I am going to be needing advice from all of you

[kayharley]

Today I sent out a check for a deposit on a male Cairn puppy and I'm so excited!!

I was supposed to get a 14 week old male last month from this wonderful breeder in N.H. but an unforeseen event caused me to cancel the trip up north. Well, this breeder calls me the other day and has a litter ready to go on Oct. 23rd. I'll be getting one of the little boys and I think I'm naming him Elliot, Eli for short (If anybody remembers that Three Dog Night song, "Eli's Coming", I've been singing it since Tuesday )

Right now I'm wondering how I'm going to handle all three Cairns regarding bedtime, naptime, "business time", playtime.....this house is going to be a zoo and I'm gonna love it!!!

When I told my vet I was getting another Cairn he said I'll be entitled to a discount. I reacted with joy only to have him tell me it would be for the psychiatrist down the street...a real clown he is!

Toomanypaws, is there a trick to housebreaking a pup when there's 2 other dogs to distract him? I'm thinking of bypassing any papertraining and just starting with outside. Advice will be welcome.

[wheezie23]

Kayharley, I do remember the song, and I believe when they say "Eli's comin', hide your heart, girl!" they were talking to YOU! Congrats on your new puppy! I can't wait to see pictures of him!

I'm in the middle of housebreaking Tucker and I don't use paper at all. I just have to really watch him and take him out as soon as he wakes up, eats, or plays. He's doing ok so far, with a few accidents that are completely my fault. If you are home with your dogs all day, it shouldn't be too hard.

thela

[kayharley]

Actually instead of singing "Hide your heart, girl" I've changed it to "Hide your bones, girls".

[bradl]

Congratulations! Fun to have a dog with his own theme song.

Although the pup may be distracted by the older dogs, you will probably find over the long haul that they are a great help. Often it's Monkey See, Monkey Do and the pup will imitate the older dogs. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing depends on what they are up to

[CallisMom]

Oh - I am so excited for you! I am so glad it worked out!! Love the name! It is so funny because I keep looking at Calli and thinking how cute she is - wouldn't two be wonderful?!! This website is a bad influence!! Maybe I can find another rescue next year! I guess one puppy at a time! (Although DD wants me to get a St. Bernard! How cute would that be a Cairn and a St. Bernard? Keep dreaming, DD!!) Anyway - I can't wait to see the pictures!! What a great Christmas present!!

[maggie's_mom]

I never paper trained Maggie and we lived in an apartment when we first got her. It was a lot of work on my part to constantly get up and go outside when she looked like she was about to go. And it really sucked when it was raining. But she caught on fast. I figured it would be just a hard for me to train her on the paper as it would outside...so from day 1, outside we went!

Maggie is our only dog, but we started taking her to my husband's parents' house to play with their Viszla early-on. She really did learn a lot from Penny, especially the potty business. So I agree that having the others around will help out a lot.

I will also point out though, when we were visiting with Penny at the in-laws' house, Maggie still went in the kennel when we left and periodically throughout the day. I felt bad b/c she knew Penny got to hang out and roam around the house while she was locked up; but it was all a part of the training (teaching her to hold her potty and get some rest also). So I would recommend putting the new puppy's crate in a quiet place separate from the other dogs for his alone time.

[MikeC]

Kay,

Congrats on the new pup! Three........ WOW. I agree with Brad on the "monkey see-monkey do". I was fortunate years ago to have a very intelligent female Springer Spaniel who basically housebroke another female SS puppy that I brought into the house. Sara would watch Chelsea and whever it looked like Chelsea was going to squat, Sara would run beside her and push her towards the door. Eventually the two of them would go out together and do their business. You might be lucky enough that your Cairns can teach the new pup in this manner also. Keep us posted and also, it would be great to see a pic of the three of them together.

MikeC

[toomanypaws]

Oh how exciting! I have yet to regret having 3 cairns in my house. There are moments where the barking is a bit much, but for the most part they're pretty good. Housebreaking Hannah actually went better than Abbey, who I started first w/ those wee-wee pads. I kept Hannah in a very small crate beside my bed and lined it w/ a couple baby blankets and a stuffed animal. I also have a large rubbermaid tub about 18" hight and 18" wide that I put Hannah in for "quiet down". I have it next to my computer and she settles down is the tub while I catch up on emails and this forum. I then carry her to her crate and she's out for the night.

Hannah is now 18 wks and has never had an accident in the crate. The first couple of wks she cried a few times to go out and I was up w/ her like a new baby. She was only 6 wks so I knew I'd be up alot! My Lab thought it was great! As Hannah started to hold it longer at night, it was my Lab who would wake up the house to see if maybe Hannah needed to go. She now sleeps from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Her crate is still in my room. The other two are in the kitchen and will sleep much longer. I've had to change my sleeping schedule because Hannah does not go back to bed anymore. When she was real young, I would sit up w/ her for an hr and then bring her back to bed. Now she's ready to play!

I always took Hannah out back to a puppy pen when I was housebreaking her. I took her when she woke, after she ate and after she played. She got where she'd be playing in the kitchen and come run and hit the baby gate and yelp for me to take her out. I still take her out separately several times a day. My other two will whine at the kitchen door to the garage which leads to a side garage door to a side yard used only for when they have to go out. I've learned each of my cairn's barks and whines and they are all very vocal when it's play time which is when all 3 run the backyard. It's nice to see Hannah getting big enough to be able to play w/ the other 2 and not get hurt.

Email me if you have any questions. I hope this post made sense.

[maggie's_mom]

Maggie was really good at crying in the middle of the night when she needed out of her crate to go potty. And we also took her to the same spot every time. Easier to do when you don't have 2 other nipping at your heels. But the puppy pen is a great idea!!

Maggie also never pottied in her crate except if there were something in there with her. She would pee on any blanket, towel, or toy in the crate. So she slept in the crate with nothing. My mother-in-law thought it was so awful to see her in the crate on a bare floor and would always put a blanket in with her...which I always had to wash the very next day b/c of pee. Now that she is 8 months old and very well trained, I put a blanket in her crate which she always pushes out....see, they do adapt!

[Scully'sMom]

Congratulations on your new little boy Eli!

I admire your ability to have all those pups. Maybe when I retire we can have more than one. I can't imagine how much lovin' you'll be getting from all those Cairn babies. Eli's a lucky little guy to be coming to such a great home!

[kayharley]

Thanks so much, fellow forum members. Sometimes I feel like we're one big happy family here.

I talked again today to the breeder. She's sending me a "puppy pack" that will contain alot of reading material and other neat stuff that I'm going to memorize. It's funny...even though I already have 2 Cairns and know alot about the breed, there's always more to learn.

Again...thanks so much for the replies and tips.

[Eliz222]

Congrats on little Eli! I can't wait to see pictures of the little guy.

I don't think Scout helped little Finch with housebreaking at all, but she sure didn't make it worse. What Scout has helped with is the word "come". When I needed them to come inside, I could always count on Scout to come and for Finch to "follow".

We adopted Finch because we wanted a playmate for Scout. The two get along so great and are best buddies...I couldn't have asked for better Cairns!I think they both love having another dog around. Scout is free to run around the house and Finch is still in the crate (at night and when we are not home) and she doesn't seem to mind.

I think what helped Finch sleep through the night is the stuffed animal that the breeder gave us. It had the scent of both her mom and dad on it, and it's still her favorite toy 3 months later!

[toomanypaws]

Yes Shoe, I agree w/ the older one teaching the younger one the "come" command. Even tho my "girls" all know their names, they come to whoevers name I call. I think they think I'm secretly giving out a treat that they'll miss out on. Now I just wish my 2 younger ones would follow my oldest Kiara's lead when it comes to sitting for a picture. Kiara is so patient and doesn't budge while I attempt to have all 3 sit together, but either Abbey or Hannah always move. I'm still working on that.