Dog Aggression Advice

Question:
 We have had our puppy since he was about 3 months old. We don’t know much of his history before we got him, but he was found running around and was brought to a Humane Society. We were told he is a Husky/Retriever mix and we had him neutered a few months ago. We worked through some food aggression issues successfully with the help of an animal behaviorist. Here is our problem; he is almost a year old, is 65 pounds and for the past couple months, he has become more and more aggressive. People will come up to pet him and he will wag his tail and within a short period of time, he will growl and nip at them. He will sometimes even do this with people he already knows and has shown he likes. He used to be fine around all other dogs, but now, he will growl and lunge at almost all other dogs. He especially hates it when kids go by on bikes, skateboards and scooters and will lunge and bark at them. If I was someone who didn’t know him, I would be petrified. We always keep him leashed but were hoping to have a well-behaved dog that we could have walk with us freely. He's been to puppy obedience and knows the basic commands, we are working on more advanced stuff like "heel". I am with him a lot lately since I started a business out of my home. Do you think he’s getting just too much “people” time and is being protective? Is this just a stage? He’s been stubborn lately, too, so I’m wondering if this is just part of him growing up? We’re going to start taking him to Doggy Daycare for more socialization and have thought about getting another dog to help out with this. Are we on the right track? We love him dearly and want to figure out what to do about this before it becomes a problem (e.g. before he physically hurts someone).
Answer:
 Having personally worked with and consulting with more possible dog aggression cases than I ever hoped I would do in such a short time, I am going to give you the best advice any good trainer or behaviorist would. Do not attempt to work through possible aggression on line. This is extremely dangerous. Why? I cannot observe your dog's body language on line or even over the phone. Nor can I observe how you manage him. A lot of aggression calls I get are actually not aggression but bad manners misinterpreted as aggression. Or the owners think it is bad manners and the dog is really a serious aggression issue. Or, the owners misread the dog. I had a client two years ago that has become the topic of many a piece of mine. She was convinced her dog was dominant aggressive as that was what the vet felt and one trainer assumed. She wanted me to work with the dog over the phone. I refused. Several calls later and she finally agreed to let me in the house. Her dog was one of the WORST cases of FEAR aggression I had seen in a long time. The dog was not dominant, he was fearful. Two very different things. Had she found someone willing to work with things over the phone, she could have ended up with a SERIOUS problem on her hands. Ethically and for your safety and those of others, no good trainer would handle this without first hand observation of the dog and the family. I want you to go to www.APDT.com and find a member trainer near you - there are also people that do behavioral consults and even some vet behaviorists as well. If there is no one near you, call those in your area and ask for help locating someone closer. I am an Association of Pet Dog Trainers member and this is an excellent resource. Start looking for someone IMMEDIATELY. Next, limit contact with humans until you know what is going on. Is it really aggression or just a lack of manners and training? Or even if he has been through training, many older methods can actually worsen undesired behaviors in the long run. Until he is being worked with by a professional, extreme care MUST be taken when allowing people contact with him. I would really seriously not let people handle him. Lasty, this dog is NOT a good candidate for dog day care. These places (and I know many, have studied them and volunteered at a facility that did day care) are not suitable for dogs with questionable aggression issues. Sone aggression can be caused by stress as well as lack of manners and training, day cares are high stress environments for dogs. Dogs come and go during the day and they have little chance to establish a good order amongst themselves before the order is changed - this can throw things into chaos. Just a couple weeks a go, I saw the end result at my vet of a dog that became the victim of a dog day care melee. The dog is lucky to be alive but may never fully recover either. Your dog is not a candidate. Plus, if he is gaving human aggression issues - or may be - you would be putting the staff at risk. No good day care would allow a dog with possible aggression issues in. Your dog just is not ready for this type of stress right now. Again, seek a professional to work with you. I have consulted in person on more aggression cases than I care to think about at times both privately and in classes. Most are due to inadequate training and improper socializing but some have been due to possible heredity (temperament is part heredity and part what you do with it) or even organics (chemical imbalance, medical cause, etc). Aggression issues are safest handled this way for all concerned... I hope you understand why no one should go any further here. But, if you wish to email me privately, I can see what I can do to help you find a source to help you out above and beyond the APDT link I gave.
Answer:
 Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Karen. I will look into another behaviorist as it seems it may be a little more complicated than I had originally thought. Our dog does Doggy Daycare fine, we've had him there recently and in the past with no issues. Kind of confusing, but he seems to do very well there. When I mentioned the Doggy Daycare, I was thinking that more regular socialization may help so we were going to have him go more often. I appreciate your post.