The Cairn terrier breed club under NCC
| Cairn Terriers originated
on the Isle of Skye, and in the Scottish Highlands. A
fifteenth century writer, John Leslie wrote of the small
breed of terrier. They were bred to catch rodents and other small animals in the stone cairns. (The stones were originally used to mark Roman burial grounds.) Separate strains of the terrier became the Scottie and the West Highland White. The cairn was named in 1910, previously know as the short haired Skye terrier. The oldest known kennel to breed cairns was at Dunvegan Castle. Like all terriers,they live for a relatively long time (late teens), are playful and have lots of energy. They can be any brindle shade (but never white). General apperance- strong and compact, 25 cm high, weight arround 10kg They make good family dogs and get on fine with children. They do need company and should not be left alone all day. Eight hours is just about the limit. Cairn Terriers can be quite vocal - they will talk and grumble and bark as well. Cairns are very territorial. This is good for security purposes. They are easy to keep tidy and loose very little hair. |