Puppies and dogs will learn most of everything they know in their lifetime from you. They depend on you to care for them, of course, but they also depend on you to show them how to live with humans and understand the English language.

"Mom taught me to jump through a hoola hoop. It was really easy because Cairn Terriers like me are smart. Find out how I learned, "Dog Trick: Jump Through a Hoop"."   Molly May It's tough for a dog to learn the English language. Think of how difficult it would be for humans to try to learn how to speak dog language that is being taught by a dog. As silly as it may sound, dogs do have a way of communicating with each other and other species including humans. Most of the time, humans are too busy with their lives or close minded to understand that their dog is trying to communicate with them. Just because a dog doesn't speak like we do, doesn't mean that they cannot communicate with us or that they don't want to. They are likely communicating with us even when we don't realize it.

Dogs are just like us in many ways. They want to have fun. They want to be happy. They want you to love them and accept them for who they are. They want to learn new things and experience new adventures. They also want you to teach them how to do all of these things because when they are puppies, they don't know.

Training a dog to understand English is far easier than a human learning to communicate in dog language. The key is to keep your training simple and heavily reward the behavior you want. Don't completely ignore bad behavior but don't reward it in any manner either.

Dog Training Commands

Basic dog training commands should be one syllable words like sit, say, down, off, enough, out, come, okay or done.

Important dog training commands should be used in case of an emergency (life threatening situation) and used in a tone that startles your dog like a stern STOP.

Significant dog training commands that you use for things that could be misunderstood like when you want them to eliminate, should be well thought out. I use the command "get busy" when I want my Cairn Terriers to eliminate. This is their cue that they are suppose to either pee or poop. Generally they will do one or the other. If the pee, I will ask ... "poopoo too?" If they poop, I will ask ... "peepee too?" This tells them that I am asking if they have to do more. Sometimes they will and sometimes they won't. I give them that responsibility to make the decision. I ask to simply remind them since Cairn Terriers are easily distracted when they are outside.

Choose your significant dog training commands wisely. Don't use a phrase or command word that you would use often while you are in a place with your dog that you wouldn't want them to misunderstand you. For example, if you taught your Cairn to eliminate with the phrase "get'r done" and you were at a friends home and their children were saying this popular phrase, your Cairn just might eliminate exactly where he stands.

The same is true if you are in a public area and don't want to say to your dog, "piddle?" I don't use the phrases "poopoo too" and "peepee too" in public.

Don't use long phrases or commands or vary your commands each time. In other words don't say things like, "Piddle for mommy?", "Time to go potty now baby girl", "Do you have to peepee?", "Show me how good of a boy you are and go potty for me", etc. These phrases are too long and if you use a different phrase each time you want your Cairn to eliminate, you will be confusing your Cairn and they will not learn housebreaking.

Be consistent. Keep it simple. Stick with a routine and insist that every member of your family adhere to he same routine. Think before you teach your Cairn Terrier anything new. Often times Cairn Terriers and other dogs are learning when we are not intentionally teaching them. They are constantly watching us and picking up on the things we say, how we say, what we do and how we do things. They too are looking for a pattern in our human lifestyle so that they can better understand us and what pleases us.