Most behavioral dog issues, I often face are the result of the human’s internal problems. Their fear of crowds is the most common, to the dog’s possibility of taking over the household-this is rare. I can list many concerns, I've heard in the past, but I just listed two.
Things we need to watch for is our own fears of life that we as a person deal with internally. If you are afraid of crowds the dog will become anxious in a group of his peers. Physical traits that are clues that the dog has been effected by your issues; let’s say you grab the leash and your dog understands it’s time to go outside; suddenly the dog starts to lick his lips, shake like he’s wet, whale eyes (a lot of white showing), etc., this is a clear sign you were nervous early on and this is the result of your insecurities. The dog actually is trying to calm you.
My advice: Stay calm, take a few deep breathes, work a worse case scenario in your head, of the “what ifs,” that most likely won’t happen, and review how you can plan for said situation(s). Once calm, move to put the leash on your dog. You might even want to have a nice scent on that helps to calm you down.
The comment, I recently heard about the puppy, “can someday take me down!” All I can say is train the puppy and calm down. If you are not correcting the puppy today, then yes, your adult dog can potentially take you and the household over when older.
In this situation a visit with a professional therapist might be in-order.
Happy Tails 🐾