[Rocky's Mommy]

I feel like I really am in need of more advice.

Our little Rocky is 11 months old today. We have had some issues with him behavior wise and just when I thought we were having a breakthrough, things went really horribly tonight.

Rocky bites and chews on everything, but he has been making some improvements in this area. He is not growling at us or barking when we reprimand QUITE as much, but certainly is not over it. I think the clicker training has helped, but I feel frustrated because I've never trained a dog so stubborn or seemingly aggressive.

Tonight we had a couple of our friends over. They brought their puppy, a baby yellow lab, over to play. Last weekend we visited their house and the two got along great! We thought we should get together again because this is the only dog that Rocky has been socialized with up until this point and we wanted to continue that relationship. Rocky was VERY aggressive towards the little tiny puppy tonight and they ended up in quite the scuffle. I had to pull him off of her and he clamped my hand so hard, I couldn't pry him off of it fast enough. He drew blood on me and my whole hand is really swollen. Do you think this had to do with territorial issues? I know that he thought he was biting the little puppy and not me, but I'm still concerned.

He has become somewhat sweeter and calmer with us, but I'm afraid he won't get over this aggressive streak... or is it just his temperament and not a streak? If I put him in puppy classes, I'm afraid he will attack the other dogs as well. He came from a good breeder who is well known for the temperaments of her dogs. Is there hope for me and my little baby who I love so much?

Karen