So, I am BRAND NEW to all of this!

[maggie]

Sounds like Molly had a day filled with excitement and adventure. I couldn't see all the pictures but the couple I did see where adorable. Enjoy!

Maggie

[Maggie15]

hi, congrats!!!...you'll love a cairn!!! this board is fantastic for information!

we're new cairn owners, maggie is 7 months... we've used the plastic small dog crate (like one at walmart etc) and its been good from day one and we still use it, it'll be big enough for her when shes adult-just enough to sleep in. we now also use an expen to give her space outside the kennel to get out and look out the window when we are not home. surprisingly shes never whined in her kennel once! ...we brought the kennel to the breeders 2 weeks before picking her up, so her mom and her both were accustomed to it...

right from day one we put her in when we went to sleep at around 11 and she was good until 6-6:30 the next morning. i'd grab her from her kennel and head straight outside with her in my arms, our yard is well fenced. no collar on in the kennel. this was for the first couple of months, now she is o.k. in the morning until after she eats and she hasn't had an accident inside for couple of months at least! ...minus some 'excitable' pee when gramma comes over! -not us!

good luck and enjoy your cairn, they are such a special dog!

a

[savannahsmom35]

Welcome home Molly! She sure is a cutie! Looks like she has adjusted well to her new home!

[Lesley]

Wow, Molly you are going to have fun with your new family - they like to PLAY - a perfect match !! I bet you slept good last night - didn't you???

[CathyAnn]

She is just precious!!

Your kids look sooooooo happy! What a lovely holiday your family will have with your new addition!!

Cathy

[mn0270100]

Wow, Molly you are going to have fun with  your new family - they like to PLAY - a  perfect match !!  I bet you slept good last night - didn't you???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Um... No...

I am guessing these have been her first few nights without her mother or littlermates - and therefore a little on the lonley side.

She whined herself to sleep she crashed hard alright, but when I put her in her kennel, she started whining - and whined herself to sleep (around 10 pm - about 30 min of whining) - and again at 3am (the last two nights..)

Which brings me to another question...

Last night (2nd night at our house) she soiled her kennel. I know this is unsual but will it affect her training at all?

I know I am not supposed to respond to her whining (I understand that may leave her with the impression that if she whines she will get her way), but if she is whining to go out and go potty - should I "give in"?

What about getting up at 2am to let her out once before the morning. (I am up by 5am anyway for work, and let her out then.)

[CathyAnn]

Her whining is understandable at this point. Yes, she is missing her littermates and momma. New place, strange sounds and people.

As for soiling in the crate, that is to be expected for a bit, too. I would try getting up and letting her out midway thru the night. She is too young to be able to hold it that long. When you do, make it as quick and uneventful as you can. I did this with Piper for a week and would take him out of the crate, to the backyard, tell him "go potty". When he finished, I scooped him up and back to the crate, turned out the lights and back to bed.

Also, you might want to look at feeding times and back up the last one a bit. We removed the water bowl about 2-3 hours before we went to bed, too.

You are all going thru a BIG change, your little Molly, too!! Hang in there-it WILL get better!!

Cathy

[savannahsmom35]

I agree. We had to let Savannah have a potty break half way through the night too.

I don't know where the pup's crate is at night but here is a suggestion that I got from the vet to get Savannah to quit whining. Savannah's crate was on our bedroom floor but when she would cry, we moved her to the laundry room and shut the door. The vet recommended that we put Savannah's crate on a chair by the bed so that she could see us. We tried it and when she whined and I put my hand up to the crate. Once she realized that we were in the room with her, she stopped crying and slept through the night. Didn't even wake up for a potty break! After 2 nights, we moved the chair further and further away from the bed and at the end of the week, her crate was on the floor in the original position where it started. We have had no crying since (unless she needed to potty).

Also, taking up the water is a great suggestion. We still take up Savannah's water bowl about an hour before bedtime and she is 10 months old. Work's wonders.

Having a puppy as young as Molly can be hard and frustrating but know that we have all been there and it will soon be worth it! Please keep us posted on her progress.

[Anna_525]

Welcome to the forum! You will find a lot of good advice here, and this is a great place to vent especially during those early, trying times. The whining and soiling is truly to be expected. Once Molly gets warmed up to her crate, she'll treat it as her own space and will not want to soil in there. I read this somewhere - try having her eat some of her meals or treats while in the crate during the day. Logically, dogs do not like going potty where they eat.

I may be the only one to say that Canidae is the possible source of allergies for our dog. This is just a possibility, although when we switched to Canidae a month ago, Alfie's allergies worsened. He had allergies on his feet before this, now it's spreading. I'm sad about this because Alfie gobbles up the Canidae without complaints. He used to be on Solid Gold where I had to add cottage cheese for him to eat it. The vet told us to test if it's the food by switching again. We're now trying Innova, and I'm also glad he liked it when we tried it just this morning. But for all intents and purposes, Canidae had the best effect on Alfie's pooping habits. Maybe Innova, too, but we'll see.