So, I am BRAND NEW to all of this!

[mn0270100]

Yup... First time dog owner - Our Cairn will be 10 weeks old - she is not with us yet, as I will be picking her up on Sunday. (still deciding on a name)

Like many here, I am sure I will be posting questions, etc - and I have been enjoying reading thru the prior posts... I feel like I know some of you already!! (Thanks for the advice I have gotten already (after the fact)!

So - Here are a couple of "pre-arrival" questions for you all..

#1 - Crate - We are going to crate train her - and she is comming home in a crate from the breeder. I asked the breeder about the crate, and it sounds like it's a small "travel" crate (one of the plastic ones). Any comments? What about the small metal "cage" style crates? Are they enough to make the dogs feel like their den, or do they need something more "enclosed"? If so, what about the metal "cage" style with a blanket or some such covering that would make her feel more like a den? (Or, maybe it just does not matter) Is one easier to use than the other? I want her to feel comfortable, and like her crate.

#2 - Breeder said she has been feeding her Royal Canin - which I have seen a few people use - but by far more people seem happy with the Canidae (spelling? ) I have a "Pet Food Plus" less than a mile from work, and they have both (they are the only listed seller of Canidae in our area code (according to their website - How lucky is that ?????)

#3 - Any tips on introducing her to our cat? The cat is very aloof and not very happy about strange people in the house.. Any idea on how she (the cat) will react to the puppy, and tips to make a sucusussful introduction?

I'll post more later I am sure... I put myself on the Frapple map, and I'll get a bio up here sometime soon - but for now - I have to get ready for work.. (911 / Police / Fire dispatcher - looks like there are at least 2 others on this board already!)

Thanks in advance

David

www.geocities.com/mn0270100

P.S. Attached picture is a pic from the breeder! We are so excited!!!

[wags]

Hi mn,

My Wes eats the brand now called Royal Canin. It has also taken over the IVD Brand - innovative veterinarian diets (whitefish and potatoes.)

I Think Eukanuba is the parent company of RC.

Wes was on Canidae Canned before he became ill (gastroenteritis) this summer from the stress of traveling cross country and Miami flooding. We will probably be changing him back to canidae within a few months or so.

When Wes came to live with us, he had a supply of IAMS, dry. He was never fond of eating and one day he had an allergic reaction to it. When we changed his diet to IVD and then Canidae, I couldn't believe my eyes. He was actually enjoying his food!

Welcome to the board. I'm sure the others can give you tips about crates and cats.

[savannahsmom35]

Welcome and congrats on your new baby! I still consider myself a newbie to the Cairn world (my baby is 10 months old) but I will try and answer your questions as best I can.

1) Crate - We started Savannah out in one of the plastic crates that you described above. Once she outgrew it, we swithed to the wire crate and she seems to like it much more. She actually gets in it by herself and considers it her home. We have her crate in our bedroom in front of a window and she enjoys looking outside during the day while we are at work so we don't have any sort of blanket covering hers. That seems to suite her just fine. If your pup seems to like the plastic type crate when you get her home, stick with it. If she doesn't seem to be adjusting to it well, get the wire kind. We got one that came with a divider so that we could make the crate smaller while she was little and move the divider as she grew. That worked well for us and saved me from having to buy a bunch of different sized crates for her.

2) Savannah is on Canidae and she really loves it. I would talk to your vet about the food and see what he/she recommends. Also, if you decide to switch foods, gradually begin mixing the new food in with the old food to avoid your pup getting a tummy ache.

3) No cats in our household so I don't have any advise on this one.

Good luck! Please post more pics when you get her home and let us know what you decide on for her name! Again welcome! You will love it here!

[wheezie23]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on your new baby, and kudos to you for doing your homework. There is a terrific Search feature on this website that you can use to get answers to questions on specific topics you might have later about grooming, bathing or not bathing, behaviors, etc.

Both of my cairns are crate trained, and they love it. I feel much better leaving them home while I'm away. I would use the crate that your puppy comes home in until he outgrows it. Then you can purchase the wire kind. I keep a blanket across the top of my guys' crates and they seem to like it like that.

I feed all my dogs Canidae. I've noticed a huge difference in their coats, skin, eyes and smell since switching them over. Cairns normally do not have an odor (therefore you shouldn't have to bathe them) but I also have a golden retriever mix who always had that "dog" smell, even a few days after a bath. Since switching him to Canidae, it's been seven weeks since his last bath and he still does not have a dog odor. I highly recommend this food.

Good luck, and I can't wait to see more pictures of your pup!

Thela

[sanford]

Welcome to the future! You must be so happy, looking forward to life with your new pup. Canidae was recommended to me and I use it. It has no corn products in it. I was told to avoid dog foods that have corn products listed on the label because Cairns can tend to be allergic to corn. I was also told that the "corn" is really ground up cobs; low in nutritional value and hard on the digestive system. I don't know if this is true, but that was the info I was given.

I've never heard of a dog not liking Canidae, but then again, my pooch would eat doorknobs, if I put them in his bowl!

I'll be thinking of you on Sunday. Be sure to let us know how things go & don't hesitate to ask questions...This forum is a great resource, as you've already discovered. You can also Google other helpful sites online for general info.

[bradl]

Welcome and my that's a cute picture! What a sweetie. I'm no help on the crate question - we seem to collect them! When it comes to crates - well we have four adult Cairns and have come to the conclusion that the more (crates) the merrier. We tend to keep wire crates in the living areas of the house for mealtimes and general use - the wire crates have a lesser visual impact, are airy and have good circulation during hot summer days. We keep plastic crates in the back of both our cars (nice to be able to toss a dog in the car and nip off somewhere for an adventure). We keep plastic crates in the spare room and in the office, and in the bedroom - sometimes when non-doggy company comes, or there's a club meeting in the house or something, it's nice to be able to crate the dogs quietly at the back of the house for an hour. I think your idea of a blanket or crate cover over a wire crate is ideal. We sometmes throw a blanket over one to quiet down a noisy dog. We call covering one to quiet it down 'making a parakeet.' We don't find the dogs mind having different crates for day use and for sleeping at night in the bedroom. I agree the plastic crates are more den-like and especially good for settling down for the night.

[Marge]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the world of owning a Cairn! Or is it that the Cairns own us? I haven't decided. We have had other dogs as part of our family, but Bear is our first Cairn. He came to live with us the end of August and is 5 months old now. He has definitely won our hearts. He is such a joyful part of our family.

Bear has a plastic crate. It's the only kind we have ever used for our dogs. Bear likes his just fine. The door is always open when he is out, and he frequently goes in to take naps or hide a precious toy. I bought an exercise pen and have found that to be extremely helpful. I have the crate in the pen along with a lot of toys. I put Bear in the pen when he ( or me) needs a time out or when I cannot watch him. It's like a playpen for him. It's been extremely useful.

Bear eats Canidae dog feed. I switched him from what the breeder was feeding him because I could buy the Canidae locally. I can't remember the name of what he had before. Anyway, I choose Canidae because of the recommendations from this forum. Bear loves it and seems to be thriving quite nicely on it.

I can't help you with the cat intro, but we did have other dogs when Bear came home. The xpen for Bear helped a lot with the other dogs because he could be with them in short spurts. It gave the other dogs time to become adjusted to him and he to them. Our older dog took longer to adjust to Bear. So I suggest lots of patience on your part. The process takes time. We also had to allow the animals to set their own limits with each other. We did things like feed the older dogs first and take them out first to establish pack order. I don't know how applicable any of this it to a cat, but perhaps I have been of some help.

Please let us know more about your puppy. We absolutely love pictures. Enjoy your new puppy!

MAKE it a GREAT day!!!

Marge

[Catfish1]

Hello mn

My wife and I are first time dog owners also. Fergus is ten months old. I can honestly say, after seven months, we could not have chosen a better breed of dog, than a Cairn.

Perhaps some day we'll get a second!!

We crate trained Fergus from the very first night we brought him home. He was three months old. We started out with a plastic carrier we already had, as it was used for the cats. One piece of advice we got at the start was, don't give the puppy too much space, in his crate. Give him just enough to be comforable...stretch out full length, space for a toy or two, but not enough space to allow him to move to another area of the crate to do his business. Because the crate was quite large, we blocked off the back half with various sizes of cardboard boxes and then fashioned a cardboard wall, in front of those, so he wouldn't chew on the boxes. Fergus never once , made a mess in his crate. Out of the crate, he was very easy to house train. I'm not sure if that was luck or a result of the crate training but I really feel it was the crate training. It seemed to help teach him control. As he got bigger we opened up the rest of the crate and at about six months, switched to a larger wire crate. He continues to sleep in the crate at night and will sometimes go in on his own, at bed time. At this point, we still keep his door latched at night, but left open, the rest of the time. He'll sometimes go in for naps during the day, but it seems those times are getting less and less , as he gets older.

Now, about the cats!. We have two. A seventeen year old yellow tabby named Brandi, that weighs all of 5 pounds and a seven year old male yellow tabby named Riley, that weighs close to 18 pounds. Fergus can and will, at times, make their lives miserable. He's not particularily aggressive with them but he seems to think they are his personal toys. Brandi will not put up with lot from Fergus, she'll slap his face (no claws) and he will usually defer to her by laying down in front of her. He make his growely noises while he's doing it, and try to get her to play but if she insists on him leaving he alone, he will. Things are a bit different with the Riley. They are close to the same size, both males and there seems to be rivalry between the two. As I said earlier, Fergus is not overly aggressive but the playfulness does take on a rougher edge, with Riley. When Riley tries to leave Fergus will take on the classic Cairn stance....tail erect, chest out, and head up....and try to herd him where he wants him to go. If Riley runs, Fergus chases! We are in the process of trying to break Fergus of the chasing. There seems to be some progress, however, its, painfully slow. I guess the only advice I have as far as introducing the cat to the dog is....let the two of them interact and see where it goes but be close by in case things get rough!!!

Good luck. Post some photos when you bring him home.

Regards

Fergus and Alf

[Saidi'sDad]

Hi and welcome to the world of those who are owned by Cairns

Both Saidi and I love the wire crates. We got her one that was very large for Cairns and it came with a divider that you can put in to make the usable size whatever is needed. I personally do not like the divider because if not careful on how it's installed your pup could get something under it like Saidi did once. She got her chew toy wedged underneath and when I came home she was frantically trying to reach it! Needless to say, I've never used that D@MN thing again We don

[dayzeemom]

Hello fellow cairn lovers , My cairn is 8 months old now and her name is Day-zee mae , what can I say except I wish I had found this breed a long time ago! We have a 4 yr old german shepard and just added our little girl in April of 2005 . She has added so much joy to my life I can't express it all with words ! I am so glad I found this site to help her and myself have the best possible quality of life , not to mention sharing the joy of this terrific breed with others who know the special charm a cairn brings to the home , can anyone tell me how to add a picture of my little girl ??

[dayzeemom]

Just wanting to see if my photo updated

[mrskti]

Dayzee Mae is darling.....I have an Ellie Mae!

[CathyAnn]

Welcome to the newcomers!!

Dayzee Mae looks adorable in her basket!!

Cathy

[toomanypaws]

Hi and welcome! What a cute picture of your new pup! We too crated our three Cairns. We used the plastic kennel cab type, starting w/ different sizes from pup to full grown. All of mine still have their crate and love them for security.

We have 2 cats! You can call us crazy, insane, or just animal lovers. Our oldest cat, Tai is 9 and loves nothing more than to tease the Cairns. I would think by now that my 4 1/2 yr old Cairn would be use to him, but that's never going to happen. The Cairns don't hurt Tai, but they will fall into his game of chasing after him just for the excitement. Our youngest cat is still a kitten at 6 mths old and she really loves the Cairns. In fact, every night I take her to them for kisses goodnight. In your case, I would introduce you pup to the cat under your supervision.

We also feed our Cairns Canidae. I had been feeding them Bil-Jac but noticed my oldest Cairn's coat was very dull. After much research, I switched and have been very satisfied w/ the results. My Cairn's coat not only looked healthier, the color got more colorful. I loved Canidae so much that I even switched my Lab and Aussie to it and love the results.

I can imagine how excited you must be waiting for your pup. You will love this forum more and more as you raise your pup.

[Teri9672]

Welcome and my that's a cute picture! What a sweetie. I'm no help on the crate question  - we seem to collect them!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree...you can never have too many crates! We have 2 cairns. Tabitha is 6 and Teona just turned 1. We have a total of 5 crates!

2 wire crates are in the den-kitchen area. This is where the girls spend the day when we are gone. Tabitha's crate has a nice fluffy blanket. Teona's crate is bare because she would potty in the crate if something is in it. (she may have outgrown this, but I'm just making sure)

In the bedroom we have 2 more crates. 1 large wire crate and 1 small plastic crate. This is for sleeping. I let the girls choose where they want to sleep, i just close the door after they are sleeping. Sometimes they each get into their own bed (Tabitha large crate, Teona small crate) Sometimes they choose to sleep together in the large crate or sometimes Tabitha crams herself into the small crate and Teona takes the big bed. Both night crates are full of pillows and blankets. Teona will not potty at night in her bed crate. We have 1 extra wire crate thet we keep at grandma's house for the girls when we sleep over

good luck with the new baby and post lots of pictures

[dayzeemom]

I really appreciate everyones outlook on helping me with my baby . She is the most awesome thing ever and in my house my dogs are not dogs lol they are members of the family ! I Love having a place that I can share my love for my cairn with other people that experienced the same , Poo Poo to yorkies ! Cairn is the way to go , so loving and so expressive ( love the vocal range ) !! Anyway here is another pic of my Daze - Dayzee mae for short hope to talk to ya''ll soon

[CathyAnn]

Ah, those horns say it all!!

But, then again, they sure can be 's!!

Makes this lively breed sooooo much fun!!

Cathy

[mn0270100]

Wow! Thanks for all the kind words and advise!! We are off to a good start!

Followup questions to crate training..

When crate training, how often (in the middle of the night - between midnight and 6am) should we get up and let her out to do her business?

I have read (in several places) that while crate training, you should take all collars off the dog. Why? If she had to go potty bad enough, wouldnt she just do it on the floor while I try to put her collar on?

David

[bradl]

I have read (in several places) that while crate training, you should take all collars off the dog.  Why? 

Dog can hang itself if collar buckle or tag gets hooked on some part of the crate.

[kayharley]

Oh that basket pic is absolutely precious!

We all love our crates too (no, I don't go in them but they sure look comfy) It's hysterical to watch them "make their beds"...the fast paced digging before finding the ideal spot. I keep all of mine in the den/play/toy room where my computer takes up a tiny section amidst the kongs, hide-a-bees and chew toys.

Years ago we had a cat when we brought Winnie home. I think it only took a week or two before they were playing together. The cat was bigger than Win so that helped alot.

[Catfish1]

Hello again mn

We always took Fergus outside about midnight AND made sure he actually did something. Afer that, we didn't take him out until 6:00 AM. He never once peed in his crate . I should also say we limited his water intake after 11:00. I don't recall that he acted in an exceptional hurry to go in the morning, so putting on his collar and leash first, was not an issue. Once on, we did take him out promptly! Fergus seemed to be an exceptionally easy puppy to housetrain, however, my sister-in-law used the same method to train her pup (not a cairn) with the same satisfactory results. Good Luck!

Regards

Fergus and Alf

[maggie]

I never had problems putting the collar on, however, don't think you can start the coffee and then go out.....

[mn0270100]

Ooooo....

I am leaving in 15 minutes to go pick our new puppy up!!!!

We are all SO excited!!!!

Wish me luck!!

I'll post later tonight or tomorow how it all went!!!

Thanks again for everyone's help (so far) - once she is here, I am sure I will have more questions!

David

My Webpage

[Eliz222]

You have gotten some great advice, so I just wanted to pop in and say "welcome"!!!!!!

[mn0270100]

http://www.geocities.com/mn0270100/Molly.html

Molly's First day!