Help! How do I cure my dog's snappishness?

[Giselle]

Also, re: an "aggression gene". You know, I often ponder why dogs are aggressive or reactive because I have my own reactive dog (those lovely brown eyes you see in my siggie). I've come to the conclusion that while reactive/aggressive dogs may not conform to our definitions of "normal", we can never blame unnecessary aggression completely on genes alone and we can never use it as an excuse. Aggression/reactivity require management and behavioral modification, but failures of the dog are our own failures.

So while we're modifying our vocabulary (haha), can I ask what you mean by "attack"? I've seen far too many dog fights than I'd like to recount, but when a dog attacks, it intends to inflict damage/kill and it will not stop until something physically blocks it. So, when you say Checker's siblings all attack humans, what exactly do you mean? Do you mean they guard things like toys and food and will bite a human hand if it comes too close? Or do you mean something like: if the dog is sleeping and a human leans over it, the dog will snap? Like I said, in 99% of cases, there are triggers as to why a dog attacks. VERY rarely will you get a dog who is seriously mentally ill who attacks for no reason (even then, it's usually due to something like seizures or some other brain illness).

Edit: I'm sorry, I love this topic so I can go on about this forever

Alternatives to scolding: Manage the dogs' environment well. Be a strong, benevolent leader. Reactive/aggressive dogs NEED clear leadership and rules. Teach a rock solid recall. Whenever you see Checkers heading for the "red zone", recall her. The rest sort of just falls into place and you modify it as you go along. As you work with Checkers, you'll notice the difference. Just keep trucking along with it!

[PonyPup]

Okay, these are the details:
Graham "attacks" Checkers, because he wants to be the alpha. Checkers doesn't cooperate though, and she also fights back because she doesn't accept Graham as the alpha. And you said Bubbles (who's dead. She got hit by a car) is just being a good leader. But she actually submits to Graham! It's weird. It's as if she wants Graham to be the alpha, and when Checkers fights back at Graham, Bubbles "attacks" Checkers because she's like telling Checkers that Graham's the alpha.
And you're asking about Checkers's siblings. Well, they "attack" people by rushing at them and just nipping/biting their leg of foot. I think it's territorial aggression, because they do that when the person's on their territory. But I also think there's something wrong with their brain. Maybe they have sort of a "craze" gene.
Oh, and I think you're right about the fear aggression. I just looked closer at Checkers when one of our German Shepherds (except Coffee. She's not really "scared" of him) goes to her, she just stiffens and shows her teeth, and when one of our Shepherds is lying in front of a doorway or something, and there's a small space to pass through, she passes through that small opening and tries to stay as far back against the wall from the Shepherd. But I read in Understanding Your Dog for Dummies that if your dog is snarling, and its mouth is in a "C" shape, that means it's dominance aggression. If it's pulled back, it's fear aggression. Checkers snarls in a "C" shape. But she also sort of cringes while holding her tail up high. She's showing both fear and dominance at the same time! It's so confusing!
AND I can't get a professional dog behaviorist, 'cause I live in the Philippines, and there aren't really dog behaviorists here!

Oh, sorry if I took so long to reply. I'm just so busy with high school. Oh, and I just wanted to tell you, you're really helping a lot.

[Giselle]

But I read in Understanding Your Dog for Dummies that if your dog is snarling, and its mouth is in a "C" shape, that means it's dominance aggression. If it's pulled back, it's fear aggression. Checkers snarls in a "C" shape.

Nothing in aggression is ever that black and white. What you read is useful information, but it's extremely limited. Aggression and reactivity are almost never quite that simple. When a dog is growling, you're not looking at what letter their mouth makes. You're not looking at the teeth. You're looking at its lips. Are the lips pulled back or are the lips pushed forward into a pucker? You look at its front. Is the dog putting weight on the front legs or is the weight on the back legs? You look at its rear. Is it shifting weight on its haunches or is it tense and ready to spring forward? It's not just the ears, teeth, and tail you're looking at. You're assessing the entire body and the dog's mental/behavioral history. The differences are incredibly minute and an inexperienced person isn't often able to differentiate the physical subtleties. I myself often have difficulty differentiating the subtleties. I usually need a video camera to really precisely see it.

To be brutally honest, you *need* a behaviorist. Because you have so many dogs and are experiencing so much difficulty with at least 3 of them, you really should contact a professional. A behaviorist will help you decipher dog behavior and help you take back control.
Check this out: http://www.dogscoutsphilippines.com/
He is a positive reinforcement/pro-clicker guy, at least from what I can see. Please contact him.