Not sure what to do with my dominant aggressive dog.

For what its worth, he showed signs of trouble from the start when I adopted him at three months. He was food aggressive, which I was able to train him out of (yay, I haven't failed at everything), he would get fixated on people and animals (not aggressively), would bully grown dogs until they avoided him, and, although he loved people and hated being alone, never showed any desire to please or interest in his owner's feelings.  All this despite my attempting to raise him the Cesar Millan way.

I hate to tell you this but using the methods Millan uses has probably contributed to your dog's aggression and it's certainly going to continue to make it worse if you keep it up.   Domination theory is going to get you in more trouble if you continue trying to dominate your dog. Your Vet is obviously not keeping up to date on training and behavior modification and is not qualified to diagnose behavior problems.  

If you decide to work with this dog the first thing you need to do is condition the dog to wear a basket muzzle.  Don't just slap it on the dog.  Search online for a video showing you how to use positive reinforcement to teach your dog to happily wear a muzzle to keep everyone safe while you train.

Taking something away from a dog and you got bit.  Think about it.  What would you do if you had something and someone came up and tried to take it from you?  Especially if that someone had in the past bullied you and demonstrated he was willing to physically try to dominate you.   Your dog was resource guarding.  A very common behavior in dogs.  You also mention unprovoked aggression.  I seriously doubt your dog is displaying unprovoked aggression.  Most people who believe this is happening don't recognize the warning signals dogs give before they bite.

If you're truly interested in working with your dog read some of the following articles.  Get the book Culture Clash.  Start using positive reinforcement to get the behavior you want.  Stop punishing.  Punishment causes aggression to escalate and it will not stop the problem.  Here's some reading material for you.  I hope you're willing to read and learn why the methods and theory you're using aren't working.  Good luck.

drsophiayin.com/.../dominance

Dr. Yin's website has a ton of articles and free videos on aggression and how to deal with it.

news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx

www.whole-dog-journal.com/.../Alpha-Dogs_20416-1.html

www.apdt.com/.../dominance.aspx    

Well, I just accidentally delete my response for the second time, so I'm just going to briefly say a few things and provide details later if necessary.

First, I'm willing to believe I'm making things worse, but I don't think I've made him aggressive. I've never really been harsh with him.  Kinda funny you would think so since I have been told I made him aggressive by never being tough enough with him.

Second, I understand why Ryder would want to keep my bag of bacon, but I can't let him devour my bacon just to avoid upsetting him. And he tried to attack me. And I have a three year old brother. I'm not trying to blame the dog for his response, but a dog that responds dangerously like that is not safe around children.

Third, most of his aggression has been bullying to get what he wants. Like five minuets after encouraging me to pet him he snaps at me to tell me he is done. I guess you could say that example was provoked since I didn't recognize when he wanted to be left alone. His behavior is still inappropriate.  And lately he has been growling and lunging at me for no reason I can figure out in the car, where we both sit in the back. He loves car rides and unprovoked (unless he could possibly be mad at being restrained).

And I have read into positive training already, but I've not seen anything about how to deal with bossy aggression besides learning to live with it. I'd be willing to read some more though, and am working on your links. Thank you so much for taking the time to give me advice and links.

What do you mean 'accidentally deleted'. Were you on a tablet or PC? The only reason people lose their responses is if they click back on their browser or click outside of the text entry box on a mobile device. Be good to know what you were doing to see if we can improve it.

I pushed the backspace button and my laptop acted like I clicked the back button and took me to an earlier page.  It only did that twice though. The other times I pushed it while typing didn't affect anything.

I agree that a dog that's biting is not safe around young children.  The  three year old should be taught to not interact with Ryder.  Keep them separated.

A lot of what you've described sounds like resource guarding.  It's normal for a dog to want to keep what it has to itself and to do what it takes to prevent someone from taking it.  It's true that you need to be able to take something away that's unsafe.  You can teach a dog to "leave it" and that allows you to get something from the dog if necessary.  Here's a video on how to teach that cue.

www.youtube.com/watch  

and another one from the same trainer.

www.youtube.com/watch

Here's an article on resource guarding and ways to deal with it.

www.peaceablepaws.com/articles.php

You should consult with a trainer or behaviorist if you want to try and rehabilitate this dog.  It's important to find a trainer that does not use any type of Cesar Millan methods.  Using force or punishment when dealing with aggressive dogs has been proven to make the aggression worse.  This is a link that has a lot of info on how to find a trainer or behaviorist in yourarea and how to choose the right one.  Sometimes people say they can't afford it but it's generally cheaper to consult with a professional than to deal with a serious dog bite to a family member or someone else.  It may save your dog's life.  Having a young child in the home makes it even more important to get some help.  Obviously you want to help him or you wouldn't have come here asking for advice.  It could be that euthanasia is the best option but you should give Ryder a chance to learn how to be a better dog.  

www.dogforum.com/.../finding-trainer-behavior-consultant-behaviorist-113946

Good videos, thanks! Ryder actually already knows the leave it command, he just often chooses to ignore it.  I had never heard of the 9/10s rule, that was very interesting.  I desensitized him to me messing with his food when he was younger. I essentially followed their peaceablepaws outline except that I would take away his bowl if he growled. Not sure if that was so smart, but it did seem to work. His new aggression now has been occasionally growling/snapping when I pet him, occasionally snapping when I physically restrain him, and weirdly, randomly turning on me during car rides. And of course the latest, bacon possession. I've already looked into a behavior specialist, and  I can't afford complete training from him, but I'm thinking about trying one or two. Also, it turns out the only behavior specialist in my area is a positive trainer. Which should be interesting since literally every single person I've talked to personally is traditional.  But whatever actually works....

I hope you do give the behavior specialist a chance.  Good luck.  

Jackie wonderful advice!