New Here

[Rainey]

I just got my Cairn Terrier 5 days ago, so this is all new to me. I'm having a tough time controlling him. He is very aggressive...and he is only 9 wks old! Are all Cairns like this. I would appreciate any help! Thanx

[Guest mrskti]

Welcome to the board Rainey, maybe you can explain in a little more detail regarding the aggression. They are fiesty little dogs for sure, and are very chewy little critters for a while. Make sure you have plenty of toys for him, and some chewies....that really, really helps. And plenty of exercise. We'd love to see pictures of him too, we're real big on that!!!!

[Anna_525]

I agree with Mrskti, it would help us if you would describe what you mean by aggressive - does he growl and bite?

Obedience training is the best way to learn how to control him. There are exercises that will teach you how to establish who the real boss is, which is you, not him. Also read a recent thread on another aggressive cairn, it has lots of tips--

http://www.cairnterrier.org/forum/index.ph...wtopic=2653&hl=

Good luck, and keep us posted! Cairns do make wonderful pets.

[hallswel]

Are you using a crate to train him? Have you called the breeder to ask them questions about the behavior? Do you have any other dogs in your house?

I think you will get loads of ideas and help here but like the others said what behavior? Biting, jumping, barking, running away from you, attacking another pet....... let us know

Glad you are here and what is his name?

[Rainey]

Hi ....Thank you all for answering. By aggressive I mean very head strong. He likes to nip & bite , very, very active! This is my first Cairn so I am new to all this. I have a crate he sleeps in and he is sort of getting used to it....thank God! Are all Cairns this active and head strong? He is the only dog I have but I have a large 8 yr. old cat who is a sweetheart and very mellow. Max likes to attack Angel the cat. Angel just swats at Max, not hard, and walks away. But Max likes to annoy Angel. They get along better than I thought.

[Abby's Dad]

Yep, you have a Cairn!

[MikeC]

Hi Rainey

Welcome to the Forum. This behavior you are explaining is perfectly normal for a Cairn. We have all experienced it with ours. They are willful and stubborn and want to rule the roost so you need to set the ground rules early on and let them know who's the boss. When our was that age and nipped and "mouthed", we would say very loudly "no bite", gently push his mouth away and put a chew toy in it. After awhile he caught on that chew toys were for chewing and biting and humans were not. They are very smart dogs and catch on really fast. I also would suggest obedience classes for him. Ours was 5 months old when we started him. Good luck and keep us posted on how Max is doing.

Mike

[savannahsmom35]

Welcome, welcome! Yes, your pup is a cairn. As they get older, they don't nip or bite as much but the key is to start training them early. We also say "no bite" and stop whatever we are doing (playing or petting). If she doesn't stop, we get up and ignore her for a few minutes. It didn't take long for her to catch on. Now all we do is say "No bite" and she stops. While that decreased the amount of nipping it seems like the nipping has decreased even more dramatically since she stopped teething.

Savannah's behavior seems to get better and better as she gets older (I don't know if she is getting better or if I am just getting used to her ). At first, I wasn't sure that we were going to be able to handle her because she was SO demanding but now she is so much better behaved and can be trusted more. She has learned certain commands and she knows what she can and cannot do. Don't get me wrong, Savannah is still very independant and active (which I like because I don't have to entertain her all the time) and she doesn't listen to me 100% of the time, BUT, now she listens about 90% of the time and actually obeys (that isn't counting when she is distracted by a bird, dog, bug, etc. etc.) Hang in there and ask lots of questions. There are many people here who have raised more than one Cairn puppy and can give you some great advice to get you through it. I swear I would have lost my mind if it weren't for the answers and support that I got here (especially when it came to potty training!!!!) BEst of Luck and please keep us posted.

[Scully'sMom]

All I can say is - welcome to the world of Cairns!!!

Scully, who just turned 2, did the nipping and biting thing as a pup. We got her at 10 weeks and it took awhile of saying "NO BITE", and even clamping her mouth closed a bit and saying the NO BITE. It WILL pass, trust us. Scully did something different than my other Cairn when I got her as a puppy - Scully loved to nip at your heels while I was walking. She only seemed to do it to me for some reason.

Cairns ARE headstrong and stubborn, but that aside, you will find a Cairn to be the most lovable dog you've ever had and well worth all the effort. In fact, if they weren't such a great dog, some of those here would never have the 2nd and 3rd Cairns all at once!

We can't wait to see pictures of Max!!!

Oh yes, welcome to our forum here, you will get terrific advice from some very smart Cairn moms and dads.

[toomanypaws]

Hi, and welcome to the cairn forum!

My first cairn, Kiara didn't get the nickname "piranha" for nothing. I have 3 cairns and all of them went through the typical "puppy" stage of nipping. Nine weeks is still a baby, but it's not too early to teach appropriate behavior. Like others here, when mine were pups, I simply grabbed them around the muzzle and said loudly "no bite". I have even yelled "OUCH" before which really alerted them that they did something wrong. My oldest was the worst of my three. The other two have never really played hard, or maybe that's how it seemed after having Kiara first. Just stay consistent and let your pup know what you expect of him. Also, you can redirect him by giving him one of his toys to play, attack, and shake all over the house (gotta love that shake).

As far as head strong, you've got a cairn and they want to be your boss, not the other way around. I just make sure to stay the alpha dog over my three. Now that they're older, (4, 20 mths, & 14 mths), they really are happiest when I'm happy. They are extremely smart and seem to understand more than they want to let on. I use to grab mine when they were disobedient and make them look me in the eyes when I corrected them, just like a child. To this day, if I'm correcting one of them, all I have to say is "look at me" and those ears go back and they exhibit that cute submissive behavior. It will get easier. These are great dogs, or I wouldn't have three of them.

Oh, and yes they are active and will draw you into their play. Mine have activities scheduled right into my day and I really find them so amusing to watch. They play hard, but also nap. My three are all napping right now. I think of it as my three ever ready bunnies recharging.

Post a picture soon!

[Guest mrskti]

My three are all napping right now. I think of it as my three ever ready bunnies recharging.

Boy you said a mouthful there Toomanypaws!!!!

Terry

[Carolinasmom]

Hi Lorraine and welcome to the board! Everyone has already given you lots of info. Max may mellow out with age or not! Carolina is very mellow and a lap dog. Her litter mate, whom my parents have, is much more energetic and playful, (or was before she got sick, but that's a whole other story.)

Looking forward to hearing more about Max!