15 replies to this topic

[Idaho Cairns]

A cool Sunday morning in Idaho, coffee and the Sunday paper on the deck with the Girls. Life is good!

[Dempsy's Mom]

I'm there. Grab me a cup.

[Holly&me]

Reading the papers has obviously worn the girls out!!
Lovely photo

[Zekey's Mom]

I'm seriously thinking of getting a buddy for Zekey, and this photo just reinforces why. Those girls look SO sweet together!

[Idaho Cairns]

Our girls have such obvious affection for each other, entertain each other so much with their constant play, that the thought of either one of them without the other is hard to imagine. I know that taking on the expense of another dog is difficult for some to imagine but for us only having one dog makes no sense. Our Cairns have always partnered up well with each other and we haven't had any problems with competitiveness between dogs--as I tell them when they shove one another out of the way for pets--"Hey girls, I have two hands!" That seems to work. I believe having a companion keeps the dogs grounded, both when we are with them and when we leave them at home alone.
The real upside of having two is that a well mannered older dog really helps in the initial training of a young dog--a lot of modeling seems to go on and when you have the older dog lead the charge outside to go potty it reinforces your commands. Behavior passes from one generation to another--we see traces of the quirks of our first Cairn in our newest and that is a real blessing.

Edited by Idaho Cairns, 07 September 2010 - 06:58 AM.

[beccadiane374]

Such a sweet picture!

[hheldorfer]

Looks like a little slice of heaven!

[Zekey's Mom]

Idaho -- that's very reassuring to hear. I have some misgivings about adding to my clan -- don't want to mess up a good thing -- but I really do think that Zekey would benefit. And me too -- twice the laughter in my house!

[ScruffynMag]

Lovely photo, I wish the weather was good here in the UK for more than a week! Idaho, you're giving me idea's and yes you're right, it would be double the laughs Zekeys Mum

[Hawkeye]

Aww...so cute.

I also second what Idaho Cairns says about having two. We have had two for years and I actually have three now. Each time I was concerned about causing trouble by adding another dog, but that was not the case. In July we brought Radar into our family and now at 6 months he's settling into the household very nicely. Bailey and Radar are really getting close and they know Casey is too old to play and respect her space. I feel in my case it was a very good decision because Bailey and Radar have many years ahead of them to play and will be able to grow old together.

[kjwarnold]

A friend gave me a bumper sticker that says, "Cairns are like potato chips. You can't have just one." We love having two Cairns. They play and wear each other out when we can't get outside for exercise, and we really get a kick out of their antics.

[TazTalk]

That is soooooo sweet. Just precious.
We love having 2. Since we both work, we really like the idea of doggie companionship.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Over the weekend I saw that there was a Cairn for adoption the same age as Demps. After reading your thoughts I toyed with it all day. Just pulled up the site and Apollo has been adopted. I knew he would have no problem finding a home.

When you guys get another Cairn, do you use separate crates, food dishes etc.?

[Idaho Cairns]

Dempsy's Mom, on 07 September 2010 - 06:05 PM, said:

Over the weekend I saw that there was a Cairn for adoption the same age as Demps. After reading your thoughts I toyed with it all day. Just pulled up the site and Apollo has been adopted. I knew he would have no problem finding a home.

When you guys get another Cairn, do you use separate crates, food dishes etc.?

Good for you!!! Rescuing a dog is a wonderful thing to do--providing a loving and safe home for a loving creature like a dog is a fabulous thing to do. Now let the fun begin!!!!
Don't know about the crates since we don't have to crate ours--our younger dog uses hers at night or when she wants a retreat--the older dog has never used one.
We feed ours together and they share the food--one picks up a few kibbles and retreats and then the other one eats--never a problem.
With a rescue we had some years ago we had to hand feed both dogs for about three weeks to get the rescue over her food guarding--I kept the food off the floor, would sit both dogs in front of me twice a day and hand each a kibble at a time. Kinda put myself in charge of feeding--there was no problem feeding like that. After a few weeks I put the food on the floor and they fed like all my Cairns have--pick up a kibble, retreat a few feet, eat it, and then come back to the bowl for more.
Just remember, the first few days with a rescue might get a little edgy, depending on the dogs, but what you initially see is probably not going to be the dog you will eventually have. Exercise lots of patience with the rescue, let it adjust to your home and the new environment--they do rock in and do so surprisingly fast--Cairns are little changelings --the are flexible and will come around.

[steffi_far_away]

Or maybe you could try to foster another Cairn and see how it works. You might want to keep the new Cairn but if it's just too much and the two don't get along, you can find a good family and home for the foster dog. We have 3 dogs, all different breeds, and they are one big happy family. I can't imagine having just one, though 3 is a bit much at times. :0D