I rescued my mixed puppy (who I'm 99% sure has Labrador in him) when he was 8 weeks old. From the very beginning, I made it a point to socialize him as much as possible. The night I brought him home, he was very aggressive towards my other dog, a 2 year old male boxer. It took about a week, but they grew to be best friends. They are constantly rough playing which I didn't think much of until the past few days. My puppy, River, will bite the other dog's ears and neck, but Beni, the boxer, will "put him in his place" so to say. Until River could go in a dog park, I would walk him outside the fence of my neighborhood's dog park so he could smell other dogs, and get used to the noises. I also socialized him by frequently taking him to friend's houses to play with their dogs, which he got along fine with. As he has gotten bigger, he has shown aggression towards other puppies that are under a year old. He shows his teeth, lunges, snarls, and will bite and won't let go of other puppies. I do not want to risk other dog's safety by taking him to the dog park, but I am worried that if I stop taking him, his aggressive tendencies will only get worse. I have NEVER had an issue with older dogs at the dog park though. He loves to chase them and be chased by the older dogs. Another issue is with food, and even though this is a common issue, it worries me a lot. For example, this morning I fed River his food first, then I fed Beni. When I feed Beni, I give him his food in a different room, and then I walk away and take River with me. I was holding onto River's collar, and he started snarling and attempting to lunge towards Beni over his food. I am very worried about River growing up and becoming even more aggressive. I have looked into off-leash and K9 training programs, but they are just so expensive. What can I do to stop the progression of his aggression?
