This time Next Week

[Lynn in TN]

If nothing happens, This time next Monday I'll be leaving to pick up my little Tail Wagging Girl. I can't wait.

What will she be like when I get her home. Will she lay around a lot? What were your experiences when you brought them home on the first and second day?

[hheldorfer]

Only a week left?? Wow - how exciting!

[finncaraid]

Bet you're beside yourself with excitement right about now!! It's amazing how when the time actually arrives, it seems almost unreal after the long wait. Are you ready? Got all the toys, bedding, chews, food, etc., etc.?? Make sure you get plenty of rest/relaxation this next week- a new puppy really keeps you hopping! When we brought Finn home last Sept., he was a perfect angel for 5 days. He only cried for about 25 mins. the 1st night. I covered the top of his crate & he settled down. His first morning here, he attempted to chew every electrical cord he could find. I had forgotten that some puppies do this- hadn't had a puppy for 14 years. Outside of this & his little bit of timidness, we had no problems for 5 days. Once he settled in, all h*** broke loose, but that's another story In hindsight, I realize now it was adjusting to a new puppy & living with a terrier for the first time. When we do it again in the next few years, which we definitely have settled on, it'll be much easier. Hope your upcoming next chapter of life is happy & exciting!!

[Idaho Cairns]

Lynn, I was having coffee this morning and thinking of you and your family--I was counting the days and wondering how excited you must be after your visit to your puppy--the video, etc. I had a video of my little girl for a month before I was able to get her and I watched it over and over and worried myself to death over it--was the tail too long, the ears too big, what color was she really,....? All those silly worries that we all have. Having seen your little girl, I can tell you she will be wonderful. I can't wait to get your report next Monday evening.

[Lynn in TN]

I believe I have everything that I need except food and bedding. I'll get the food this weekend and I'm making her bed. nothing fancy but sewn well enough that I know it will stand up to a chewing puppy and getting washed over and over. I will not take it easy this week though I'm doing some real deep cleaning of my home. That will make the time pass faster and I know I won't have much time to clean when she gets here.

We are so excited we can't stand it. We have watched our video a million times and still are not tired of watching it. I just thought she was perfect in every way, and she just seemed to really like us all. My 8 year old Jacob was so afraid she wouldn't like him but He was the first one she played with, I just wish I could of got video of that. He was so excited that she liked him too. We just hope she likes us that much after talking her away from her Mom and Sister.

I can't wait to give you all a full report late Monday. We will be leaving same time as our last visit I don't know how long it will take last time we got home at 8 pm. So I might not give a report until Tuesday. I can't wait to see what she looks like this time, and how much she has grown, and if her personality has changed any.

Now if we could agree on a name!

[ScruffynMag]

Scruffy spent the first half hour sniffing everywhere and exploring. He slept a lot and was pretty quiet in comparison to how he was a few days later! I popped him in his crate each time he dropped to sleep on the first few days and if he cried I'd only go to him when he was quiet ( very hard to resist ) He picked up on this and we never had any problem with him crying except for the first night. I slept on the sofa near his crate on his first night and he whimpered a bit. after that we never had any more problems. We have to crate him in the downstairs room because we have an elderly cat upstairs.

i bet you can't wait now, make the most of the peace and quiet now because it's all about to change. Looking forward to your stories and photo's.

A name might come to you when you get her home.

[Hawkeye]

The count down begins...I look forward to hearing how everything goes. Bailey & Radar sniffed around the house all curious. Neither had used stairs and were not too sure about them but learned really quick that they lead to a new game. Radar cried just a little the first night but he has always acted like the big, tough guy so he adjusted very quickly...plus there was two other dogs in the house already. Radar was quiet for the first week and then started coming out of his shell. My big baby was Casey. It started from the breeders and the car ride home. She crawled up to my neck and stayed there for the 3 hr ride, then cried most of the night. We kept her in a dog bed by the side of our bed and I had to dangle my arm most of the night. The next night was much better and she adjusted quickly.

Good luck next Monday! Take pictures!

[pindrop]

Ohhh Lynn I have been thinking of you a lot too. Knowing this next week was fast approaching and your excitement levels were rising. It seems like only yesterday we were in the same boat. In fact it was last November 19th to be precise that we went to pick up Layla. Because she had never been outside on the ground/grass, she was very timid when we first placed her on the ground after getting out of the car. She climbed up my pant leg in fear, so I picked her up and thought we didn't need to go through this now as there was so many new things she would have to face in the coming days. The first night in her new crate, she cried and cried till we finally picked up the crate and brought it into the bedroom and I put on a night light so she could see us and hear us. She settled down eventually and since has been as good as gold. Of course, we were crawling around on the floor with her the first few days and played with her and her toys but then life settled down into a routine and the rest is history. You guys will be just fine and the kids will have a blast playing with her. I know we are all waiting till you get your little girl home and start sharing the experiences. Hugs

[Tracy A.]

Will she lay around a lot? What were your experiences when you brought them home on the first and second day?

LOL :lol::lol::lol::lol:

Ah, No.

Cairn puppies are a force of nature on to their own. You will be surprised how much energy a little tiny thing can expend. Of course I had two at the same time, so my memory is skewed with x2...LOL I recall my husband having the boys in the back yard, he figured that he could wear them out in the yard esp. if it was warm and then they'd go down for a few hours to nap.

Yes Cairn puppies are like toddlers in many ways. Pick up your baby gates now, you'll need them.

[bradl]

Puppies have two speeds: MAX and OFF . They are MAX far more than OFF.

On the first day, she may (or may not) be slightly tentative for a while. Say, ten minutes. After that: rock and roll.

Tip: get out your "Decade at a Glance" calendar and mark a reminder for June 13, 2014 -- we'll be expecting a post about what a fine young lady she's become and how sorry you are for all the doubts and complaining you did on Cairn Talk during the early days

[TazTalk]

Gypsy was super shy for the first 24 hours and then quickly settled in. Taz came in the door on MAX and we never did find his OFF mode!

She will want to put everything in her mouth - make sure floor level is spotless!

Baby gates and xpens are the best investments - we have multiple & still have opportunities to use them.

So excited for you!!

[Idaho Cairns]

I agree with the baby gates. Ours were first used to limit the range of the puppies in the house. Now they are still useful to allow me to get a good morning's sleep--after the DW gets up and lets the dogs out for their morning duties, she puts up the gate so they won't come tearing back to pester me to get up! Though I do like having a wet dog tongue in my sleepy ear in the morning, I'm such a night owl that the rest does me some good. These dogs sure march to their own drummers, sometimes they will come back in and settle down and snooze alongside me and other mornings they will attempt any ploy to get me awake! Everything from a completely fake alien attack at the front door barking frenzy, to having dog slobbered toys dropped on my head. Thus the gates still are valuable items in this house. We also use them to block the stairs when the grandkids come so that the dogs don't venture up to the bedroom and pull early morning play maneuvers on the sleeping children. Saddest thing in the world to see two Cairns sitting at the top of the stairs with their noses stuck thru the mesh of the gate--listening for rustling kids!

[Lynn in TN]

Thank you everyone. I truly hope she feels at home as soon as we pick her up. Max speed we know all about we have 2 boys. Shy and timid DH and I don't have a clue how to deal with that,and the boys don't either, so I truly hope she picked the right family for herslf. LOL

[beccadiane374]

Very excited for you!! I remember Tanner's first night to be quite good. He settled down in his crate with no effort, although, about 3-4 hours into the night, he woke up whining. I had gotten him at night, so he didn't have a huge chance to explore the house really. We got up for about 45m and he sniffed and smelled and ran in little circles, then I put him back in the crate and he slept through the rest of the night. He, too, wanted to chew everything in sight on sight...I remember occasional nights that I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into! But we pushed through...now, I look back and am amazed at how far he has come! (He will be 3 next week.)

[Rohnda]

Enjoy your sleep now!! Luigi was pretty good from the first night out though... I shouldn't complain. We took him from his Mom and Dad, aunt, uncle and two kids. He wasn't upset at all about coming with us. I think it's that cairn loyalty I've heard about. Which is none, zip, zero loyalty. He always wants to go with who ever looks like they're having the most fun!

He went to sleep (and still does) every evening about 8:00 and would wake up around 1:00 for a potty break. But he always went right back into his crate and right back to sleep. Right now he sleeps until about 7 in the morning. He gets up with me for tea and snuggles on my lap for another hour and then that's it until bedtime. He whined/whimpered the first two nights for just a few minutes each time, we just reached into his crate and let him lick our hand and he went right back to sleep.

Looking forward to your pictures.

[janis]

Lynn, I'm so happy for you and your family! At last your puppy! I am still voting for Daisy for a name even though I know I don't count! I remember Kirby riding home in my arms, a little shaky. A little timid at first, but as Brad said look out as soon as she gets comfortable! You are going to have a blast! Post lots of pictures!

[Tracy A.]

Tip: get out your "Decade at a Glance" calendar and mark a reminder for June 13, 2014 -- we'll be expecting a post about what a fine young lady she's become and how sorry you are for all the doubts and complaining you did on Cairn Talk during the early days

For those of you first timers with puppies, you're most likely thinking... this is a funny statement. However it's the fact that this statement is so true that makes it more a word of caution. LOL Cairn owners must be more stubborn than their dogs.

[Lynn in TN]

Tip: get out your "Decade at a Glance" calendar and mark a reminder for June 13, 2014 -- we'll be expecting a post about what a fine young lady she's become and how sorry you are for all the doubts and complaining you did on Cairn Talk during the early days

For those of you first timers with puppies, you're most likely thinking... this is a funny statement. However it's the fact that this statement is so true that makes it more a word of caution. LOL Cairn owners must be more stubborn than their dogs.

Well I would say that I'm more stubborn but after meeting her and taking that video and watching her over and over stubborn isn't going to matter she new exactly how to react with us to wrap us around her paw. LOL We will have a hard time with all that cuteness. She would cock that little head to the side and show her teeth (looked just like an innocent grin)HA!HA! Our hearts just melted.

That is going to be the hard part, and I can already picture my kids talking the wrap for her or cleaning up her messes to keep her from getting into trouble. She really got to them as well as myself.

We will need a lot of help with that. Any suggestions on how to overcome the cuteness?