Christmas Dog

[Kevin]

Well let me tell you my story first. I'm 16 and my parents decided to let me in on the secret that we were getting a dog for christmas. This was about 4 months ago. We did a lot of research and decided on a cairn terrier. On friday I got dismissed from school to pick up the puppy and we dropped her off at my grandmother's house so that my younger siblings won't see her until christmas. (by the way, this is what she looks like, although this isn't her: http://www.cairnterrier.org/gallery/displa...p?album=8&pos=2 )

Anyway we just got our dog back today and i'm supposed to hide in my room until christmas (my room is is in the basement.) Anyway, from what i've read, she's like most cairn pups. She's fiesty when she's excited and she kind of likes to bite. She actually made a little cut on my grandfather's hand when she bit him. Once again, she only does this when she's excited and having a good time.

Now my main worry is my younger sibling(6 year old girl and 8 year old boy). They still belive in santa and I know this is going to be one of the greatest memories in their childhood. However with all the christmas excitement and little kids wanting to play with the dog, I know she's going to be biting. I know it's mostly because of teething but its also partly bad behavior. I wanna know what I can do to make sure my brother and sister arn't afraid of our new family member. Is there anyway to stop her from biting, if only just for the kids.

I also got a couple of other questions:

1) crate training.......I hate putting her in the crate at night because all she does is cry. I also know that letting her out when she does this will spoil her and let her know she can get anything she wants by whining. Infact she is so persistent that the only way she'll stop is if I sleep closeby(as in within 2-3 feet) so she can hear me sleeping. Will this spoil her or is alright to do this?

2)Is it considered spoiling the dog when I let it nap on my bed? I know when it goes to bed for the night shes supposed to be in her crate but what about during the day?

Sorry for the long post but i'd GREATLY appreciate any help anyone could give me. Especially the biting problem. Once again, i'm am thankful for anything you could tell me.

[GeneO]

Hey Kevin!

Congratulations on your puppy! I know your brotheres and sisters will be very happy. I have a 16 week old and he was nipping at my girls that are 5 and 7. How I kinda stopped him from doing this was I put 10 pennies in a empty soda can and shook it alittle when he started to bit. It the noise really scares him put the can in a sock so that the sound is muffled a bit. Also saying the "No Bite!" when ever he does nip works too. Hope this helps

GeneO and TomTom

On the crate training we leave TomTom in when we are at work just leave him some toys and chew things. Someone will have to let him out for bathroom breaks though.

[ladybroc]

Hi Kevin,

Your post was exciting and clearly portrayed the happiness and anticipation this little cairn is already bringing into your home/family.

One of your questions was: "I wanna know what I can do to make sure my brother and sister arn't afraid of our new family member. Is there anyway to stop her from biting, if only just for the kids." It is important that you explain to your brother and sister, at their level, the reasons why the puppy may bite them and let them know it does not intend to hurt them. Caution them to be careful about her biting. You should also begin now to discipline the pup from biting. One way of doing this is by tapping (never hitting) her on the muzzle and saying "no bite" everytime she nips or bites. Be stern but never overbearing. You may have to do this fifty times before she starts to get the message but you MUST be more persistent than she is.

Another question: "crate training.......I hate putting her in the crate at night because all she does is cry. I also know that letting her out when she does this will spoil her and let her know she can get anything she wants by whining. Infact she is so persistent that the only way she'll stop is if I sleep closeby(as in within 2-3 feet) so she can hear me sleeping. Will this spoil her or is alright to do this?" Here's what I do with new pups when I first begin to break them to the crate. I sit the crate beside my bed. When or if the pup whines, I reach over the side of the bed, thump loudly on the top and say "no whine." Again, you have to be more persistent than she is. However, I have never had a problem using this technique. They usually fall asleep after several thumps and by the second or third night, there's no commotion. Give it a try.

Last question: "Is it considered spoiling the dog when I let it nap on my bed? I know when it goes to bed for the night shes supposed to be in her crate but what about during the day?" If your parents don't object to the dog being on the bed, it's fine to let her nap there. This should not interfere with the crate training as long as you are consistent in how you go about it. Having mentioned that, let me just close by saying that persistence and consistency, sternly employed with kindness, are the most important elements in training your dog. If you can apply these as suggested, you are sure to be successful.

Best of luck to you and enjoy the new puppy.

[Kevin]

Thank you so much for the advice! All of its worked so far and its helping me decide how to raise this puppy. Sorry I couldn't respond earlier but Rosey is a handfull. I've been busy playing with her all day. She is definatey the most tenacious puppy i've ever met. She's also very intelligent too. I helped to train my grandmother's dog when I was about 8 or 9 and I remember it being a couple months before it knew where to goto the bathroom. I've only been with her 48 hours and she already realizes she is supposed to goto the bathroom outside. I can tell already she's holding it in when she has to go. However, Rosey doesn't have much patience and if I don't get her out as soon as as she lets me know then she doesn't mind going all over my floor.

However, despite her accomplishments in potty training, I can tell she's going to be continuing all her other bad habits for awile. This includes chewing ANYTHING she can find and......eating her feces She's really stubborn so I can tell its gonna be awile before she stops biting and chewing. However I shouldn't even complain considering i've only been with her two days and we're already very close.

Also I got one more question: How do I tell when she wants to go to the bathroom when she's in her crate? I didn't really have this problem last night but it'll probably come up.

Thanks

[wags]

Hi Kevin.

When Our dog "has to go," he groans and paces in the crate

[bradl]

Also, digging, whimpering, sniffing around, or circling.