How should I house/child train my puppy??

LoveCairn · 11-06-2009, 12:47 AM

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum! I have never had a dog living indoors only outdoors (indoors in bad weather) but this breed Is small and more suitable for indoor living. A friend of mine just recently had to make an unexpected emergency move to a different state & had just bought a Cairn Terrier puppy. She did not want to bring the puppy with her because of living conditions and she ask if I would be interested in taking him. She didn't have anyone to give him to besides me. I told her I wanted him. He is a precious puppy! He is close to being 5months old. My 2 children are very young, toddler age. The puppy is a little nippy with the kids and everyone for that matter. He also jumps up on my children especially if they have a snack/sippy cup in their hands. He does have his own toys but If my children have any sort of toy in the floor & it catches his eye he goes straight to it & starts chewing, he loves chewing on things. I am sure this is normal puppy behavior but I can't let it continue. I want this puppy to grow up with my kids & I want them to love one another. My oldest toddler(who is 3.5yrs) is crazy about him already! He also pee's and poo's on my rugs throughout the house, & pee's when excited, for instants when we come home or a visitor talks to him. I have purchased a crate & I havent kept him in it for longer than an hour yet, just letting him get used to it, he does jump up on the sides & barks/whines to get out. If anyone has any house training and child training advice for my puppy please help!

Thank you!

Cracker · 11-06-2009, 08:52 AM

Welcome to puppy ownership!

Firstly, check out the stickie posts at the top of this forum. There is lot of info, the Ian Dunbar downloads, "the bite stops here" etc are all very good information.

In the meantime, feed the pup in the crate, make sure he always has an appropriate chew item in there with him (put his food in a food dispensing toy?) and keep a short leash on him in the house for management. All dog and children interaction MUST be supervised, if there is food or toys that are the kid's things, the pup should be in his crate or with YOU, the adult. The more you prevent the behaviour the easier it can be managed and alternate behaviours learned.
Housetraining involves a lot of things:
Management: means no FREEDOM in the house unless closely supervised. It also means anticipating the needs of the puppy, before AND after playtime, after naps, meals or any excitement he will need to pee. Pooing takes a bit more "schedule awareness". If you have him on a feeding schedule, keep track of how long after ameal he has to pass a BM. Keep a chart, it really helps. Take him out whenever you think he MAY have to go, keep him on the leash, pick a spot in the yard and WAIT. When he starts to squat for pee or poo praise him and reward him with a treat. Many small dogs (and some big ones) are not fully housetrained until a year or so of age. The fewer accidents happen (because YOU are on top of things) the more success you will have.

Marsh Muppet · 11-06-2009, 09:09 AM

I had a lengthy and brilliant (if I do say so) post composed when Mrs. Muppet closed the tab to do something else. And she wonders why I resource-guard the computer.

Anyway...Cracker filled in the important stuff. I would only add that you need to arrange for kid-dog interactions to occur when all involved are in a naturally calm frame of mind. I realize, with 2 toddlers and a terrier puppy, that probably seems like a ridiculous concept. However, all carbon based lifeforms have natural cyles of greater and lesser activity.

Your mission, Mr. Phelps, should you choose to accept it, is to identify those fleeting moments and make the most of them. As always should any member of your IMF force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck.

Labsnothers · 11-06-2009, 11:08 AM

It is much easier to teach a puppy not jump up on you or bite than to teach it not to do them to others. The yelp and leave when bit may be fairly easy to teach toddlers. They may not have the balance for the highly effective step backwards when jumped on. Unfortunately, even consistently using the best techniques still takes a long time to alter the natural behavior of a puppy.

LoveCairn · 11-12-2009, 12:18 AM

Thanks everyone for the advice!! My main concern is the biting issue, if hands are near him he will nip or even toes. Sometimes even while petting him he likes to chew on hands etc. It isn't hard biting but I am afraid if he isn't taught now the bites may get more intense or maybe it will go away as he matures.. I read ' The bite stops here' and just discovered, dogtime.com great info!

digits mama · 11-12-2009, 11:32 AM

Got alot of good advice! And I am so glad to see another Cairn owner here.

When the puppy goes for something that doesnt belong to him,Or if he is biting.. Trade him with a chewy of his own. Such as a Kong, frozen and stuffed with treats. A good high pitched scream from me when mine was nippy solved the problem.. I have seen where some dogs thought the scream was a invite to nip agian tho...

Cairns love to stay busy bodies and need a job to do during the waking hours for the first year of thier lives it seems. I fed them with a puzzle ball or a buster cube that dispenses treats. I also used NILIF for training..It was the best thing I ever did for my pups. There is a sticky up above

My girls were raised without children living in the home but when I did have kids here I made sure they were tethered to me at all times so I can immediatly correct any bad behavior.

Positive training techniques are the best way to get your point across to a Cairn. If you use any force on this breed, They tend to backlash and start making thier own rules. I have seen this before and it is really sad to see..

Excercise is very very important to a Cairn. If your pup gets ample excercise, for the first few months during "boot camp training" Things will mellow out in the household...

But the number one training tool is a leash. It gives you so much control in what you pup is up too. If I didnt have them tethered to me I would leash them to a bedpost and surround them with thier own toys. But that was only if I was home within a short distance from them. And last but not least.. A crate. A crate is where he goes unless he has at least 80% of you attention

It does get better.. Things slowly come to pass. Eventually you will have a Wonderful, smart well behaved Cairn. They are awesome little dogs. Congrats for your new addition and I cant wait to see pictures.

LoveCairn · 11-12-2009, 05:30 PM

Thanks so much for your advice, glad to know you own cairns!! I am going to read about Nilif asap! This morning my pup had my oldest toddlers shoe my hands were full with my younger tot & I didn't realize what was going on but she was chasing the pup to get her shoe he went into a smaller corner with her shoe she reached in to grab it & he growled and bit her, first time he brought blood, very small puncture but it brought a little blood I was horrified!! Should I keep him in his crate at all times?? It really scared me..

Thracian · 11-12-2009, 05:53 PM

How long have you had him?

The puppy is displaying guarding behavior. To help him get past that, play a trading game. He has a shoe? Offer him a toy or a tasty treat. He drops the shoe and gets the treat.

Taking stuff away from him, even things that don't belong to him, makes him scared and fearful. Trading will help him see that there is nothing to fear.

Biting is not acceptable, but consider it from his position. He was backed into a corner, with nowhere to go, and someone is reaching for him. He felt threatened by this and snapped.

I would definitely crate him and/or keep the kids away from him for now. My hunch is he needs time to settle in and a lot more training. Puppy proof what you can so he can't get into things. When you can't puppy proof, play the trading game when he takes something he shouldn't.

And definitely look into NILIF. It sounds like it will do this boy a world of good.