jrt growling at family when hes laying down

Question
i read a similar situation on your sight about a jrt growling at family members my dog is 1 year old i got him 3 months ago he just started doing this about a month ago first to my wife always when hes laying on a sofa or his bed i get upset and tell him "NO growling"and back hand his bumm he looks at me but doesnt do it to me my son tried putting him in his bed and he tried biting his hand i dont know what to do and why he does this only at night we exercise him regular and he loves everyone during the day.....please let me know what i can do thanx

Answer
It sounds like you have a case of territory aggression going with him. It can make sense since you just got him a few months and he's finally settling into his personal "routine" and his personal space is his claimed territory. Unfortunately doing anything physical when he's acting like that can only matters worse.

First of all, it's important for him to realize that it's not "his" house, it's yours. What I would do are a couple of things. You obviously don't want to have anyone get bit, so I would place a leash on him, just casually, so that when he lying down you can train him by using the "come" command and pull the leash until he is off of the bed and coming toward you then reward him with a treat or praise. You can also eliminate the bed, but that probably won't stop him from claiming another space.

For dogs like this, I always recommend doing casual routines that implement the family social status, including the dog. This means for whatever is being done with him, such as feeding, treat time, praise time, going for a walk...you name it, he is to earn each and every single thing. And he does not get rewarded until he is doing what is expected of him.

Let me know how things go or if any other questions arise.