3yr old springer bitch/spayed during phantom pregnancy/growling.

i have fairly recently rescued a 3yr old springer bitch,i had her speyed 2weeks ago unfortunately in the middle of a phantom preg!she seems to be over this now but some behaviour that was present b4 now appears to have got worse.she had become very challenging and growling and snarling alot,i have done lots of ignoring her etc and she now seems to respect me more as she is following me about.BUT!!!she has decided that my 5yr old daughter is below her,she growls when she enters the room,growls when accidently touched in the car.i have already stopped my daughter going to her, trying to stroke her(fear reasons mainly!)she does the feeding already.floss(dog)will quite often sit and go out of room if told by my daughter,wont come when called though unless there is food about!i am just after some advice,as to where to go next??obviously im worried that the growl might turn into a bite.but we just want a dog who is at ease with the family,all the time not just when there is food or we have just returned.any thought will be helpfull.thankyou and SORRY for the mega post.

If there is no medical reason for the growling then you should probably ask your vet to refer you to a behaviourist. He/she will be able to asses the dog and its interactions with you and your daughter and advise you on the best course of action.

The following general suggestions may help, but please take no chances with your daughter's safety, and do seriously consider engaging a behaviour consultant.

How responsive is Floss to your commands? If she is obedient for you then maybe your daughter can help with the training by standing in front of you and giving simple commands such as 'sit', 'drop', 'come', etc. By positioning your daughter in front of you this can help the dog to understand that the child shares your authority.

The Nothing In Life Is Free program should also help to establish in Floss's mind her position in the household: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

You may find this Dogweb article of general interest:
http://www.dogweb.co.uk/talkdogs/dog...ren_10261.html

SB seems to have covered everything in her usual commonsense way! Nothing to add from the Arctic.

Snorri

thanks sb i have been using the nil for free thing already,and the ignoring seems to be going well no growly incidents of late,but daughter hasnt really tried to touch her either yet.floss does actually listen to her though,she will sit,wait,and leave a room or place when my daughter tells her.im thinking its more of a get lost and leave me alone growl.(know how she feels)?