Acting Out

[Account Deleted]

 Is anybody else having this problem?  I rarely wear shoelaces on my shoes I do a lot of slip on's thus saying that the minute I put shoes with laces on, Otis is constantly at them, i've tried telling him to settle, sit and a firm no! and it works for a little bit then he keeps on going,  he is a little over seven months, and he is very rebellious right now .  It's only him and I in the house so that might have something to do with that ,  i'm just wondering if anybody else has gone through this at the age??

Thanks!!

[bradl]

Have I ever sprayed Bitter Apple on my shoelaces? Why yes, I have  

[Account Deleted]

Ohhhhh..am I going to order Bitter Apple right now? Why yes I am!!   Thank you !

[Sam I Am]

A spray bottle with water and a big no.

[Account Deleted]

Lol,  been there done that tried that first. Also it's very hard to walk around with the spray bottle. I'm going to try bitter apple on my shoe laces I got the alcohol free one.  I think Otis is very sick of hearing me saying no all the time .  He has gone to the other side -hopefully he'll grow out of this stage quickly. I am very blessed with him as he has been fully house trained at four months, sleeps with me at night no issues at all; it's this  rebellious stage that's killing me.  Thank you for your help???

Edited August 20, 2017 by Account Deleted

[Idaho Cairns]

Be patient, the rebellion morphs into the infamous Cairn stubbornness--they learn the rules with all those "NO!" commands, spray bottles (or tossed ball caps in our case), and general the prohibitions that we must tame them with.  You are right where you ought to be with your little guy but as we all know, they learn those rules because they are smart little cusses and then walk that wonderful edge of obedience/disobedience we so enjoy in them--the arrogant behavior where commands are eventually obeyed, not too quickly, certainly without any appearance of being slavish (like a Lab for instance), with just the right amount of mutual eye contact.  I cannot count the number of times when I have given my girls familiar commands as clear as day and as well understood as the motive word "treat", only to have them stare at me, both of them, like I was speaking in tongues or Hindustani!
Makes me smile just to think about it.

[Account Deleted]

Thank you for the words of encouragement and smiles. I had a black mini snauzer named Daphne years ago and I thought she was stubborn, Otis beats her hands down! He looks at me like huh? what? I'm not doing this! Grr! But I will prevail, man over beast after all, or in this case woman!!!

thank you and have a blessed day!

[kjwarnold]

Man, I laugh just thinking about the number of times I've given my Cairns a command and they look at me like, "Why?"  The other response they have is, "What's in it for me?"

The shoelace thing will pass.  Phinney went through it quickly, you just have to distract them with something else.  We're at 13 months now with Phin and he's finding his voice more.  He's barking when he wants to go out (yay!) instead waiting for Us to ask him, but he's also barking at me when he wants to play or wants something from whatever food I'm making.  It's funny but I have been working to keep him from doing that last one.  

[Hillscreek]

53 minutes ago, kjwarnold said:

I laugh just thinking about the number of times I've given my Cairns a command and they look at me like, "Why?"  The other response they have is, "What's in it for me?"

So very true

[pkcrossley]

i guess you are heading into the period with Otis that those of us who've raised puppies look back on which fondness, even though we know it wasn't all fun when it was happening. cairns would not be cairns if they did not try on conquering the world (that's you, in this case) and keeping at it till all hope is lost. you have to head these geniuses off at every pass and keep them inside of simple, even if generous lines. the difficulties will only make you closer in the long run. a cairn who goes through this and comes out the other side is a deeply empathetic, loyal, trusting companion. remember, its the journey, not the destination. 

[Corn Niblet]

At 7 months my Gus is into rug chewing!  Or sometimes I hear him chewing on his deer antler but it is really the sound of chair leg chewing!  The bitter apple works  for these things as well.  I know it will pass, it did with Rocky.  I just love these Cairns they are the best dogs in the world!   I love the stubbornness.  When Rocky was first learning to walk on a leash he would pause and look up at me as if to say  "Where am I, Who are you? " Then I figured out that's not what he was thinking, it was " why am I doing this, and what's in it for me? "  That's what I love so much about these dogs!

[Account Deleted]

So true,   We were walking today and he tried to jump up to the sky and get the seagulls that were eating the bread that he scared away !! And his barking is driving me crazy,  I just say quiet and he does a lot better ,  like he used to when he was a puppy !!! Ohhhh those days of peace and quiet......

[Account Deleted]

 Thank you all for your replies they all made me smile ! Unfortunately Otis barks when I'm making food but that's my fault,  this too shall pass !  I just love him so much it isn't funny !!!  I love this site because everyone goes to the same thing at different times . 

[Idaho Cairns]

On a serious note, barking is one Cairn behavior that requires special attention if you are going to raise a easy to live with Cairn.  Barking is something they all have plenty of and it requires early intervention to get some control.  We are relentless with our dogs about barking and stop every instance we can when proximity permits.  My ball caps have more air time than a jet setter being thrown at barking Cairns as a distraction to make them focus on me and my "NO BARK!" command.
When they were  younger we grasped their snouts, forced them to look directly at us, repeating the command over and over.  It took a bunch of work and chasing to finally corral the behavior but it has paid off.  Now just a sharp command will stop most gratuitous yapping.  The UPS guy is another matter entirely--nothing stops the bedlam caused by a knock or a doorbell, unfortunately even those on the television.
You will appreciate all the work you go to early on to make barking a no-no in your little guy--start now, make the connection of your displeasure with his barking clear as crystal and don't let up.  Grab that little nose, make eye contact, and be very, very firm and unconditional about your dissatisfaction with his noise.
You will rue the day when you let affection get in the way of preventing this unfortunate tendency in Cairns.

[Account Deleted]

Oh yes, I started that early on. I own my own townhouse so I want to be a good neighbor. The only time he barks if someone walks by, and I tell him no bark! quiet!!  That helps and I do throw the ball around, other than that he's really good , never barks on our walks, in crate,  when I leave ,  he's content with the Kong with peanut butter , and actually when I go to empty the trash or in my garden  he never barks.  But like I said I started this early on ,   He sleeps with me so there's no problem there either .  He is getting a little mouthy now but it's the age and I quickly nip it in the bud.

 Since I'm the only one in the house it makes it easier for the discipline .  And believe me he is no angel,  only when he sleeping ???

[pkcrossley]

you're right, it will go much faster and simpler if you don't have a houseful of people you have to convince to stick with the program.

my redmon calmed down and was not barky, except when he heard a disturbing noise (which could include a deer walking through the yard).

knocks at the door were a huge drama, and idaho's remark about television made me laugh. when redmon was disturbed, any time of day or night, he would insist that i patrol every door and window with him and say, "all okay." he couldn't see out the windows so he would draw himself up and give me the cue to look out the window (sometimes I faked it because the blinds were down). "all okay," and he would march on to the next one. 

i eventually stopped watching any tv show that i thought would feature a knock at the door (like, all mysteries, unfortunately), because it always would be followed by his bellowing and demands that we do the patrol. 

Edited August 20, 2017 by pkcrossley

[Account Deleted]

You are so funny !  What a cute little dog guard!  And you are right I want Otis to bark if someone is near the house.  I can't watch animal planet - too many barks and meows??,  I love all these stories!