Still agressive after so many things..please read.

Dakota1 states:
 
"The one thing we noticed is, all the times he bit Jenn, it has been "that time of the month"  and  "These attacks come out of nowhere. Jenn can do anything with him for a month, then BANG, Dakota snaps."
 
Come on all you trainers and behaviorists out there, this one is easy.
 
 
 
 

So, by appeasment, does that mean he is nervous? Depressed?

ORIGINAL: adogwhisperer

Dakota1 states:

"The one thing we noticed is, all the times he bit Jenn, it has been "that time of the month"  and  "These attacks come out of nowhere. Jenn can do anything with him for a month, then BANG, Dakota snaps."

Come on all you trainers and behaviorists out there, this one is easy.

 
Our behaviorist at Cornell has stated she saw this before. So I guess it can happen.

Have you ever met with a behaviorist?

Here's my two cents:

I just bought 2 great books that might help you,

"On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals"
Turid Rugaas

and

"Scaredy Dog! Understanding and Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog"
Ali Brown

Based on the behavior you describe, your dog sounds shy and reactive. Your girlfriend's loving attempts at dominance may be making the dog more afraid. I thought I was doing ok with my ACD mix, then I read calming signals, and realized all the little ways I handle her that keeps her edgey. Now, her ears lay back less and she's "smiling" a lot more these days; the result of fairly minor gesture adjustments on my part.

Fear aggression is tricky!
Please read the info on this website and join the yahoo group to help you address your specific issues:
http://www.goof.com/~pmurphy/shy-k9s-faq.html

I wish you the best.

So, by appeasment, does that mean he is nervous? Depressed?

He's trying to please her. He's probably nervous, since she's nervous, and he's such a sensitive guy. I have a dog like that. If I think about leaving, she's sitting by the door waiting. If I'm mad at someone, she won't let them touch her. My mom gets nervous about her going on trips, and when she sits on (nervous) Mom's lap, she trembles. It's amazing, how connected they can be with people!!! If your girlfriend is scared, he could be afraid based solely on that.

Please don't take his food bowl or toys away from him.  There is nothing to show that this establishes "dominance" over the dog and everything to suggest that it will actually cause possessiveness.  Instead teach him to "trade" items he has for a special treat or higher value toy.  Start with low value items and work up.
 
There is no need to take all his toys away - leave a few around for him to play with by himself or chew on if it takes his fancy.  Rotate these to keep them interesting.  Keep ones that you play with him with out of his reach and retain control of these at playtime - maybe use them as motivators to refresh things like heel, sit and recall.
 
Have you started NILIF yet? 
 
I would also suggest that your girlfriend handfeed the dog for the next couple of weeks and get him to do simple things like sit/stays, handshake, lie down etc. for his meal.

Unfortunately the incidents are not really out of no where, it is just that the signs are very subtle and they are being missed by the folks around him.  Consider the meds, it will level the playing field while you put management and training in place.

If he is not crate trained, (sorry you already addressed that)  get a crate an use it for feeding and confining when observation by you is not possible.  When he is out and about with you work on PERFECT stays and PERFECT cease and desist commands.  This will give you more options to prevent a problem using redirection.

Consider the use of the pheremone DAP (used in vet offices for calming)  There is considerable evidence that this is an effective support to managing stress related behaviors.

There is a high probability that Jennifer is very clearly communicating fear or anxiety around the dog.... I know I  be would being bitten that many times without apparent warning, it is practical survival instinct kicking in.

In addition to your work with the vets, contact the cattle dog club and see if you can find a mentor through the club you can help you with breed insights.

This is  a really tough situation,  although my GSD never bit anyone (I was lucky and very careful about management) it has been a long and stressful 13 years.  The only reason I have relaxed even slightly is his age has made him quite infirm. 

"Jenn really has done a lot to prove to him she is alpha."  
"She can take the toy away from him but you can tell he doesn't like it."
"When Jenn comes home from work, Dakota will almost cower and stay away from her for about 15 minutes. Same for her Mother."
"One other thing, Dakota does that "nervous yawn" thing when jenn is around."
 
 
I think Jenn's work to "prove" she is alpha has totally backfired. The dog is afraid of and nervous around her, and when she does something the dog perceives to be threatening, like suddenly reach at him or even move too quickly near the dog, especially with food around, the dog bites.
 
What kind of training class was this she took the dog too- a traditional train-by-corrections class, using a choker?
 
also as chuffy points out, you are going about training away the resource guarding wrong. Just taking food and toys away from the dog just makes the dog nervous and more prone to guard in future. You need to play trade games and convince the dog that if he gives you something, he gets something better in return.

dakota1, I am just curious, what did you do when Jenn got bit? First time and the time after that? Also, what did Jenn do?

Before you neutered Dakota, how was his relationship with Jenn? Did she practice taking his food away then? Or, did she start doing these things after she first got bit?

Spaying and neutering increases the chance on hypo-thyroidism. Increased aggression, fearfulness or hyper-activity are some of the side effects. Just something you might want to check on with a vet.

How and what have you been doing to show Dakota your leadership/etc.? Maybe Jenn needs to learn a few things from you?