cairn terrier aggression

Question
Hi Beth,

I adopted an abandoned cairn at 3 months and now is 7yrs old. She is super with humans(above and beyond) but aggressive with other dogs, especially bigger dogs. It's  embarrassing to take her on walks because she constantly growls and will eventually start barking at them. She is really good with commands but not under these circumstances. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks for your time.

Answer
Terry -

That is such a common problem with cairns.  Before I adopted my first one (a stray in my local shelter) I called a breeder and she told me that a male would want to have complete control and ownership of my property, but a female would want to own the whole town.

For a lighter way of putting it - while still calling a spade a spade, you might get a kick out of this - Toto - The Other Side of the Story. You may find other info there as well that is breed specific.

http://www.cairnrescue.com/general/index.htm#toto

My suspicion is that her behavior is a combination of resource guarding (You are the resource) and not being really well socialized with other dogs.  Terriers in general need a lot of early and ongoing socialization so they remain civilized with other dogs.  My jack russell definitely has the makings of being nasty with other dogs, but because he goes to classes and I have fosters coming and going he does not get the chance to settle into a habit of having a bad attitude.

If you could locate a terrier experienced trainer, you could probably work through it at a series of obedience classes (there's a lot more to it than just sit and stay !).

Thank you for giving your girlie such a good home - If there were more people like you I would not have a series of foster dogs through here all the time !

-Beth Adams