Hello - this is my first post. i have a very disobedient Cairn Terrier and I need some advice.

Sam is 2 years old and he is the love of my life. i live on my own and have had him since he was 8 weeks old. i fear now that i have treated him a bit like my baby and so his resulting behavioural issues are absolutely my fault. I accept that but am ready to address it now and need some tips.

I grew up around dogs - namely lab retrievers. My experience with these dogs led me to believe I know how to train a dog. I was wrong - or at least I never appreciated how different a terrier could be.

To give some insight as to our life together, here are the things i feel are relevant:
- Most days I work from home so he is rarely alone
- The days I have to go out to meetings, I use a dog walker who takes him out for a few hours at a time
- He eats a raw diet and throughout the week gets a combination of raw meat, bones, offal, fish, veg and rice
- He's in good health, is not overweight and is well exercised
- He gets about 45 minute a day walks, Mon-Fri not including short toilet breaks throughout the day and Sat/Sun he gets a good 1-2 hour ramble through countryside, beaches etc

Before i detail his shortcomings, here are the good things:

- He is super friendly, both with people and other dogs
- He wants to play all the time, both with people and other dogs
- He is good with children and toddlers
- As with many terriers, he is exceptionally bright and good at tricks


But here are the problems - and I'm fairly sure they are all my fault

- On a walk, he often will not come when called
- He jumps up on people
- He will steal toys from other dogs at the park and will not drop them (not even so I can throw them for him - so he can run away with them)
- If he does not get what he wants, he will bark and bark and bark and bark (for example if I have is tennis ball in his hand - he will bark until I throw it)
- He snaps with his jaw. He doesn't actually do this on people's bodies or skin - but if he's excited he will jump around and his jaw will make a *snap-snap* noise. He's never bitten anyone and his behaviour is eminently playful, but coupled with him jumping up at a stranger in the park, it's quite off-putting and I wish I could train it out of him. He's done this since he was a puppy.
- Sometime at home, if i'm not paying him attention, he will growl and act aggressively. It doesn't accelerate into actual biting - but generally he will go into a play bow and bounce around on the floor jumping and growling in this position. Sometimes he will go for my trouser leg or sleeve and pull at the fabric. Clearly this is unacceptable.

I have been trying to deal with these issues but today I dreadful experience with a man at the field we often go to. The field was deserted and so I let Sam off the lead. He ran around and I tried to practice his recall by playing with a ball, calling him to me, making him sit and giving him a treat before releasing him again. After 30 minutes of good behaviour and response to my training, the man arrived with 4 collies. Sam went completely deaf and ran to join in their game. Despite my command to call him to me, he went totally deaf to me and tried to join in all their ball games. The man had no sense of humour, picked up his ball and held it behind his back and refused to look at Sam. Of course Sam began to bark and bark and jump up at him to try to encourage the game. He simply would not come to my call and so I went to the man to try and get him. The man had a huge go at me saying I should not let my dog off the lead and I clearly could not control him etc

Eventually I was able to grab him to put him back on the lead - but it took about 5 minutes, all with this man speaking to me like I was dirt and should be ashamed of myself. Sam kept darting away from me any time I reached for his collar - and any time I tried to walk away from him (which usually works( he just ran off to join back in with the 4 collies).By the time i left the field I was in tears. He has never been as bad as that and I was frustrated and embarrassed.

Please give me some guidance -

is it too late to get my dog out of these bad behaviours ?
How can I get him to see me as the leader?
Are two years of bad habits ingrained by my bad leadership, too much to train him out of?

I feel as though he doesn't listen to me or even like me sometimes. When i have visitors he will wrap himself around them, licking them, tail wagging and trying to lie across their laps. Whereas with me, he ignores me 24-7. He acts happy to see me when I arrive home or first thing in the morning he will run to the bedroom and give me a lick on the cheek. Beyond that, the rest of the time he will ignore me.

Any thoughts?

Oh bless you. Of course its not too late to train good behaviours.

Personally I would look to enrol in a decent local training class. The issues with recall training can then be addressed around other dogs in a controlled environment.

Terriers can become obsessed with balls (as can collies). I have a super JRT that trains competition obedience with me but even she, and she is extremely well schooled and has done a lot of winning, can get fixated on squeaky toys/balls.

I'm sorry I don't have time for a detailed reply but here are a few things that jumped out at me (please excuse the abruptness of my reply).

Recall - if he doesn't come back you need to get a long line (I have a 15m one) to practice with (NOT a flexi lead). That way he can't run away and you can use the line to 'reel' him back in when required. Recall needs super-amazing treats because it has to be worth the dog's while to come back to you. I use primula sqeezy cheese in a tube as my recall treat (ONLY for recall) as part of the fun for the dog is licking it out of the tube). So, on a long line, call and treat when he comes back ('assisting' his return if need be) then release out to play again. Do it over and over. If your dog doesn't have good recall it shouldn't be let off the lead. Not only is it dangerous for your dog (running onto roads, running up to an aggressive on-lead dog) but it is also very rude towards other dog owners.

Not dropping stuff - work on a 'swap' command - the dog gives you what it has in exchange for a treat. Works when they have anything you want. I do in a happy voice 'Kenzie swap' and she will spit out what she has and I will give her the treat in exchange. NEVER chase the dog when they have something you want - it just becomes a game.

The barking/bad behaviour when he wants attention and the jumping up- you must ignore it. He's learnt if he does those things he'll eventually get what he wants. If you ignore it (and yes it will be awful and he'll probably get worse before he gets better) he'll eventually learn it doesn't get him anywhere and stop doing it. By ignoring I mean stay completely still and stare at the ceiling! You must not give in!

These aren't huge problems that are impossible to solve, they are just things that haven't been trained correctly (like you admit).

I'm sure other people will be along with helpful advice soon but in the meantime I hope that helped

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It's never too late, these are very common problems, especially with terriers it seems.

With regards to the recall...get him on a longline so he can still run but can't run away as you have the end of it(you can get them from ebay). Take a "special" toy and treats and only ever get them out for recall training(things like cheese/hotdogs etc are good for this) so he associates them with coming back to you, maybe a squeaky ball for the toy. The longline will help with the toy stealing as you can just reel him in and get the toy but do some leave it and drop it work as well.

With regards to the ball...have you tried teaching him "quiet"? If you can't get through to him at all then i suggest 2 things

1) as soon as he starts barking for the ball, put it in your pocket and walk off...he can'thave it when he's barking.
2) Stop using balls

Jumping up on people is a tricky problem as a lot of people just go "oh it's alright" when you're trying to stop your dog. I taught my dog to jump on command as nothing else worked but there are a lot of techniques you could use.

I have no idea how to stop the snapping....if he's getting that excited maybe try and distract him with the "look at that" game(i'm sure someone will be along to explain it as i've never used it).

You say when you're working he starts trying to get you to play...the best thing you can do is ignore this behaviour and reward him when he's calm and quiet. Do you have a crate? You could pop him in there for a timeout when he starts this behaviour so he learns all it gets him is put to bed.

You need to strengthen your bond, do more basic training with him, you've said yourself he's a clever lad. Feed him by hand for a while, play more games with him, make yourself really interesting on walks and all this will make your bond better, if he ignores you inside maybe keep a house lead on him so you can control him better if he chooses not to listen.

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I just was thinking about this. Whilst it would be great to do lots of fun games and training and 'bond-building' things with your dog, be careful you're not expecting too much. Of course a new visitor is going to be more exciting than you when you've been there for the past 4 hours. You say he's happy to see you in the morning or when you get home, but what exactly do you want from him during all the hours you are home?

You said the thing about his bad behaviour when you ignore him at home, so he must be interacting with you sometimes to do that.

If I'm not actually interacting with my dog she'll either sleep or do her own thing - this doesn't mean I don't have a strong bond with her.

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I'd start tinking about going down the behaviourist route. The interaction between you and your dog needs assessing in my opinion. You are right in saying that these habits are ingrained in him after two years. The neural pathways are strong and this is going to be a long haul to have those neural pathways diminish. So a behaviourist with good knowledge, good experience can help you devise a trainng/rehabilitation regime that will help you.It may mean going back to basics. It will certainly mean patience and consistency. You need to be shown how to be centre of his world, so that being with you is the happiest time ever. Which means creating such a bond that he needs to be with you. Which in turn will lead to him returning, because you are more pleasure to him than other dogs or other people.
Ever thought why children seem to have a better bond with dogs than adults? It's because kids always play with the dog and this playing creates the bond. A good behaviourist of the right background will show you how to do this through training, games and food.

Your dog isn`t norty - you haven`t done enough training is all. He seems like a nice dog with no major issues so I wouldn`t employ a behaviourist personally.
Get a good training book - Jean Donaldson`s The Culture Clash or Pamela Dennisons Dog Training for Dummies - and train him twice a day, for a short time, with lots of energy and rewards and in a month you will have a dsifferent dog.
When out, use a long line to reinforce his recall. It would probably be best to retrain recall with a different word or a whistle.
Re the barking - terriers bark. It`s what they do. If he`s barking from frustration, play with him for a while then give him a chew or teach a `bed` command.
It`s great that he is ball oriented. You can use this in his training. If my dog wants me to throw the ball I ask for an action (sit / rollover / wait) then the ball is thrown as a reward. It`s amazing how fast dogs learn. Be positive -you are half way there.

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Basil is a border terrier and some of this is very familiar to me!! Terriers are challenging but nothing you have said is that unusual - I think he just needs to be taught some manners and that you are in charge! Firm but fair is the catch phrase in our house!

Long line for recall training is a must and don't expect him to keep behaving once he appears to have learned it - terrier training is constant - give them an inch and they'll take a mile! (I still take cheese out with me when Basil is on an off lead walk and he's almost two). I also used to take two squeaky balls out with me, he would always come back for a game with one and if he ran off with one, I had another I could squeak to get him back with!

Teach him to sit before you throw the tennis ball, even if he is barking as you're trying to get him to sit. (I used to hold the tennis ball behind my back if he didn't get the message). In fact, make him sit before he gets anything, even his dinner - it teaches them patience and also that you're the one who calls the shots. Again, I don't mean in a nasty way, you just have to be firmer with terriers to get the message through!

Basil will NOT play fetch unless he can swap the ball for a piece of cheese so the swap idea is a good one.

You cannot train the terrier out of a terrier - and barking is an issue. Basil has a nightly bark in the garden about 9pm and there's nothing we can do about it. So we let him have his bark for about 5 mins and then get him in. We have very understanding neighbours!

Sounds like he has lots of positive things about him - lots of terriers end up not being very good with other dogs so the fact that he's OK is a great positive.

Hope this helps and good on you for asking for advice - Cairns are not an easy breed but put the work in and you won't regret it. One final thing - is he neutered?

Lots of good, specific advice for you to think about here.

From my point of view and totally reading between the lines, firstly I would have to say that you are being pretty hard on yourself, but I also sense a little resentment in there. You are giving this dog a very good life, much better than many dogs can ever expect and you seem to be a little disappointed with what you are getting in return. Could this have something to do with your expectations based on your previous experiences with labs? Labs are very people orientated dogs whereas most terriers are more independent once they mature. As far as behaviour goes, I am a great believer in nurture over nature but we also have to acknowledge that nature does play a part.

Secondly I would think that based on your description, the heart of the matter is the relationship between the two of you and to me, it just sounds like he has become bored. That is not to say that you don't lavish him with attention or spend time with him doing interesting things, more like he has fallen into your routine and knows what is going to happen next, every day. Many dogs are great timekeepers and easily learn what happens at specific times of the day, just try not giving my dog his tea by 630 and you'll see what I mean, and although the vast majority do seem to enjoy their daily routine and like to know what is coming next, what is to say that your's doesn't. Obviously the key factor here is that he seems to find the opportunity to experience something different much more exciting than being with you, unexpected (as far as he is concerned) visitors, other dogs, a stray ball or indeed, any ball.

This is completely hypothetical of course but maybe it is worth considering. I have no idea what you would do about it but in my experience, the first step in solving any problem has to be figuring out exactly what it is. In this case I don't think it is down to your training and I don't think it is down to him just being naughty, so if we rule out those two possible cause's, what does that leave us?

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I don't know anything about Cairn Terriers, but is 45 minutes walk a day enough for them? I know my collie would be nuts if that's all she got.

Other folk are giving you good advice on retraining your dog, he doesn't sound too bad, just uneducated.