Todd,
I'm getting the feeling from you and others that dogs are not unlike the horses I've had. They'll challenge you and you have to establish where you'll be in the pecking order...either above them or below them, and make it clear to them. That fundamental issue established, other details are now within the realm of the possible. Without it, you are unlikely to succeed. Dogs being a higher order thinking animal than a horse, I'd think the establishment of pecking order would be more lasting and less likely to need reinforcement as the relationship progressed.
