Adopting a five year old cairn

[Guest]

My husband and I are considering adopting a old cairn that is 4-5 years. He appears to be quite overweight, maybe 30 lbs, and had a serious case of pancreatitis last year. We assume that this is due to his diet and weight. His current owner does not feed him dog food but table scraps. Does his prior pancreatitis indicate potentia future health problems?

He is also not very disciplined. At this age, how difficult will it be to train him to be more obedient?

[bradl]

Locked. Posted in multiple forums.

Topic is open for discussion here: http://forum.ctca.us/viewtopic.php?t=250

[Catherine]

Hi BK, I know this is a little belated, but I just found this forum. Our second Cairn was adopted at five. She was a rescue from the Humane Society. She had been on her own for quite some time. We removed over 13 ticks from her the first few days that we had her. Needless to say, she was in desperate need of love and attention. She lived to be 15. The last five years of her life she suffered from hypoglycemia, but it was managed with medication. Our only regret was that she obviously had been abused because she never would allow either my husband or I to roll her on her back for a tummy rub which our first and third Cairns truly loved/love. If his health is a concern, keep in mind that medication for dogs is almost as good as for people. Our current Cairn has hypothyroidism and is getting along fine on medication. Good luck with him if you choose to adopt.