I gave Jasper his tea earlier, a quarter-duck carcase (he'd had his first quarter a few days ago with no problems) and a lump of random meat. I put it in the garden for him, went back to the kitchen and got on with our tea.
A bit later I was changing a kitchen roll over so put a dog treat in the old cardboard tube, folded the ends over, popped into the hall and called him. He appeared from the study, I let him sniff the end, and offered it to him. He backed off, warily... and growled at me. A moment later he came towards me and bit my hand!
(Just slight red marks, no broken skin, though there may be a little bruising later.) After retreating to the kitchen and peering through the hatch into the study, I realised that the duck was in the middle of the floor. He wasn't sure what to do with it, but sure as hell wasn't going to let me near it. There followed a little dance as I tried to work out how to block him in the study when he was standing right by the door full of suspicion, and the fireguard we use just inside the door. This involved me going through the kitchen into the conservatory, opening the other door into the study and putting a treat outside, going back into the kitchen, shutting the door behind me, round to the door from the hall into the study to position the fireguard while he was getting the treat... armed with a broom just in case.
Shortly after he took the carcase into the garden, just before OH and DS2 came home. He came to greet them (leaving the carcase) and they misunderstood my warning to leave him there, and went into the study to make a fuss of him. Thank goodness, the excitement of seeing them must have made him forget the carcase, and he was fine with them. He then went out into the garden and finished eating it.
I had assumed that this bit of duck would be like the last one, and easily eaten, but that must have been a different bit of the bird and this one must have had some much chunkier bones. Really, I know, I should have been watching him while he was eating particularly as it was different from his normal food. My bad
I'm gutted that after all this time, he is still so suspicious and will still bite (albeit not hard) when I haven't even gone near his bone and am just offering him something. Though (this has just occurred to me) I suppose I had effectively called him away from it - and he's very good at putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 5
