rescue adult or puppy?

[Guest slvrlngs]

We are a family of 6 looking forward to our first Cairn. We have always had big dogs and I'm excited about these little bundles of energy I keep reading about! We are undecided on looking for an adult rescue (I have adopted several adults in the past and had wonderful luck) or a puppy. The kids would love to have a puppy in the house, but I love the idea of a rescue. Of course I would love to have a puppy too, even if I'm the only one to police the chewing and potty-training! I'm just looking for input from those of you experienced with both. Thanks!

[wheezie23]

Congrats on your decision to get a cairn! I think adopting a rescue is always a great idea, but I can tell you from experience that most or all of the cairn rescue groups will not consider placing a dog in a home with kids under the age of 12. It's for the safety of the dog as well as the family adopting because in many cases they don't know the history of these dogs. Whatever you decide, make sure you do your homework to be sure that they are the right breed for you. They're great little dogs with personality plus, lots of energy, and they'll love you unconditionally. I wouldn't have any other dog! (well, except for my rottweiller mix, but he was here first!)

thela

[CallisMom]

Hi - we were lucky - we ended up with a cairn rescue puppy. If you are interested in adopting a rescue you might want to browse The Col. Pottor Cairn Rescue Network. It has a lot of great info.

We were able to adopt with a 4 year old and an 8 year old - partially because Calli was a puppy but - I also went through a long interview to determine if the kids would be okay with the puppy (my children have had lots of experience with dogs of all breeds so that was a huge plus). There are some breeders that will not let you purchase a puppy if you have small children. From those I have spoken with - often those who rescue the Cairns will not take the dogs that have a significant biting problem. But wheezie23 is correct that it may be more difficult to adopt a rescue depending on how young the children are, how experienced the children are with dogs and how the unknown temperament of the dog is.

Either way - I don't think you can lose!! Best of luck!!

[Guest slvrlngs]

Thank you so much for you input. The youngest child at home is 9 and I wondered about age limits. The others are all teenagers. There is a dog agility trial here this weekend and we are going to go and see if there are any cairn breeders there to talk to. I may call or email Col. Potters and get some input there too. I am so excited about the possibility of getting one, I just want to make the best decision for both the pup and us!