jack russell aggression

Question
hello Jill, thanks for taking the time. We have three jack russells..  the dad "junior" who is a male about 8 years old, the mother "jazzie" who is about 5 years old, and  their byproduct,a baby girl, "lil bit" who is about 3 years old now.

It seems that when lil bit is on my husband's or my lap she will growl if one of the other two even looks at her. she knows we dont like this so we make her get down when she growls, then the others jump up in his lap.so now she growls and gets down automatically. sometimes the three of them get into it because of lil bit's growling.......i was doing a belly flea check earlier..... mom and dad both roll over on their bellies no problem.....the baby  {lil bit} is very resistive to it.......growls.......and then they all want to get into it again..tonight mom went for her neck and dad went for her tail. no skins was or has ever been broken when they jump on her.. tonight when she growled i made her get off the bed for few minutes and stayed off until i invited her back up. then she seemed better. the dogs also sleep in our bed with us and the three of them lie all over my husband when he is in the recliner. my husband got the baby on her belly but she growled sooo much he had to carry her out of the room or the others would have beaten her up again. is their behavior normal pack behavior to continually remind others who is the leader or is this unhealthy and what do you suggest?

Answer
Your dog's aggression toward YOU is NOT normal "pack behavior".  A growl is a sign of either fear or dominance and it is also a bite waiting to happen.  Your other two dogs are attempting to discipline this younger one and keep her in her "place" which YOU, on the other hand, consistently counteract.  It really isn't up to the dogs to do this!  You've been tolerating a lot of nonsense in your pack and demonstrating very little leadership.  This has to change.

That dog does not belong in your bedroom for any reason at any time.  She should be sleeping as far away from the rest of her "pack" (which includes the older two) as possible.  Try the kitchen with a soft bed and ignore the whines and other possible reactions she will have for the first few nights.  Additionally, keep her OFF both your laps.  That is a 'resource'..a highly desired location..and she hasn't earned it.  No dog that will not allow you to handle it in any humane manner you choose, and no dog that growls at you for any reason, belongs in your lap, on your bed, or in any way given any sort of signal that its rank is any higher than LAST.  You need to use positive reinforcement on this dog and over the course of several weeks teach her one or two obedience "tricks".  Then make her WORK for your attention.  Greet her LAST.  Feed her LAST.

Begin training the other two dogs as well (all separately, different words used for obedience work.)  Get some control over this pack.  Dogs require consistent, fair leadership and, when they don't get it, they're left to their own devices (and you can see the mess this is causing.)  Observe what happens among your dogs after the first ten days of this rank demotion and report back.