[quote1281552229=davidfitness83] [quote1281551326=4Doggen] Do you have any background history of the dog you almost resscued? Breeding? How old was the dog? Was he abused? How was the dog guarding you from the finance, barking? growling? etc? As I said it can depend on that indivual dog. I've had a boxer try to lunge at me, yet they are supposed to be gentle. I also knew that this was because he was untrained by the owner as well. I also had a fixed male dane that would go after any dog and was distrustful of strangers. My current dane now is not like that and is intact. Other dog's had lunged and bitten him yet he's shown no signs of aggression. So you see it can vary so many factors can contribute. Even then sometimes when you think you've done everything right trouble still finds it way through. Just the nature of the beast. Have you tried contacting the breeder yet? [/quote1281551326] Some guy on craiglist was trying to rehome the dog because he was having a baby. He tells me nothing but good things, I walked the dog with the guy and he was fne. I cam back another week later and took the dog for the day. The walked perfect and did everything I asked him to. IN fact, It was a bit odd that the dog was trained to follow commands with number words. So 1 = sit , 2= down and 3 according to the guy was to patrol I never got past one and the two because I did not want to find out what 3 was. Anyhow, we went to my inlaws and we were hanging out he greeted everyone and he was listening to every command. He was sitting next to me and then as soon as my girl went to come near me and kiss me or something like that he started growling at her. I called the guy after it happened and he told me that the dog had originally bitten the previous owner's bf so the dog had a few owners and I am sure he was unstable without leadership. I know a dog will test you one way or another but maybe because I am so used to pit bull type dogs but to me if a dog is growling at me to test me it is not worth my time or the safety of the household. Like you, I also believe a dog has a character whether you cut the balls or not, a lot of these ASPCA HSUS and vets keep advertising to neuter the dog to fix agression. My current Bully cross gets along with everything although he is only a year old and he is still intact. My chiwawa is 2 years old and we neutered him at 8 months old and he is a little maniac lol I contacted them in the past when I was looking for a dog but after the experience with that dog I was turned off by them. This was 5 years ago and honestly I had a lot to learn about dogs. I think I have more tools now and way more knowledge. [/quote1281552229] That poor dog, so many factors could have contributed to his behavior. However I agree growling is not tolerated and given your knowlege of inexperience (at that time) would not have been a good combination. Best start with a new pup and work with him. I've been into dogs for as long as I could remeber and still have a lot to learn. I've only settled on a breed (great dane) about 7 or 8 years ago and I'm still learning, lol. Its a never ending process.