THE CAIRN TERRIER Breed History & Characteristics
By Tom Godwin
A breed of playful, ener- getic and courageous small terriers has been known for the past one hundred years as the Cairn. First exhibited by Mrs. Alistair Campbell in England in 1909 as a “short haired or prick-eared Skye Terrier,” her assertion that the breed was of the old small working terrier dog from the Isle of Skye. Following much deliberation and protest from the Skye Terrier Club, the breed would soon receive its o ffi cial designation as Cairn Terrier, a name rep- resentative of terrain, one was likely to find this small dog scampering about in the north of Britain. By 1913 the first Cairn Terrier Champions were recorded in Brit- ain. Th e year 1913 also saw America’s first Cairn registered with AKC. At years end in 1917, the Cairn Terrier Club of America was accepted into the ranks of AKC mem- ber clubs and the following year recorded America’s first champion of record for the breed. Breed origin and early history discus- sions invariably point to today’s Cairn descending from stock that can claim to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of
“BY 1913 THE FIRST CAIRN TERRIER CHAMPIONS WERE RECORDED IN BRITAIN. The year 1913 also saw America’s first Cairn registered with AKC.”
the pure British Terriers. Whether from the Isle of Skye, or the mainland of Scot- land, it is clear from writings and sketches that Cairn type terriers were earning their keep bolting game and ridding the croft- ers premises of nuisance vermin in records reaching well back to the sixteen hundreds. By the late teens of the last century, practice of interbreeding between Cairns and the close cousins, West Highland White Ter- riers, was disallowed by the Kennel Club in America, Britain would follow with a similar ruling a few years later. While the Westie evolved to an animal a bit taller at the withers and generally shorter backed, the Cairn maintained a moderate “not to short or too long” approach to both back
and leg length. Equally pursued by early fanciers/breeders was the e ff ort to avoid any characteristic appearance that leaned toward the longer muzzled and more sub- stantial Scottish Terrier. Examining pictures from the first fifty years of Cairn Terriers as a recognized breed and comparing to dogs of today, it is curious to note that the fancy has done well in preserving one of the original tenets of the breed club, “to promote the breeding of the old Working Terrier of the Highlands.” While many a coated breed has seen fash- ion dictate the presentation of its show dogs Cairn Terriers have stayed, to a much greater extent than some other breeds, unchanged through the decades. Helping
“WHETHER FROM THE ISLE OF SKYE, OR THE MAINLAND OF SCOTLAND,
it is clear from writings and sketches that Cairn type terriers were earning their keep bolting game and ridding the crofters premises of nuisance vermin in records reaching well back to the sixteen hundreds.”
210 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , A UGUST 2014
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