aggression

Question
I have a nine month old Great Dane puppy. I have had him since he was eight weeks old. He has been neutered and we have gone thru obedience class. He seems anxious all the time and has attacked my other two dogs ( all neutered) over food and toys and even if they approach me. I have read that in some cases Danes can be genetically predisposed to aggressive behavior and if that is the case it's best to put them down because no amount of training will help. Tonight we were playing Frisbee and he attacked our mini schnauzer when they both ran after it. I have tried behavior modification. He sits before he eats last, goes thru the door last etc. Is there any hope for this big guy? His parents were rescued from a foreclosed home and they both were wonderful dogs. I have kept in contact with the rescue and some of his littermates have had behavior issues also. Thanks for you help.

Answer
This is the biggest problem when you are not breeding specifically for temperament and knowing the genetic lines on both parents, which of course in rescue is most of the times near impossible. A lot of times even if both parents were nice dogs, the mixture of the bloodlines may have off set a balance, especially if the dogs came from back yard breeders or puppy mills. I do have to say that if his only problem is that he does not get along with your other dog, this is not a good enough reason to automatically consider putting him to sleep. It would probably benefit for him to go into a home without other dogs if that is the case. As long as he does not have other issues like food aggression or aggression towards people, it would be unnecessary to euthanize him. I would also talk to your rescue and see how they feel about it, however I am a firm believer that every dog should at least have the opportunity to be able to have a chance in another home before being euthanized. If you have any other questions fee free to email me through her again in a private message with your personal email address and I would be more then happy to to speak to you over the phone about and of your concerns.