Methods to Housebreak a Cairn Terrier

To housebreak any breed of dog, you'll need a fair amount of patience and persistence. The cairn terrier's strength of mind might sometimes make it seem more difficult to house train than other dogs. Owners who learn to appreciate their determination can harness it and help make housebreaking a breeze.

  1. The Cairn Personality

    • Understanding the unique behavioral characteristics of the cairn terrier can serve as an effective strategy in housebreaking. Every cairn is unique, to begin. As with many people, individual cairns are distinguished by quirks and preferences that owners must learn to decipher and appreciate. Strong independence does characterize many cairns, however. This breed is also quite intelligent and curious. Cairn owners should concentrate on using positive reinforcement to challenge and excite their terriers. Negative or harsh methods rarely work well with this breed.

    Consistency

    • Successfully housebroken cairns likely benefited from a firm schedule that their owners stuck to firmly. Choose a few times per day to take your dog out to do its business, and do not waver from those choices. Once in the morning, again in the late afternoon, and a final time before bed makes an ideal schedule. This regimen should be maintained even during holidays and weekends. Owners should also use consistent, copious praise when their cairn goes outdoors. Treats and belly rubs for eliminating outside help to reinforce learning in a manner that persists.

    Confinement

    • Cairns undergoing training in housebreaking need to be supervised constantly; when not being watched, they should be crated. To cage a cairn during this process is not an exercise in cruelty. On the contrary -- placing a cairn in a crate, for short periods of time, helps it associate the indoors with comfort and stability, not as a place to make waste. After a few hours inside the crate, owners should immediately take the cairn outside to a bathroom spot, prepared to dole out praise after the dog completes the deed.

    Puppies and Older Dogs

    • There are differences to keep in mind when housebreaking your cairn depending on its age. The older the dog, the stronger the bladder control. Puppies should therefore be taken out to eliminate waste more frequently than more mature canines. Older cairns might not be as amenable to training as new terrier pups. Patience and composure are essentials in this process, no matter the cairn's age. Accidents, when they occur, should be cleaned up swiftly. Avoid punishments, such as rubbing its nose in the waste. Such methods are ineffective, as they confuse the dog and encourage it to mistrust you.