SLight Aggressiveness

Question
I have a 3yr old Chocolate Lab named SMokey.  We've had him since he was a puppy and he's an indoor/outdoor dog.  I also have 2 children ages 8 & 11, both girls.  He's an excellent dog and we love him very much.  But today he did something that I'm not how I should handle.

I was eating bbq chicken wings and Smokey was very interested in them, of course.  He was sitting very close to me watching the wings intently.
My 8yr old came up behind him and gave him a big hug almost laying on his back.  I could see he was annoyed and he move forward just a bit to get away from her but she persisted and layed on his back again.  This time he stood up, turned to her and gave her a very fierce growl.  I don't think he attempted to bite her but it happened so quickly that I can't say for sure.  He didn't continue the 'attack' beyond this turn/growl.  He was more interested in my food.  I immediately got up and established dominance by grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and forcing him to the ground (no hitting).  I gave him a very gruff admonishmet in a very stern voice. He was very submissive, cowered from me and pee'd in the floor.  WHen I let him up, he slinked away to hide under the table.  I continuued to give him 'the look'. I then walked my daughter over to him together so that we could both be 'bigger' than him and to show him that she is dominant and she is with me. We did not hurt him but just stood tall over him and gave him 'the look'.  He seemed very submissive with ears lowered, tial tucked, and didn't want to look us in the eye.

Normally Smokey is very docile.  He's never bitten anyone (though he will bristle up at a stranger or another dog) and I've only seen him snap like this once before when he was about 6 months old.  CIrcumstances were very similar..daughter staying on him when he didn't want her to.

Did I handle this correctly in your opinion?  Is he dangerous or is this 'normal' behavior when the dog is annoyed?

By the way, Smokey is around 100 lbs.  My daughter is maybe 60 lbs so I want to make sure he hasn't turned agressive suddenly.

Thanks for your help.

Answer
Yes, I see it as an aggression problem.  Could be pat of maturing at 3 years old. Much of dog training world is moving away from the harsh correction you gave him.  So far, I haven't learned a good alternative for such a situation.  I would response the same way next time.  You do need to work on leadership issues.  

The 8 year old would be the best, but the 11 year old may be the right age for  4-H dog training.  In my area, clubs form soon after the first of the year.  Even many urban areas have 4-H.  For info look in your phone book under government listings for extension or cooperative extension offices.  Ask specifically about a dog or canine club.  The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class.  A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  Also start with these rules,  http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm  Everybody in the family needs to practice them.  

You also need to teach the 8 year old to respect the dog.  If he doesn't like her hugging him or laying on him, she needs to respect him and not force unwanted attention on him.  Doing so, still does not justify him growling at her.