Until 10 weeks old, Spider lived in the back garden of a house with 9 brothers and sisters and his Mother. Although they were feed ad-lib from an open bag of food, items to chew and play with were in short supply. When I gave him his first chew a few days after he came to live with me and then went to stroke him, he crouched low over the chew and growled loudly and for as long as I held my hand on him.

I quickly taught him that 'hands come to give not take' using the technique described in the 'Mine! Teach Your Dog Not To Guard Food And Possessions' ebook, and now I can take anything away from him, even things he values highly like meaty bones or tennis balls. He now trusts that he will get it back and he may get an extra treat too.

By Gwen Bailey