Several Cairn Questions

[Jodie]

I have several questions about my Cairn Sam. I'm a college student starting graduate school in the fall. I have decided to get Sam from a friend whos cairn had puppies. Sam is staying with them and his mom until i move back home in august, when he will be about 5 months old. At that point he will move with me to my new house in Illinios. He will be house broken by then.

I'm mostly wondering what i can expect when i take him for the breeder, since he will be so familiar with that environment.

Also, Does anyone out there groom their own dog instead of taking it to a groomer? How difficult is this and is it worth the money saved by not paying a groomer?

I miss my sam :-(

Thanks for any advice,

Jodie

[bradl]

Cairns are very adaptable. Before you know it, he'll be saying, "Are you going to eat that?" "Is this couch taken?" "At my old place I got to eat these." "How about a walk now?" "How's the food here?" "I'm supposed to eat five times a day! Did I mention that?" "Throw that ball." "Hey! There's a bird out here." Cairns bring the party with them.

On grooming, why not give it a whirl and try it. Hand stripping is kind of a weird concept if you've never been exposed to it (er, sorry) but it's not hard to grasp. (Ack, I can't stop.) Ask your breeder for a brief demonstration. Order the grooming booklet from the CTCA. Get one of the big picture books on the Cairn. Go to a dog show and watch the Cairns being prepped. You don't have to show groom them, just keep the coat growing and the skin healthy. Taking care of the coat yourself will save you a lot of money and keep you in the habit of examining Sam head-to-toe at regular intervals. This is a good way to stay tuned to his health as well.

Waiting will be hard, but Sam will have plenty of mischief saved up.