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Pherren was 4-6 months old in these videos. My concern was that as he matured, and his testosterone levels maximized (roughly around 10 months of age), this behavior might escalate. At six months he was growling and snarling, but not biting. At 10-12 months, the situation might become more serious. Hence, I expressed my serious concerns to the breeder and sent Pherren to Kelly because, at the time, I thought she might be able to properly observe and assess Pherren.

Dogs growl as a warning. Kelly, the trainer in the first part of this video, advocates forced restraint to deal with growling dogs and suggests that doing otherwise would reinforce the behavior. While there may be times when gentle restraint can be appropriate, such as when dealing with an 8 to 14 week old puppy throwing a "tantrum," one must always take extra care when restraining a dog that is acting aggressively, especially when the aggression is the result of fear or anxiety.

Growls are warnings. Yes, heeding that warning by easing up or moving away does reinforce the growl, and that's usually a good thing! If a dog's warnings are ignored and the bad thing continues to happen, the dog may learn to skip the growl and just bite instead. However, easing your interaction with the dog after a growl or moving away does not reinforce or cause the underlying aggression. The aggression was caused by an emotional state, and the growl was the symptom of that emotional state. The only way to truly address the aggression is to deal with the underlying cause for it. Doing things to simply suppress the behavior (i.e., the growl) can lead to a dog learning to skip the growl (after all, it doesn't get the desired effect) and bite instead.

https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/fear-and-fear-related-aggression-in-dogs/
From Dr. Sophia Yin:
"When fear is motivating a behavior, choice is important. If the choice to avoid is taken away, an animal may switch to aggression instead. These actions takes away your dog’s choice to avoid whatever is causing him fear and may drive aggression:
Restrain them
Grab their collar
Pick them up
Hold them down
Hold them still
Place them on their side (alpha roll)"

If you are experiencing an aggression issue with your dog, it's best to seek professional guidance--preferably from a certified animal behaviorist or someone extremely educated and knowledgeable about modern animal behavior theories and practices.

For more information on the situation between the parties, visit the blog:
https://pherrensstar.wordpress.com/2021/04/18/zaliamstaff-dc-pherrens-star/

NOTE: The video portions of Kelly's testing here were taken from an overall video posted to Youtube and shared with multiple people. The entire video is over 12 minutes long and contains segments where Kelly pinches Pherren's paw to intentionally make him yelp, pulls on his ears, gives him hard body pinches, and half chokes him while trying to make him sit (showing opposition reflex). Although Kelly did not blur any part of my face when posting the last few seconds of a private video, I've made an attempt to blur portions to avoid misappropriation and misuse by unscrupulous people.

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