked out getting tangled up in the leashes.
After I recovered from this fall I straightened out the leashes and got a good look at both labs. Both were seniors and both were fat and although I knew they were no match for Koda, I was angry that the dogs were out of the yard. I was also upset that the owner was nowhere around although the garage door was wide open and the gate was open. I was also upset that Koda decided to lunge at the dog instead of walking forward like I tried to do. I don't know if letting Koda have that little bit of house freedom caused him to feel powerful or if there was just something about the way the lab circled my pack that made Koda go into a fight mode. When this happened, there was no time for me to even attempt to protect my dogs and I'm just thankful the labs were old and docile. I didn't get angry at Koda nor did I correct him because it was too late. I just composed myself and continued walking home.
I decided from now on I will walk Koda alone so I can have better control over him. I can't put my other dogs in jeopordy if Koda decides to go after another dog.
On a more positive note, Koda is losing some of the weight and I'm not allowing my dominant female to interact with him any longer so Koda isn't attacked by her every time he walks by.
As for the alpha roll, my husband and I are very comfortable doing this and Koda always has a muzzle on. Koda isn't put up much of a fight when we do this and I have to say that Koda's dominant behavior towards us is much less than it was a week ago. This is not to say that Koda is 'cured' by any stretch of the imagination. I believe that Koda will always be dominant and working with him will be an every day effort. I can't let Koda have an inch because he takes a mile.

I notice you live in Orlando, I also do. I've recently started with trainer Ed Reyes with my very dominant 11 month old rescued GSD. I work at a vet clinic and have worked with, trained, and rescued many dogs and Ruger had me beat and I needed help. Our first session Ruger was challenging him as soon as we came out of the car, lunging at him. While Ruger had only shown a growl to me once over a bone (and learned a lesson he hasn't forgot), he was starting to become extremely dominant/aggressive toward new people especially children and wouldn't listen to me at all when he was keyed up by the sight of kids. In our first session he did have to hang my dog, it sounds horrible and cruel but I understand Ruger isn't a happy go lucky submissive pup if he could have reached he would have taken a chunk out of Ed. Of course, even with having seen it done in veterinary work I would never have attempted this without an experienced person. I'll tell you what it got Ruger's attention and 3 sessions later he is a different dog and MUCH HAPPIER. He has no question about his status and knows he has to follow the rules. We still have a lot of work, but so far he is doing awesome! Ed was quite appolgetic that our first meeting had to go like it did and it's not his normal practice. I totally understood.

Dogs like this can become a huge liability. If they growl at us what would they do if by chance they came into contact with someone not in the family. Most people are afraid of shepherds anyway and quick to judge them. A friend of mine got sued by her neighbors and ended up having to move because her neighbors accussed her german shepherds of being vicious and a threat to the neighborhood (her dogs are therapy and SAR dogs and wouldn't hurt a fly).

I know your case is different than mine, your dog is older and double in size, but I hope this was of a little help.

Also if you want a board certified behaviorist, Dr. Curtis I think her name is from University of Florida makes monthly trips to Maitland. Last I heard she goes to Animal Eye once a month and will make house calls.

IMHO, Sandra, you should get Ed's "E-Collar Training for Pet Owners" DVD http://www.leerburg.com/318.htm (it's GREAT and I guarantee you won't regret buying it!) -- Using an e-collar Ed's way is SO humane & it allows little handlers to manage BIG dogs with corrections that are very KIND to the animal, yet produce virtually voluntary obedience <:-)

Kathleen, thanks for your input. It just so happens that a fellow on another forum suggested I contact Ed Reyes and I did. He responded to my email and I'm waiting to find out when he can do an assessment on Koda. Small world, isn't it?
I live in Lockhart off of Beggs Road. Are you familiar with Martin Deeley? He is a professional dog trainer in Mt.Verde, Fl. and specializes in Ecollar training. He has invited me to visit his facility with my dog but I haven't gone yet.

Candi, I have used an Ecollar on Koda and even conditioned him to it long ago but he's an angel when he's wearing it. He could be wearing three different collars including the Ecollar and he still knows he has it on. I really like the collar and think it's a wonderful tool.