Aggressive Rescue Cairn Pup

Question
We have recently rescued a handsome, 6 month old, neutered, male Cairn pup that we simply adore.  We have an almost 4 year old, spayed, female Cairn that is a real sweetheart.  We understood that the rescue Cairn did not like larger dogs prior to adopting him.  Because of our positive experience with our female Cairn, we felt she could help him overcome his anti-social behavior.  Unfortunately, his anti-social (aggressive) behavior has escalated to all dogs, including our passive female Cairn. We have enlisted the help of a certified dog trainer and behaviorist for the past month.  Although we are consistent in our daily training and activity schedule, we haven't seen any improvement.  It is very sad to see him miss out on the numerous indoor/outdoor opportunities to socialize with the many wonderful small dogs in our community. We would very much appreciate your suggestions/recommendations.

Answer
Joe -

Did he come from a formal cairn rescue, some other kind of rescue or a shelter ??  I ask because the group I am a member of would be working with you in the post-adoption adjustment time, and would have known of this problem prior to placement.  Other rescues and shelters just don't have the assessment time or experience we use.

Anyway, has your trainer moved you to something called Nothing in Life is Free ??  I think I recently explained the theory and process to someone else here on this board....

The theory is that if nothing else, he's wayyyyy too big for his britches.  Think terrible teen.  Cairns are very macho dogs, especially males, and it's not uncommon for them to be "scrappy", but aggression of any kind just cannot be tolerated.

I am going to paste in below a link to a  good description of what I mean.  He is trying to assert himself as the boss of the whole world, and is very likely to move from trying it with other dogs to perhaps even trying it with people.

IF, and I emphasize IF, in the very worst case scenario, and after you and I or other folks familiar with terriers can't help please contact a CAIRN TERRIER ONLY rescue. They are best equipped to address the problems and may be able to avert your having to give up on him....

Also - make sure your trainer/behaviorist knows, and likes, the typical terrier. Many many trainers know nothing about the terrier temperment - and then find them frustrating and unresponsive to the normal level of sweet, incredibly positive training techniques.  These are SMART and very WILLFUL dogs... and should not be underestimated....

I would encourage you to read through this article and then get back to me with questions or for more ideas:

http://www.cairnrescue.com/docs/NILIF.htm



-Beth