Thursday Training!

Mental Activity

Physical activity is very important for your Cairn Terrier's health and well being.  But mental stimulation is also very important and often overlooked or forgotten altogether.

I had previously submitted a blog about teaching tricks for your reading pleasure.  But I want you to be creative in teaching your dog tricks and fun behaviors.

Oftentimes there are natural behaviors that your dog does, such as sitting on its haunches and begging.  My Cairn Terrier Toby was an expert at this balancing act.  I put this behavior on cue by asking him to "sit pretty" and rewarded when he would strike this pose.  Since this was something that Toby did naturally, he quickly learned to do this willingly and happily when I asked, resulting in a beautiful professional portrait of this gorgeous boy.

My current rescue Cairn Terrier Smudge can also execute the beg position with a prolonged pose.  However, as with any dog, he has added his own signature move to the sit pretty trick by placing both of his turned paws under his chin, resulting in many oohs and aahs from any spectators.  It is absolutely adorable.  And I easily taught this trick to both of my Cairns because it was something they did easily and naturally.

A Cairn Terrier friend of mine had two adorable Cairns named Scotch and Demi.  She did clicker training with these clever twins, and she taught them to wag their tails on cue!  Again, both Cairns were happy tail waggers, and Cindy simply put a word to this action and rewarded it.  This was a great crowd pleaser at dog shows!  Too cute!!

I enjoy doing performance sports with my Cairns such as obedience and rally.  I also love the sport of freestyle, dancing with your dog, and did competition with my Cairn Terrier Toby.  In one national competition I won first prize for the most comical routine!  I was dressed as an English bobby in full costume, and I had a billy club and was chasing Toby around the ring as he circled me and merrily barked, ran through my legs, etc.  We had GREAT music for this number!  A top freestyler told me afterwards that she loved watching us in the ring because it was so obvious how much fun we were having together.  Bonding at the highest level.

Each dog is an individual, and you can find things to put on cue that your dog does naturally.  Training your dog is valuable time that you spend together.  And when a dog is mentally stimulated it is much less likely to become frustrated, resulting in undesirable behaviors and actions.

My female Cairn Terrier Whitney was a diva in every sense.  She was outgoing and confident, but she could also be extremely stubborn and bad-tempered.  Whitney was not at all impressed by my credentials as a dog trainer, ever.  So, obedience was not her forte, but that girl LOVED to dance.  And dance we did, for many years, at nursing homes and community events until her retirement.  Whitney loved the applause when she performed, and she thrived on being the center of attention!  I found something that we could both enjoy doing, and we made great memories together.

Cairn Terriers are very intelligent and clever, and they do have a sense of humor!  So capitalize on this, be creative, and have fun with your dog!

I would appreciate receiving feedback from members.  And if you have a topic you would like me to write about, please contact me.

Dog bless, Judy Endo

judyendo@outlook.com