The world is new for MacKenzie! So much has changed in the last few months in his world, but MacKenzie has successfully changed to meet his new circumstances.

Raised as an "only" dog in his former home and nearly never exposed to life outside his home, "Kenzie" was apprehensive about even going outside, was not fluent in "dog-speak" and was grossly overweight when he came into CLSR. However, his current CLSR foster home includes four female mentor Cairns...ages from 15 months to 14 years...all willing to help him learn proper manners and how to handle himself in social situations. They're also teaching him the nuances of dog-speak. And MacKenzie has been an enthusiastic student!

MacKenzie now relishes his outside time, zooming with a little friend he's made on the other side of our privacy fence or chasing birds and squirrels with his mentor pack. Each morning Kenzie and his fence-friend bark to summon each other, peer through the fence and then zoom happily till they are too weary to take another step. In addition to fun and friendship, this has helped Kenzie gain fitness. His weight when coming to his current foster home was 27 lbs. (down from 34 lbs. when he first came into CLSR). Today, he weighs 24.2 lbs. and has much more muscle mass and greater fitness. There is now a nip to his waistline and a spring in his step. He zooms, plays and wrestles with his pack mates, can leap up for snuggles and pets whereas he couldn't before, and is more enthusiastic and playful with each new day. Kenzie can't wait to get outside each day to find some new adventures.

MacKenzie is also doing well with his housetraining. He does not ask out yet, but he responds to regularly scheduled outside time.

While Kenzie is actually 6-7 years old, behavorially he is like a puppy -- learning a whole new way of living. MacKenzie is such a sweet, lovable boy with the most adorable, expressive face, we have to remind ourselves that he needs to learn, so as to keep ourselves on track as much as him. He has learned several commands. He "sits" very well, and has a very soft mouth when taking treats. One new thing this week...MacKenzie has "found" squeekie toys. This week he picked up a stuffie toy and started squeeking it...shaking the toy furiously then squeeking it some more. His behavior is so puppy-like, you can't help but enjoy his new discoveries.

Kenzie is crate trained and sees his crate as a good place to be. He takes his meals in his crate and sleeps there each night, although we leave the crate door open for him now, so he can get a drink of water if he chooses. We always wake to find him in his crate, but ready and raring to go.

Each Tuesday is weight-check day in MacKenzie's world, but we have also used this day to expose him to outside social situations, taking him to Home Depot, garden centers,and pet stores as well as the vet office, where he has become a favorite. MacKenzie is sweet and sociable and shows increasing confidence as he faces new situations. He loves, loves, LOVES his walkies, too!

MacKenzie is an extraordinarily handsome boy with a thick, gorgeous, wheaten coat. He has large, expressive eyes, and a winsome manner...quite the charmer! Are you looking for a puppy-like adult dog with a great personality who is very affectionate and sweet natured? Then please take a look at our MacKenzie. Think you might like what you see! :)

02/20/2011:

MacKenzie is one big, lovable cairn boy! He's one of those much-loved dogs who was literally being killed by kindness by his former owner (she was giving him far too much food in a misguided attempt to show her love). We know where she was coming from: She was elderly and frail, unable to walk him or play with him very much. But one thing she could do was pet him and give him food -- and so she did, in great quantities because her love for him was very great.

When his former owner fell and broke her hip recently, MacKenzie entered our program at 34 lbs., which is obese even for a cairn male. He immediately went on a diet and now is down to 30 lbs., thankfully, and still dropping. Our vet's ultimate goal for him is 25 lbs. maximum, so he's well on his way toward that weight target.

This guy is a very cute, very loveable, people-focused cairn. He was raised from a pup by his former owner as her only dog, so he's not very good at "dog-speak" yet...but he's working on it. Here at his foster home, he's been playing with an older cairn female. He is shy with her sometimes, othertimes quite mischievous. He also likes to play with toys and is expert at de-stuffing the soft ones.

Medically speaking, "Big Mac" is 6 years old. He's neutered and up-to-date on his shots. Lucky for him, he tested heartworm negative...and we intend to keep it that way by giving him monthly heartworm meds. He's also on flea preventative monthly and he's been dewormed recently. His coat is a beautiful cream color.

In our short experience of him, MacKenzie seems very sweet and mild-mannered. He walks well on lead and enjoys his daily walks. At first, he couldn't run much at all. But now he runs with joyous abandon on his playtimes in the yard. He hasn't had a potty accident yet here...he seems to understand our schedule. We take all of our fosters outside every few hours to be sure that they know where we want them to potty. And if we have to leave, we crate all of them to avoid problems. MacKenzie keeps his crate clean while we're gone and also during the night.

Does "Big Mac" sound like the boy for you ??? He would very much like to find his very own "Forever Family" to love! If you'd like to apply for the pleasure of his company, please go to www.camplonestarrescue.org and click on his name to access his application form. Thank you for helping cairn rescue. :)