Help! My Cairn Is Ignoring Me!

Question
Hi Beth,
Ive Written To You Before About My Cairn Chaz About His Skin Problem Which Turnd Out To Be A Highly Allergic Reaction To Rawhides Which Hes No Longer Aloud To Have. I Think That Broke His Poor Lil Heart. an His Marking My Bed, Which Thankfully Stopd 4Days Later!


but My Question Is More Towards Training Him. When I First Got Him Was Great With Siting, Healing/Staying, Rolling Over, Come an Playing Dead. Now The Only Thing He'll Do Is Sit an Fetch The Ball an Hide Under The Bed With It. After His Teenage Stage Is Done Will He Go Back To Do Those? 'Cause I Miss Being Able To Let Him Run Around The House an Farm an Knowing He'll Come Back an Do Comands For Me. Also Hes Startd Chewing The Trim Off The Walls but Ive Used The Bitter Apple an The Vet Suggestd Even Sour Apple Suckers When I See Him Doing It...I Kinda Find The Suckers Mean Though...Im Fine With The Lil Slip Ups On Chewing The Dresser an BookCase 'Cause You Cant Tell but My Dad Is Getting Mad At Him For The Walls In My Room Being Half There I Guess You Can Say. I Do Discpline Him For That by Putting Him In His Cage For A Couple Minutes.

Ive Tryd The Kong Toys With Him but Hes Not Interested In Them an  Doesnt Like Treats, Peanut Butter, or Any Fourm Of People Food...Which Im Kinda Happy He Doesnt...Im Just Confused On What To Do About Commands an His On Going Teething Problem! I Wanna Be Able To Take Him Places With Me but If Hes Doing This I Dont Think I Can Without Fear OF Being Kickd Out Or Losing Him For Good. I Just Dont Want To Give Him Up Yet or At All, He Means Alot To Me an Id Be Lost With Out Those Big Brown Puppy Eyes an His Snoring In My Ear At Nite When He Sleeps On My Head. Silly I Know.

Answer
Brittany -

Sorry I've been so darned long, but I have been quite sick - even my own dogs are feeling a little ignored !

I think you are going to have to find something Chaz is allowed to chew - something has to tempt him... a bone, a nylabone, something... That way he can have something that you won't be mad at him for. The bitter apple spray is the way to go, and if that doesn;t work, you can put about a teaspoon of hot sauce into 2 cupes of water and spray that on.  When you catch him doing it, you do have to tell him he's being naughty.  

You can do this as simply as saying ack-ack, the once he looks up, ask him to come and sit.  You will have a treat ready for him and in fact can use it to get him to come away from the place he was chewing.  If he won't come at that point, walk to him and have him sit for the treat. If that won't work, you are going to have to use the crate for 10 minutes as a time out.

He's young enough that you are going to have to keep working on his training because if he thinks he can just ignore you.  There must be something that works for him - sometimes it's not a food treat, but rather a toy or ball that is his reward for doing what you ask.

If it is a ball or toy that he is really fond of, hide it when you're not training with him. You want to make sure it stays special so it's a reward.  Otherwise he won't think he has to listen to get it. He figures he can just wait a little while and you will give up and let him have it.

Terriers, and especially cairns, are very very smart and if they think they can manipulate you, they will. When that happens, people end up with spoiled, poorly behaved dogs.

I also encourage you to take him to a series of obedience classes.  They are not expensive, and will teach you a lot about how to work with him.

Again, I'm sorry for the delay

-Beth