Male puppy aggression

[Barney's Mom]

Dear fellow Cairn owners,

I recently adopted a precious little boy Cairn. I have raised one other puppy, a big lab, and to be honest, I simply was not prepared for my Cairn's over-the-top personality! I am at my wits end to figure out how to get him to stop grabbing my clothes and growling, grabbing my socks when I walk by and growling, grabbing my hair and growling. WHAT IS UP with all the aggressive stuff?????? Is he being aggressive or is he just playing rough? When I tell him "NO!" he just goes back and does it again! Sometimes he barks back at me! Little stinker! :-) I have tried shaking the can with the pennies and that seems to work. But sometimes, only a quick flick on the nose gets his attention!

Does this behavior ever stop with a Cairn???? I am getting weary! Any advice from all you experts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Barney's Mom

[savannahsmom35]

This is very typical of Cairn puupies and yes it gets better. This is how they play with their littermates and you have now become your puppy's littermate. You have to teach the puppy not to nip. The way we taught Savannah was to say "No bite" and if she didn't stop, we would take a time out and totally ignore her for a few minutes. After a while, "no bite" began to work on it's own because she learned that it meant playtime was over. The main thing is to not pull away from the puppy while your hand is in thier mouth or becomes a game. You should let the puppy drop your hand before you pull away. Hang in there. It does get LOTS better!!

[Kramersmom]

A typical Cairn! Heheh I love it, there so much fun arent they

My Kramer is now 1 year 7 months old. He did the same thing as a pup, go for my feet, tug at my p.j's. My husband said when he does this, stop walking, say NO. Well that is what we did and it worked. Cairns love to play, there a small breed but a rough tuff pup. There not delicate and can play pretty ruff at times.

My first Cairn as a puppy was the same way, as they get older the bitting aggression stops but they must be trained and know who is boss. Did you research the cairn beed before you purchased?

It gets better, give it time. It's worth it, there wonderful pets. I couldn't live without one, life would be too boring LOL

[Barney's Mom]

Thank you for the great news! I'm thrilled these little battles are going to end and we can just hang out together and play!

I did research the Cairn breed quite extensively, and their heartiness was one of the things I liked about the breed. Our family loves to take walks in the woods and we wanted Barney to be able to keep up and have fun! I was amazed...Barney is 10 weeks old and I thought a walk in the park (I think it was over a mile!) would really wear him out! Ha! He came home and raced around like a crazy thing for another half hour! THEN it was TOTAL LIGHTS OUT on my lap! I LOVE it when he is tired and wants to nuzzle and snuggle! SOOO SWEET!

By the way, how do you put the cute pictures of your doggies next to your posts? I would love to share with you some really cute pictures, but I am a newbie with this forum stuff. Can anyone tell me how?

Thanks!!

Barney's Mom

[Tracy A.]

On average I think I need to say 'no' to something about 5-7 times in a row to get it through to my little Gremlins... I think when I did my research on the breed it mentioned that Cairn's were 'vocal', it never said 'your puppy will sound like a Tasmanian Devil' which is the better description!

Welcome to the forum

[jansop]

Booker is a butt-biter. Yep, he jumps up and bites mine every chance he gets.

I now keep a spray bottle with water in it. I never spray him, I just mention I'm going to get it and he freaks out. All I have to do is just show it to him..............jan

[tena]

Sophie is grown and will chew my hands every chance she gets...Actually would like to play "tug of war" with my first finger. I've done about everything to stop her. She did stop doing it to other people but not me

They are funny, fearless little creatures thats for sure.

Tena

[Lisad]

I had to laugh when I read your post. I too am a "first time" cairn owner. I had shepherds before. I could not believe the wild, insane behavior of my ten week old cairn. I actually thought that he was defective - ha ha!! Come to find out, he is a regular, normal cairn. He is now just over a year old and he is very different then he was as a puppy. He still has all his great, independent spirit but he actually listens now and is a little more mild mannered. Rest easy...you have a normal cairn.

[kayharley]

Welcome to a wonderful forum...

I've always thought it better to have a "fun" dog than one who just lies around and does nothing. A Cairn will entertain you to no end.

When Elliott was a pup and notorious at mouthing, I would say "NO" in a stern voice and replace whatever body part he was mouthing with one of his chew toys. That behavior did wear off but was replaced with something entirely different

Just remember to keep your sense of humor, be patient, let him know you are the boss at all times, be consistant in discipline and before you know it you will be head over heels in love with your Cairn.

They are definately worth the effort but of course I'm a tad prejudice to the breed.