Nope, it's not a psycho dog kind of problem. It's a prey drive problem. Some dogs just have out of control prey drives. I have one just like Max. Kayleigh thinks anything smaller than her is prey. She'd love your chicken coop!! We've tried to retrain it out of her. It didn't work, so we just control her access to potential prey. I don't particularly care if she catches a squirrell during her off-leash time. I care if she catches a cat during her house time! So Kayleigh never sees the cats or small dogs.

Some kind of training course would likely be highly beneficial. Max needs to learn to come to you when he's called and not knock people over to get out. It's unlikely that you can completely eliminate the prey drive, but you can control his reactions.

Part of the problem may be that Max is bored and restless. It sounds like he has exercise needs that aren't being met. Do you have any fenced area where he can be contained safely? How about a cleared section where you could set up a trolley tie-out line? Preacher has one that looks like clothes line. Got a bike? Get a springer and run his little legs off on it!!! A tired dog is a good dog!

BTW, prey drive and aggression to humans are completely unrelated. You're right not to let Max near kittens, but he would likely be fine with children. No dog should be left unsupervised with a small child, but I'd bet Max knows the difference between prey and kids. Kayleigh does. She adores kids and is a big, gentle love with them.

Good luck.