[Zumie05]

A lot of people on here don't think that it is a good idea to pet (aka bother) a dog while she is eating or chewing. Would you like to be pet and poked at while you were eating?

Growling over a resource is due to the dog being FEARFUL that the item will be taken away. That is why it is best to play the trade game, as brunie's mom mentioned, because it teaches the dog to instead look forward to you coming by because you are going to offer something extra tasty, and then give the item back on top of that! Doing this game erases a dog's fear because 1) they never get the item permanently taken away and 2) they get extra goodies.

I hope this makes sense!