Worried about my Australian Shepherd

Question
Hi Jill,

I have a 5 to 6 year old Aussie, who I have had since he was 2 weeks old. He is a very high-energized dog (I can take him on 30 min runs and it seems like he STILL has a lot of energy) and is always running and jumping around.

I don't know if any of this following information is needed, but I feel like it has something to do with his behavioral issues. My dog has lived in about 3 different homes. When we first got him, he lived with me and my parents before they divorced. Afterwards, my mom and I couldn't take care of him by ourselves, so he lived with my aunt who had a large piece of land that was perfect for running around in. She had a Korean Jindo dog herself; my dog and her dog both lived outdoors in separate areas since her dog was very aggressive towards. Later my aunt got tired of taking care of my dog, so he then started to live with my dad's co-worker, who unfortunately had a VERY small yard and probably had very little contact with people.

This summer we brought him home to my dad's and he started to live inside the house. When we go to sleep we put him in the garage. To do this (since he is usually very unwilling to go outside), we take him by the collar and gently guide him outside. Sometimes he handles this very well and listens, but other times he gets very aggressive. During one occasion he growled and nearly bit my hand. The same thing happened last night. Just now I touched his collar to see how he would react, and he snapped a little bit.

Another thing I am worried about is his behavior around other dogs. Whenever I take him on runs, whenever he sees a dog (no matter if it's larger or smaller), he suddenly starts acting up. Sometimes his ears flatten and he starts RUNNING in the opposite direction of the other dog, and sometimes he'll try to chase after it and attack it. It has gotten to the point where I can only take him on runs in the evening to avoid these encounters.

Other than that, he is a very loving dog and loves to cuddle and be petted and scratched. I'm very worried about his behavior right now and would take him to a professional, but unfortunately I am only at home during the summer and my dad doesn't seem to be concerned enough to take him to get help.

The most I can do right now is ask you for help, but I am hoping later in the future we can take him to a professional.

Thank you,
Kim

Answer
You said you've had this dog since he was TWO WEEKS of age??? I assume you bottle fed him?  And he was never socialized to other dogs?  And not properly weaned (I have no doubt of that, since bottle feeding requires a strict adherence to weaning as would be practiced by the dam (mother) and most people are ignorant of it.)

This dog has suffered enormous neglect in his lifetime, forced to live outdoors alongside a dog aggressive dog (HUGE mistake, his only exposure to other canines), shuffled around from one neglectful (and most likely in some manner abusive) situation after another.  NOW you expect someone in a TEXT BOX on the INTERNET to fix the problems you have created?

Call the veterinary college in your geographical area and find a certified applied animal behaviorist (Ph.D. or DVM) who can properly evaluate this poor animal.  His aggression (as you describe it) is fear related and self-protective.  I'd bite TOO if I were in his position.  FIND AN EXPERT and help this animal.  And don't get any more dogs.