Ladies & Gentelemen

[GIDGETSMOM]

Well, Yesterday Gidget gave me proof that she's all Cairn. She dug a hole in the back yard! This morning, she dug a hole in the flower bed. At 15 wks old she's already started. Looks like I'm in for an exciting life with her.

She had the muddiest paws and face you've ever seen. It rained pretty much all day here yesterday.........you can imagine the face!!!!!!!!

I wish I had snapped a picture to post. Oh well, there's plenty of chances for that. I'll probably be able to get one of her the evening when I get home.

[hallswel]

How fun, Rebel is a digger also and when it rains its so much more FUN! I can tell you have a smile on your face and thats good you will need it!

[Scully'sMom]

Welcome to our world!!!! It's just the first day of many dirty faces...

[Carolinasmom]

Last summer I discovered Carolina out back digging in the river rock for a mouse. She had a pretty good hole dug and MUD BALLS all over her face! DH took a picture, then we took her out front and while DH held her, I used the hose and had to PULL the mud balls off her face!

[kayharley]

I've been more than lucky....Winnie refuses to go into my gardens or dig anywhere in the yard. Only time I ever see any loose dirt/grass is after she does her business and feels the need to cover it up (is that why they scratch with their back paws afterwards?)

Madison will only go in the gardens if there's a cat/chipmunk/squirrel/bird around and her digging is confined to the chipmunk holes around the stone wall.

Ah....now I have Elliott. He has shown very distinctive tendencies to be a terror of flowers and all that pertains to dirt/mud/mulch/grass/critters.

On the bright side, I may have myself a little bulb planter if I can only direct his digging.

I love my yard and my gardens but I surely love my Cairns more!

[MikeC]

How do you all get your Cairns to dig outside? Mine digs in the coach, the bed, the carpets, but never outside. We are expecting our new Westie pup to join the family next week and I know that Westies are diggers also. I hope that at least he will dig outside!

MikeC

[suedelu29]

I love you guys!! You make everything seem so humorous and are so quick witted on every subject, that you virtually make these guys out to be little saints no matter what they do. Gotta keep you smiling.

[CathyAnn]

Ah, yes, MUD!!!!

We are having a very wet winter with lotsa snow and rain....ugh!

So, question.....how do you all get your little clean again?? We use old dish towels but lately I have actually had to put them in the sink and rinse their paws with water. Talk about a MESS!!!

Cathy

[kayharley]

Try doing it with THREE of them....let's see, that would be 12 nasty, muddy little paws.

They go into the tub, one at a time (do you think I'm crazy to put all 3 in there?) I use the hose attatchment from the shower nozzle and just spray off the mud. A quick fluff from a towel and they're good as new.

[GIDGETSMOM]

As tiny as Gidget still is, I simply use a hand towel and run a little bit of water over one end of it. I then fight the puppy to stay still until I can wipe her snout and those four little muddy paws.

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

[Carolinasmom]

I hope that at least he will dig outside!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mike, you'd better watch what you hope for!

I use the hose attatchment from the shower nozzle and just spray off the mud. A quick fluff from a towel and they're good as new.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Carolina gets the same treatment!

[Eliz222]

Scout use to dig a little when she was a puppy, but she doesn't now. Finch doesn't either.....knocking on wood!

Our backyard is pretty muddy from all our rain and I still have to wipe them off before they come inside. Yesterday I got a shallow plastic bin and put their paws in them and then wiped dry...much easier!

[Toto times 2]

Ah, yes. Digger dogs. The boys are 9 and 10 years old and still dig but not as much. When Ghillie was younger I went out to look for him in our yard (fenced) and couldn't find him anywhere. Just when I started to panic I heard this pathetic whining but I still couldn't figure out where he was. Finally I discovered he had dug under the garage and couldn't get back out. All I could see was the tip of a nose. His dad and I had to dig him out in the pouring rain. We filled that hole up with so many rocks you would need a backhoe to get them out. Only one of the digger dog adventures.

[grillywarren]

We just bought a house in the "burbs" closing in April!!

So Grilly will finally have a backyard (after 2 years of only

city concrete) so I am excited about having a digger. The poor

little munchkin has only had cement and tar in the big city!

I am so excited to have a backyard again, we are also looking

into get him a fence (it has to be approved by the neighborhood

association) I would love to see him run around in his own yard.

Isn't it funny....my dh and I both say " a fence for Grilly" hee hee

Ellie

Here is to Mud!

[Scully'sMom]

Ellie, the best of luck to you and your family on your new home. I wish you many happy years there.

We live in the city (but we have grass!) and come spring our fence out in the yard will be put up so Scully can run and play to her heart's content. I can't wait. Right now when she goes out she's on a 10' tie-out stake. Actually the fence people called and said it's in but we need to have some concrete work done first. We're having a snowstorm today so MAYBE spring will come and both of those things can get done. I'm excited for Scully!

[FinnsMom]

I have a question for owners with diggers..haha

Do any of your Cairns dig under the fence and get out to roam? I don't have a fence yet, so far, all I have are two exercise pens hooked together for Rocky to play in, or else I walk him on his leash around the property. I was just wondering what you have done to keep this from happening.

Our breeder suggested we run chicken wire under the fence so he can't dig out, and I think she said maybe 36 inches inward under the dirt from the fence...have any of you done that, and if so, did it work?

My hubby wants to get an electric fence and I don't want to do that.. What would keep other animals out?? Just doesn't seem right. I don't want him to get shocked, and I don't want to see him cower. I want to keep the neighbors animals out too. There are 3 dogs that roam around the neighborhood, and one is a huge husky, known to be the rabbit and small animal killer of the neighborhood.

Rocky does like to dig, but so far, the area he has been digging in, is really gravel underneath.. so he really can't dig too far. Hey maybe I just answered my own question.. I think chicken wire would be cheaper though..and i don't like to see him chew on gravel, it drives me nuts trying to get it away from him. I always do, but there are going to be times when I don't.

Any ideas????

Thanks

Wanda

[toomanypaws]

RockysMom,

Only my oldest is the digger. Kiara (almost 4) has always had a wild side for the outdoors. We live on a small lake and have problems w/ possums and armadillo digging under the fence. If Kiara sees a hole started, she'll definitely think it's her lucky day and will start digging. What we did was haul gravel in (medium size) and line our back fence, both inside and out to prevent the wildlife from getting in and Kiara from getting out. We only did this across the back being our fence sloped down and this is where it was needed. Kiara has never shown interest in digging the front or sides of the fenced yard and I'm out their daily checking the fence line. I also never leave Kiara out w/o someone keeping an eye on her. The price of the gravel wasn't cheap, but there's no value to place on the price of losing Kiara.

Ellie,

Congrats on your new home w/ a yard. We too live in a neighborhood where we had to have the fence approved. We had the fence approved before the house was finished so that we would have a yard for the dogs before we moved in. It's a large yard and worth every penny when I watch my cairns run and have such a good time. We left quite a bit of natual "buffer" in the back of the yard for the cairns to dig to their heart's content. They've run through the brush so many times, they've made trails. They have yet to dig in the sodded part of the yard.

As far as my other two being diggers, Abbey is a little prissy lady and doesn't seem to have any interest in digging except to dig up her bedding to hide favorite toys. Hannah is my digger inside. She will dig at the tile, bedding, towels, you name it.

It's cute how the more cairns you have, how different each one of them is.

[purebella]

at the ripe age of 11 weeks my little one decided that she too would dig a hole in the backyard!!! We have some sand down and so far this is the only spot that she digs - hopefully that is how it stays!!

she looks so cute when she comes out after digging as her nose is all white!!!!

She also likes to dig at the grass, carpet and even her bed.

I am guessing that there is not a lot I can really do about it, but I dont really want her to dig up the garden - partner will not be happy!!!

[Dawnya]

Daisy is 11 weeks and she too likes to "dig" in between the cushions of the couch.

She's been experimenting outside. Just a matter of time.

We haven't had rain since forever so the ground is rock hard.

[wellygoggles]

I filled Fergus' new paddling pool today cos it was so hot and the little bugger stood in it and kept on digging and digging - how bizarre!

[savannahsmom35]

Savannah only seems interested in digging right after a rain. I haven't decided yet if it is because the ground is softer or because she likes the mud. One good thing is that her paws are so blonde, there is no mistaking when she has been digging. Theire is no hiding Georgia red clay on light doggie hair! She is also one that gets her nose involved in the digging. She is also so short that she flings dirt up and it gets stuck on her tummy hair. So when Savannah digs, it is into the tub for a water bath...

So far, she has never dug near the fence or anywhere in the sodded area (knocking on wood). She only digs in this one flower bed (where no flawers are planted) up near the house. There is a tree in the bed which we have since put a lanscaping fence around because Savannah was exposing the roots of the tree and we were afraid it would die. She could easily hop over the landscaping fence and get in to dig but so far she hasn't and it has been there a year this Spring. I guess I don't have a climber... The rest of the flower bed is hers and there are holes all in it. If she had to be a digger, at least she chose a place in the yard that we all can live with!

By the way, those of you that mentioned the shower head attachment sprayers, what kind do you have? How does it attach? I am really interested in one as this would make our water baths much easier and much more effective but I want to get a good one that is fairly easy to hook up. Suggestions please!

[Brody'sMom]

I have a question for owners with diggers..haha

Do any of your Cairns dig under the fence and get out to roam?  I was just wondering what you have done to keep this from happening.

Our breeder suggested we run chicken wire under the fence so he can't dig out, and I think she said maybe 36 inches inward under the dirt from the fence...have any of you done that, and if so, did it work?

Any ideas????

Thanks

Wanda

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We had a woodchuck excavate an escape hatch under our fence. It is a post and rail fence with a wire mesh attached and we decided to fix the problem by staking the mesh to the ground. We purchased these things that are almost like skewers and we wove them through a few squares of the mesh and pushed them into the ground about 8 inches, we spaced them about 4 inches apart. That ensures the mesh cannot move and if a woodchuck (or a Cairn) tries to dig out, they'll run into a little jail. We called the fence company and they said they'd do exactly what we did.

[GIDGETSMOM]

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted this and I can't believe it has come back to life.

Gidget is now 14 mos. old!!!

She is quite the digger too. As of today, I probably have six or seven holes in the yard. Unfortunately she doesn't choose the flower bed anymore. She has chosen random spots in the yard itself.

I have moles, and I knew this would probably happen...they are hunters after all.

Before she starts digging, she stops very quickly, with ears high she points her nose at the ground and begins sniffing. She then starts biting at the ground and theeeen....she comences to digging like there's no tomorrow. I just know that I'm going to be able to visit China very soon.

She's had more water baths than any dog I know of. As a matter of fact, she got one last night at

11:30 pm due to the above subject.

This is beginning to cut in on my beauty rest.

[purebella]

GidgetsMom

God.......it looks like a long road ahead for me too!!!!

Mine is only 12 weeks and is already having a dig here and there!!!!

Oh well- I think we may build her a little sand pit to have a play in!