Barking, biting, barking, and . . . . oh yeah, barking

[Radaddy]

Hi everyone!

We have a 9 month old, male Cairn. His name is Tucker. He's a great dog, for the most part. He's rowdy, which is normal for a puppy. He's practically housebroken (knock on wood). Since we've had him (8 weeks old) he's spent the whole night in his crate without a peep, without a mess (other than when we had him fixed and he got a little ticked at us). He's wonderfully playful and the whole family loves him a lot. I've run across the same problem as some of you have about his biting. I use a stern voice when he tries with me, so he stops right away. My young sons, however, don't like to do this to him as they feel it hurts his feelings. They've paid for they niavetee with a couple of sharp nips to their hands and legs. We took Tucker camping over the summer and he attacked and bit my wife's uncle when he came to our site to get firewood! He was being protective, I know, but he should have known by then that Bob was a friend, not foe. I'm encouraged by what I've read here that this phase may be practically over, but any further advice any of you may have would be appreciated. I don't normally like to smack him, but there are times when we HAVE had to whap him on the snout. I tried gripping his snout firmly last night and that really did the trick, so I think we'll be doing more of that. If there's any other advice out there, we'd love to hear it or hear how much longer this will last. We do get him chew toys, but most of them get destroyed shortly after bringing them home. We have a kong that he loves when filled with stuff. Other than that we just probably have to get more of them. And Bitter Apple has helped in some.

When we were researching the breed, Doggies.com, we read that "unless trained properly, they can be a major barker. Well . . . . Tucker's a major barker and nothing we've done seems to help. He'll bark at us when he's upset and he'll bark and get aggressive with friends family and passers-by. We don't feel comfortable having him in the yard with us at times because he'll bark endlessly at the neighbors if they're out, too. I'll tell him, "No Bark!!" and he'll stop . . . . until I turn around and walk away. We've tried squirting with a bottle, but it's gotten to the point where he plays with it more than it startles him. My wife wants to get a shock collar, but I don't think that's the route we should go. Any ideas? We don't mind the barking, we just don't want it all the time and as aggressive as it gets at times. The funny thing is, he'll bark and we can't get him to be quiet, but when we're doing his tricks, we tell him to speak and he'll whisper a bark, or growl softly (grrrrrrrrrow, oh, oh, oh). It's hysterical!

Thanks!

[Melanie]

Hi,

I read your posting and found it to be most enjoyable. I have a 15month named Max and he is just the opposite. I have tried to get him to have even one protective bone in his body but he insists on thinking everyone is his friend. I am afraid to leave him in the fenced yard unattended because he will go to anyone. :?: He barks quite alot in the house at my husband when he is rough-housing with him. Max is the most comical dog I have ever been blessed with. The biting thing is still a little on the annoying side. I took him up to my place of work 2 weeks ago because everyone wanted to see how he has grown. That was a huge mistake!! He darted up and down the office so fast I found myself breaking a sweat trying to get him to settle down. He just couldn't greet everyone fast enough. Now since he has only been there once when he was 4 months old, don't you find that odd that he isn't scared of anyone? I did hear a couple of my coworkers say "no biting" as I grabbed his little butt from them. My husband has tought him to play rough in a wrestle game, now I am having a hard time convincing my husband as well as Maxwell that this is not acceptable among other people.

The good news, Max did start a protective bark last week when he heard someone walk outside over the many fallen leaves. It was so dang cute, it is a completely different sounding bark then when he plays. Anyway, I know I was not able to offer you advice on your Tucker, but I also need advice on mine. Good luck and I will watch for any new postings.

Melanie

[Guest]

Suddenly my cairn is barking at strangers, at dogs, and at little kids.

His barking is selective- only SOME people upset him. And that is embarrassing. I never know how he will react at a given time.

Months ago, he was friendly to everyone, and he'd allow anyone to go off with him.

How can I get him to behave better?

[bradl]

I forget how old he is. It's possible he's maturing and has moved into a phase where he feels he has the job of being protector rather than looking up to you for clues on how to react to new people and situations. Training helps. Also, ensure that he gets SO MANY new situations that 'new situations' are no longer new, they are just part of his life. Example: if meeting a person on the sidewalk takes extra effort for you to manage the encounter, try him downtown in the city where he will meet HUNDREDS of people. After a certain point he may realize he can't interact with every single one. Training also gives him other jobs he can do. Rather than letting him stress out when seeing someone he doesn't like, you can be alert to the developing situation and give him a "sit" or a "down" job to do that brings his attention back to you. With a treat reward he may begin to associate such meetings as a possible opportunity for a treat rather than a threat he needs to warn you about.

[Guest]

Thanks, Brad. I will try it.

This week, Wes had been in a very different atmosphere. We live in a rural area and had to travel to the city. This was his second trip on an airplane, and during the trip, to my surprise, he behaved very well. The hard part was boarding and leaving the airplane. He was frightened of the crowds, and a particular steward(ess) on each flight. He sounded like a german shepard! And the sherpa bag he was riding in was bouncing around. On the first flight, the people backed away from our "fearsome" animal- lest he be a lion. But on the second flight everyone just smiled knowingly.

As soon as he was tucked safely under our seats he was quiet

(Oh, now that I am thinking about it- We were waiting to board the plane when suddenly we hear a little meow. I turned to see another sherpa bag like ours that had a cat inside. Can you imagine two sherpa bags side by side- one woofing and one meowing, and both bouncing around the carpet!)

[Guest]

Got a question for you, Ellen. What size, type of bag do you have for your Cairn? And, how many pounds is your dog?

I thought alot of airlines weren't allowing dogs in the cabins anymore?

I have looked at them but haven't had the need yet.

TIA,

Cathy

[Guest]

I think our sherpa bag is about 11 inches high. It has black mesh and I wish I could see through it better.

Wes is about 11 1/2 pounds.

At first I was asking about sedatives because I didn't want him to be afraid of the plane ride.

But the only thing he's afraid of is the crowding and all the people.