Adopted Maltese

Question
Hi:  Me and my husband adopted a Maltese 3 days ago from a pound. When we got him the only thing we knew is that the doggie snaps.  It was my husband's idea to get a dog since he's always wanted one, so we got a 4 years old Maltese who was left at the pound 2 days before we got him.
My husband wants a dog he can pet all the time, but Travis (our new dog) is showing an aggressive temper.  First of all he has a broken tooth which we are going to take care of next weekend, but when you try to pick him up he tries to bite, he actually bite my husband yesterday.  All Travis does is lick his paw, sometimes he growls at you and instead of attacking you he just follows his tail growling, it's weird and scary.  My husband is now affraid of the dog (as crazy it might sound), we've thought about going to some training classes but we are not sure if in the future Travis will let us pet him.
It breaks our hearts to take him back to "jail" but I also want my husband to enjoy the dog not to be afraid of him.
What can we do with that aggressive temper??
Please advice,

Thanks.

Answer
Hello Claudia,  Well, that was so nice of you to adopt an adult dog from the pound....
I wonder if Travis has been abused and also may be in some pain.
The broken tooth? and then you mentioned he follows his tail .... that is a sign of anal sac problems ( infection).
Also, the paw licking is a sign of allergies or even stress.

Please get him to the vet for a good check up.
You could be dealing with many things here besides behavior.
YES, a trainer will be very helpful-  Find someone that will come to your home and do some private HOME visits.
Also, this boy has lost his pack and needs to learn YOU the new pack.
Give him a little time.

BEST of luck to you!

Marie Peppers LPN MA