hyper active Cairn

Question
QUESTION: I have a marvellous one year old, neutered Cairn terier. The one problem is that he is hyperactive and my family is starting to hate him and as for me... he just wears me out!!
I spoke to the vet and he says the poor animal just cannot stop himself of running and barking so he gave me a drug called Largactil25 (Clorpromazina)of which I am giving him a little less than half a tablet twice a day.I do not feel good about giving him a drug and would like to have your expert opinion about this matter.
Because he is so uncontrollable I have not been able to get him to obediance training but he is fairly good at walking on a leash(if nothing is distracting him) and he usuallu comes to me when called.

ANSWER: I have known a couple of these dogs and both were hyper active, barkers and biters. I would first get the dog to exercise until it was getting tired, then begin obedience training. There are other drugs for hyper dogs, and for calming dogs that have thunder storm fobia. But a life on drugs is not a good one. At one year old it is still a puppy and being a small dog is going to be very active. I would suggest paying less attention to the dog (it is manipulating you to play with it) and provide it with ONE toy and area to work out its energy.  The barking is likely to get attention. [All publicity is good publicity when you want to be the center of attention.]

You didn't mention if you hve a crate. I would make sure the dog spends some time in a crate with a toy, kibble, blanket etc, so it has quiet time (for itself and you). You can cover the crate with a towel or blanket to make it dark so the dog thinks its night and takes a nap. Avoid any high action play, no tug of war, but fetch or other slower action play. I would seek a local professional trainer to help with obedience training as soon as possible. The trainer needs behavior modification experience and knowledge. The pet store trainers only know how to get $99.

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QUESTION: I am excersizing the dog for more than an hour in the morning and again in the evening. Play ball or Frisbee in the park!He is very well socialized and very good with children. He does not bark at children nor at bicycles.
I have a very small room as a crate for him but find him much calmer when he is loose in the apartment and specially when he can lay next to me. I have not been on obedience training with him because he just cannot concentrate bus seems a bit better now he is a bit older.
You are absolutely right! He is still a puppy. I am still ginving him 1/4 of a tablet in the morning and will stop this week alltogether. I hope it will have done the trick.
Thank you very much again

Answer
Its amazing how we all slow down with age.  :-)  He is calmer when next to you so he has trained you well to get what he wants, affection/attention. Obedience training should get him to a more acceptable level. The Europeans generally do not allow single adoptions, requiring adoption in pairs or more. Dogs need a buddy, and in single pet homes, we are it. In multiple pet homes, the dogs/cats have each other for companionship and activity.

Hope it all works out for you.

regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels