I would be very careful -- if you have the ability to see a behaviorist, that would probably not be a bad way to go.
Do not allow him to be near strange children at this point, I would say. Not until you have a handle on the situation.
A dog that large snapping at children, is, to me, really kind of scary. And he might not always be as tolerant of being ridden like a horse and whatnot as he gets closer to maturity -- teaching your kids to play respectfully with him is a good plan.
Other than that I would work on training *a lot,* and consider training courses with a trainer who can deal with a large breed dog that doesn't seem to like strangers (ie not a class at Petco).
Neutering will likely not entirely eliminate this issue, but it won't aggravate it, either. I would neuter him unless you have a really, really, really compelling reason not to.
And, this is basic advice I see a lot on the forum, you might want to see your vet to eliminate that this sudden change isn't due to some sort of physical discomfort.
Do not allow him to be near strange children at this point, I would say. Not until you have a handle on the situation.
A dog that large snapping at children, is, to me, really kind of scary. And he might not always be as tolerant of being ridden like a horse and whatnot as he gets closer to maturity -- teaching your kids to play respectfully with him is a good plan.
Other than that I would work on training *a lot,* and consider training courses with a trainer who can deal with a large breed dog that doesn't seem to like strangers (ie not a class at Petco).
Neutering will likely not entirely eliminate this issue, but it won't aggravate it, either. I would neuter him unless you have a really, really, really compelling reason not to.
And, this is basic advice I see a lot on the forum, you might want to see your vet to eliminate that this sudden change isn't due to some sort of physical discomfort.
