How to become Alpha?

[Tony]

Ok, we have a 10 month old cairn.

I live with my parents.

The dog thinks my dad is the alpha in the house.

My mom and I...well, I guess the dog thinks we're peers.

At home, he bites shoes, and runs around with it, we yell "No!" or yell his name, but he keeps dodging us, etc.

So we get my dad, and he comes in the room, and growls, and the dog stops and drops the item.

Its the same when we walk him, sometimes he picks up a stick, and he wont let us get it out of his mouth, he moves his head, etc...but when my dad does it, the dog just opens his mouth.

Also, the dog sometimes starts barking up a storm when he is bored (even though he has like 50 toys) but my dad just yells his name, and he stops barking.

Sometimes, the dog gets excited and starts biting me, I yell "No" and try to grab his muzzle, but he dodges and bites me...I even try spanking him, but it doesnt work, and he keeps biting...but my dad will come by and make some noise, and the dog will stop.

But the thing is, my dad is going on a trip for awhile, so...who will rule the house when hes not there?

I hear my mom in the morning (she feeds the dog, and takes him for a walk in the morning) yelling at him for biting her, or her slippers...she holds his mouth close and yells NO, but obviously its not working. So he obviously doesnt think of her as an alpha.

How can I get my mom or even me, to become the alpha?

[kayharley]

Wow....that's interesting. I'd think the person who feeds, walks, takes care of and grooms would be the main disciplinarian (is that a word? ) There must be some kind of connection between your Cairn and your Dad and I just don't have any answers for you. I know my youngest Cairn does not listen to my husband. He'll say something to her and she'll ignore him. I say the same thing and she obeys. I love it!!

I'll bet others on this forum can give you some advice. Good Luck

[wags]

Well, the first thing I want to say is "Can I borrow your Dad?"

Your dog must sense your Dad is confident.

My cairn listens to us too, but in a different way. There is no way we can get a shoe away from him by just asking for it. So we barter. The moment we say "TRADE for Cottage Cheese," he drops whatever he is holding and runs to the refrigerator.

As for misbehaving, I look him in the eyes as if he were a child, yell at him, and shame him. If he has growled at someone in the family and guarding his toy, I yell at him. He gets remorseful. Then I kick away his toy, shame him, yell at him, and put it out of reach.

Maybe this works for me because I think he is human.

I was just thinking- Is your Dad very tall?

Height is also important in disciplining- I make sure I tower above my dog when I'm displeased.

[Tony]

>>As for misbehaving, I look him in the eyes as if he were a child, yell at him, and shame him. If he has growled at someone in the family and guarding his toy, I yell at him. He gets remorseful. Then I kick away his toy, shame him, yell at him, and put it out of reach.

Both my mom and I yell at him, and he doesnt seem to care.

>>I was just thinking- Is your Dad very tall?

Not really, Im about 4 inches taller.

>>Height is also important in disciplining- I make sure I tower above my dog when I'm displeased.

He doesnt even tower over the dog.

For instance, when the dog is biting me (Im sitting on the floor with him) my dad would walk by the door way and either clear his throat/growl, or just say the dog's name, and he will stand up and look over at my dad.

Funny thing is...sometimes when my dad is yelling at the dog, the dog will walk over and kinda hide behind me or my mom.

[bradl]

Try signing up for a basic obedience class, with yourself or your mother as handler (pick one and stick with it - inconsistency is very confusing to dogs). Plan from the beginning on repeating it; if your instructor suggests you move on to the next level after the first course, celebrate and congratulate yourself. Try to find a class run by an obedience club (see akc.org for a club finder search thingy); a class run by a store would be better than nothing. If you have several choices in your area, call around and choose a club that seems experienced with terriers and small dogs. If a trainer tries to give you the idea that terriers are somehow less trainable than 'big dogs' - feel free to go elsewhere. They may train differently, and for different reasons, but terriers are wicked smart and can learn whatever they choose to, and whatever you teach them.

Tip: sitting on the floor with the dog invites him to play with you as an equal. Dogs play with their mouths and do lots of mouthing and light biting of each other - we are not used to biting and do not tolerate it well -- nor should we have to.

Quiet confidence, unruffled firmness, and consistency go further than yelling and dramatics. Dogs correct each other with a low growl or a short quick snarl/bark - high pitched and repeated barks (or yelling) may be interpreted as demands for play. Yelling at the dog may actually encourage it to continue doing whatever its doing.

Don't lose your cool. Cultivate attitudes like "I don't THINK so, buster." "Not so fast, punk." "You and whose army, dude?" "Time out, pupster." "Nice try, fella." Try not to put yourself in a position where you are chasing him around. (It's another game, and puts you in the lower position.) Instead, pretend to ignore him and casually see if you can angle him into a corner or somewhere you know you can finally catch him. THEN quickly grab him (gently but firmly) and just as casually put him into his crate with some quiet shaming words, or remove him from the problem area, or whatever.

Just some ideas. My opinions only.

[CathyAnn]

Cultivate attitudes like "I don't THINK so, buster." "Not so fast, punk." "You and whose army, dude?" "Time out, pupster." "Nice try, fella."

Sorry....but I am LOL !

Can you tell who's the softie in our house ......

Cathy

[bradl]

Don't ask if I follow my own advice.

[Milopup]

Do most of y'all just have a soft spot and let some of the naughty cairn traits pass on by? I am a softie, and even though I have to put my foot down on some issues, my pup does not always listen.

Even at almost 1 years old, he still chews on everything (shoes, carpet, electric wires if I would let him), and whines when he can't go hang out outside and watch the world.

[wheezie23]

Brad, Brad, Brad.......

"Not so fast, Punk!" just did me in tonight!! Thanks again for the comic relief!!

thela

[Scully'sMom]

I can tell Scully a hundred times to drop something and it's like "yeah, right". My husband says "Scully, DROP IT!", and darn if she doesn't do it. I think it has something to do with the deeper voice. Of course, mom is the one who does the potty clean up, feeding, bathing, etc. and I can see that doesn't matter to Miss Scully when it comes to discipline. Dad's the KING!

[Guest T.C.]

If a trainer tries to give you the idea that terriers are somehow less trainable than 'big dogs' - feel free to go elsewhere. They may train differently, and for different reasons, but terriers are wicked smart and can learn whatever they choose to, and whatever you teach them.

Brad:

Hopefully this quote thing works

Just curious as to how training a terrier is different? I've had plenty of experience training the "big dogs" and would have thought the training to be the same except in the level of intensity (i.e. a correction that is necessary for a Rottweiller in full defense drive would send a Yorkie flying into the wall.)

The advice you have given is exactly what I have been taught. Keep the dog working - if he's busy working, he's minding you and that makes you the leader. Even at home he doesn't get to relax - if he's sitting it's because you put him in a sit-stay, ditto a down-stay. He needs your release before he gets to do what he wants. At first keep a leash or line on him at home and give a correction as necessary. As he begins to accept your leadership, then you can begin to slcak off a bit, but you never get to truly stop. Depending on the dog you can also add positive reinforcement like pats or special games for good behaviour - be aware that the release is a reward - keep food rewards out of the picture. For the long term, periodic reminders (random reinforcement) with a down or sit stay, keeps him on his toes.

Along the lines of getting down to his level on the floor, allowing the dogs on the bed or furniture puts the dog on even level with the people. This is okay if you don't have dominance issues, but definately a no-no if you do. It may seem cruel, but if you watch a bitch train her pups she doesn't mess around (sharp nip, etc.) and they learn double quick time whose boss. Consistency is also extremely important - mean what you say EVERY time - or don't bother wasting your breath.

[Guest T.C.]

P.S. Forgot, don't get emotional. Keep it businesslike, make eye contact when you give the command to get your point across then "ignore" him (watch him with the eyes in the back of your head ) until you decide to release. It will keep him watching you - again looking to you as the leader. If you stare at him while he's in the down/stay, you are challenging him and he might feel impelled to meet your challenge. You don't want to start with that.

[bradl]

Hi T.C.,

Nothing major, just some techniques seem to work better than others with small dogs. Minor example ... using a treat under the nose and moving it downwards to the floor will often 'down' a big dog nicely, but the shift in height is not very significant to a small dog. A trainer who works with paps and such may have some back-saving tips for the handlers with smaller dogs. Just little things.

From a few years of going to a local class that has an unusual number of terriers, my observation is that the terriers (Cairns anyway) typically don't do as well as some dogs with repetition, or too-long exercises. I won't say their attention span is short, it's more "Well, I just DID that, maybe you'd like it better if I tried THIS new variation?" Probably all dogs do this, it just seems to happen faster and more frequently with terriers. Perhaps because of the potentially dangerous work they were bred to do, they are quite independent problem solvers and partnering with a handler has to become their own idea. On the plus side, when they decide to work with you, they are often joyful partners, with a lot of ring prescence. I don't think it's about ability, more about style. In our training building, it's always the Cairns finding mice, birds, moved-in possums, etc. We used to take classes at a facility where the instructor was appalled that we allowed our dogs to do earthwork ("totally incompatible with obedience!"), assumed all Cairns had hard mouths (some do, some don't), etc.

Of course, all generalizations are false :-) These are just mine.

[Tony]

The dog (Bosco) is funny.

He was biting on my mom's shoe again, so my dad yelled at him, then held the shoe up to Bosco's face (to see if he would bite it again)

Bosco kept turning his head so he wouldnt looking at the shoe.

My dad kept moving the shoe in front of his head and Bosco kept turning his head so he wouldnt see it

[CathyAnn]

Tony....sounds like a typical Cairn reaction..... !!

Cathy

BTW.....just LOVE the name Boscoe!

[JRM]

I was thinking about the alpha thing - have you tried holding him down on his back with your hand on his chest/belly and looking into his eyes while giving him verbals?

He'll struggle but if you can hold him until he gives up and do it when necessary for a while....it worked for me.

[CathyAnn]

Yes, our trainer told us to flip Piper over on his back and go "eye to eye" with him until he blinks....long blinks.

Supposedly, this shows them you are IT-not him!

Cathy

[Tony]

Well, he's not my dog, he's my sister's.

We initially babysat him for 2 months earlier this summer, and he was about 8 months.

So he kept biting me like crazy.

When he did that I would roll him on his back (using a lot of muscle) then pin him down and yell No.

Never worked.

He went back home for a month and now is back.

I think he matured, he doesnt bite too often.

So when I did do the roll it never worked.