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whole lifetime you are responsible for what you made familiar to you." Antoine de Saint-Exupèry  If you want to adopt a dog (you shouldn't simply buy a pet) please try to get as much information as you an get at first. You make a decision for a long time, and not only for yourself. Probably most important is the answer to the question: To which breed do I fit? A couch potato will never ever become lucky with a powerful shepherd dog, even if it is the most beautiful animal in the world. And where do I get the dog? If you don't necessarily want a pedigree dog, you should look around in the animal homes near by. But find out as much as you can about the animal you like. That will preserve bad surprises. A pedigree dog you should buy from a registered breeder. These people are crazy for dogs in the best sense, follow the strict rules of the breeder's clubs and are controlled permanently. Registered german kennels of all breeds you find at the VDH, the terrier breeders are organized in the KfT (see link list). And if somebody tells you, he doesn't need the VDH, don't believe him. He may not need the VDH, but the dogs do. A healthy puppy with a good character from a careful and loving hobby-kennel costs about 1000 €. If the dog is cheaper, there is certainly something wrong. A reliable breeder will answer all your questions with pleasure, proudly show you his dogs and their home, let you have a look at all the pedigree papers and advise you completely. If not, look for another breeder. But why a pedigree dog? Just to impress other people? You are completely wrong. To get a breeding license for a VDH pedigree dog, the animal has to achieve very good results on several shows, to be examined by an especially licensed veterinarian and to pass a character testing. Furthermore by VDH and FCI you have to disposal an international pool of licensed dogs and the strict rules of the breeder's clubs are controlled permanently. Unfortunately in germany anyone is allowed to found a club and sign pedigrees for his animals. So some of these dokuments are not worth the ink they are printed with. Another time you should inform yourself and compare. The KfT has about 10.000 members, the VDH is the national organisation to approximately 170 clubs and the FCI is the largest international cynological organisation with more than 80 countries as members. | |
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Education Educating dogs is simple. You have to be affectionate and consistent. Educating dogs is difficult. You have to be affectionate and consistent.  Dogs love their humans. Honestly and from all of their hearts. That is a basic quality of their character. Please never forget that. If dogs shows correct behaviour, you reward them. Positive strengthening works and you can't give an overdose of praise. False behaviour has to be ignored. If they do something what they shouldn't, you must be able to express that you don't agree. Beating doesn't work. The only thing a beaten dog learns is to be afraid of their humans. You better watch a bitch treating her puppies. When they misbehave she growls. Very cheeky rascals will be turned onto the back and probably helt at the throat until they stay quet. That may seem a bit strange but it works. And by the way, let your breeder explain what the "Schnauzgriff" is. On the other hand you have to learn from the dogs. Facial expression, posture, ears and tail will tell a lot. If you understand these signals, everything is much easier to you. What remains is a process. Get involved, it's a lot of fun. | |
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care There is not very much work to do with you cairn terrier. Usualy you comb the dog once a week to get rid of the loose hair. So you avoid a hairy problem in your home.  Twice a year your cairn has to be trimmed. The fur is ready to trim, when you can pull out the hair with almost no resistance. Formerly the cairn got trimmed by hunting in the undergrowth and thicket, because loose hair got stuck in the branches. That caused the so-called "rolling coat", hair in different lenghts and in various layers that makes the cairns to be weatherproof. But while our dogs don't live like that any longer, they have to be trimmed by hand. Never let cut your cairn's hair. That ruins the fur and may cause skin problems. Dogs shöuld have a bath only if they are really dirty and you should use nothing but clear water if possible. Shampoo is the very last option if nothing else helps. A regular check of eyes, ears, teeth, claws and so on is obvious. Get your dog used to it from the first day on. |
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