Naughty Naughty Cairn! Need help!

[nclar0523]

Hello! I have a 4 1/2 month old cairn named Rory since June 1st; I got him from a well known breeder and he is awesome! I did alot of research and years of thinking before getting him, and I knew that I would be in for alot of fiesty and intelligent behavior once he was here- and boy do I have fiesty behavior and then some! I do not regret getting him, but he is trying my patience and I hate to admit it, actually outsmarts me sometimes! I guess I am looking to see if 1.) his behavior is typical for cairn puppies and 2.) around what age do cairns calm down slightly

 

Short background:

 

- I work as a night RN 12 hours, 3 times a week- I realize this is not ideal, but after literally years of research I decided I could make it work and provide a good life for the puppy/dog, he is penned in a very small kitchen with the crate door open and a pee pad on one side; I did not want to leave the puppy in the crate for 14 hours like the other nurses.

 

- I live in a tiny apartment where there are many other dogs in the complex (some aggressive, many with behavior probs like CONSTANT barking)

 

- He gets a minimum 1/2 hour walk every day, many times 45 min to an hour, including alot of jogging/sprinting- he seems wiped out afterwards

 

- He gets daily obedience training from me and will go to puppy classes soon for socialization

 

 

Ok, so right now the issue is constant attention seeking and naughty behavior that has progrssed somewhat like this: nipping, peeing/poo all over apartment, insane chewing, barking- nipping virtually eliminated, chewing has generally slowed with teeth, pee trained on pads but not poo trained (yesterday I put the poo on the pad and said "Poo on pad! Look, Rory poop goes on the pad." to which he cocked his head, paused, and calmly took his tiny paw and rolled the poo off the pad and looked up at me!!!! as if to say "No...that's not where it goes, you are mistaken."), to now: jumping on couch, jumping on crate to jump on oven, jumping on couch to jump on table to see telephone ringing, barking in 'time out' (rarely), stealing tissues out of garbage to rip up, purposeful misbehavior to initiate a game of chase (his favorite), and contant attention seeking/naughty behavior.

 

The thing is- he. is. SO. SMART! Learns commands in 1-2 five minute training sessions and when he sees a treat in my hand will, before I say a word, do the following- sit, paw, lay down, roll over, cover his eyes, and pop right up for the treat!!!, figures out those doggie puzzles in 10 minutes flat, watches TV with an intensity and understanding I have NEVER seen from a dog! and I can't get over how he will constantly reformulate his plans to get my attention in some way...I use a combo of aversion-bitter apple spray/ignoring/time out/positive reinforcement/occasional pinning on back very consistently despite going insane!! I also give him a variety of rawhide bits and rotate his toys to keep in interested. And I thought I was the pack leader- he listens to what I say 90% of the time and is generally submissive, but this behavior always happens when I am doing something and he wants attention- will this end?! I attempt to ignore and/or stay calm while correcting because I know that's what he wants but I can't ignore a crazy black puppy on my oven! Sorry for the long story but I've never seen this with any dog before!

[Idaho Cairns]

Humm, a Cairn pup who refuses to take no for an answer when it comes to an owner????  I guess you have found out what the rest of us discovered--once a human gives in, just once, to a Cairn they have opened up the door to a whole series of innovative Cairn tricks to keep "the game" going--tricks which become even more sophisticated as time goes on.

Perhaps you can find the key to causing the Cairn to focus on you and your needs rather than his and his needs but that is sort of the "Holy Grail" of Cairn ownership--we hope it exists, we think we know where it is, and we keep on searching, searching, up one hill and down the other, from valley to valley, for the answer but we come up empty most of the time.  We would like to put our foot down but then there are those puppy eyes and that cocked head!

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

I had a big family reunion this weekend with food etc. on the deck.  The first thing I did was give the "Cairn Terrier" instructions:  No food at dog level or on ground, if you get up from the table, push your chair in or the dog will be on the table, etc.  As I was giving the instructions I looked over to the table with 3 big men sitting, drinking and eating their food and guess what??? Sitting on the 4th chair there was Pepper, sitting like a perfect lady and joining in the conversation and company!  I wish I had taken a picture!!!  She knew enough not to hop on the table but also knew she was getting away with murder!!!  ha ha!!!

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

I purchased one of those "Scat Mats" to keep the cat off my good couch.  I forgot I had it "on" and Pepper jumped on it  and OFF of it quick as a bunny!  That thing works.  She barked at it but now keeps her distance.  It keeps that cat off too.

[bradl]

Heh, your description could come right out of the Cairn Owner's Manual! Since you recognize the brilliant glory that is the Cairn, I suspect you will outlast the trials and tribulations of their seemlingly perpetual puppyhood. You asked when (or if) they ever calm down. From a previous post on that topic, "When do cairns calm and settle down?"

Quote

My very overgeneralized sense of it is something like this:

0-4 weeks: Aw Cute

4 weeks - 9 months: Clown-Shark-Insane-Cute

9 months - 1 year: Flashes of Hope

1 - 3 years: Teen Rebellion

3 - 5 years: Adult Pretender

5- 8 years: Citizen and Friend

8- 12 years: Steadfast Companion

12 - 14 years: Cherished Elder

14+: Slow Fade, Wistful Ruin, Graceful Decline, Sudden Collapse (depending on circumstances)

[mom42terrificgirls]

Ah, man. Can we skip the teen rebellion part? LOL

[kjwarnold]

Yep, normal Cairn puppy!  You'll get a lot of help, but a few things that worked for us are:

 

• Don't do just one walk.  Maybe instead of one long 45 minute walk, two 20 - 30 minutes walks.  That will spread out the tiredness and remember, a tired Cairn is a good Cairns. 
• Training will also wear your puppy out.  They LOVE to learn and it seems to tire them just as much as a walk. 
• We have no trash cans in our home that do not have a lid.  It's just too much of a temptation, even for Packy, who is almost 9 yrs. old now.  He takes great joy in knocking it over and spreading it all out if he gets the chance.  Once, he unrolled a whole roll of toilet paper throughout the house.  He didn't chew it up, he just pulled it out and all over.  There weren't any tears in it at all!  We still chuckle about that...

 

Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of Oz, I mean Cairns!

[Hillscreek]

You've got real typical cairn pup that's for sure. They learn stuff in a nano second then plan to get around what you taught them and how to boss you.

Do not give in no matter how exhausted you may be, do not get mad (he'll get mad right back) make sure your stock of patience and persistence is constantly renewed.

And please post a picture of your little darling - we love to see pics and more pics.

You'll find lots of help on this forum. Check out some of the behavior posts. 

Keep in touch and let us know how Rory comes along. 

[pkcrossley]

that is one of the best descriptions i have seen cairn puppy behavior. congratulations, you have the real deal! and it sounds like duncan is going to have a wonderful life.

it is a bit complicated that duncan will have long periods to himself at a time in his life when he probably needs constant coaching. but if you can limit the trouble he can get into when he is on his own, then just pour on the tough love when you are home and let him smooth it out in his own mind. just do what we all do when educating puppies. make him be polite at all times, wait for his meals, give them from your own hand,make him be polite before and after play, never touch with teeth, and so on, and then be patient --rory is going to be a baby for a LONG time yet.

[hheldorfer]

Yes, that is Cairn puppyhood for sure.  In addition to all the helpful advice above, you may need to puppy-proof things a bit to make your life easier - put small waste cans up where he can't get to them or use cans with lids, make sure you don't leave clothes or shoes lying on the floor, get a supply of rawhide treats (U.S. made only! - not the ones with God-knows-what in them that are made in China) or other chew toys to give him when he starts chewing on something inappropriate.  See if you can move a few things around in your apartment to prevent his access to the stove and other areas that you want to remain dog-free.  And give him as much exercise and mental stimulation as you can.

 

Last, but not least, we'd love to see a pic of your little monster!

 

P.S.  It gets better . . . really!

[sanford]

 All I can say is Wow! 

 

I adopted my first cairn when he was already a senior. I adopted my second cairn when he was 3 years old. Part of me always had some regret that I never experienced the adorable puppy years. But now, after reading nclar0523's post — not so much!

[Idaho Cairns]

It really helps if you have an adult Cairn that is well trained when you bring a Cairn puppy into the house because the puppy will model on the adult.  My experience with Cairn pups has always included that advantage--I have never had to raise a pup without the considerable help of an older dog.

We have avoided much of the misbehavior that we see reported here.

[pkcrossley]

don't know why i said duncan, i know his name is rory. sheesh.

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

I feel your pain. Lucy is 3 1/2 months old and so smart. Everything is a game to get a reaction. I love the look on Ivy's face (she is 2 yrs old).  Ivy is giving the "oh no-you are gonna get it" look.  Ivy used to be a holy terror herself, so just know that Rory will outgrow this little rebellion stage. We all go through it with our puppies. Right now, Lucy won't go potty so I have her on the back porch with a bone. She is being super stubborn this morning.

[nclar0523]

^{Thanks for all the responses and advice, I will be using quite a few of the suggestions!! I have had puppies before that I thought were very smart but honestly they didn't hold a candle to Rory- I suppose with cairns it is the combination of being super intelligent PLUS super tenacious...I guess I just have to be more tenacious than he is! Some friends/family scared me by saying that he had behavioral problems and needed a trainer to come in; I suspected they were wrong (they also don't have dogs) and the responses make me feel better. And really, he is generally polite, sits before I give him food/go out doors, doesn't bark or bite, quietly follows me around to watch me cook etc... he's just got a little angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, and the devil has been winning out lately  I get the feeling that the stakes are high now, and that he will either be a horribly annoying misbehaved adult dog, or the best dog ever, depending on if I cave or not. Which can be challenging after a 12 hour night shift!}

 

And here are pics of my little billy goat! (Note the two baby gates; he figured out how to jimmy open the first one)

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

Funny-Lucy has the exact same crate and I too have the same gates doubled up!! They really are brilliant!

[pkcrossley]

hilarious picture. your instincts are all correct. for the next couple of years, every minute is the critical minute in convincing him that you are smart enough, brave enough and stubborn enough to be in charge. he will act like he believes it long before he really believes it.

looking at the picture: how do you keep him off the counters? my terriers could all levitate at rory's age, and could fly onto the counters even without using a crate for a leg up. and of course at that age they can also just wait for a breeze to catch their ears and sail them to wherever they are trying to go. just wondering because it looks like if he gets onto the counters he goes right around the gate.

[sanford]

And here are pics of my little billy goat! (Note the two baby gates; he figured out how to jimmy open the first one)

 

We also needed to use 2 baby gates to keep Ruffy in the kitchen. But in our case, we had to secure one gate above the other because he always managed to climb over, jump over, or scale a single gate. (Sorry — no photo). That did the trick, but it sure was inconvenient for us uprights.

[Hillscreek]

Rory is adorable. I smiled at the look in his eye. He sure will try you for a while yet but when he finally realizes you are the leader, he will be the best little pal you could ever have. So lively, so smart, so loving, so brave, so ready for anything, go anywhere, so sociable and ready to join in whatever's going on. 

[Sam I Am]

You have the heart of a Cairn in your wee Rory! He might be naughty, but just remember, happy, healthy Cairns behave like him.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Rory, you are adorable to say the least.  Is there a nice dog park close where he can run off some energy and socialize a bit?  Love him.

[nclar0523]

Yes, in a few days he has now figured out how to push his crate over to the counter to climb up so there goes the crate when I'm not there...I just feel bad for the poor guy he keeps getting things taken away and put in time out!!

 

And just as I was about to say that he has improved in the last few days, he started barking at me for attention, was put in time out, and decides to break his heavy ceramic water bowl in protest by flipping it over and over again with his nose.....  He is something else!

 

 

And we run outside almost every day to burn energy, might do two shorter sessions as another poster suggested--his mommy is paranoid about fleas in the Tennessee summer and won't let him on the grass....which is really dissapointing- I imagined hiking with him and going to dog parks, and I don't feel like it's natural to keep him off the grass...so many problems!

 

Will have many more questions- Rory says thanks for the advice and compliments!

 

Edited August 4, 2013 by nclar0523

[Hillscreek]

Against fleas - I think Frontline is available for puppies Rory's age. If you don't want to do chemicals you could try Nuvetplus from an holistic vet. If he does get fleas bathe him in warm water with Dawn detergent. Rinse well and pick off the dead fleas. Also go over him daily with a flea comb available from most animal supply stores.

 

Nothing but stainless steel for pups in our house. All moveable items like books, shoes pillows moved up out of reach,.baby gates everywhere.Never leave him out of sight.

 

Even though cairns are small dogs it takes time for their bodies to mature. Too much exercise too young can damage bones and ligaments and put too much strain on muscles and tendons. Several short walks are enough IMO. He can get the rest of his exercise playing with his toys, learning from you. Brain work tires them out just as much as physical. Make it a mix, little bit of this and little bit of that.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Hillscreek

[Sam I Am]

OMG...he is adorable! Love his ear fluffs.

[Idaho Cairns]

Douse that pup with Frontline and get him in the grass--I can't imagine how you can efficiently housetrain a dog if it is not allowed in the grass--the natural and preferred place to eliminate for a dog.  I guess it is a trade off--the possibility of a flea or two as compared to an absolute mess in the house.

These anti-flea and tick medicines have improved greatly over the years and seem to do a great job if applied properly and with the proper frequency.

Ceramic bowls are probably not a good idea because "bowl tossing" seems to be a characteristic of Cairns--at least one of mine does it when she is thirsty and the bowl is empty.

I'm not completely convinced that dogs understand "time out" as a punishment or for behavior control--it requires a pretty sophisticated cause and effect thinking pattern that a dog may or, more likely may not associate with a particular unwanted behavior.  But, time out does give you a breather from the dog and I guess that is a good thing.

Teaching the dog what "No!" means by repeated use of the term along with immediate gentle hand restraint has been very valuable as a training aid because it is a catch all term that the dog learns to mean "STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW!" and can be used in a variety of situations to both get the dog's attention and to modify the unwanted behavior.  Once the Cairn learns the "No!" command training is much easier.  Caution here, you do need to pay attention and be consistent for the "no!" command to work but once the pup makes the link between the command and his behavior at the moment--the rest is easy.  I believe "no" is the first command/word a puppy should learn.