We have a beautiful,  placid collie pup aged 15 weeks, she is coming along fine with her training but i am unsure as to how I should react when she occasionally growls when I approach her if she has a chew or something she really likes. I understand that she needs to learn to respect me as "boss" (she never growls at my husband) but just need some advice as to how to react in this one situation.

she is resource guarding, protecting what she thinks you might be after.  You need to spend a lot of time ADDING things to her collection, swapping the thing she has for something MUCH better so that she does not see you as competition.  This would include the food bowl, only put some in and then add it so that she always associates your presence with good things rather than a potential thief! :D

Spot on tohme

I agree 100% :)  Too many folk think it's necessary that a dog 'learns' that humans can take food away when ever they like, and this just leads to dogs becoming more and more defensive around their food - even the lowest ranking dog has the right to protect their food in canine society, so it's unatural for a dog to allow anyone to take food away.  By teaching the dog 'swopsies' you can get most things away from a dog in the unlikely case that they have something they shouldn't.  I've always used this technique, and the other day my Springer Spaniel brought a lamb bone to me which hubby had left on the table top in the kitchen, she thought it was a wonderful prize and didn't I have anything better she could swop it for - sadly, I think on this occasion she was dissapointed :(

AS you know i train the same way Digger, and was able to retrieve a lamb rib thing Banya had found in our garden; she proudly brought it to show me.

Lindsay
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