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Sounds like classic fear aggression..
When most dogs get scared, they shy away...he's not wired that way...he's wired to run AT the threat. All he really wants is for the threat to go away.
If the threat does go away, he wins...behavior is rewarded...behavior gets worse as he gains confidence in his ability to make things go away by acting aggressively.
If you
console him or try to comfort him while he's exhibiting fear aggression, he *may* take this as a confirmation that it's an OK behavior.
If you
scold him while he's exhibiting fear aggression, he *may* associate being scolded when strangers show up, which may make him feel even more threatened by or nervous around strangers.
What he needs to be taught it one of two things.. Either:
A) that strangers aren't a threat, or
B) that he can't make strangers go away by being aggressive.
The reason I came to learn about fear aggression is because a lot of LGDs have this tendency. It's not necessarily a bad thing in LGDs, though, as it's sorta part of what makes them tick. They more confident they get in their ability to turn threats the other way, the more comfortable and happy they are to be in their proper roles...which translates to a healthier dog doing a better job as guardian.
I had to break one of our LGDs of fear aggression toward me when we first got him. I started out trying to teach him option 'A'...that I wasn't a threat. He took that to mean I was weak, and that actually made the problem worse for a time. Then I set out to teach him 'B', which I did by standing on the other side of a fence and refusing to go away no matter how aggressive he got. He eventually reached the conclusion that he couldn't make me go away and began actually showing me his fear instead of his aggression, at which point I re-tried teaching him 'A'...that I wasn't a threat to him anyhow.
It worked that time, and we're best buds now.
He still hates everyone else but me and my wife, though.
As an LGD, that's acceptable...but that obviously won't work in your case.
Having said that, what I'd suggest is to neither comfort or scold the dog when he's throwing a fit, but instead to let him be ALL ALONE in his decision to try and ward off things that are WAY BIGGER than he is. If you notice that someone begins backing away, ask them not to do that. Have them stand there and look at the dog until he realizes he's bitten off more than he can chew, so to speak. The other person doesn't have to
do anything, per se...it's actually best if they don't. They just need to stand there. Once he calms down, they can offer him a treat. If he goes berserk again when they reach out to him (or when they turn to walk away, or whatever) have them start over and stand him down again.
Problem is, we're talking about people who happen through your place of work, and there's no gaurantee that he won't one day escalate his bad behavior to the point that he actually *bites* someone to see if that works in getting them to go away... So, if this strategy won't work...it just won't work. In that case, I'd say it's time to consider not bringing him to your place of work anymore.
You did, afterall, mention that this was A RESTAURANT type environment. Perhaps a dog shouldn't be running around a restaurant peeing at strangers anyhow?!?
