Children and Cairn Terriers

Cairn Terriers are one small breed that has an affinity for children. They are often forgiving when children unintentionally step on, or hurt them. However it's very important for parents to closely supervise the interaction and teach both the Cairn and the child proper interaction. A Cairn that is mistreated is eventually going to protect itself and may develop negative behaviors such as nipping, snapping, or running from a child that is inappropriate. You can't blame any dog for human mistakes! I have raised Cairns with my children, but I would caution a family from adopting a dog until the youngest child is at least 4-5 yrs old, or older. Rescues often won't adopt to a family with children younger than 7yrs. Small Cairn puppies have sharp teeth, razor sharp nails, and it's twice as much work to monitor all interactions and assure the safety and proper interaction of a young dog and child. Children tend to show body language that to a dog is aggression. For large breeds, the height of a child's eyes and the level of the dog's eyes is similar. So in dog language, a child that runs up to them making direct eye contact at their level, is a sign of aggression. This is a leading cause for children getting bitten. Also related to the height, when a dog does snap, the child is often bitten in the face. Children don't know not to "ride" dogs and my own German Shorthair once snapped when a little boy tried to climb on! My own children have been the worst at running up to our dogs and putting their face in the dog's face as a way to greet them. Of course to the dog, this is aggression and I'm so surprised that we haven't had a nipped face. Our Cairns have been very forgiving and some of them offer a warning growl type vocalization as communication that has never meant aggression, but it alerts me that the kids are doing something they shouldn't. I have taken the opportunity to take my dogs and puppies to PreK and Kindergarten class to talk about dog safety and it's important to talk about this with your children. Never pet a dog you don't know, never run up to a dog, and never put your face in a dog's face.