Thanx smokey hun for the links way out of my way, so going to have a chat with the vets friday.

also see what you guys think, but the ex police officer i contacted mailed me back with this, honest opions please.
the red highlight got my concerns up.

Hi Marc,

Thank you for your email. I do not wish to worry you unduly, but the incidents where your dog has shown aggression towards your family members is a concern, and needs sorting out sooner rather than later.They are signs of dominance where the dog is trying to establish himself as the leader of the pack i.e. The Boss,and he needs to be corrected before he does some damage.He is obviously a powerful dog physically,but he will also be powerful mentally.

I do one to one sessions, of an hours duration, where I come to you and I charge £25.

Well done tackling this so pro-actively, it must have been a shock, but I think you are so right to go to a behaviorist for professional advice.

From the sounds of it this ex police handler sounds similar to the one round here. Lovely guy but I would not let my dog near him. He does not believe in treats or positive training, they use choke chains to yank the dog around and believe a dog should do something because you are dominant.

This email sounds very suspect, if you are at all unsure email back and ask if he uses positive training methods, and ask if he runs any classes or has any examples of his methods that you can watch/see.

lol dominance i dont mind 'leader of the pack' gets me a bit wary (cm??)

Honestly, I wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. I don't like what he says, I wouldn't go with ex-police and he is very cheap I know no one wants to pay loads put but I really feel you get what you pay for with behaviourists.

Don't go for a dog trainer, make sure they are an actual behaviourist.

Maybe someone on here can recommend someone good in your area?

pm me

I see you say you live in Burnley, no idea where that is near, I may be able to give you a heads up.

Firstly just to mention that the trainer that helped me a lot with Dexter was a former Police dog handler. She was excellent.

Promarc, might be an idea to chat to this guy on the phone and find out what his actual methods are? You'll soon get a feel for whether he is using positive reinforcement etc.

And remember that even if you book a session with him, if he suggest/does ANYTHING you are uncomfortable with, you can politely decline.

Keep us posted and a hug to gorgeous Sammy!

Thankyou to everyone with positive cooments and help it has helped us and knowing we have people here to openly ask questions makes this forum the best on the web. just including a piccy took this morning he came to me for a kiss then went and layed next to my youngest, to really apreciate how he his with the kids you'd have to be here.

and on this one my daughter is cuddling him you can just see her, on lots of occasions she's cuddle him this way, this is why were so shocked and upset at what has happened. i really think he was uncomfy by being over powered the other night.

i'll shoot you a pm smokey hun just on school run.

Also i dont think i will be using this guy who has emailed me back, we are taking sammy to the vets on Friday and seeing what they suggest and if they can reccomend anyone.

Thanx hun, gonna wait to see what the vet suggests, sammy said thankyou for his hug