coonhound behavior concerns

Question
Logan is a one year old Coonhound. We adopted him from a rescue at 7
months. I took him in as a temporary foster because he was said to have
"separation anxiety" and his crying when left alone was more than neighbors
could handle - thus he was booted from several foster homes. He was
originally brought to the rescue with his sister, who was adopted.  

Logan goes to daycare 2x a week, plays at friend's homes, goes to dog parks,
and lots of other dog friendly places.  He's always been a bit of a sissy when
he encounters something new - a new place, new person, new dog, or a new
trash can on the street.  he will often shake and hold his tail low. once he .

the best way i can describe his personality is: Highly intelligent, often
calculating, knows how to 'work us' (although we are getting smarter to his
'helpless act').  a hound to the core in every way.  social. mostly laid back.

Recently we have noticed some odd behavior. A few times he has snapped at
our face. he gets a weird look in his eye - almost a half scared half dominant
look and then he will lightly air snap. i have seen him play in this manner with
other dogs. of course its not acceptable to play with us this way. its starting to
happen more often.  he has also begun to be aggressive with other dogs.  I
spoke with the daycare today and they said he had to have time outs because
he was getting too worked up. she said he loves some dogs and really
dislikes others.  they remove him and put him in a kennel by himself for a
break.  he also acted this way over the weekend at a pet adoption event.  My
friend mentioned that the  alpha in her back of 4 dogs reacted strangely
when Logan visited recently.  Sadie always runs the pack and my friend said
Sadie backed into a corner and shook when Logan entered the home.  

We're really concerned about this and want to work on this immediately
before it gets ahead of us.   We have not made any major changes recently
with the exception of changing his daycare to what we believed to be a much
nicer environment.

Lastly, when Logan entered the daycare room this morning, i watched him
proceed to walk around the room and mark everything.  i was horrified. i said
something to the director and she said it wasnt his fault because the door to
the outside was closed.  I felt that he should have asked to go out at the door
(he started peeing almost immediately upon entering the play area).  I would
have expected her to tell him NO! and let him outside. Instead she continued
to talk to me and tell me it was OK he was doing it!

I would appreciate any time you would spend answering my questions.  We
love Logan and want to have a long happy life with him

thank you
shannon  

Answer
This may be behavioral and it may be neurological.  The fact that an established "pack leader" (even though opposite sex) reacted to Logan in this manner may indicate there's something other than a behavioral event.  I suggest you find a veterinarian with a strong skill in neurology and I also suggest this dog have a super blood chemistry and a full physical evaluation.  Additionally, you need the observation, full temperament evaluation, full behavioral history of a certified applied animal behavior expert.  Contact the veterinary school within reasonable distance from you and ask for referral to a Ph.D. or DVM behavior expert with a specialty in developing aggression and pseudo-dominance related behavior.