JimS Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I'm brand new to the forum and to life as a Cairn lover. My wife, Carolyn, and I are substance abuse counselors here in Galesburg Il. For the past 12 years, after having realizing I "needed" a dog... and after a trip to the local shelter resulting in the beginning of an immediate love affair with a very scruffy little terrier mix, we had been entrusted with the love and care of a 17 or 18 year old terrier-mix little buddy known to me as "Ring" (officially.. Ring Two, as he had been the emotional replacement for my puppy Ring who had been run over by a 7 UP truck in 1948, when I was 5 yrs old). In early October 2009, Ring Two was diagnosed as having a melanoma in his mouth. We took him to The University of Illinois Veteranarian Training Hospital for radiation treatments and he seemed to be doing well. Ring Two was showing definite signs of slowing down so we thought maybe a young companion would be helpful to him and on Saturday 12/19/09 I went to the local shelter to see what they had on hand. In the back room, not yet ready for adoption, was a very forlorn looking terrier that immediately captured my heart. I told the shelter authorities that as soon as he was ready for adoption I wanted to be considered a strong prospect to be his new caregiver. That same day, Ring Two started his sudden and quick fall. Where on Friday, the day before, he had been able to jump in and out of the car, with no problem, on Saturday he needed help jumping up on to the seat and started needing help to climb the stairs in the house. On Sunday he needed help to stand up and on Monday his rear legs wouldn't hold him up.... he'd fall over anc cry in pain trying to get up, or when I lifted him. I knew his time with me was over and I said a very tearful goodbye to him early that afternoon. He'd been the best friend I'd ever had in my 66 years of life (except for my wife and kids) and I was heartbroken... devasted. My grandkids live too far away for me to experience the "sweetness" that only children and dogs provide in life so I knew that I MUST have a dog in my life. Life without that "sweetness" makes no sense to me. I immediately began thnking of that scruffy and forlorn little terrier (I thought it was a Westie) I had just found two days prior and by nightfall I had made arrangements to adopt him.... pending the positive outcome of the vets first visit to check him out and give him his shots. On Tuesday 12/22/09 Ring Three came to live with us and he is a PERFECT DOG. He listens carefully to my words and does what I ask of him. He sleeps perfectly in his pet carrier, and awakes ready to snuggle with me. He does his "business" outside, and is ready to come back in. He was perfectly friendly with my daughters and grandkids whom we visited on Christmas Eve and Christmas day and he became the "pack leader" of their cockapoo without incident (with a little intervention from me as I had to "claim" some things and areas from my little calm assertive guy). As you can see from the paragraph above I am a fan of Cesear Milan. I first discovered The Dog Whisperer about 2 or 3 years ago and have been hooked ever since. I will be working hard to become better trained in being this little guy's pack leader. I wish there was a Pack Leader Certification Program in which I could enroll. I'd love to get highly proficient in working with my little guy and with other dogs using Cesar's methods. I'm looking foreward to reading past threads and posts so I can pick your brains and learn about Cairns. I'm immediately a big fan!! "The average man seeks agreement in the eye of the on-looker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eye and calls that humbleness." Carlos Castaneda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy A. Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Wecome to the forum. (Hint) we love pictures! Tracy, Amos, Walter, Brattwrust & Mettwurst a.k.a The Gremlins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddlesmama Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 This thread warmed my heart. I am so glad ring 3 rescued you. I cant wait to get to know you and your little fella. I LOVE MY CAIRNS PUDDLES AND IRIS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnconnie Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Welcome to the Forum, Jim, & "CAIRNGRATULATIONS"on finding Ring III. You're going to like it here, we're a friendly & helpful group who can't stop bragging-up our Cairns. I'm about your age, and our 2 fur-kids, Bailey & Sophie, give my DW and I all the love and fun that we can handle. We look forward to hearing more from you, and hope to see some pix of Ring III soon. Jim Jim, Connie, Bailey & Sophie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimS Posted December 27, 2009 Author Share Posted December 27, 2009 Wecome to the forum. (Hint) we love pictures! Thanks for the warm welcom(s)!!!!!!!!! I tried to post photo's of Ring 2 and Ring 3 but I got a message that they were too large. I have the same problem getting photo's of my pool cues to post on azbilliards.com and I'm not a techno-whiz.. to say the least. So, I don't know how to down-size them. Maybe they'll post in a signature line? "The average man seeks agreement in the eye of the on-looker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eye and calls that humbleness." Carlos Castaneda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradl Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Hi Jim, check the "forum support" sub-forum - there are links in this post to a variety of online sites that will resize the pictures for you. CAIRNTALK: Questions? Need help? → Support Forum Please do not use PMs for tech support CRCTC: Columbia River Cairn Terrier Club | 2025 Calendar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlwtheq Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Welcome to Jim and Ring3! You'll love this Cairn Talk family! There's always something going on! Olie, Teddy Bear and Sweet Pea (P.S. - do you think we used enough !!!!!) Max and Nelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimS Posted December 27, 2009 Author Share Posted December 27, 2009 Hi Jim, check the "forum support" sub-forum - there are links in this post to a variety of online sites that will resize the pictures for you. Viola!!! I've never been able to get photo's to post before and now may I present Ring 2 and Ring 3 !!! Thank you SO much!! Ok.. that's done... but now I want to post a photo in the signature line and I don't find a way to do that on he Support Forum. What am I missing? "The average man seeks agreement in the eye of the on-looker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eye and calls that humbleness." Carlos Castaneda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetsyNoodle Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Welcome Jim and Ring3!! Loved your photos!! We adopted our Cairn, Murphy, from a rescue organization just before Christmas of 2008, and we just adore him. You will love having a Cairn in your life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimS Posted December 27, 2009 Author Share Posted December 27, 2009 Welcome to the Forum, Jim, & "CAIRNGRATULATIONS"on finding Ring III. You're going to like it here, we're a friendly & helpful group who can't stop bragging-up our Cairns. I'm about your age, and our 2 fur-kids, Bailey & Sophie, give my DW and I all the love and fun that we can handle. We look forward to hearing more from you, and hope to see some pix of Ring III soon. Jim Thanks! I'll tell ya.. the way it all came down I have to wonder who found who. It's almost like I was on a big leash from the sky being led to the shelter with knowledge that a substitution would soon be needed. Almost like a basketball coach walking up and down the bench looking for a sub to go into the game. It feels like this little guy has been with me forever and in my heart he has... ever since 1948 when Ring 1 was taken out of the game. It amazes me how much that still hurts. I can't remember that day without crying. No wonder I was such an angry and uncooperative child. I was hurting deep down and ONLY another Ring could salve that wound. "The average man seeks agreement in the eye of the on-looker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eye and calls that humbleness." Carlos Castaneda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Welcome Jim and Ring3. Your story was very touching it is always so hard to say good-bye to our fur-babies. Glad to hear Ring3 has adapted so well to his forever home, love the pictures. I have two Bailey (cairn) and Casey (westie) and they keep me going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TazTalk Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Welcome to the forum - it's really awesome. Sounds like Ring III was a perfect fit for you. I love adoption stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimS Posted December 29, 2009 Author Share Posted December 29, 2009 This is the first Cairn I've had the pleasure of knowing... or meeting. I'm not sure I'd even been aware that the breed existed. I'll bet I've seen several over the years and called them Scotties, or Westies. When the shelter told me he was a Cairn I immediately goggled for information. He's just such a cool little dog. Tons of personality!.. a clown.. very playful and happy. We're having a ball being together and he gives occasional kisses, not many but nice little ones when appropriate. I have to earn them. I bought him a couple of new big pillows for the car as Ring2's old ones were in bad shape. I drove to Peoria (50 miles) today to Petco and got a new travel and home portable soft-sided "crate" for him. We visit my daughter in Carol Stream about once a month so now he'll have his "house" to sleep in when we go. I bought a new comb. I'd not had a comb for the Ring2... just a brush with regular bristles and wire bristles. The comb has rounded ends on the teeth and seems to work well. I bought 3 6ft small leashes so I'll have one available at home and in each car. I want to use them as Cesar suggests.. high on the neck, just behind the ears so his head will be high and he'll not run off ahead of me. I ordered some human grade food and some good training treats from healthypetnet. I was going through ebay last night and bought a Cairn picture frame, a Cairn calendar, and a plush Cairn toy (I'm a sucker for stuffed bears and dogs. I know.. grown men aren't supposed to like stuffed toys but... whaddyagunnado? ) I bought 6 adjustable "silent" whistles. I had good success using these with Ring2 when we were in training and gave one to my wife and had one in each car etc. I want my wife and others to be able to call him and not rely on my voice to get him to come. I expect to be working on COME from greater and greater distances this spring. I have a shock collar that I used on Ring2 for training him to come from distances up to 100 yds. It worked great for him! I didn't know what to think about such devices until I tried it with Ring2. It scared the hell out of him but I knew it didn't hurt because I'd used it on my face. The second time I applied the stimulus to him he jumped a foot and immediately started back towards me. After he'd come back maybe 20 yds towards me he stopped and looked back at where he had been when he had felt the stimulus. He stood there and looked and looked as if to say "what the heck was that?!".. and then he came running back to me. I realized that he didn't percieve that I'd done anything TO him. Rather, he did seem to think that I was actually PROTECTING him from whatever it was out there that had "got" him. When I yelled COME and blew the whistle and he came back he didn't get "got" by the bad thing out there so I was protecting him from that bad feeling he got from the stimulus. Pretty cool. He gets trained and I'm the hero! Hope it works as well on the Cairn. Ring 3 is pretty normal psychologically speaking... not nervous or anxious, etc, so we should get along fine and hopefully I'll be able to trust him off leash, in non-dangerous conditions, by summer's end. I'd like to be able to trust him to not bolt between the garage and the house, if I let him off leash while I have my hands full of stuff I'm carrying into the house. I got him chipped, got a new collar and added the city and county tags as well as the AVID tag. I didn't get him a tooth brush.... I've never brushed a dogs teeth. Is it necessary? I'll do it if it's really necessary for his health/happiness. "The average man seeks agreement in the eye of the on-looker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eye and calls that humbleness." Carlos Castaneda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idaho Cairns Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Welcome to the forum--go easy with the shock collar--Cairns are best when not intimidated by the "unknowns". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie&holly Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 welcome to the Forum - Ring3 sounds a great dog! It sounds as if he is going to have a wonderful life with you. I have found a harness better than using lead on the collar. My Holly was an adult when I got her too but was not a rescue - she was retired by a breeder, and somewhat unsure of things at first. But she is now a lovely affectionate little dog. www.cairnterriertalk.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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