I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. It's a really difficult issue, and frankly for most of the problems you're facing you are going to need a qualified behaviorist or veterinary behaviorist who uses modern, scientifically based force-free methods. And possibly medical intervention, if they determine his aggression is based in fear or anxiety.
The first place I'm going to send you is the Muzzle Up! Project - it has lots of resources about how to make wearing a muzzle a happy, fun, and safe experience for the dog. This will allow you to keep people and other animals safe and may give you some more freedom to do things that will help broaden his world and improve his quality of life.
But unfortunately, there's a limited number of things you can do that will work immediately to make it possible for a vet to examine him. I would have a serious talk with your vet about whether they're able to prescribe oral sedatives or are willing to do something like come out to your car to give him an injected sedative before you get into the office. If they can't or won't, you may need to see if any clinics near you will. I've heard some decent things about Fear Free Pets, which should have a directory of veterinary professionals and clinics that are certified through them if you're in the US, with the stipulation that I haven't used them myself so this is a second-hand recommendation at best. You're right that a vet visit is super important, though. Both for taking care of the Lyme (which can cause or worsen behavior issues) and for checking to make sure he doesn't have any other underlying conditions contributing to his aggression - thyroid problems are a common culprit. It may be genetic - akitas in particular can have pretty serious aggression problems when not carefully bred - but it's best to rule out medical issues first, because no amount of behavior modification or training will fix an issue caused by a health problem.
Aggression issues are hard. And because your dog has bitten seriously in the past, I strongly urge you to follow through with that in-person behaviorist plan, because it's going to be virtually impossible for us (most of whom don't professionally work with dogs) to give you specific behavioral modification advice that will guarantee everyone's safety. We do offer lots of support, though, and I'll be wishing you luck.
The first place I'm going to send you is the Muzzle Up! Project - it has lots of resources about how to make wearing a muzzle a happy, fun, and safe experience for the dog. This will allow you to keep people and other animals safe and may give you some more freedom to do things that will help broaden his world and improve his quality of life.
But unfortunately, there's a limited number of things you can do that will work immediately to make it possible for a vet to examine him. I would have a serious talk with your vet about whether they're able to prescribe oral sedatives or are willing to do something like come out to your car to give him an injected sedative before you get into the office. If they can't or won't, you may need to see if any clinics near you will. I've heard some decent things about Fear Free Pets, which should have a directory of veterinary professionals and clinics that are certified through them if you're in the US, with the stipulation that I haven't used them myself so this is a second-hand recommendation at best. You're right that a vet visit is super important, though. Both for taking care of the Lyme (which can cause or worsen behavior issues) and for checking to make sure he doesn't have any other underlying conditions contributing to his aggression - thyroid problems are a common culprit. It may be genetic - akitas in particular can have pretty serious aggression problems when not carefully bred - but it's best to rule out medical issues first, because no amount of behavior modification or training will fix an issue caused by a health problem.
Aggression issues are hard. And because your dog has bitten seriously in the past, I strongly urge you to follow through with that in-person behaviorist plan, because it's going to be virtually impossible for us (most of whom don't professionally work with dogs) to give you specific behavioral modification advice that will guarantee everyone's safety. We do offer lots of support, though, and I'll be wishing you luck.
