[manymuddypaws]

In my opinion you did the right thing. You didn't over react and punish him- nor did you snap your hand away and not finish what you started. By over reacting you may have been bitten- and by being scared and backing off you would have told him that he can boss you around by showing a little teeth.

It is hard to know exactly why he acted that way- without knowing the dog- but my advice would be to keep an eye on him and maybe enroll in some obedience classes (if you haven't already) sometimes something as basic as an obedience class can really help the relationship between you and your dog. As for the being in pain it doesn't sound like that was the situation at all- but you never know. Nonetheless- pain or not Dudley should never growl at you.
-amanda