TRAINING YOUR CAIRN - thecairnterrierclub.co.uk

1 TRAININGYOURCAIRNbyJackieBurrWhy is it that you see all the dog owners of other breeds in the localpark walking calmly with a somewhat sedate and obedient dog?I mean, let s take the most likely breeds we CAIRN owners regularlyencounter Retrievers, Labradors, Border Collies, Dalmations theyall walk so beautifully beside their owners, apparently without theuse of leads. Then, along comes the CAIRN and BAM! All chaos is letloose! The CAIRN has decided that it is much more fun to run to thelocal dog than it is to listen to the person who has just picked up hispoop; and then, whilst you are left apologising for your CAIRN sdisruptive behaviour, he is away after the next dog, just to see whatkind of stir he can cause.

2 The problem is that Cairns know they arequick; they know that they can cause a fair bit of trouble withoutactually getting caught. They ve mastered the art over many yearsand will continue to perfect breed has over a hundred years of experience in speed,agility, focus, listening skills and scent work. These guys were bredfor it. After so many years of effectively being out of work, they aregiving themselves the work that they were bred to do in the firstplace. So what better basis for giving them back the work that theyso desire? Let s give them back the thrill of the chase, and thescents of the great outdoors.

3 They are quite content with oursubstitutions for them. Take them out into the field and hide theirfavourite toy and send them out to scent it for you; play fetch with atoy or ball; take them on your morning run with you. There are nolimits to the games and tasks you can find to work your CAIRN sense of content your CAIRN will gain does come at a cost toyou. It requires a lot of patience and a lot of trust. This never comeseasily, but we all want our Cairns to be happy and live as acceptedmembers of our is best done in a quiet room in your house, or in thegarden, to start with.

4 This way he will gain your trust and you cangain his. If you get a CAIRN Terrier as a puppy at around 9 weeks,he will not be free to leave the vicinity of your property in case ofinfection. Use this time as the foundation of what I would callintense TRAINING . Everything you communicate to him at this stageis going to be the fundamental TRAINING for when you get into thatpark or dog TRAINING class. Whatever you decide you wish to traintowards, it will have to be consistent right from the start: the samecommand that you use; the same body language; the same tone ofvoice; the same calm approach every time.

5 The only thing you willchange is the reward for example, change the treat or toy you useon occasions to keep that keenness to work for young puppy will be on 3-4 meals a day. What a fantasticopportunity for you to do recall and a sit, all at the same time!If you have an older CAIRN and would like to start TRAINING , this willwork the same way. Old dogs DO learn new tricks. The onlydifference is that the older CAIRN will have learnt a few unwantedbehaviours, such as being noisy or jumping up at feeding time, orrunning away when called. You must always ensure that you arecalm and consistent.

6 Wait until the unwanted behaviour stops, thenreward. If your CAIRN is not great at recall, go into a quiet room anddo sit-stay and recall exercises, over and over until he comes 10 yourself appealing to your Cairns. Have a favourite toy again,or the ultimate favourite food treat, but remember to keep the treatsminute in size. There are two reasons for this: you will be rewardingat every good movement from your CAIRN to start with so you don twant to fill up his tummy before you have even begun, and we donot want a nation of obese Cairns!It all seems very exciting to go on and do all the fancy things likeagility or advanced obedience, or heelwork to music, but the basicswill have to be covered all the same, and whilst you are doing all thebasics, your CAIRN s body is developing.

7 Any good agility class willnot accept dogs under 10 months and even then they will notencourage any high jumping until at least 2 years of age. During thisperiod you canattend a goodobedience schoolwith your way you canguarantee thatyou will be theone in the agilityclass with a dogthat focuses onyou and not onthe others ,Millie,Woody,Topaz,Jamie,KatieandSassie onholidayinSutherlandHeelwork to music witha CAIRN is different fromthat which you see ontelevision with theworking have to work withwhat you have. A Cairnhas not the height thata sheepdog has to jumpover your shoulder whilststanding.

8 Bring it downto his level. You can do this by crouching to his size. A CAIRN seemsto love close work where he is perhaps weaving in and out ofyour legs or reversing towards you from a stay position. All thecommands that are taught for obedience can be used in theheelwork to music,agility, out in the field,or just for we know, eachCairn is an individualand what will work withone may have anopposite effect on theother. It is important touse the methods andtools that will suit yourCairn. My Cairns can alldo the same basicobedience, but I maynot have gone about itin the same way with each of them, and sometimes it may takea little longer to get results.

9 But this is where the patience andconsistency will come of my Cairns (Woody) is very bouncy , and anyone with amore animated CAIRN will know that such a dog s listening skills area little slower to develop! So with him I stepped up my pace a littleand, so that I could train him for basic obedience, we went to could get the fast pace he wanted and at the same time I got thecontrol I needed. He had to do a sit-stay at the start and a recall atevery obstacle and at the end of the course. Use the skills your dogalready has and have had so many CAIRN owners ask me about the , a pack will stay together.

10 Use this natural trait and workwith it. From tiny, a puppy will follow you, but as he gets moreexperienced in life, he begins to investigate further. He is a terrier,and, as Cairns owners know, terriers love to chase. USE this naturalinstinct!When he is young, inthe home, practisetaking back a ball or like to use a plasticpractice golf ball whenthey are small and atennis ball when theygrow. He will instinctivelychase the ball. It is whathe was bred for. Thetrick is getting him tobring it back! Don tstress too much if hedoesn t come backstraight away.