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Cassie's Here!


JenJ

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Well, she's finally here! We brought Cassie home yesterday...she's 9 weeks old. She is sooo cute (pictures to come soon, as soon as I can get my life back together and put them on my computer ;)). She weighs 2.4 lbs and her ears already stick up!

We are having fun with her, but I must admit...I'm EXHAUSTED. It's only day 2, I realize, but this is much like having a newborn, except the newborn's on the move! I haven't done hardly ANYTHING today but watch her,play with her, and take her potty, like, every 30 minutes. My littlest kiddo is starting to think Cassie's the new baby in the house (well, she is, I guess ;)).

I do have a few questions...do you let your pups run around the house? How often do you feed them? Cassie's eaten very little, but she did better today. I'm putting food out three times a day right now. Also, I took her to the vet today and she recommended Purina Pro Plan food...is this any good?!?

Also, how long should I crate her? I got up last night at 2:30 and took her out. She had to go into the crate some today (had to run kids to school, take her to the vet, then take her in the car to my daughter's soccer practice). She's been good about all this, but I don't want to crate her too much. Plus, I have to throw a treat in there to get her to go in, then I'm nudging her in further to shut the door. She isn't always pleased. :)

If you have any tips/sample schedule/answers I'm all ears. We love this doggie and know it's going to be work, but I have a busy life (albeit I stay at home) and I want to make sure everything runs smoothly for everyone. If that makes any sense.

Anyhow...pics to come! She is cute! :)

Jen

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Hi Jen,

Great news! Puppies are exhausting, but well worth it.

Taking her outside to potty often - and praising her when she does something - is the way to do it. Every half hour might be a bit too often - the general rule is: immediately after waking up after naps, immediately after eating/drinking and when being really active or excited interrupt them and take them outside, first thing when you wake up for the day and last thing before you go to bed at night ... and then whenever else you think its advisable. <_< My puppies always slept in a second crate in my bedroom, when I heard them stir at night I get up and take them outside .. and then back in the house and crate.

Please be sure to remove her collar if she wears one when she is in the crate and you are not at home to watch her - puppies and dogs have strangled when the collar catches on the crate.

Lots of praise when the do something outside - if the inevitable happens and the pup messes in the house grab them and pop them outside (with you, in case they are not finished). Don't scold, but clean up any accidents quickly and use some sort of a scent remover, especially on rugs. If you catch your pup "midstream" interrupt them with a sharp "uh-hu" or "psssst" sound - pick them up and take them outside to finish.

Getting her used to short periods in the crate by herself is good training. You can put an indestructable toy in with her - like a puppy kong or nylabone chew bone. Ignore her if she whines or fusses. At her age she will drop off to sleep very quickly anyway. Keep the crate door open during the day and if there is cozy bedding she may eventually start going in there herself to sleep. Puppies need lots of sleep - so it's play, outside to potty, and then in the crate when they are ready for a nap. (I always found that when puppies get really overstimulated and bitey - it means they are too tired and need a nap.)

The food you should be feeding her now is whatever she is used to from the breeder. Wait a couple of weeks at least until she is fully settled before switching gradually to something else. In terms of food, my personal preference is for anything that does not contain artificial colours, flavouring or preservatives and does not have a not have a grain (rice or maize/corn usually) as the first ingredient. And then from there you can be as picky as you want in terms of selection. Purina Pro Plan is certainly better than most supermarket varieties, whether it is the best or not is open to debate. (And there is always LOTS of debate about foods!)

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How exciting!! Your life will never be the same...it will be better! :lol:

I would not let her run free because a 9 week old pup is a pee-machine. Not to contradict what Cairnmania said, but sometimes they will need to go every 1/2 hour, especially if they're playing hard. They get excited and just can't control what comes out!

Enjoy and post pictures when you can.

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aww, congrats Jen. I look forward to seeing the pics.

i dont have alot of advice to offer since casey is my first pup and i've only had her since june - we got her at 6 months old.

BUT, i do recommend NOT giving her complete freedom. I think it overwhelmes them and will drive you crazy keeping her out of trouble.

i know many people told me to crate until potty time (hourly) if she does go to the bathroom then, give her some supervised playtime 15 - 20 mins, then back in the crate.

personally though, my casey would still mess her crate so we opted for gating the kitchen for easy clean up. plus it gave her more room to stretch and play.

either way, it will get easier. enjoy :)

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Congrats on the new puppy, they are so cute, I miss those days but enjoy them now.

I did not let them roam around the house when puppies, you want to be able to watch them to be sure they are not going potty inside, when you turn your back , they'll go. I fed them 3 times a day as well when they were puppies but now just twice a day.

I shy away from grocery store brands of food. I prefer Canidae and Nutro. Just my opinion. Do research on dog food online and then look at ingredients to different types of food. You'll learn a lot.

I crate them all night, Sadie used to whine to get pee but she started sleeping through the night as she got older. I do not crate them while I am at work all day, i don't want to leave them in crates that long, my neighbor comes over to let them out but I'd rather they are able to play with each other. I do keep them in our breezeway though, so they do not have free rein of the house.

Good luck and please post pictures!

Jess, Scooter, Sadie and Dozer

DSCN2419-1.jpg

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Puppies...I love puppies!! Congrats!

I bought a "dummy" book...Housetraining for Dummies, I think (it's long gone now). I followed the schedules they suggested with a little variation, and it was wonderful. Since I teach, Nigel had to be crated all day by the time he was 15 weeks. He would pee in the house if we didn't pay close attention. I took him everywhere in the house with me but he didn't roam freely. Today, at just over 3 yrs, he prefers to not be in the crate but will run in when he hears the treat jat open. Aislinn loves her crate and goes in any time she feels scared or anytime you tell her to...weird dog.

I remember being tired. I had to be on the floor to keep up with him, keep an eye on him constantly, etc. Truth be told, though, I loved every minute of it and would do it again....

Enjoy puppuyhood because, like childhood, it's gone in the blink of an eye.

"Lord help me be the person my cairn terriers believe I am."

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It is just like having a new baby!

I remember spending the entire summer trapped in my kitchen with Piper as a pup. We wouldn't allow him free roam until we were pretty sure he was getting the whole inside, outside potty concept.

Good luck and can't wait to see pics!!

Cathy and Piper

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Thanks for all the advice and well wishes!

I think part of my exhaustion stems from having the four kids on top of the puppy! :) At least, a couple of them can help take her out. ;)

We haven't given her full run of the house yetl. The problem is we have such an open floor plan, that blocking off rooms is tricky. I have an ex-pen, but she ain't happy hanging out alone in that. She wants us to play constantly! :) I've moved it around to block some parts of the house, so that seems to help a bit. She follows me around pretty much constantly, though. She loves me best (and she should! ;)).

Anyhow, one more question, about the crate. She got up at 5:40 this morning, went out to potty, came in, tinkled on the floor (we didn't apparently get #1 taken care of like I thought :whistle: ), then played with us for two hours. I put her in her crate (door shut) for her to sleep...is that ok? She doesn't love the crate. I'm trying to keep it open, but it's mobile now; in my room upstairs at night for bed, downstairs in the back spare bedroom for naps, then out in the main room, with door open...right now I'm using a little car carrier, since she's so tiny. Should I put her in for every nap and shut the door? I want her to looove the crate, because starting next week she'll have to go in it during the day for longer periods (no more than 2 hrs). I hate it when she whimpers, chews on the door, whines and yelps...I feel so guilty!!

I thought we were doing good w/housetraining, except I brought her in from going #1 just a few minutes ago, after having waited for FOREVER outside for her to do "other" business. She comes inside for five minutes, heads into the dining room with my son, and christens the dining room rug with a "prize." I made my sound (and maybe a couple of others ;)), since I was right there but couldn't grab her quickly enough. I took her outside, but I knew she was done, so we just came back in and cleaned up. Am I doing this right??? Is there a point when you don't have to be taking them out every hour? I mean, I guess I know that happens, but how much time should I mentally prepare for, so I'm not a stress case? :)

Even with all these adjustments, she is a total blast. She's sooo cute. I am going to post pictures later today, but after I get laundry done! I haven't done anything for the past four days but watch the doggie. :)

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You will probably be "back to normal" in about two years. In the meantime, enjoy it, even though it is a lot of work.

As a puppy, Renny was restricted to a small hallway and the bathroom at first and then gradually allowed more freedom as he developed. He was taken out frequently, and watched closely when loose in the house. If he started to squat, we went out immediately. All of a sudden, at about 6 months, he got the "outside for potty" thing figured out. Until then, I did restrict him if I had to leave for awhile. Since I'm retired and was able to watch him most of the time, I seldom used the crate. When I'm gone, he has the run of the house, but again, since I'm retired, the longest he has been left alone has been about 5 hours, usually less.

We go for three walks a day, usually at about 9:00 am or so, again in the early evening about 5:30 pm, and again at about 9:30 pm. He normally "takes care of business" on the walks, and seldom uses the back yard. Once in awhile though, about once every two weeks, he will wake me between about 2 and 4:30 am and have to go out to pee. Other than that, he makes it through the night.

I know others will disagree, but I have kept water and food available 24/7 instead of feeding him once or twice a day. It is not unusual for him to get up in the middle of the night to eat. He does not overeat, and his weight ( a little over 16#) is fine. Sometimes he will eat an actual meal. Other times he will stop at the dish and eat a mouthful or two and go about his business.

Another area where people will disagree is sleeping arangements. The first night I brought him home, I tried the dog bed next to mine. After about a half hour of whining on his part, I hoisted him into bed with me. He snuggled in and has slept in bed with me since, usually on the other pillow, but if the room is on the cool side, he will worm his way under the covers.

I know my experience and methods are different from a lot of the other forum members, but they worked fine for me. Is Renny maybe a little spoiled? Naaaahhh. OK maybe a little bit.

Good luck, and enjoy tour Cairn.

Hagar.

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We got our little Bridget in June (we have an older male). The best thing we did was get a puppy playpen or expen. It gave her room to move around without being loose. I was able to get things done, workout, clean ,etc. without having to put her in her crate. Also it let our male get used to her on his own terms!

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Bogeymom,

Does Bridget wimper and whine in her expen? Cassie wants to follow me everywhere and can't stand to be in her pen. Crate, too,but she does settle down in the after a bit. I'm so anxious to get her housetrained, that I'm afraid to leave her be in the expen. Do you put down a potty pad?

Another concern I have is, in a few weeks I'm going on my daughter's field trip at school. That's a 5-hour production, and I have no idea what to do with Cassie. Should I just leave her in the expen? I don't work outside the home, so this will be a long stretch to leave her during the day. For those of you who go to work, how long is your cairn alone; do you crate the whole time, or do you leave her in an expen or in a room gated off?

I really realize how green I am! Thanks for all your advice.

Jen

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My Cairns are alone for about 8 hours a day and some days a little longer, this is why i have 2. It'll be good for you to leave her, she needs to get over the anxiety of not being with you, its not fun when they have separation anxiety. I would leave her in the expen with a pad. Thats what I did when Sadie was a puppy. I would attach the expen to the crate and leave crate door open. Leave some indestructible toys also. You can make it a little smaller so she does not have many other places to go potty.

Jess, Scooter, Sadie and Dozer

DSCN2419-1.jpg

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