So I was at my sister's last weekend playing with her dogs (huskies) and one wanted to play with a toy. Juneau brings me a toy and as I was wrestling it away it dropped on the floor. So I said 'Where's your toy?' She looked at me, and looked at my sister, back at me. I tried repeating the phrase, but nothing, it was like the toy disappeared. I miss Tuk...he was much smarter! lol

When Tuk and I would play this game and the toy would fall on the floor, I would say where's your toy and he would look at the toy and look back at me. If I said give me your toy he would again, look at the toy and back at me. I knew what he was thinking, 'It's right there! Pick it up and throw it!!' Sometimes he would nudge the toy, perhaps I hadn't noticed where it was on the floor, lol. He would even makes noises if I persisted, as if to say 'Come on Mom, get the toy!'

We have the thread about signals and a while back about teaching a dog to look at where you point, well Tuk had all kind of signals for me and I think he pointed to! He just did it with his eyes. He rarely barked but could tell me when he wanted on the bed, point to his toy, indicate which toy he wanted if I was by it and he wasn't, when he was bored, when he didn't want me to leave (he only did this on days I had off work) and he always knew when I was going to my sisters (I don't know how) and would ask to come and lots of others too. He was a seriously smart dog. But then again...he was a Cairn.

I am always amazed at the different tones of barks, grunts and growls. They all have a different meaning.... then there is the eye contact with a raised paw, a lick on the hand or a special toy put down at my feet. Its all about body language to our four legged friends... and I am including my horse also. Its a language all of its own

Holly certainly demonstrates different body language and sounds for what she wants!

For example, if she wants me to play with her she will not bring a toy but go to where her toys are, look at me and keep patting them - then look at me - it is if she is saying coming on, lets play!

Edited October 10, 201014 yr by Holly&me

Brody is a big sasser! Every day when we come home from work, Brody will meet us at the door and bring his kong as a gift to us. When we take him out to potty he will leave it by the door. Almost every night we will be sitting on the couch and he will start "barking" (if you will, it's more his 'I want a treat' bark". We tell him to go get his kong and he will run downstairs by the door to get his kong and he will kind of toss it our way. When we tell him to bring it closer he will kind of do his excited howl at us like " I already brought it all that way...give me a break!"

Scruffy will fetch his favourite toy and drop it at my feet and nudge my leg, he'll keep looking at the toy and nudging me until I throw it, then he's happy playing fetch. This goes on until he's fed up.

When it's his dinner time he'll come and sit staring at me and when I tease him, asking him what he wants, he'll talk in that Cairn way, they are so cute these Cairns.

There are so many ways - but lately, and it's not so much telling me what to do as telling me how he feels. Harvest has begun and we get up early in the morning. Dempsy allows me to carry him downstairs in the morning and lay him on the couch covered up with a cozy soft blanket, head perch up on his pillow. He doesn't bother to move a muscle, just rolls his eyes to see what you're doing. Let's me kiss him on his cute little head and then he shuts his eyes for another hour of sleep.

Dempsy is not a morning dog and he's not afraid to admit it.

Malcolm has a routine at dinner time. First there is the soft high pitched "woo woo". Then the "yarl". Next a hearty round of barks. Then he pokes my leg with his paw and jumps on my leg. If still no response he jumps in my lap and gives me a good stare right in the eyes. There is no ignoring a Cairn allowed.

Malcolm is like Dempsy, he likes to sleep in. After he does get up, has breakfast and the trip outside to the yard, he will come back and curl up in my pillow for more snoozing.

Bailey will come and look at me with his tail is wagging, so I ask him where's your toy...go get your toy and he will go and get one. When I do that with Radar, he just looks at me blank. When I come home from work they greet me at the door with a toy ready to play and will chase me around the house with the toy until I do. Radar is our talker, he makes all the growns and yips.

I have nothing to add because I haven't yet been thoroughly trained by Buffy - she thinks I'm an idiot because I don't speak fluent Cairn - but I wanted to say "welcome back" to Dawn. I'm so happy to see you posting again!

Ditto - to welcome back Dawn!!

paisley has a favorite game, where she takes a toy or ball on the bed and will play with it a minute, then push it off. i guess ive gone to get it too many times because now she will lay there and stare at it then turn around and look at me like "hello, you can get off this thing easier than me!"

also funny thing that just happened: i had just taken her to go potty and she ran to the backdoor whining. i didn't want to risk that maybe she just didnt quite finish so i took her out. turns out she had left a toy out there and really just wanted to get it so she could play with it inside. silly dog.

I love how wallE will hide a ball or bone or whatnot, then run to whom ever is home as if to say "come find it!!" Then as soon as we head towards it, he darts back and gets it before we can! LOL He always wins that one!

Louie, loves to clang his food bowl. He runs excitedly to the bowl, nudges and lifts so it clangs on the floor.. over and over. All day long. Whether it's feeding time or not. :lol Then he will look at me excitedly. I started putting the bowls on top of the food bin, and now he will go to the food bin, look at the bowls and look at me. Jumping up and trying to knock the bowls off.

Also, when we play ball, he throws the ball at me, and if it's too far from me I'll say "Get the ball!" and he will get it and bring it closer to me.

Also, when we play ball, he throws the ball at me, and if it's too far from me I'll say "Get the ball!" and he will get it and bring it closer to me.

Man I wish. He will drop it on the other side of the room and nudge it, expecting us to go there and get it. No way lil' buddy! Eventually, after a lot of whining and whimpering, he nudges it closer to us. We have a long hall way and can whip it using a chuck it from the couch in the living room. Makes for great runs on rainy days!

Zekey has a way of pawing at my leg as if to say "Can you please move your leg so that I can jump up on your lap for some scritches?". If it's accompanied by barking, though, it means "Ahem. I haven't gotten my walk today and it's waaaaay overdue. Are you going to get up or what?"

Gavin, if he doesn't want to be picked up, has an awful caterwalling (sp?) sound, like he's in dire pain. Sometimes it sounds like mooing or baa-ing. It's grating enough to the ears that I put him down immediately! Didn't take him long to train me!

Yesterday I was laundering all Kirby's mats, blankets and towels and he walked over to his smaller crate that was up on a cedar chest in the garage - husband says he looks like he's going to try and get up in it (laughing like it wasn't possible!) and before the words were out of his mouth Kirby jumps on the tackle box and into the crate on top of the cedar chest - nudges the mat in there out as if to say "you missed this one!" How smart are these guys?!

Murphy tells us when he wants to play. Ususally it is by a toy being dropped on your face while you are snoozing peacefully on the couch.

Other times he will bring the toy and squeak it until you are tired of hearing it squeak and throw it for him. The squeaking can go on for what seems like days.

We went out of town and left him in the care of his grandparents this past weekend. He loves them to bits because he can do pretty much whatever he wants to do when he's with them. When we picked the boy up on Saturday evening, both Gramma and Grampa looked exhausted. Murphy had a smug look on his face. Being grandparents of the cutest dog in the world, they said he was a perfect angel. Judging by the way they looked, I would have to say the boy was a typical Cairn...

I'm sure he bossed them around the entire time we were away!

I do love how smart these little dogs are though. When I want to play with him, I can tell him to go get his Wubba or his ball or his rat (rat is code for every other toy he has that is soft and squeaky). He always brings back the right toy.

Gavin, if he doesn't want to be picked up, has an awful caterwalling (sp?) sound, like he's in dire pain. Sometimes it sounds like mooing or baa-ing. It's grating enough to the ears that I put him down immediately! Didn't take him long to train me!

OMG!! Cuddles does this!! She NEVER wants to be picked up so she does it every.single.time. When she sees me going for her, she'll roll on her tummy and then when I pick her up she SCREECHES this awful noise like I'm killing her!! I always just say "Oh God! I'm not killing you!" and I continue to pick her up. But, it's ear splitting sometimes. Then she licks her lips over and over in nervousness. She really hates being picked up.