fear aggression issues?

Question
we have recently aquired a show quality, intact minature austrailian shepherd, this dog was severely malnurished ,covered in ticks with poorly healed broken ribs.he is poorly trained at 4yo but comes when my wife or grandson calls him.with them and EVERYONE else that comes to our house he is loving, affectionate and playfull.With me in the house he is terrified, he shakes , paces or at best sits on our couch "defending" my wife, any movement by me sends him in a blind panic running over or thru anything in his way often urinating or defecating as he flees .he stares me down untill i move.as we have found no leash or harness capable of holding him i cant walk him and just dont know where to go with this guy.i have sucsessfully worked with many dogs and horses an this problem has got me stymied. one last thing, since aquiring a pacemaker i have noticed animals seem more aprehensive with me have you heard of such a thing?thanks for listening mike

Answer
Hi Mike, You must hold your ground and claim your pack leadership role in the home. You and your wife are both equal pack leaders and your dog needs to know that you are in control. You are certainly dealing with fear aggression and it is most likely because a man has abused or neglected the dog in the past. I never heard about a pacemaker causing behavioral issues, but the sense of sound is so heightened in our canine friends that anything is possible. Still, it does not matter. The fact that he is staring you down tells me that he is threatening you for dominance. Do not let him win. If a 1000 pound stud colt stared you down and then charged you with teeth gnashing would you let him win? I think not. Rather you would set forth to communicate to him in no uncertain terms that you are the herd boss. The pack and herd are two different things but the dynamics are similar. First order of business is to neuter the dog. You must walk him at the heel at least once a day. Read some of my other posts about fear and aggression. Get a good slip collar and lead. Don't leave the slip collar on, remove it when training is over. Walk with confidence and purpose making sure the dog is focused on you and not letting his nose lead him. It is not the leash nor headstall that controls the dog, it is the leader. Don't let him drag you and do not drag him. If you have trouble, get a good canine behaviorist to help you. It is probably less expensive than you think. Many trainers are simply not educated enough on the behavioral issues, so ask around and find someone good to help.  As you probably know, fear can lead so severe aggression, so nip this in the bud. Enlist the help of your wife and family. If the dog tends to mind her better at the walk have her start off and hand the lead to you once they are travelling. You will soon feel more like yourself and will not let the pacemaker interfere with your relationships with animals. Do not take anything personal, dogs do not reason the way we do, so he can and will change with some effort on the part of you and your family. Ask your wife not to coddle him or give him any affection when he is in the psychological bad spot. That will only serve to reward bad behavior. Since you are a horseman, I know that you can step back and think about what you would tell a student to do if they came to you with the same problem. Leave me some feedback and follow-up if you have any other questions or to let me know how thing are going. Now that your dog has been rescued physically, it is time to rescue him emotionally. I know you can do it. Thank you for writing. Regards, Susan