Cairn Terrier Potty Training


How to potty train a cairn terrier puppy with the Potty Training Puppy Apartment crate. We have cairn terrier house training solutions, so housebreaking cairn terrier puppies will be fast and easy. Over 100,000 dogs have been successfully potty trained with our world-famous indoor dog potty, called the Potty Training Puppy Apartment, including cairn terriers. The free video below is a short version of our 15-minute video which is located on our Home Page. The training techniques and tips are being demonstrated by Miniature Pinscher puppies, however, the techniques are exactly the same for a cairn terrier puppy or a cairn terrier adult dog. If you are seeking cairn terrier puppies for sale or adoption, please visit our Breeders page. At the bottom half of this page is specific breed information about the temperament and traits of a cairn terrier. If this breed is available in a teacup, toy or miniature size it will be mentioned below.



This is a working terrier, and it should be hardy, game and active. It is short-legged, and longer than it is tall, but not as low to the ground as the Sealyham or Scottish terriers. Its build enables it to fit into close quarters in pursuit of its quarry. Its head is shorter and wider than any other terrier, giving it good jaw strength. Its weather-resistant coat consists of a soft, close undercoat and a profuse, harsh outer coat. Furnishing around the face adds to its somewhat foxy expression. The cairn is the essence of terrier; plucky, spirited, bold, inquisitive, hardy, clever, stubborn and scrappy. It is responsive to its owner's wishes, however, and tries to please; in fact, it is surprisingly sensitive. This breed can be a good house pet as long as it is given daily physical and mental exercise in a safe area. It enjoys playing with children and is tough enough to withstand some roughhousing. It can be aggressive with other dogs and chases small animals; it loves to sniff, explore and hunt. It digs; some bark.

Despite its small size, the cairn needs outdoor exercise every day, either a moderate walk on leash, a fun game in the yard or an excursion in a safe area. It can live outdoors in temperate climates, but it does better sleeping indoors. Its wire coat needs combing once weekly, plus stripping of dead hair at least twice yearly.

One of a family of short-legged terriers developed on Scotland's Isle of Skye, the cairn terrier probably still resembles the ancestral form to a greater degree than others descended from the same stock. These dogs seem to have existed since the 15th century and were used to hunt fox, badger and otter. The dogs were adept at bolting otters from the cairns (piles of stone that served as landmarks or memorials). The dogs came in a variety of colors, ranging from white to gray to red, and were all considered Scotch terriers when they began to enter the show ring. In 1873, they were divided into Dandie Dinmont and Skye terriers, with the cairn in the latter group. This group was later again divided into Skye and hard-haired terriers in 1881, and the hard-haired terriers eventually separated into Scotch, West Highland white and the breed eventually known as the cairn. At one time, the cairn was called the shorthaired Skye, then the cairn terrier or Skye and finally, around 1912, the cairn terrier. Some of the most influential early cairns were all white, but white, as well as crossing to West Highland whites, was banned by the 1920s. The breed became quite popular in England, and fairly popular in America, gaining its greatest fame as the dog playing Toto in the Wizard of Oz. As one of the more natural and less sculpted terriers, the breed is highly regarded by those who appreciate a working terrier. Perhaps the motto of the British breed club sums it up best: "The best little pal in the world."