growling Jack Russell

Question
We recently adopted a 3 year old (we think), short haired, long-legged Jack.  She has few behavior problems, but has recently begun growling at my 8 year old daughter, but not at my 11 year old son.  She doesn't bite, bark, chew, dig or do any of the other problematic Jack things.  I know my daughter needs to establish her dominance, but now she has taken to avoiding the dog, because her feelings are hurt.  I'm the dog's favorite, so I'm wondering if my son and I should start ignoring the dog for a while?  My husband is away for a year in the military, so he's not involved yet.  I want my daughter to enjoy having a pet, and I won't have her bullied by a ten pound dog...but I'm not sure what to do.  Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Melissa,
It could be a couple of things. He either doesn't trust her for some reason,(maybe the previous owner had a young daughter who hurt him) or most likely he is jealous of her because she is important to YOU, and you pay lots of attention to her.  It's crucial to send the message to the dog that you will in NO WAY tolerate him growling at her. The SECOND he even looks at her the wrong way, you have to instantly correct him with a sound and a firm touch, just as his canine mother would do to him as a puppy. Yelling and scolding words don't work well with dogs when it comes to corrective behaviors. Give him a firm poke/touch to the shoulder and use the sound "psh" when you do it. Have you watched the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan? This is his technique and works amazing.
The show is on Friday nights on the National Geographic Channel, try if you can to watch it.  
The trick is to break the dogs concentration on the aggression immediately.
Dogs have an uncanny sixth sense and can tell when a person is afraid of them. The worst thing your daughter could do is to avoid him. She is sending a loud and clear message to him that she is afraid. He will take advantage of that fear and dominate her. You can teach her to do the same technique, be careful, but don't show any uncertainty or fear to the dog. As Cesar says "calm and assertive energy".
Have your daughter do some fun things with the dog to establish some bonding in a positive setting, like throwing a ball, letting her put his food in the bowl, taking him for a walk, etc.
As with anything practice makes perfect, so keep up the good work.
Hope this helped.
Take care.