Do I have a potential Fear Biter

Question
I have question on whether the pup I have may be at risk of being a fear biter. The dog is a five-month-old Shar Pei male, that we have had since he was 16 weeks. The mother was outgoing, father was more standoffish, but friendly to strangers at the dog show with the owner present (but would snap at me if I took him on a lead out on a field without the owner there).

The pup was/is shy, and it has taken about 6 weeks since he has been with us to approach us with a wagging tale, but still reluctant to be petting on the head and neck (backs off), but more agreeable for pets under the neck and chest (less dominant approach). He is friendly to other dogs he meets (even if they are not friendly to him), and walks on a lead without fear of traffic noise. He
will pull on the lead if he passes to close to strangers.

I have taken him to the vets, and to friends who have children. I don?t let them gang up on him, and he will sit quietly in their living room with the lead still on him if they are a few feet away. One child next to him was OK for a pet, no snapping.  When I got him six weeks ago, you would never get him in a house or near a group of kids, and would snap at them then. When I stopped by my neighbours with three adults, and they approached them, he pulled on the lead and snapped, but then settled down, and would allow one of them to pat him, if approached on the side. I would not trust him with a lot of kids ganging up on him.

When delivery people come, he will bark for a few minutes, and then walk around the delivery trailer, and without much fuss, but keep a few feet away from them.

The in-laws came for a visit on the weekend, he was reluctant to go into the house when they were there, but after two days would follow behind them and sniff them with his tail wagging (but not allow any pats).

The vet has some concerns that as he gets older, he could still be a problem, as most dogs 5 months old are a lot more social, puppies are normally everybody?s friend. He is not really that social with me. I would not let him loose on an open field, not sure if I would get him back. I can still play with balls and stuffed toys on a string with him.

When he comes in at night, he prefers to sleep next to an open door. I will close it later, and then he settles down somewhere else in the house.
The breeder will still take him back up to the age of 6 months.

Is this dog going to have a chance of being mentally sound and safe even with training?

Is he an accident waiting to happen, and will he be a dangerous dog when he is 18 months old?  

Answer
Hi Mike,

This is a tough one. By nature, Sharpei's are not your most social dog.  They can be very aloof.  I think that there might also be a combination of very little socialization early in his life.  There is obviously a lack of trust there with humans and this dog.

To be quite honest yes there can be a serious problem down the road with this dog.  Do you have any children in the household?

My suggestion would be constantly have new people around this dog.  One thing that might help quite a bit is if you have visitor come to your house or if you meet a friend in the street let them ignore the dog.  I have found out for this type of behavior when people ignore the dog it lets the dog handle the situation on their own terms. It will mae them more comfortable.

Obedience training will also be a great tool for this behavior.  I know that you might be cautious of this but socialization is very important for your dog.  Find a class you feel comfortable with and an instructor you can trust.  Let the instructor know what is going on before class.  But again even in class don't try to force the dog to allow people to pet him, let him take it one step at a time.

Please let me know how this is working for you and if you want to continue to correspond back and forth with more questions or comments feel free to do so.