ORSON the tiny terrier brought a reign of terror to his new owners and it took an expert to bring him down to size.

The foot-high Jack Russell turned on Sophie McCoy and Daniel Moores, snapping, snarling and biting - unless they crawled around on all fours on the floor.

The pair were so terrified by Orson's mood swings that once they spent an hour standing on their kitchen work surfaces while the furious dog snapped away beneath them.

The couple called in the experts who discovered that little Orson felt intimidated when people towered above him. Now, after training by pet therapists Bark Busters, one-year-old Orson is the epitome of canine calm. "When we got Orson he was a monster," said 26-year-old television director Sophie. "Now I've gone from hating him to loving him."

Ferocious

She and musician Daniel, 25, got the pet from Leigh Dogs' Home.When they brought him home to Orchard Close in Leigh, that's when the trouble really began.

They were subjected to ferocious attacks and suffered some nasty nips.

Daniel said: "Once Orson started there was no stopping him. He would snarl and lunge at you."

Sophie said: "Once we were forced to spend an hour on the kitchen work surface to get away from him.

"When we discovered that lowering ourselves down to his height calmed him down we were reduced to crawling round our own home."

Therapist Carol O'Herlihy said: "Orson was determined and needed convincing he couldn't bully people into submission."

Daniel added: "The results are amazing. With help from the experts it has all been worthwhile."