introducing Kramer (or please HELP!)

[Guest]

Hello everyone.

Kramer is my 7 1/2 month old Cairn and to be honest I'm in desperate need of some help. I love this little guy to death but his behavior is something that less than desireable. Sometimes it's downright unbearable. Let me give you a few scenarios that are common with him and hopefully some of you can give me direction. Thanks in advance!

One common thing he does is bite. Not vicious, but no matter what, he's has to have his chompers on you! If you're petting him or you reach down to greet him he greets you by chewing on your hand. It makes people not want to pet the little guy, but all he really wants is to be petted.

Overall I'd say he's very aggressive. He doesn't take to reprimanding at all, whether it be a calm "no" or more stern punsihment. He continues to do whatever he wants. In fact he loves to "sass" back at me. He loves to grab things he knows are mine and proceed to rip them to shreds (i.e. remote control, glasses, shoes, carpet) or just trot around with them so I have to chase him. I was hoping that having him nuetered would calm him a bit, but to my dismay he's just as rambuncious. There's no way you can leave him alone in a room. In addition, he will still randomly soil in the house even though I know he knows better & how to ask to go outside. Sometimes he'll do it right in front of me, like it's a spitefull thing. Sometimes, I'll go the bathroom and I'll return to a nice little pile of poo that occasionally he will, and this is gross, pick up and spread around!!! I just can't figure him out!

Lastly, in the past month or so something has started to happen that I know he can't control, but still needs to be addressed. Whenever Kramer sees someone for the first time that day or whenever he get's excited; REALLY excited (if you know what I mean... ahem!). One thing he does do witch shows he is somewhat passive is roll over on his abck right when he sees someone, therefore he shows his manhood off to the world! Obviously, this is something no one wants to see. In addition he does frequently try and hump people or objects. Like I said he was nuetered 2 weeks ago, but nothing's really changed. And I can't yell at him for something he can't help, but it is a serious problem.

So right now I'm feeling pretty desperate. People don't like to come in to the house because of all his poor traits and no matter how much I try to teach him right & wrong, he just doesn't get it. Hopefully you can help.

Thanks!

[Dan]

Hi, I am not going to give you any advice because I am not an expert, but if you are patient I think you will some good responses. I have been reviewing this site for the last few weeks and have enjoyed it and learned that a lot of what my Cairn does is just Cairn. It sounds like you have some problems that can be addressed and some he may grow out of. I would suggest you go to obedience school. We made it through the puppy classes but he kind of flunked out of the advanced ones. Cairns are strong willed, smarter than you think, tenacious, and full of energy. Our male did settle down after neutering but it took a while. I know that laying on the back is a show of remission to the other party and we were taught to do this to the dog often to show we were dominant. It sounds like he has control over you, but it is a problem that can be worked on.

[bradl]

(I'm no expert either!) It sure sounds like your little guy is exhibiting dominant behavior all over the place and as Dan suggests, ruling the roost. Perhaps he has too much unearned freedom and trust. The mouthiness in particular should be fairly easy to correct, by any one or several of a variety of gentle methods. (For example.) Puppies learn very quickly and they can learn good or bad habits equally fast :?

We haven't been blessed with the, er, exhibitionist tendencies you described, but everything else, including the humping, is not too unusual for a wild, fairly dominant puppy. You will see most of the behaviors addressed in almost any puppy or dog book. The Cairn Terrier Club of Denver has some book reviews and suggestions you might find helpful. Two books I've found helpful and enjoyably informative are Dog Problems by Carol Lea Benjamin and the very frequently recommended, Mother Knows Best (see "also by this author" on the Dog Problems link.)

Final thought: Have you considered obedience training? I see it as something fun that can be done with the dog and that helps us communicate with each other. Even though beginning obedience often focuses on a few simple behaviours, the increased communication and time working together often has tremendous benefits in all sorts of additional areas.

[Guest]

I found this great book- "How to Raise a Puppy You can Live with" by Rutherford and Neil.

I have used their discipline suggestions and they seem to work.

[Guest]

I went to a puppy class that addressed the biting issue. I had a similar problem with my 3 month old pup and he was tearing up my hands with his teeth. The first thing I had to remember was not to pull my hands away so that he thinks I am playing. When he would touch teeth to skin I pick him up with my arm under his belly facing away from me, I am very quiet holding him up for about 15 to 30 seconds he doesn't like being lifted off his feet. It has worked great! You should see about a 30% improvement each week. When he bites at my feet when we walk I shuffle my feet or pick him up and he leaves them alone.

They have other methods for biting but this was the first on the list and works the best for us. Every now and then He will bite and I pick him up and when I set him down he give me that sad look and wanders away then comes back for love and petting. The first two weeks I was picking him up alot.......and he was just a 7 lb. puppy. You would probably need to use 2 hands to hold out a bigger puppy.

I got the information from the Canine Learning Center in Lilburn, GA. It really helped me I was beginning to wonder how I would survive.

[mary]

first of all, with neutering it can take anywhere from four to six months for the testosterone to work itself out of his system (I asked the same question of our obedience trainer)

as for the biting, i've found if i say 'no bites' and gently hold his mouth together, he gets the message...but he used to bite everything all the time, and it has gotten better as he's gotten older, naturally...

i would suggest, strongly suggest that you enroll in your local obedience training class. it can be a wonderful experience and it really does help, as well as bonding you more to your dog (although it can be greatly frustrating and requires a tremendous amount of patience)

we just had to live through the humping...misha was neutered in sept. but he still humps his toy lamb...not nearly as much as he used to and he no longer tries to hump us or others...

hope this helps.

mary