Climbing, wanting to "get vertical"

[Tahoe]

Our 15 week old just loves to climb up on things and then sit and observe the world from his high spot. We have made a tower of boxes that he can climb up and lay down on a blanket, he's all in for that. Outside he likes to sit on top of piles of dirt and rock (new house/yard landscaping in progress). Is this typical of the breed? I seem to recall some folks saying the dog liked to sit on the back of the couch up high.

I also wonder about building him some kind of dog playground/jungle Jim to climb on and sit. Anyone done this? Any thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

[bradl]

1 hour ago, Tahoe said:

Is this typical of the breed?

I'll go with a definite maybe

Not our puppy, but...

[Hillscreek]

Great photo brad! I can't pull up pics of climbing cairns I've seen but they include climbing out of the X pen, 2 or 3 climbing trees to comfortable observation spot, one on roof of garden shed, one fleeing home over high garden fence. I'm sure there are many more

I had a place in our large wild backyard where my guy was allowed to do what he wanted e.g pull on old tree roots(usually growling as he did so) climb and scrabble around brush and such, and VERY IMPORTANT for a cairn terrier, a place where he could dig dig dig as big a hole he wanted.Cairns were bred to dig underground to flush out prey so when your guy wants a break from climbing he may want to dig for a change.

As to building him a play ground - you might do so but he might not like it - these are very independent little dogs

Good luck with him on the busy road ahead.

[Tahoe]

2 hours ago, Hillscreek said:

Great photo brad! I can't pull up pics of climbing cairns I've seen but they include climbing out of the X pen, 2 or 3 climbing trees to comfortable observation spot, one on roof of garden shed, one fleeing home over high garden fence. I'm sure there are many more

I had a place in our large wild backyard where my guy was allowed to do what he wanted e.g pull on old tree roots(usually growling as he did so) climb and scrabble around brush and such, and VERY IMPORTANT for a cairn terrier, a place where he could dig dig dig as big a hole he wanted.Cairns were bred to dig underground to flush out prey so when your guy wants a break from climbing he may want to dig for a change.

As to building him a play ground - you might do so but he might not like it - these are very independent little dogs

Good luck with him on the busy road ahead.

Sounds about right as far as what I should expect. He is such a ball of fury and so curious about everything. He investigates all with no fear. I don't think he understands gravity yet (as I saw commented).

That would be sad if I built a playground and he decided it wasn't for him. We have a fairly large backyard, he can run 150 ft on a straight line so that gives him fun chasing me across the yard. I plan to give him full digging rights to a section near the compost area. Right now he loves to climb it and chase the birds away that hang out there.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Tahoe

[Tahoe]

11 hours ago, bradl said:

I'll go with a definite maybe

Not our puppy, but...

Love the photos. Seems like they do like to get vertical!

[Eliz222]

This has  been Atticus's favorite spot lately. I think it is a Cairn thing!

[Tahoe]

6 hours ago, Eliz222 said:

This has  been Atticus's favorite spot lately. I think it is a Cairn thing!

Love that shot! I do think they want to be up high to observe. Tahoe continues to climb where he can.

[Tahoe]

So I did end up making a little lookout for him to hangout on. Still need to finish the top railing and then paint but he so far he likes it. No problems going up and down. He can oversee the entire backyard (his empire).

[bradl]

Absolutely fantastic. I love this so much.