Recent aggression

Question
We have a 2 y/o neutered GSD, we have noticed some aggression towards other people/kids over the last 6 months. He has been nipping at people, now we are losing trust in him. He has been a great dog up until recently, he has almost an acre to run.  The only thing we can come up with is he has been banned out of the house due to a skunk spraying and he stills stinks 6 months out.  He sleeps in the garage, not that bad.  Help us to build trust back with our dog.  Thanks, Yvonne

Answer
He could be maturing and taking on more responsibility for the pack.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

Have you tried washing him with tomato juice?