I'm not sure if this the correct place to post a hello, if not, admin feel free to move it!

My name is Sandi and our family (husband and two children 4 and 8) just got our first puppy. Louie the cairn. And boy.. is he a handful, but we all love him very much! I found this site doing research about his coat. It's looking really shaggy and I keep seeing hand stripping mentioned but I don't "get" it. I have the Mars Coat King and a Furminator, but his hair is getting longer and longer. Louie is 5 months old.

I wanted something a little bit more active. My sisters and parents have Shih tzus and a Japanese Chin. Always being the rebel in the family I had to go and get something a bit more bad a** and got a cairn. As he sits and barks at the fireplace grate, I wonder... what have I got myself into to? LOL I kid. He's great. He's not a big time chewer or destroyer of property. We had some issues with his toys and aggression, but that seems to be slowly resolving itself. He still has accidents (we've had him for about a month) but not as many. He walks well on his leash and loves the dog park. He has a love/hate relationship with my son (the four year old). He's not overly affectionate and doesn't care to sit on laps or snuggle, but that's ok. Neither do I. LOL

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself and my Lou Bear. He really has brought so much happiness into my life. I love learning about dogs and Cairns especially. I hope to get a lot of great info from this board and learn about what I have in store for me in the later years.

well welcome you and lou! sounds like everything is normal and you have it under control...(they bark at anything different-untill they figure out its really nothing to bark at) lotsa luck and fur fun. Read the forums -you'll learn quite a bit and be entertained as well!

Welcome to the forum! You're in for a great treat with your Cairn. If you're not careful, you'll quickly go "nutso" for your dog. At least, that's what my mom has been telling people has happened to me. And it's true. I'm completely crazy about my Cairn, and I'm sure you feel the same! There are a ton of great topics around the forum about hand-stripping, and it's really not too bad at all. I've only done it once to strop Sparky's puppy coat, but it was quite easy. When the hair is ready to come out, it will easily do so when you tug at the coat. There are others who have much more experience than I do, though, so I'll let them give the advice.

Oh, and be sure to post pictures of Louie! We love pictures!

Welcome and Cairngratulations (as we say around here) on your new puppy!

Your Louie will continue to amuse you in so many different ways. This is a GREAT place for information.

We have 2 Cairns as you can see in the picture below. They are so much alike but so different in many ways

These dogs are great! They are a whole lot of fun in a little body. I always had big dogs and I got a cairn hoping it would be more bad a** than other small dogs. Scooter is the best, he goes everywhere with me. It is amazing at how different they can be though. Sadie is a home body and Scooter loves going on all my adventures. You will have so much fun!

Just to give you an idea of how fun they are here are some adventures that Scoot goes on with me and most other little dogs would never be able to keep up, they are definitely active!

Welcome to the Cairn World ! I agree with the other posts, Toby is ready to go and have all the fun that is out there.......from the beach to the desert, he is a great companion. He is my navigator when I'm in the dirt 4 wheeling. Best thing I ever did for "us" was one of the local classes in dog obedience. Have fun and enjoy !

Thanks for the warm welcomes!

Edited November 18, 200816 yr by Sandi16

Awww, Louie, you are such a cutie!

How cute! I love the one where he's in a little sleeping ball.

you sound like a natural cairn owner! congratulations --that isn't the most common type of person. you will have fun with louie for years and years.

Ahhh, Louie is such a handsome boy. He looks very rough and tumble. He's got a great look. Since the Cairn look is all about being scruffy, or shaggy, I think he must be just perfect. It looks like someone (you or the breeder) did a nice job removing puppy coat. You will be just fine with your Mars tool. We use it about once a month. Do some searches in the forum for tips on grooming, including tails and faces. Welcome to CairnTalk!!

Welcome! If you're like the rest of us you'll soon realize that

you're hooked on Cairns for life.

I adopted my first Cairn, Holdsworth, in 1983. He lived well into

his 18th year. He was, simply put, outstanding.

I hope you get as much joy as I have from these special fur babies.

Tara, Mom of Many

Louie is very handsome! It looks as if you will gets lots of fun with him!

Welcome,

As you can see with all the photos how much fun and enjoyable these cairns are.

Welcome to the world of Cairns.

You'll find this to be a friendly and helpful group. Take the time to look at past topics, and you will find answers to just about anything involving Cairns. If you do have questions or problems, post them and you will get good answers.

They are great little dogs. One thing that sets them apart from other small breeds is that Cairns are "real dogs", not a "Miniature" this or "Toy" that. People here often say that a Cairn is a big dog in a small dogs body. They often seem almost catlike in their independence and curiousity.

Welcome, Welcome!

I'm still relatively new as well, but have found the forum to be great. Louie is so cute!

Welcome to the cairn forum. Everyone is so nice and helpful and fun! I love all the sleeping baby pictures! They are little angels when they are sleeping!

welcome, He is beautiful, no matter how many pictures I look at they are warm my heart. We are a first time cairn owner too and she is 1 year old and we will never own another breed again. My husband wants another one, maybe in another year. But I am the main care giver so not sure I can handle another.

Best dog ever, enjoy yours, I love the pictures of him!!!!!!!!!!

I am new to the breed as well! They are so unique. At first my marley was a little stand-offish but as time went on she has become my sweet baby girl. She wont sit on my lap for long but she loves being carried around and will curl up next to you on the bed or couch. She has brought so much to my life. Enjoy all of the puppy behavior it will be over before you know it.