large agressive dog

Question
Thank you for your time, I have a large 6 year old Alaskan malamute who has slowly been getting more aggressive with other dogs. For his first three years he played very well with my mothers pug, so he was at one time a gentle giant. this was always at my mothers house not ours. then my mother added a great Dane to the family dynamic. for about 5 months the three of them would play nice, no aggression. one day while i was out of town there was a big fight between the great Dane and the malamute (blood involved). my mother told me the malamute had the great Dane backed into a corner and was nipping to keep the Dane cornered. The vet said the Dane was OK and that this was not an attack but more of a "alpha" struggle. for approx 2 years i have kept him away from all animals out of fear of what he may do. i realize this action may have been counter productive. about 8 months ago i started bringing him back into carefully watched interaction with other dogs, almost every session ending in a fight. originally it was with a neighbors 7 year husky(male), problem there is i think the husky was intimidated by his size. the husky would go become rigid, and fight ensued. then we tried with another husky, this time young female. he seamed OK but his actions were more that of toleration then playful. then a young male boxer(under a year) almost instant aggression. now the wife just called and informed me the malamute came through the door and tried to attack another neighbors old female mix breed(resembles lab). my fear is along with the dog problem he has also started occasionally growling at people(never family). I have a 5 year old son and a 7 month old daughter, and i do not want them to become a statistic. Any information  or maybe trusted methods for curing his aggression would be greatly appreciated. PS you prob. would like to know current discipline actions. I do not beat him, but i do use a stern voice and OPEN HANDED smack to the rear flank. around the house it rarely takes more then a stern voice though.

Answer
Hi, James,

Aggression is a difficult problem to work with.  There are many TYPES of aggression, CAUSES for aggression, and different ways to address it.  I truly think your problem is something that would best be handled by a trainer coming to your home and working with you, your family, and the dog.  This person could hopefully assess the situation and give you some alternatives for dealing with the problem.

You can find trainers who specialize in aggression by going to www.apdt.com and doing a trainer search.