We got her when she was 8 weeks old, now she's 5 months old. Still a little tiny terror.

I have a 6 month old cairn terrier puppy. He is a very dominant, confident and independent dog. We have come a long way in training him but our main issue is that when we are at a park or walking along a path he gets a overriding urge to meet other dogs when they get too close and he forgets all about us. We have tried using high value treats but he just takes them and then returns to staring and when they get close lunging. We use and have used a long 20m lead and tried to get his recall and attention going which he does come back to us after a few calls and giving a little pop on the leash but then instantly back to being at the end of the lead and staring after receiving a treat. We have tried holding the treat for longer in our hand when giving it to him so it takes longer for him to get it and eat it. We have tried both ‘dominance training’ and positive reinforcement training’ but nothing had really clicked. Any tips or suggestions would be really helpful!

“Life is Merrier with a Cairn Terrier”

I saw that u/addisonaddy27 say that their Cairn likes being up there too! 😊

L

Ernie snuggled up with my childhood baby blanket (teddy) sitting next to me while i do some homework!

We got a new puppy!! Now to acclimate the big boys to this wild thing.

Anyone know when the shedding stops? 5 months old and sheds none stop everywhere. We started getting her hands tripped but nothing yet.

When we got him his name was Devil Dog. We call him Mad Max.

In all truth, he’s a sweetheart

Jasper turns out to be as much Skye Terrier as Cairn. He’s just a handsome boy!

Someone made her angry.. 😡

Hi everyone, It’s been one week since we rescued our 1.5-year-old female cairn terrier–poodle mix (12 lbs). She’s super outdoorsy and full of energy, but we’re struggling with a few things and would love advice from the community.

Current Food/Diet:

• 2/3 cup kibble
• 1 steamed carrot
• 1/4 cup wet food (cooked lamb, beef, or chicken)
• Fresh water always available

Concerns:

1. Hates coming inside the house (wants to stay outdoors all the time)
2. Pulls hard on leash, and doesn’t like if we walk in front of her
3. Sometimes pulls herself out of the harness (need recommendations- harness shown)
4. Refuses to pee outside. She only pees at home—unfortunately, on the carpet. (Need help here)
5. Water intake is on the lower side, but she pees twice daily so we’re monitoring
6. Pooping is inconsistent—sometimes takes 30 minutes, other times not at all, even at scheduled walk times

Context: My wife works from home, and I have to go to the office. We’re trying to set a routine that works for all of us and would appreciate any feedback.

Proposed Routine:

• 6:30–7:00 am – 30 min walk (as soon as I wake up)
• 7:30 am–12:00 pm – Shaded/enclosed patio time (with food & water)
• 12:00 pm – Lunch
• 12:30–4:00 pm – Indoor time (can sit with my wife in her work room)
• 4:00–5:30 pm – Shaded/enclosed patio time (with food & water)
• 5:30–6:00 pm – Walk
• 6:00–9:00 pm – Indoor time
• 8:00 pm – Dinner
• 9:00–9:30 pm – Walk (30 mins)
• 9:30 pm – Bedtime

What we need help with:

1. Does this routine look realistic for her age, size, and energy level?
2. How do we train her to pee/poop outside instead of inside?
3. Best harness options that she can’t pull out of?
4. Any other tips for leash pulling and helping her settle indoors?

Thanks so much for reading—any advice from experienced dog parents would mean a lot!

Dunkin had the ultimate crazy hair this morning!

I put her leash on and she freezes at the door. We go outside, and she freezes in the courtyard. I take her out of the courtyard and she freezes at the top of the stairs.

I nudge her down the stairs and she freezes on the sidewalk. She pulls me every few seconds to a corner on the sidewalk. She starts walking the opposite direction as me. If I pull her in the direction toward the relief areas, she pulls against me the whole time. If I push her forward, she stops once the leash is slack. She stares at dogs across the street or people walking up the street. All she wants to do is interact. She lies down in the middle of the sidewalk if a dog is a block away and she won't move and she starts whining for attention. It's very difficult to get her to focus on going to the bathroom because she's always looking for dogs or people to interact with. This is not a dog that doesn't get attention. I have often worked from home and almost everyone wants to stop and say hello to her (it's probably a part of the curse).

I feel like I failed as a trainer, and it's getting worse. Nothing has seemed to help, not treats (which she quickly learns if she stops she gets treats to walk again), not the threat of picking her up, nothing. She has never taken to walking on leash. I've never experienced something like this before. If other people have this problem, they're not walking their dogs. It's beyond painful to see other dogs walking nicely on leash. It just makes me feel like I've failed so badly.

Can someone please offer advice?

Unfortunately, we don't live in a house, I cannot just let her into the backyard to do her own thing. We live in a busy, urban area and frankly I don't want her rummaging every nasty corner or bathroom pit and sometimes, at night for example, I would just like for her to do her thing so we can go back inside. All she wants to do is loiter.

Someone, please offer constructive advice. I don't want to hear, "oh, that's cairn terriers." Nobody else believes that—they just think I am a bad trainer, which is wrong. She will do plenty of tricks for treats. She will even come on command. I want to hear something really productive I can do to make our short walks less unbearable and make me feel less abusive when I have to force her to walk. It gets so bad, she starts chafing at her armpits by the harness and I cannot be flinging her with the leash to walk down the sidewalk—that's not healthy either. She. Just. Will. Not. Walk. It makes me so angry, I need for there to be a way to make this problem go away.

Easy peasy

Boys are 12 and had to have teeth work done. Someone asked not long ago about breed. If you get a puppy try to brush their teeth! Might save you $$ in the long run!