A freind of mine recently aquired a fine looking male German Shep, close to 2
years of age.
He heas 2 little girls 9 and 6, and was worried how they would interact with
eachother, but the shep is very gentle and protective with his kids.

This dog does not appear to have been trained much, if at all, previously.
He does not respond well to "NO", and he likes to play dumb.
Sometimes he will sit and lay on command, other times he will just ignore the
order, and go on about whatever it is he is trying to do, unless the owner
rises in a threatening manner, then the dog will respond to command.
He does not go on walks often, as he tugs and pulls, and of course has no
idea what it means to heal.
This is not the dogs fault, of course ,,, He obviously needs some guidance.

A matter of concern recently came up, which may cause my freind, whos entire
family loves him and has bonded with him, to give him up.
His 3 year old nephew was over, and of course the kids were running around.
The dog suddenly appeared to see the little kid as game, and lunged and
barked fiercely at him.
It could be that he also thought the child was a threat to the little girls
he is protective of.
The owner luckily had him on a leash, this was in the front yard, and was
able to restrain him.
He was scolded, and of course the little kid was terrified, and didn't come
near the dog again.
I witnessed that, and it happened again a few days later even worse.
The owner is contemplating getting him neutured as a way to calm him down, I
personally am not sure if that'll do any good.

Obviously, most would say "get him professionaly trained".
Good idea, but with kids to feed and tough economic time, he doesn't have the
$$ to comit to such a course.

Any suggestions how to get this dog on the right track ?