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[eshanna]

Hi- I was hoping to get some advice from people who own more than one dog (not necessarily all cairns). I am thinking about getting a dog next year, and I currently own a 3 year old border terrier- a neutered male. I grew up with a cairn terrier, and my parents currently own 2 cairns (one male, one female), so I am VERY familiar with the terrier personality! My parents' cairns get along beautifully, but I wonder if this is not the norm. I also know that most people recommend getting the opposite sex of what you currently own. When my border goes to visit my parents' cairns, (and we often stay for a couple of weeks), I do not see him acting any differently towards the male or female. The first few times we came to visit, there were some very minor scuffles (just noise, NO physical fighting or anything like that), and I figured that was normal, considering these dogs were strangers to each other, my border was coming into their territory, and just the newness of it all. The last few times we have visited, they get along wonderfully and all have a blast.

I would love to hear anyone's stories, own experiences, or advice they have for me! I am open to a puppy or a an adult cairn, male or female, etc. In fact, one of the questions I had was whether it is better to get a puppy when there is already an adult dog in the house, versus bringing in another adult. I just want to make sure I really plan for this and make the right decision. I would rather have my border terrier and have it be just the 2 of us, if adding a cairn terrier to the mix is likely to be a huge mistake. Thanks in advance!

[Teri9672]

I just added another female Cairn to our family in Decemeber. We already have a female Cairn that was almost 6.

The first few days were a little tough, but it has really worked out great.

The first month or so I really had to keep my eyes on them at all times. Now our older Cairn has a playmate and they play all day. They even sleep in a crate together at night. They still tend to get into little scuffs sometimes about food or certain toys. I can olny say that it worked out great for me and my girls.

Good luck

[Tuff&Tippy]

I have had a multi pet household since I moved out from my parents 23 years ago, In all my experiences I have found adding a baby be it kitten, puppy etc. Is the most accepting by all the adults in the house, some may not like the jumping or climbing that young animals do, but it seems that they won't attack, just snap at them as if to say "get away from me". When I met my husband he had an adult Airedale Terrier (Male), and I had a Boxer (Male) and Boston Terrier (Female) although both of the males were neutered we had some real dog fights, they got along eventually but if one was eating they went off. I think I

[bubba]

We got Yoda, the schnoodle, when Cooper was a year old. At first, Cooper was quite leary of this little ball of fur, but now, a year later, they are best buds! We were hoping the mildness of a schnoodle would rub off a bit on the cairn, and it has, but even funnier, half the time, the schnoodle thinks he is a cairn!!

pat.

[toomanypaws]

I've always had dogs and over the years have found that a lab will get along w/ any breed, but a cairn might not. I had 2 male labs and a male aussie when I tried bringing in a young male rescue cairn. He was great w/ people but started getting a bit aggressive toward the dogs. At first we thought it was just rough play, especially w/ the youngest lab. My oldest lab had to be put to sleep (old age/health) and the cairn got even more aggressive towards my younger lab causing him to yelp. The lab was getting bigger and we were afraid he may strike back at these attacks. We eventually found the cairn a new home w/ an older man who loves his company. I still had my heart set on a cairn so decided to try a female and had Kiara flown in as a pup. She did fine w/ the big dogs and we knew we were in love w/ cairns and would want another one someday. We now have the two large dogs and three cairn girls. All of them are neutered/spayed and all of them get along great. I still have to watch my youngest cairn, Hannah w/ the aussie. He's extrememly large and prefers being outside or in a screen room. He's getting old so on really hot days, he'll come in the back sunroom which is air-conditioned. Hannah gets so excited to see him. She's small and will get under the aussie's feet and I'm always afraid she'll get stepped on.

The cairns get along great most of the time. Kiara gets a little grabby at night so I usually separate her from the younger ones who like to play right into the evening. I have to laugh at how Kiara loves to steal the lab's toys and run off w/ them. I feed all my dogs separately. The large dogs are in the backroom and the cairns are in the kitchen separated w/ baby gates. This way, there's no aggressiveness during eating and they tend not to gulp their food as fast. It's funny to watch the cairn girls run to their eating spot as I get their food ready.

All of my dogs (except the rescue cairn) came to my house as a young pup, 9 wks or younger and were welcomed by the other dogs. Two large male dogs and 3 small female dogs seems to work for us.

Edited to add this picture I've shown before of how Abbey & Hannah love their big brother.

[eshanna]

Thanks so much for your advice! The food and toy issue is the main thing I am concerned about, because my border terrier can be really possessive with other dogs. Luckily it is only noise, he has never bitten or attacked, gotten into a fight, etc. But oh what noise he can make!! However, I figured that this is an easy problem to fix- only give them toys when I am there to supervise, otherwise they can have toys and hooves in their crates.

I have always had a soft spot for male dogs, and my mom's male wheaten cairn is the sweetest and most gentle love bug I have ever met. the female red brindle is much more independent, but she is a total sweetie as well. Even though my dog seems to like being around both dogs equally, I am still a little leery about adding a male to my household. Of course he would be neutered, but is there a higher incidence among male to male cairns in terms of aggression? The vet I used to work for actually told me once that in general, two FEMALES can be the worst together in a household, because once the males are done fighting, they are usually friends again, whereas the females fight "to the death" and don't forget! I don't know how true this is, though.......

[toomanypaws]

Yes, I too have always had male dogs up until I got my cairn girls. Kiara is the most independent of the three but does love being on the couch recliner w/ my dh. She's more affectionate now at 4 than she was at 1. She'll now hug me if I'm holding her and asking her for one. She'll wrap her head right around my neck. My middle cairn, Abbey constantly comes to me to be held. She'll stand up against my legs and beg to be picked up. My dd has carried her around so much that she loves being held. My youngest, Hannah thinks she's a human baby. This one would be carried around all day. She loves being w/ me. Just yesterday she saw me getting my car keys and begged to go w/ me. My dd and I were only going to Home Depot so we took her along. She loves riding in the basket. She's on my lap right now as I type and also prefers the good life of our bed.

I just wanted you to know that females can be affecionate too. I haven't had any problems w/ fights. I did have to watch Kiara w/ Hannah when we first brought Hannah home, but that was because she was only 2 lbs. They play well together and live for their backyard play and kiddie pool. They each have toys that they know are theres and others that they share. I'm very please w/ these three.

[Brigette]

We have 3 dogs, a Lab, a Cairn, and a Yorkie Poo. (My husband also has a cat, but I really dont claim him) (the cat, not my husband) anyway, all of our pets are males. There are occasional scuffles, I monitor those to make sure they are playful and dont get out of hand. The scuffles also help establish the pecking order that maintains harmony in our house. Of course, its not the 100lb Lab that's in charge, its the 9lb Yorkiepoo. One thing I have always tried to do, and was recommended to me by Yoda's puppy preschool teacher, was to often feed my dogs as puppies out of my hand. This helps prevent them from food guarding. I think the food bowl could be one of the most dangerous encouters for otherwise passive dogs. I would work really hard to make sure no one gets angry if they suddenly find another sharing their bowl. Another thing we did is whenever we brought a new dog into the house, we separated it from the others for a few days by babygates. That way they could get used to the sound and smell of each other without fear and without the big dog accidently squashing the new baby. A word of caution, I've never had things escalate this far, but I can tell you from my job experience, if a serious fight does break out, use a broom or something to try to separate them, not your hand. Many a dog owner has ended up in the emergency room by reaching in with a hand to separate a fight. I know your instinct is to protect your babies, but the straw end of a broom wont hurt them or you.

[eshanna]

I'm learning a lot- thanks! I have another question- how do you work on dog to dog food and toy guarding? Henry (my border) is not possessive with me at all- he knows "drop it" and "leave it", and I can take things out of his mouth/pet him while he's eating, without a problem. But he is very posessive with dogs. If a dog comes up to him while he's eating or too close when he is chewing a favorite toy, he really growls and snarls. Then two seconds later they are friends again. And luckily, him getting really loud and vocal is the extent (at least so far) of what he does. As I'd written earlier, when I take him to visit my parent's cairns, we simply feed them separately and don't put toys of "high value" down when all three are together. The it's pretty much problem solved. But, are there things you can do to train a dog to be less possessive with other dogs?

I just saw the pic you put up, too manypaws! SO CUTE!

[kayharley]

I really thing the issue of multiple dog households has alot to do with the personalities of the pets and not always the breeds...I have 3 Cairns who are all very different.

Winnie was around 10 when we got Madison, another female Cairn and we never had a problem with either of them. Winnie is a very mellow, laid-back lady and Madison is very sensitive and at times quite submissive although she is very alert and on guard constantly. Feeding/playing together was never an issue and they got along great.

Then enters Elliott/Helliott....8 weeks old and a terror in the disguise of an adorable little male Cairn.

This "King" decided that his testosterone was going to rule in a house of females...wrong!! He tried from day one taking over the food bowls, the toys, my attention, the treats but I always fed him last, gave him his treats last and made sure he knew that the order was Winnie, Maddy and then him and it didn't take long for him to learn ladies come before gentlemen.

We've had a couple little tiffs but I think they were my fault trusting law and order when bully sticks were in the picture. Sometimes it's trial and error, alot of supervision, patience and shared love. I do notice some jealousy between Elliott and Maddy, none with Winnie and I have to give them equal love...never a problem because there's always so much left over.

I often wonder what is going to happen when I get my 4th Cairn and will it be a male? They definately are more affectionate.

[SARpartner]

I have four dogs that all live inside. I have a Golden Retreiver(7), a Yellow Lab(6), a mix that we think is part Belgin Malinois(4), and a Cairn(6months). They are all males. The older dogs were all trained and very well socialized with humans and other animals. Initially the Cairn tried snapping and barking at the other dogs. I made immediate corrections and it quickly stopped. Now they all play together. Sometimes we do have to settle them down; just because they occasionally forget they are inside and aren't allow to rearrange the furniture. Toys and food have not been a problem because we tolerate no agression. The Lab will even throw the ball for the Cairn or hold a toy so the Cairn can "steal" it.

The other benifit to multiple dogs is that the older ones are helping get the Cairn trained. They were a BIG help with potty training. The Cairn is even starting to do SAR work like his big brothers.

[Angus'mum]

I have had my cocker spaniel, Maggie, for 8 years now. About 6 years ago, we brought our boxer/lab mix puppy (Jake) home. Maggie just looked at us like "you're kidding me right?" She established that she was in charge and they never really had a problem. He was entirely too playful for her, but he learned to back off. Sadly, Jake died last summer and now we have Angus. Maggie again gave us "the look", but after the first day or so of getting acquainted they are fine. She definitely is the queen--we have the occasional growling over food, and he sometimes forgets that she is merely tolerating him and actually tries to play with her. But, I've found them curled up in the kitchen together more than once recently. She is more of a dog for adults--she is merely "tolerating" our daughters also. Angus makes up for it though--he is great with the girls! I know everyone has different experiences with male vs. female dogs, but she's the only female I've ever owned. I seem to have had better luck with the males. Good luck!

[GottaLoveMyDodge]

Before we got Daisie, our Cairn, we had 2 other dogs. A Lab/Chow cross and a Lab/Doberman cross and they all do great together.

I just got a new little Doberman and they all do great together as well.

I'm sure that everything will be fine!

Good luck!!

GottaLoveMyDodge

[Cairns2]

Thought I would put my 2 cents worth in! When we got our first Cairn, a male, we already had a male Newfoundland and a female Golden/Lab, and 5 cats. They all got along very well. With any new addition you have to introduce them slowly and keep them separated/supervised until you are sure they are getting along.

After the Newfie died we found out about a male Cairn at the shelter who desperately needed a home, that's our Eric. We didn't know then that it's a bad idea to put two male terriers together, but we found out! Andy was a very aggressive dog. They lived peacefully for 3 years before the first incident -over a piece of broccoli I dropped on the floor. They both went to get it and Andy attacked Eric. There were several incidents over the 11 years they were together before Andy died. The last episode was quite brutal and my husband has the scars to prove it. But otherwise they were very close and we fed them separately.

Good breeders and rescue people will never place two males together and I would never do it again. We got a female after Andy died. I have heard that females can fight and they won't give up. Since you have a male terrier, I would suggest getting a female Cairn. They are truly special.

So a multi-pet household is feasible just choose wisely and be prepared to supervise and give discipline. Since you posted here and are asking questions, you are definately on the right track. Best of luck!

[Eliz222]

You have gotten some great advice, so I won't add anymore to what has already been said, except that we have two female Cairns and they get along great together! Scout was 2 when we adopted 8 week old Finch.

[ParNone]

The most harmonious my household has been was with 1 male Cairn and 1 male Collie. They both get along like two peas in a pod. The two breeds really do compliment each other wonderfully.

Before I got the Collie though, I had 1 male Cairn and 1 female Cairn. They got along great as puppies, but around the two year mark, the female decided I was the be all end all and wanted me all to herself. So there was daily squabbles between the two over the next 10+ years, until she passed away. There was never any bloodshed though, just some yanked out hair.

It got so routine over the years that I could tell while we were all laying on the bed watching TV, when she was about to go after him. I'd stick out my leg in between'em and she'd make a big show, growling at him with her front paws resting on my leg, but she'd never jump over my leg to go after him. Then once she'd decided her point was made, she'd go lay back down again.

After she passed away, I got another male Collie to go with the 1 male Cairn and male Collie. I found out 2 Collies together isn't optimum either. They all 3 get along great, but the 2 Collies feed off each other in the barking department. It's not a huge amount of barking, but I was very use to 2 quiet Cairns and then one relatively quiet Collie. So now I no longer have the daily squabbles to referee, but I have to tell the Collies to knock off the barking at least once a day.

Les...