Camma!

[Rebecca]

Howdy from Texas everyone.

My name is Becca and I am a first-time cairn owner. I wasn't planning on owning a cairn, but some changes in the lives of my relatives ended up leaving this puppy without a home. I guess you could say I inherited her. She was born on July 27th, 2010 and purchased through a local pet shop that buys from mills. Not my ideal source for a puppy, but I didn't have any say in the matter.

I have had dogs for most of my life, but never anything smaller than knee-high. My two other current pooches are two seven-year old Great Danes named Zoose and Kira. At first they didn't really know what to do with a tiny dog, but they are used to small critters since I also own a prairie dog and have owned various other exotic mammals in their lifetimes. We also have cats but they are dog-savvy and everyone seems to be getting along really well.

Camma potty-trained very quickly and catches on to things a lot more quickly than my two danes. Our biggest issue is that she tries to get in the big dogs' food dishes during mealtimes and they snap at her, so we've taken to feeding them all separately to avoid accidents. I don't think Zoose and Kira would hurt her on purpose, but they're so big and she's so little... Other than meal times, they get along well and Kira actually gets down on the ground to play with her.

I'm not used to caring for a dog that requires grooming. The most I have to do with the big'uns is hose them off occasionally and trim their nails. With Camma I have been brushing her weekly with the Furminator I use for the cats. What else do I need to do for her coat? How often does she need to be professionally groomed and how much does that cost?

Another thing, she is about 7 months old and her ears do not stand up. Is that okay? She looks cute with floppy ears but I know it's not breed standard. Is there something I need to do about it? What health issues are prevalent in Cairns? With the big dogs I have to worry about hip dysplasia, osteosarcoma, heart trouble, and bloat/torsion. What do I need to watch for in my new Cairn?

All in all I think she has settled in with the family pretty well. I would have preferred to plan another addition to the family more carefully, but what can you do, right?

Also, she really -really- seems to enjoy the snow! At least someone does. Hehe.

Thanks,

Becca

[Zekey's Mom]

Hi Becca -- welcome to you and Camma!! She's adorable, floppy ears and all. I'm afraid I don't have any advice about the ears, since my guys were older when I got them, but I'm sure someone will pipe up soon enough. As for grooming, there is MUCH discussion on this subject on the behavior/health thread. Many people, myself included, just brush their Cairns once a week or so, to remove the dead fur from the undercoat.

[lindasue]

Welcome! I am sure you will have lots of fun with Camma, and she'll fit right in with your other dogs and cats. As far as the ears go, our dog Pegi is 1 1/2 and although her left ear is up, the right has stayed flopped down. I got many suggestions from this forum on how to make it stand up, but in the end my hubby and 2 daughters decided that she's so darn cute this way we have left it! As far as grooming, as Zekey's mom said there are many thoughts. We brush Pegi every 10 days or so with a good brush and a striping knife (which is really a comb with about 8 teeth) and she looks great. She does go to the "doggie spa" every 3 months for a shampoo, brush, nail clipping and to shape the hair around her face. By that time the hair over the eyes is giving her the Andy Rooney eyebrow look. Here in Mass. it's about $40.

You can research just about any question here on the forum,and I've found all the dog owners (or "uprights" as we are referred to by our dogs) to be very helpful.

[Sam I Am]

What a lovely color she is and you aren’t showing her so who cares about her floppy ears.. she is adorable

My few comments in regards to health issues. You can look on this forum and read up on health issues under Cairn Terrier Club of America. My personal experience with health issues (that seem to be a common problem within a few terrier breeds) are liver issues. A simple blood test that your vet can and should do will rule out any issues in that department. And if there are any problems they can be addressed immediately.

You are officially a Cairn owner and will learn very quickly that this is not a “small” dog… perhaps in stature but certainly not in personality. This forum is wonderful and it will give you tons of support in all issues. Welcome

[kjwarnold]

Cairngratulations on Camma! Cairns are such fun and she'll bring you years of entertainment, love and joy!

[josie&holly]

Welcome to the world of Cairns - I must admit though that I think the combination of a Cairn and Great Danes sounds fun! I think Camma looks very cute.............. it would be nice to see her with her Great Dane friends!

[bradl]

Welcome. Danes and Cairns are a notable combination in the Cairn world, through the considerable influence of Canadian Betty Hyslop's famous Cairndania kennels.

The genesis of the American Cairn lays with the importation of Eng. Ch. Redletter McRuffie by Betty Hyslop to Canada. McRuffie, a great grandson of Ch. Splinters of Twobees, was bred by Walter Bradshaw of Redletter fame. McRuffie and his descendents Ch. Cairnwoods Quince and Ch. Cairmar Fancy Dresser would forever stamp their names in the history of the Cairn in the United States. One is hard pressed today to find a Cairn without one of the above dogs in the pedigree.

--http://www.cairnterrier.org/history/

[hheldorfer]

A warm welcome to both you and Camma. Camma is adorable regardless of whether her ears stand up or not. It's certainly not an issue to worry about. And it's doubly sweet that she has Dane siblings. Bradl's comment was interesting because I've noticed that my Cairn tends to gravitate toward the Danes at the dog park. For some reason they mix well together.

Cairns are very, very tough little dogs - not lap dogs who want to be pampered day and night. Once she settles in with your family I think you'll find that Camma is going to be a fantastic addition to the household. Enjoy!

[beccadiane374]

Congratulations on your new addition! Prepare to be lovestruck!

Camma sure is a cutie & I love her name!

[BetsyNoodle]

Camma is simply precious and is the color of my dearly departed Betsy Noodle!! Welcome, and as others have said, "Cairngratulations!!"

[pindrop]

Camma is absolutely beautiful - love her coloring! I don't have very much experience with Cairn as mine is 4 1/2 months - but I'll be looking into the grooming issue as well in a few months. Terrier Lover gave you some good advice insofar as having her tested for liver concerns. I was under the impression that you will need to bring her into the vet early morning (no breakfast) and they will take a blood sample - then they will feed her - wait two hours and take another blood sample and then compare. Our breeder did this test about a week before we picked up Layla and thankfully she did not display any liver aliments. Good luck with your furbaby and you have found a wonderful place for advice and general chit chat.

[Rebecca]

Welcome to the world of Cairns - I must admit though that I think the combination of a Cairn and Great Danes sounds fun! I think Camma looks very cute.............. it would be nice to see her with her Great Dane friends!

Your wish is my command! I took some pics of them out in the snow today!

Thanks for all your input. She has been to the vet for an initial checkup. I know they did some blood work and checked to make sure she didn't have the luxating patellas and they checked her eyes and heart and everything. I will ring the vet tomorrow to see if they were looking for liver issues when they took blood. I currently own a parrot who has hepatic encephalopathy, which is a liver issue, and I think it would be just my luck to have a pup who needed the same daily meds. Hehe.

Also, several of you have mentioned her colour. Um. What colour is she? Her paperwork says "wheaten".

[Sam I Am]

The test is called a bile acid test. All good breeders now pre test their puppies before handing them over to a new owner. Its not invasive to the dog and will give you peace of mind.

[Idaho Cairns]

"Wheaten" appears to be correct. You gotta love her attempt to get involved with the Danes--she is insinuating herself right into their fun--which tells me you've got a pure Cairn--no matter which way her ears go.

[janis]

She is very pretty! Love the Danes as well! Welcome !

[cairnrescueleague]

Liver problems - http://www.cairnterrier.org/health/#PVSA'>http://www.cairnterrier.org/health/#PVSA - are considered to be a health concern for cairns, but fortunately, they're very rare. In the 10+ years I've been doing rescue, we've only encountered this once, in a cairn bred in a puppy mill and purchased at a pet store, and corrective surgery was successful. If a cairn has liver issues, it's usually obvious that there's something wrong before the dog is a year old. The first step would be to have your vet do an in-house blood panel, and if the liver values aren't right, then follow up with a bile acid test. But if Camma seems healthy and the basic blood work was fine, then I don't think you need to worry.

The other common problem, not just with cairns, but with small dogs, is luxated patellae - http://www.cairnterrier.org/health/#Luxated'>http://www.cairnterrier.org/health/#Luxated Patellae - the small dog equivalent of the hip dysplasia large dogs can be prone to.

That and skin problems, but we're seeing less and less of these now that there are good quality diets and flea preventives, and people are more knowledgeable about how to properly groom a cairn.

There are eye problems cairns can be prone to as they get older, but most other problems (all pretty rare) show up when the dog is quite young. I would take a look at the health concerns page - http://www.cairnterrier.org/health/ - but cairns are a relatively healthy breed.

I don't think her ears are going to stand up now if they haven't already, but she is cute! Glad you took her in.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Camma is absolutely adorable. Good for you to take her into your life. Seems that she enjoys the Danes - cute pic - thanks for sharing and welcome!

[josie&holly]

That is a lovely picture of Camma and Danes! They look very happy together. Thank you for sharing!

[TazTalk]

What a great picture of Camma and the Danes.I love how she is stretching up as high as she can, in hopes that no one notices she's a little doggie.

Her ears are wonderful as is!

Welcome to the Forum.