Help with new aggression

[bahamamarg]

Ok so earlier, someone mentioned a booklet by Patricia McConnell - the Cautious Canine. It came a few days ago and seems to make sense. The only thing is, I'm not sure I want him to take treats from strangers. There have been cases here where dogs have been poisoned by malicious intent if those people can get close enough! I'm not sure you can do only part of what she calls classic conditioning training. Has anyone tried this method themselves without a trainer? The chances of anyone getting remotely close enough to throw a piece of poisoned meat or something have to be very slim - perhaps the benefit will outweigh the slight negative since we would love to get him comfortable enough that we can take him with us wherever we are going?

Either way, I've decided today to switch up our routine and try some of the techniques. I see that the beach has become the place where he's at his most on edge, as he's constantly looking for people to be behind him or approach us - even though we may only ever encounter anyone once or twice a week at most. He has been fine when we approach stationary people (at the dock for eg) and has done well in the house. I guess it's a learned association as something bad (even though we run and play ball and swim there too) after reading this booklet, I don't think I've identified a strong enough treat to use to try and distract him. Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated