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Two Cairns or One?


twoboys1princess

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Hi,

I am new to the forum and new to Cairns. We had three labs and sadly, one just passed away. She was old and wasn't doing well. We new when she did we wanted to get a Cairn, so we are getting one in a few weeks when he is old enough to come home. We are toying with the idea of getting two. I've read a lot that getting two at the same time of any puppy breed is not a great idea. They bond with each other instead of you, and harder to housebreak. Does anyone have any experience with getting two Cairns at once, and would you recommend it?

Thanks for your help,

Stephanie

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First- Welcome to the Forum

Second- I love my boys dearly and would not trade them for anything- But I will never again have two puppies at the same time. The amount of work involved is like 3 or 4 times as much than just 1 puppy, and Cairn Terrorist puppies are handful as it is!

Tracy, Amos, Walter, Brattwrust & Mettwurst a.k.a The Gremlins

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Wow, I am surprised, I have 2 and find it is less work. Scruffy taught Sparky so much and they play so hard together. Scruff helped with the housebreaking, basic manners, Sparky has never chewed up or destroyed anything as he is always chewing in Scruffy. They never cry or give me the "look" when we leave as they are ready for "play" time. We will never have less than 2 pups as long as our health and finances hold out. Cairns are a lot of time, but I do not look at it as being work. I really love every minute I spend with my pups. I also believe in obedience school and constant training as a well behaved dog is so much more likable and lovable. I would have a house full of them if I could.

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I meant getting two puppies from the same litter at the same time. I already have 2 dogs in the house, and would never have only one, but was curious what other folks experiences were getting two pups at once. :)

Thanks for sharing your experience with this. I'm sure it will help me decide on one or two pups from this litter.

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We got two puppies at the very same time - it's a huge challenge and I've devoted literally of my time to potty training and making sure the two don't get into significant trouble - if one does something wrong the other one is like a little monkey and joins in... but they do keep each other company - or at least terrorize each other in the yard - there's lots of high speed chases - I'm thankful that they were the only commitment I had going at the time - for example if I was trying to raise young children and two puppies at the same time I would have totally lost my mind. They both are a lot of fun - but it was a lot of work - still continues to be.

Hollie Edelbrock & Brystal Sonoma
Chris, Stacy and Little Noah
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<------raising small child and 2 cairn pups...away, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time :)

Actually, I found that having 2 is easier than just one. They wear each other out :)

6amigos.jpg3amigospose.jpg3amigos.jpgRoscopuppy.jpg3amigos2.jpg

We're the Cairns of America

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We got 2 but a year apart. Same parents just a different year difference.

You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it's a little thing, do something for others - something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.

-Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)

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Cairn Terrierists

It's because cats simply can't be trusted for heavy lifting & dirty work required in the war on terrior.

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i got litter mates, if i had it to do all over again, i'd wait at least a year and a half between them. They really need dedicated attention and training. For me it's hard to commit as much time and effort as is needed for their training. one would be easier for sure.

Terry, mom of Dori and Ellie Mae

th_IMG_0641-1.jpgth_prettypuppies.jpgth_IMG_0068.jpg

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Wow, I am surprised, I have 2 and find it is less work. Scruffy taught Sparky so much and they play so hard together. Scruff helped with the housebreaking, basic manners, Sparky has never chewed up or destroyed anything as he is always chewing in Scruffy. They never cry or give me the "look" when we leave as they are ready for "play" time. We will never have less than 2 pups as long as our health and finances hold out. Cairns are a lot of time, but I do not look at it as being work. I really love every minute I spend with my pups. I also believe in obedience school and constant training as a well behaved dog is so much more likable and lovable. I would have a house full of them if I could.

Mett & Bratt are litter mates, so I am talking about two puppies of the same age at the same time.

Tracy, Amos, Walter, Brattwrust & Mettwurst a.k.a The Gremlins

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First off, I'm sorry for the loss of your Lab. I had to put my oldest one down over 5 yrs ago and I still miss him dearly. I prefer to do one puppy at a time. It's so much easier to have one pup housetrained and then introduce another one a year or two later. Two of my Cairns are only 6 mths apart and I think that is too close. I had two large dogs (Lab & Aussie) when I got my first Cairn, a young male rescue. Unfortunately, he didn't work out w/ the other two males and became quite aggressive so we rehomed him. When my first Lab died, we had a younger male Lab then and decided once again we wanted a Cairn. This time, we brought a female home to her "big brothers" and that worked out well for us. It worked out so great that 2 1/2 yrs later we added another female Cairn, and 6 mths later another! :shock: For me, Labs are a much easier breed to train, but I simply love the challenge of Cairns. Being a Lab lover too, I tease that God created the Lab to show His perfection. He went on to create the Cairn to show His sense of humor. :D

<img src=&quot;http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/maiwag/terriersiggy.jpg" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" />

Beth, mom to Ninja (5), Hannah (7), Abbey (7 1/2), Kiara (10)

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Thanks for all you're help. I think we have decided to get just one for now. Sounds like many of you wouldn't take on two puppies at the same time again. I was thinking it would be really hard. My husband is the one with the bright idea of getting two. (You can tell he's not the one training them!)

I hope it works out. My labs are males and the Cairn we are getting is a male. The labs are neutered and the Cairn will also be, just as soon as he is old enough. I just can't wait to bring him home, 4 1/2 more weeks and counting!

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My husband is the one with the bright idea of getting two. (You can tell he's not the one training them!)

Ditto- it was my hubbys brain child too

Tracy, Amos, Walter, Brattwrust & Mettwurst a.k.a The Gremlins

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My husband is the one with the bright idea of getting two. (You can tell he's not the one training them!)

Ditto- it was my hubbys brain child too

Unfortunately I have the take the credit for getting two at once - I think I had some maternal urge/instincts going on... :lol:

Hollie Edelbrock & Brystal Sonoma
Chris, Stacy and Little Noah
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I just wanted one...Dan wanted NONE...then after we got Ellie (as I have posted before) HE decided we needed 2. lol

6amigos.jpg3amigospose.jpg3amigos.jpgRoscopuppy.jpg3amigos2.jpg

We're the Cairns of America

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We got two 2 months apart. Doing it over again I would have waited at least a year.

But I love my Scruffy and Dixie!

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As a breeder, I can tell you that we strongly discourage people getting 2 at once. Having 2 is great, but get one, let it settle in, get fully housebroken, basic obedience trained, etc. Then get a second one - they'll both be better behaved dogs in the long run and you'll be happier with them. Having had litters of up to 8, I can assure you that until they are at least 8 or 10 months old, they are much more trouble to raise properly in quantity!

We'll always put people who already have one of our puppies at the front of the list for an additional one from another litter if they'll just follow our advice on this one thing.

Ask your breeder - He/She will probably agree.

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