Need help! Dog showing signs of aggression!

 If it were me I would put it in another room, just to minimize distractions for him (my dog at least can be well on his way to his pillow but then kind of "forget" and get off-course if something super exciting pops up). I don't think it matters a huge deal, though keeping it in sight of the door might take some extra training.
 

What I do with Willow is have her to into another room at first.  Then after she's heard the visitors for awhile and is calmed down I will let her out to say "hi". 

 With a fearful dog (fear aggressive dogs are the likeliest to bite, so please always take more care than you think is necessary) never be afraid to feed the dog like crazy (I would use roast beef, or something luscious that he never gets otherwise) when a scary person is in the home - change the dog's perception of what happens when people suddenly appear, and make him think it's just a predictor that he will be treated very well indeed!  Do not allow anyone to approach him, especially frontally - rather, have them be quiet, not make direct eye contact, present the side of the body, and let the dog go sniff them.  BTW, the Pit half is not your worry (except that people make a big deal of it if anything happens - you're right about that)- it's the Shepherd half.  These are dogs that want to control motion, and are likely to bite from behind as the scary thing leaves, or moves.  So, when the guest is about to leave, or move, take control of the dog - either feed him some treats, get him into another room, or if you have trained "go to place", have him do that.  Don't make the mistake of over-facing the dog, because even once you have him trained, there may be something that is just scary enough to make him forget and exhibit "intelligent disobedience".  Everyone in the family, at either residence, needs to be consistent - it only takes one incident to give him a "record".

spiritdogs

 With a fearful dog (fear aggressive dogs are the likeliest to bite, so please always take more care than you think is necessary) never be afraid to feed the dog like crazy (I would use roast beef, or something luscious that he never gets otherwise) when a scary person is in the home

In my experience, my fearful dog forgets his fear completely when confronted with something delicious, like roast beef. What I would do to avoid reinforcing the fearful behavior is ask for a command first, such as a nice sit/stay or a "go to your pillow" and if the dog does that nicely I think you should be all set to feed away to your heart's content.

Remember, dogs have short attention spans - we can use that to our advantage  

See, Willow's the opposite.  She won't even take food when she's in that state of mind. 

Since you got him from a rescue, maybe he was abused or mistreated by a man.  Just like some dogs have problems with people of color.  Don't know why, but he must be feeling threatened.  Or he's being dominant and wanting to protect you, and is feeling like the pack leader.  Not sure, but I gues seeing someone about his behavior while young is a good idea.  He's young, I'm sure you'll be able to work thru this.  Good Luck!

I have thought that he could have been abused.  He tends to shy away sometimes if quick motions are made.  All I know is that he lived in a dorm until the student got caught and had to get rid of him.  We have been working on NILIF to establish pack order.  He seems to be doing better.  We also got super yummy treats that he gets when people come over.  He seems to be improving, but we still won't let our guard down.  I think the common factor that we found is that he is super protective of my boyfriend's mother.  He follows her everywhere and wants to be where she is.  All the occurences happened when she was around the corner and could not "see" the people.  We are still working on getting a behaviorist.  Most around here use e-collar and other negative reinforcement.

corgipower

spiritdogs

 With a fearful dog (fear aggressive dogs are the likeliest to bite, so please always take more care than you think is necessary) never be afraid to feed the dog like crazy (I would use roast beef, or something luscious that he never gets otherwise) when a scary person is in the home

the potential problem is that if the dog is exhibiting fear at the time when you feed him, you can end up rewarding the fear and the fear behaviors, creating a much more dangerous situation.

I actually disagree with that premise, even though it does seem counterintuitive.  I think that if you are feeding the dog at a distance from the scary object (let's say it's guys wearing baseball caps) where he is comfortable enough to eat (even if he is nervous or fearful), you are using classical conditioning, and eventually, after many trials, the dog will begin to like it when guys in baseball caps appear.  I do think it is possible to reward fear, but I think that it is more likely to come from the owner cooing "oh, it's ok", because they transmit nervousness in their voices, which can make a scared dog lack confidence in the handler.

Absolutely right on, Spiritdogs. The deal is--if you can manage the fear factor (keep the dog from a comfortable distance) the dog will learn to associate strangers with food.

I keep dog treats outside and people toss (no jumping involved) the treats in. They ignore my shy dog and toss treats and then he's settled down enough to wander around (at his own safe distance).

If you're serious about helping him, I'd join the Shy K9 board on Yahoo, if only to read through the Files alone. There is a wealth of knowledge there.

spiritdogs

corgipower

spiritdogs

 With a fearful dog (fear aggressive dogs are the likeliest to bite, so please always take more care than you think is necessary) never be afraid to feed the dog like crazy (I would use roast beef, or something luscious that he never gets otherwise) when a scary person is in the home

the potential problem is that if the dog is exhibiting fear at the time when you feed him, you can end up rewarding the fear and the fear behaviors, creating a much more dangerous situation.

 

I actually disagree with that premise, even though it does seem counterintuitive.  I think that if you are feeding the dog at a distance from the scary object (let's say it's guys wearing baseball caps) where he is comfortable enough to eat (even if he is nervous or fearful), you are using classical conditioning, and eventually, after many trials, the dog will begin to like it when guys in baseball caps appear.  I do think it is possible to reward fear, but I think that it is more likely to come from the owner cooing "oh, it's ok", because they transmit nervousness in their voices, which can make a scared dog lack confidence in the handler.

nfowler

Absolutely right on, Spiritdogs. The deal is--if you can manage the fear factor (keep the dog from a comfortable distance) the dog will learn to associate strangers with food.

I keep dog treats outside and people toss (no jumping involved) the treats in. They ignore my shy dog and toss treats and then he's settled down enough to wander around (at his own safe distance).

If you're serious about helping him, I'd join the Shy K9 board on Yahoo, if only to read through the Files alone. There is a wealth of knowledge there.

I will definitely check out the board on yahoo.  Thanks so much everyone for the tips.  I appreciate it immensely. We got treats for them that sit by the door.  Not too many strangers have been over recently so we haven't had the chance to do much in the way of desensitizing him.