To cut a long story short i got a welfare dog at 6 months old(welfare knew of both parents one reg one not but both were nice dogs)well she is a nice dog to me but not to other people she hates others.she has had a snap at my oldest child twice even though she (the dog)loves my eldest child (i know just by the way they interact)well the rescue place i got her from told me to get her by the scruff of the neck look her in the eye and tell her she is bad or words to that effect and to get my child to show her that too(child would not do that but still plays with her and has no grudge about her behavior)Well since all this the dog has grabbed a child by the arm and goes for my husband any time he has to tell her to do anything(ie sit,stay,wait or even bed)I have no probs with her,but am getting a little wary of leaving her with anyone as i feel she will do something that will result in her being branded as an unpredictable dog and not to be trusted, can anyone offer advice on a welfare dog from experience.She is now 2 years old and never been phyisically punished by us (before anyone asks)just the occasional raised voice if she did wrong.

I'm astonished that you were told to get your child to carry out that sort of full on behaviour towards an adult dog!  It's VERY challenging to a dog to do that, and you really shouldn't be surprised if the dog comes back at ANYONE who does it..........  Whilst you don't want the dog to think that that sort of behaviour is OK, many dogs react badly to 'punishment', and IMHO it's better to ignore what you can ignore, and distract from the behaviours you can't ignore.  By reacting like this to a dog who ha already shown unstable temperament it is likely to make the connection between interacting with your child and bad things happening, and start to choose to positively avoid any association (which I am sure is not what you want) or even defend itself against your child.

Some children do seem to set dogs off - my youngest is one of them - if you'd seen my Springer curled up on his lap the other day you wouldn't believe it (and she'd chosen his lap over any other member of the family!)  A friend of mine has a daughter whose the same - they just don't understand/read even the most basic dog language :(  The classic way my youngest gets himself in trouble is by approaching very slowly and/or maintaining eye contact - maybe this is what your child is doing - it's perfectly natural behaviour human to human, but not in a dogs world, and children have to learn this.......

I would firstly get the dog checked out for veterinary reasons (pain in a joint, eyesight, hearing, infections being the basics) and then ask for a referral to a behaviourist who can watch your dog and family in action and see if they can pinpoint what is setting off these issues........

The dog was only a pup of about 8 months when i was advised to get hold of her and for my daughter to show her the same.My daughter is not one of those children who just set a dog off she is a very calm and considerate girl especially where animals are concerned now if we were talking about my youngest i would tend to agree with you on that.But she seems to be getting worse as she gets older(with strangers and people she knows)The children round where i live love to come over and say hello to her and my other dog when we are out but just lately i have been too worried to let anyone near for fear of her taking a swipe as she is getting easily spooked(does not like people walking behind us ,crossing the road to us that sort of thing)A nd she seems to detest my hubby all of a sudden(she won't even look at him some days)Maybe a trip to the vets is what's needed just to check her over.

firstly, i would take her for a checkup.  Secondly, when u were advised to grab the dog by the scruff, has this action been done by any of the family??  This is not something that should be done, by doing this you will lose the trust of ur dog and can be detremental to a fear aggressive dog, if ur dog is actin thru fear.  Also, if u do this around a child for example, the dog may associate this with the child being around and can cause for attacks to happen to the child. 
Try and associate positive things with the dog being around the child, ie treats and play.

who feeds the dog in the family? if it is u, then start getting ur husband involved in this by getting him to feed the dog instead

It wud be hard for me to give u any advice if there is an aggression problem present and would urge you to seek out a reputable behaviourist.  However seeing as the pup is still young, i would be suprised if there was a problem with aggression

Thamks Jenny think i will take her to vets to be on the safe side maybe she has a few health related issues.She is now 2 years and it does not seem to me to be fear related just that she can be unpredictable at times