My dog is scared of me

As I wrote in my earlier thread my dog is very aggressive. well was very aggressive.

He had a bed that when he got on it he was grawling and biting and since we don't let him there anymore he's very calm. I guess this has to do with him being a dominant dog and everything.
Anyways, the weird thing now is, that he's now suddenly calm and happy, and actually licking and playing with me and leting me pet him and enjoys it. but once I go away from him, the next time I'm going towards him and petting him he's suddenly very scared of me, and goes under furnitures, and when I pet him he looks at my eyes and if I continue he starts growling. but then if I put him on his leash he's suddenly playful and likes me again.

He's around 5 years old matlese dog, since he was around 2 he was aggressive all the time until recently that he doesn't get on the bed. nothing much happend when he was 2 he was just starting to be aggressive a little and just growl and than it went worse.

Has he recently been to the vet for a complete check up an blood work (preferably thyroid)?

Honestly, I think you need to work on your bond if he is fearful of you. I don't know if you are training with positive punishment (positive means "added" in the dog world, and punishment means "to discourage a behavior" so positive punishments are things like leash corrections, prong collars, shaking, etc because you give them to the dog so that the dog won't repeat a behavior). Dominance theory often employs the use of shaking, alpha-rollovers, etc. If you do any of these, I encourage you to stop so that you can rebuild your relationship.

I also suggest you start working on these three areas:

• Training
• Playing
• Bonding

For Training I recommend you think of three things you want him to learn, such as sit, down, paw, rollover, etc. Look at videos of how to train these just with positive reinforcement. The goal is that as you spend more time training your dog, and showing your dog that he can earn treats, you will bong with him more and he will come to associate this time as a time when you reward him for his good deeds.

For Playing you just play together, mostly I suggest playing Tug. He may like to tug with ropes, or stuffed toys, either way play tug. It's important that you let him win sometimes, and that you win sometimes. Ideally you would win 90% of the time, but with a shy dog you should try only winning 70% of the time at first. See how he does with that. Also, always end with you winning, and put the toy away, that way he anticipates the next session.

Bonding is just spending time together. It's grooming him, scratching his belly, and going for walks. Be careful never to appear threatening while doing this, don't argue with your SO while holding your dog in your lap, etc.

I hope this helps some, good luck!

I really think you need to find a trainer. There's no way that we can give you effective advice on an issue like this without seeing the dog.

But, in the meantime, a few point.

When the dog does not want to be pet, do not pet the dog. When he growls at you, he's saying very clearly "I don't like what you are doing, if you don't stop I'm going to bite you." At that point you need to have stopped 15 seconds ago. Will this reinforce growling? Yes. BUT it doesn't teach the dog that growls will always be ignored and that the only way to make himself heard is to go straight to biting. So this can make the growling more frequent, but it's better than making biting more frequent and will buy you time to find and work with a trainer.

Labeling your dog as dominant is not helpful. It's false, first of all, dogs just don't operate like that. Secondly, it doesn't give you any information on how to proceed. Fighting "dominance" with aggression or force is either going to put you in a contest against the dog, which is going to be fun for no one and honestly it's a contest that the dog is going to win, or if you manage to go higher/more forceful/more aggressive than the dog can or is willing to go, you are probably drifting in to down right abuse.

The first step is basic obedience training. Even if you aren't directly working on the aggression issue, it builds a bond between owner and dog and starts the process of communicating to one another.

Really great responde, and I really appreciate it! and yes, he is checked and he's fine.

Edit: oh and I forgot to mention, I NEVER do any physical "punishment" towards him! so no worries about that.

Thank you, I really can't get a trainer for him and it really drives me crazy, but I do have a question about the dominant thing. before I ask I just think it's important I'll say that I don't take any point of view, im an idiot with almost everything that comes with dogs too. the question is, how come I can really see this theory in my dog? once he got off the "leader's bed" he's suddenly behaving really really good! and there are more stuff like that. P.S. I haven't read the article yet beacuse lack of time, I will tho.
Thanks.

It wasn't that you kicked him off the "leaders bed" it was that you started to instill some boundaries in him. Most dogs love routine and boundaries.

I highly, highly recommend you read this whole article. It is excellent! This and some others will open a whole new understanding of dogs for you. Have at it! Good luck!

Resource guarding (your dog guarding his bed) is NOT dominant... it is simply survival. His bed was probably the only place your dog felt safe. He sounds like a very insecure, fearful dog and to call that dominance is a waste of time, effort and a disservice to your dog.

The reason you most likely noticed him growling at age 2 is because that is when a dog reaches social maturity. While a puppy might just run in fear or cower, once he's an adult he is more likely to bite and express his discomfort.

My advice with fearful dogs is to never force, corner or approach them. Allow him to approach you. Ignoring can work wonders! Toss him really tasty treats when he comes near you (small pieces of cheese or hotdog work really well), avoid looking at him, making eye contact, or grabbing him. Keep your body turned sideways to him and sit or crouch down. Let him sniff you and gently pet him if he approaches. Make yourself very pleasant, calm, and non-threatening. Winning his trust and building his confidence will take time, but it will last the rest of his life.