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What I need to know before getting a Cairn            

Like humans no two Cairns are truly alike; each has distinct personality but just like us they have a lot of characteristics in common.   Cairns are somewhat independent and tend to be cat like in some ways.  They may sit on your lap for a while and then it is off to explore with the determination of a true terrier.  Their intelligence makes them curious and extremely quick to learn.  Although they are all terrier they are very sensitive and no dog should be  punished harshly if anything this will under mind your dog it has been proven that reward based training is the best way to train any dog.  This breed loves to please their owner but in saying that from a young age they must learn that you are in charge. Otherwise they will try to take charge of the household.  Setting boundaries and limitations is the key to a good relationship with your Cairn.  There are many books on training a dog the best ones are reward based training.   An open door to a cairn is like an invitation to go hunting and a lot would put a greyhound out of a trap to shame with the speed they head for the door so you must remember to close doors

While the cairns seem to have a wonderful relationship with children and forgives a lot, children must at no stage be allowed to mistreat or tease a puppy as this will lead to trouble.  Adult supervision of young children and puppies is a must.  This is a two-way relationship and both have to learn to respect each other.   When giving dogs a treat the child must be thought how to do this properly.  A lot of children tend to hold out the treat and a soon as the dog goes to take it pull it back this is actually teasing the pup and it will learn to grab for the treat.  An easy way I find is to explain to a child how would they feel if someone kept waving a sweet at them just out of reach would they not try to grab it.   Children must be taught to leave the puppy alone when he is sleeping and a secure sleeping area is needed such as a cage or bed.  If you read the housetraining part of this site you will note that the cage also features there so it has a lot of uses.  It can also be closed and children taught to leave it.    training-center.html

Cairns love attention and like all dogs who are to be come part of your family they need training.  Lack of training and the dog not knowing what is expected of him and lack of attention will lead to a bored and destructive, and noisy dog who will get in to all sorts of mischief just to relieve the boredom.  There is very little a Cairn cannot learn but it is up to the owner to take the time to teach him.   Remember what this breed was bred for and they make the most wonderful gardeners so a lovely flower bed is heaven so if you are a keen gardener section of an area where your cairn can do damage or do not leave him unsupervised in the garden or you may just find a new design.

No dog should be left tied up in a garden as this is dangerous the dog could strangle himself or be attacked by other dogs if the garden is not fenced or walled in.  Cairns do not like living outdoors as they love contact with the family and make much better pets when they live in close contact with humans.   Dog collars should be checked regularly to ensure it is not embedded an embedded collar could kill a dog.  Puppies should be checked at least once a week and an adult dog once a month.  Also remember when grooming your dog to remember to remove the collar and groom the area well before putting the collar back on.

Cairns love going on walks and it is rewarding for both owner and dog always exercise on a lead as remember they were bred for hunting and the scent of a rabbit and sudden deafness appears as the natural instinct to hunt takes over.  Do not use a flexi lead on a road as if the break fails it could be detrimental to your dog so only use these leads in parks or safe open spaces.

As a young puppy you should not over exercise your puppy. They just need to play and run in a well fenced in garden you should take the puppy for short walks to socialise your puppy but too much exercise can damage limbs.  It is essential that you socialise a puppy so try bringing your puppy to different places and to training classes if there are any in your area.  Cairns do not need long walks but once they are over six months and better still 9 months they will thoroughly enjoy it.

Plants can be posionous to dogs the following site has a list of plants and photos of them it is really worth reading and keeping in your favourites as a reference point.

poisonous-plants-for-dogs.html

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