housebreaking a cairn terrier and general care

Question
Beth, a few days ago my husband found an approximately 2 yr old female cairn terrier. She was evidently lost or had been abandoned. We have two setters who are outside pets and we have no experience house breaking a dog. (we do have two house cats)I am currently trying the crate but the first night, the little thing peed in it during the night. We have been taking her outside often. I am afraid she is too old to train???? We have taken her to the vet for shots and had her spayed. We've fallen in love with her already but I am worried about housebreaking her. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Also, any tips on general cairn care. She doesn't seem to be a hyper little dog, very calm and sweet. She loves to follow us around.
She doesn't willingly go into the crate door but once inside seems comfortable. I am wondering if she was kept in a pen or cage.
Brenda

Answer
Brenda -

Bless your heart for saving this little ragamuffin !

They are a wonderful breed.  She is probably experiencing some shock at getting lost/disposed of and now being in a good home.

The crate is always the best first step - even if she's not used to it yet, she is likely to come to find it as a special personal space.  If she was caged, she may well be likely to mess her crate until she learns that she will have plenty of chances to go out, and that going outside scores her major praise.

Make pottying outside an occasion for a party.  When she pees outside, praise her a lot and give her tiny bits of a high value treat (I use cheese in bits the size of pencil erasers) one right after the other for 15-20 second.

I would stick with taking her out often, and combined with the parties she will pick it up quick. I use a schedule of when we first get up, again 10 minutes after they eat breakfast, again as soon as I get home, again 10 minutes after dinner, once during the evening (but hourly when first training a dog) and then again before bed.  Dogs tend to need to poop about 10-15 minutes after they have had a meal, so that's an ideal time to take her out.

Persistence and patience will be the name of the game here. I have housetrained dozens of puppymill breeders who are much older than your little angel.

General cairn tips - They can be prone to food allergies, so I would avoid kibble with corn in it. Their coat will get long and dead if not groomed, and there is an easy tool called a mars coat king which is used just like a brush. It takes out all the dead hair.

Cairns are not generally hyper, though once settled in, you may see that she has a zoomy spell once in a while, and will likely become more animated in her personality as she gains confidence.

There is a ton of information at this link.... (look down the lefthand side of the page)

http://cairnrescue.com/

Best wishes to you and your new friend.

-Beth (who also fosters english setter rescues, and has a gordon setter)