dog protectiveness aggression

Question
   I adopted an Australian Shepherd mix thought to be around 2 years of age in November of '07. When i got him, he showed no signs of aggression and was calm and playful. After a couple weeks, we started to think he had been abused by his last owner because he would cower his head when my husband would pet him and when we would correct his behavior, he would go and hide in a different room. He never showed aggression towards us, he isnt food aggressive and he has never been anything but playful towards my 5 year old stepson. Last week, the dog was outside by our other dog playing like he has done pretty much every day. Our other dog is a 13 yr old female who is not spayed, she was a breeding dog. The Shephard mix is not neutered.

   Well, last week, i called the Shephard to come in the house and he would not come. I went out by him to hook him to his leash to direct him inside the house, and when i was walking out to him he layed down flat on his belly. I
reached down to attach the leash to his collar, and he jumped up and started barking violently at me. He did not try to bite me, but i didnt stay out by him to find out if he was going to bite. When my husband came home, he tried to bring the dog inside and the same thing happened, except my husband instead of running away like i did, grabbed a cookie sheet that was on the grill and hit the dog with it because he thought he was going to bite. when he hit the dog, the dog stopped barking and came trotting back up to come in the house.

   My husband now wants to get rid of the dog because i am 6 months pregnant and he is worried about another incident or one of us getting bitten. Will getting him Neutered make any difference or will the female protectiveness still happen? We plan on getting one or two more female dogs for breeding so they will not be Spayed. Is this behavior what i should expect from not on, or can i do something to help the dog? I had two dogs die this year and would hate to give this one up since he is such a good dog the rest of the time! He hasnt showed any other aggression ever in the last 5 months that we have had him and has shown none since we have kept him away from the other dog. Please Help!  

Answer
Hi Casey,

Neutering a dog is never a guarantee that it's behavior will change, It certainly can help, but nothing is guaranteed.

Both times your dog had an "outburst" was immediately after you or your husband tried to handle him by his collar. Have you examined the collar to see if there is a burr or something under the collar that's causing him pain?

Do I need to tell you how wrong it is that your husband hit the dog with a cookie sheet? Frankly, if this is how your dogs are disciplined, then giving the dog away is a very good idea.

The bottom line is, a dog you do not trust should not be around your new baby.

Your 13 year old female dog is too old to breed.
Even if your female is an experienced mom and has been bred several times, it's not safe to breed her after 8 years of age. Not that your dogs are purebreds, but the AKC will not even recognize a litter from a female that is over 12 years old dog.

Best of luck,
Patti