KK: That the breed is short legged, long backed and scruffy. The term used in the standard is, “.. of the short legged class.” This does not mean they have short legs. The stan- dard calls for a medium length of leg. The same for the back. The breed is rectangular in outline, but the length comes from the fore chest and the post sternum. Not a long back. As for the idea that a Cairn should be scruffy, I disagree. Nowhere in the standard is the word scruffy used. The word shaggy is used, but only to describe the eyebrows. A Cairn is to be tied up on ears, tail, feet and general outline and be shown with a full good coat. Like many other parts of the standard, this is open to inter- pretation. But a Cairn should not enter the ring looking like a stuffed toy with every hair in perfect placement, unable to move due to the hairspray or lack of correct hair length. KL: Tail carriage, many judges think Terrier and think the tail should be tipped toward the head at 11 o’clock. A Cairn’s tail carriage is equally acceptable between cairn terrier Q&A
12-2 o’clock. Also with the varying types, some judges are unsure what is right. I encourage them to find the Cairn that most closely matches the American Standard. DM: Some judges do not understand the proper balance and proportion. They should never appear square in outline. RP: Well, they are difficult. The standard and what you will actually see in the ring are not the same. Size is the big problem. The standard in England and other places allows for a larger Cairn than this standard does which is very confusing. This has to be a nightmare for new judges. Having said that, I do see and manage to reward Cairns that are fairly even in size, and going back to my trip to Sweden, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were not too big. Recently the Cairn club did put out a really good illustrated booklet which should be very help- ful to aspiring judges. JV: Cairns are not statues—instead they are inquisitive and interested dogs—they should not stand at attention like they are made of stone and judges should not be looking
“A CAIRN IS TO BE
TIED UP ON EARS, TAIL,
FEET AND GENERAL OUTLINE AND BE SHOWN WITH A FULL GOOD COAT.”
184 • S how S ight M agazine , J anuary 2017
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