Adjusting to Life with two Cairn Terriers

Question
Two weeks ago, We picked up our new male cairn terrier puppy and brought her home to our female 7 month old cairn terrier.  The female has been spayed, the male hasn't yet been neutered, but will at 5 months. The two seemed to get along at the breeders, but when I brought him home, the female, seemed to get fairly jealous and territorial.  We had a couple of instances where we needed to pry her off of him.  It has gotten better over the last week, however now the two of them can't seem to leave the other alone.  It is hard to tell which is dominant, but the female seems to be for now.  Both of them jump on the other and try to bite each other.  I am hoping this is normal and they are just playing, but sometimes I can't tell.  The male, now likes to bite the females back legs and tale, and McGonagall retaliates by standing over him and holding him down by the neck.  There is also a lot of growling going on.  I am not real sure what I need to be doing, but generally if I think they are getting too rough, I will break them apart and tell them both NO!  The other issue is the food and toy issue.  Even though we have about a billion toys, both seem to want the same one...this leads to the biting and wrestling with each other eventually.  the male is also very protective of his food and will snap at McGonagall (the female) if she comes near it, but always wants her food as well.  We have separated the bowls and must stand over them when they are eating so they don't fight with each other.  I guess I would just like some reassurance that we are doing the right thing.  I am hoping they will become friends...will they?

Answer
Hi Keely, Terriers are my hearts desire and I love them all. Your female has be in charge until the male was introduced. She is establishing her dominance by holding him down by the neck. They do play rough and will go through establishing dominance to see who is alpha.  When they get too rough, speak to them each by name and say gentle in a loud firm voice. Terriers do growl alot and threaten each other, but that is normal. At feeding time, I put the food in one bowl and say, "Share". If one gets mean, I call it's name and say , NO, SHARE. They will soon learn to eat together. As long as the snapping and rough housing does not penetrate the skin, you can let them work it out. But you need to establish yourself as the Alpha dog. Get them both together into puppy kindergarten and obedience classes.  Here is an excerpt from the AKC on their temperament: Today the Cairn Terrier in America is a sensible, confident little dog, independent but friendly with everyone he meets. He may be found in an apartment, suburban home, or on a farm. Alert, intelligent and long-lived, the Cairn tends to remain active and playful well into his teen years, endearing him to children. True to his heritage, the breed still has very large teeth, large feet with thick pads and strong nails (the better to dig with!), strong, muscular shoulders and rears, and a fearless tenacity that will lead him into trouble if his owners are irresponsible. The Cairn Terrier Club of America is dedicated to promoting the welfare of the Cairn Terrier and wants to help you decide if a Cairn Terrier is the right dog to share your life.
So as you see, training and socialization is a must with a terrier.  My TFT rules the roost here.  She puts a 100 lb. Doberman and a Standard Poodle (both males) in their place.   You will love them and life will be good with some training and work.  You can do it.  If you need more advice, please write me.  As always I appreciate your feedback, and I am here to help you every step of the way.  Keep me posted.  Regards, Susan