jack russells behaviour

Question
I have an 8 month male jack russell. Hes a very affectionate, loving dog. The only problem i have is when i lift up my children he starts jumping growling and snapping at them. At night when he sleeps with them i go in to cover the kids up and he growls at me and shows his teeth. Im afraid hes going to bite me. Is he just being protective of the kids.

Answer
Hi Sonya,
You have to stop that behavior right now.
Get him off their beds and into a crate at night....
If you don't do something now it will only get worse.
He is establishing dominance over the children, in other words he thinks they are his property. It's not cute and it's not safe.  You need to take back your power and start being HIS BOSS not the other way around.
The minute you show fear or back down at his aggression like pulling your hand away, you are confirming to him that he makes the rules.
Have you ever heard of Cesar Milan The Dog Whisperer? He has a show on Friday nights on The National Geographic Channel. If you can, try to watch it, he deals with all kinds of aggressions and can show you how to change that behavior in your dog. You can't be afraid. I'll try to explain the method here but if you can get your hands on a tape or a book by Cesar, I would highly recommend it.
Put a leash on him in the house. Let it drag around behind him while you are training.
You will use your hand as if it's your dog's mothers mouth. You will be acting like his mother when he was a puppy. Dog's don't communicate with words but with gestures and touches. Think about how a mother dog reprimands her puppy.... she bends down and takes hold of his neck in her mouth and redirects his behavior. Using your hand - be firm - and give him a tug on his neck and make a noise like "psh"! at the same time. So you are doing the correction with the hand and the noise at the same time. Make it ASSERTIVE, not hysterical and nervous. Be in control, be the boss.
So, when you pick up your child and he starts to growl,
immediately give him a correction with the neck and the "psh" sound. Turn your back on him and walk away.
If he starts again, do the same thing. Be consistent with the same tug and sound every time he starts to show aggression.  It sounds simple but it really does work. Don't waiver or get nervous or feel bad for him. It might take some time, but again stay consistent!
If he is not close enough for you to do the neck tug, use the leash and give it a firm tug with the sound.
I would definitely do a different bed routine for him too.
You are the master... he should sleep at your feet.
Give him a nice bed in your room and if you have to -  keep him on a leash attached to the bed or bureau so he can not leave his assigned area.  This is what I do with my own dogs when they are puppies training. Eventually you won't need to leash him at night, he will just KNOW where he is supposed to sleep. Again consistency is the key! You don't want an aggressive dog in any way shape or form, so stay strong and be firm and assertive. You're the boss!!
If you don't stop or change that behavior he will become completely obsessive with the kids and that could get dangerous.  Best of luck with everything! Let me know how it goes!  
You can do it!
Take care,
Carol