Cairn Size

[Guest PADave]

What is the typical size of a mature Cairn Terrier? In all the books I've read females should be around 13-15 pounds, but my ten month old Cairn is now 20 pounds. She's not overweight and I'm unsure if the books reflect the lower scale of the breed.

[bradl]

Holy can of worms, Batman. Oh well, here's my two cents.

Hard to say what is typical these days. Cairns apparently have always come in a range of sizes. In my view a 20-lb female is quite large by any measure. Our male is considered large (obscenely large by some; somewhat largish by others) at 19 lbs. Our girls are indeed mostly 13-15 lbs. One reached 16 lbs. All eat like their goal is 50 lbs.

The 'correct' size of a Cairn is the subject of apparently eternal debate in the Cairn world, from time immemorial to the eventual death of the universe. Both the US and FCI standards emphasize moderation, so clearly they should be neither so small as to appear toy-like, nor so large as to appear heavy or coarse.

What to do with (breeding) Cairns who fall outside the range described by the breed standard, which describes an ideal size, seems to be a religious matter - with the usual accompanying spectrum running from agnostic to zealot.

[Mama Kim]

Piper must be huge, then. She is 21 pounds but not overweight in my estimation. She is definitely longer and taller than our Lucy was and her paws are just tremendous. Is it posssible to have a big-boned Cairn, lol? We call her the Daisy Fuentes of Cairn terriers! She was just at the vet and they were not concerned with her weight at all. She also gets plenty of exercise (we walk several miles a day) and is not really a big eater. Her father was big, though. Her mother not so much.

[CarCarDawn]

Hi! I have a 16 month old male and he weighs in at 16 pounds. This is probably a little light for a male Cairn but Riley was sick most of his puppy life and the fact that he even weighs this much is amazing to me!! He is just perfect!!!

[toomanypaws]

Our 3 yr old female shot up to 20 lbs after she was spayed. By putting her on a light diet and adding more carrot sticks as snacks, she's down to 18 lbs but definitely on the large size for a cairn. My almost 8 mth old female (spayed a mth ago) is 12 lbs. I also have an almost 12 wk old female who is 4 1/2 lbs.

I was told that you tripple the weight at 8 wks or double the weight at 12 wks to find out the adult weight. Has anyone ever heard this before? Brad? I can't find my records on my 3 yr old to see what she weighed to see if that was correct. My 8 mth old weighed 7 lbs at 12 wks so I'm not sure if she'll get bigger.

[bradl]

I'd not heard that toomanypaws. It seems to suggest your little'un will only be 10 lbs ??? I will say that spayed bitches in my limited experience are very 'easy keepers' and put on weight at the whiff of a biscuit. Some vets seem to me to be very tolerant of weight and will declare what I would call overweight Cairns OK. Let's see those waists, and ribs only lightly covered. I should talk

[Mama Kim]

Piper does not appear overweight to me, that's my concern. She has a clearly defined 'waist' area and I can feel her ribs when she's standing. How else can you tell if a dog is overweight? With her activity level and the little food she consumes, I don't know how she really could be overweight. I should really weigh her myself, though, because I'm not sure the vets scale was accurate. She feels more about 18 pounds to me, because my Lucy did weigh 21 pounds due to her Cushing's Disease and she was obviously on the overweight side, yet Piper seems much lighter to me. Lucy, prior to her disease, weighed about 17 pounds.

[bradl]

It sounds like Piper is in fine shape. If she isn't overweight, then there is no concern ... she is what she is! Cairns who are taller and carry a lot of bone are bound to weigh more. Likewise a tall thin weedy Cairn carrying a lot of coat is going to weigh surprisingly less than it looks, and so on.

[Posey]

Nicky gets to heavy, we will let him run in the yard until he runs himself out. Within two days or so he is down and you can see his waist and feel ribs good. But he is larger boned then my daughters Cairn.

Posey

[Mama Kim]

I just always worry, I can't help it. Piper is definitely on the large side for a Cairn but like I said, her father is quite large too. She must take after 'Daddy'. But she does appear trim to me. I wish you could see the size of her paws! We still can't get over it. Lucy had more petite little paws, but Piper definitely has paws made for digging.

[newcairn]

It is my understanding that there are different characteristics in the breed based on country of origin and what they breed for. It is not uncommon for the Danish breed (beautiful dogs) to hit the 20 pound marker. But as it was said earlier, there is much debate on how thick a Cairn should be. The American standard typically does not breed for large size, rather other characteristics. I would say size is not something to worry about as long as the dog is not overweight, and is a well-balanced dog. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones and have some Danish bloodlines in your dog.

[wags]

I think Wes takes after his Mommy. We took a picture of one of his parents when we adopted him. She was teeny tiny.

He is only 12 pounds at 1 1/2 years.

[Guest Sean]

You might be interested in the following link to the a section of the website of the Housatonic Cairn Terrier Club. The link should bring you to the May 2003 issue of the club's newsmagazine. This issue contains a chronology of statements by breeders of the past about the history of the Cairn terrier's size.

Housatonic Cairn Terrier Club

Sincerely,

Sean

PS The chronology may also be found in this forum by using the wizard mentioned in Brad's earlier post in this thread.

[Guest Sean]

You might be interested in the following link to the a section of the website of the Housatonic Cairn Terrier Club.  The link should bring you to the May 2003 issue of the club's newsmagazine.  This issue contains a chronology of statements by breeders of the past about the history of the Cairn terrier's size.

Housatonic Cairn Terrier Club

Sincerely,

Sean

PS The chronology may also be found in this forum by using the wizard mentioned in Brad's earlier post in this thread.

I forgot that the article I referred to was published in 2 parts.

The first part may be found by following this link:Housatonic Cairn Terrier Club

The second part of the article may be found by following this link:CTCA Website

Sean

[Eliz222]

My 2rd old female, Scout, is 15 pounds. The vet said she is at a good weight. I always thought she weighed too much since I read that females are supposed to weigh 13 pounds! My 4 month old female, Finch, weighs 7 pounds already!

[springlady]

My nearly 14 month old male, Drew, is 22 lbs. He is a very light eater and is walked several times a day in an extensive park that he uses to full advantage. He also does the daily ZOOM through the yard more than once daily. He is trim, no belly, and has huge feet. I understood the British variety was larger than the US variety, perhaps there are quite a few throw-backs on our shores. We actually were hoping for something in the 16 lb. vicinity, but we, as all Cairn true believers, think we have the best friend money could ever buy. I think that those of us who have no interest in breeding should only be concerned that our dogs are healthy and active and make a warm companion in the dead of winter and a cheerful host who greets us when we come home. I've got mine.

[Mama Kim]

Hmmmm, makes me feel better about my Piper. As I said, she is a light eater, excercises regularly, and also has huge paws. Her father was quite large so I think she comes by it honestly.

[Milopup]

My 9 1/2 month old male weighs just a smidge over 12 pounds, and the vet doesn't expect him to get that much bigger (maybe one more pound), but I suspect my vet likes very skinny dogs.

[Guest willisa]

My Cairn was overweight at a whopping 25 lbs. He's now down to 22 lbs and looking very svelt. He is taller, longer and has bigger paws than any other Cairn we've met. Don't worry about Piper!

[MikeC]

Duffy is 9 months and weighs in at 12 pounds. I was beginning to think that he may have possibly been the runt in his litter, but it sounds like maybe he just comes from smallish parents, especially since Milopup's male is the same age and weighs the same. I guess I won't worry anymore.

MikeC

[toomanypaws]

MikeC,

Abbey is 9 1/2 mths and has remained 12 lbs since she was 8 mths. I'm guessing she might gain another pound but not sure. I like her size, she's fun to scoop up and hug.

[MikeC]

Thanks Toomanypaws. Since I never saw Duffy's parents, I assumed that he would be in the 15-17 pound adult male range. I have always had the tendency to overfeed/treat my animals because being Italian, that is what we do, we eat, our pets eat. Won't make that mistake with Duffy though. I want him to stay slim and trim.

MikeC

[kayharley]

Referring to the movie The Wizard of Oz....just how did Dorothy pick up Toto so easily....she was a small person to begin with. I was thinking of that the other day when I scooped Madison up for some grooming. Although she's only about 15lbs., I found it difficult to do it in one sweep with one hand. Never mind me trying to stuff her in a bicycle basket!!

[Guest Sean]

The Cairn Terrier Club of America's June 6, 2003 Open Letter to AKC-Approved Cairn Terrier Judges weighs in on this question of Cairn size. This letter states:

"Dear AKC-Approved Cairn Terrier Judges,

"In January of 2003 the Cairn Terrier Club of America asked the Club membership to vote on whether or not they wished to amend and/or update the current Breed Standard. The members voted to retain the current Standard by a substantial margin.

"Many of you are aware that there has been discussion regarding this Standard among breeders and judges. This discussion appears to be centered around the differences between this American Cairn Standard, first approved in 1938 and remaining untouched since that date, and the British Standard., revised in 1982.

The American Cairn breeders are concerned that our AKC judges recognize and reward a Cairn consistent with the American Standard whenever possible. We would ask that each of you address deviations from our Standard in direct proportion to the amount of the deviation.

"The Cairn Terrier is a small, hardy breed whose purpose is to go to ground. The Breed must exhibit the turning ability and agility that he needs for his work. He requires a double coat, a head structure that protects his eyes, thick pads to facilitate his digging skills, a medium length of leg and rectangular proportions to provide flexibility. He should always show with a bold and happy temperament.

"As judges we ask that you continue to choose typey, structurally sound Cairns. In addition we would ask that you reward a good dog of correct proportions over a comparable good dog that substantially exceeds the American Standard.

"Thank you for your interest in our delightful breed. Comments and feedback would be gratefully received by any member of the Judges

[Guest abbycairn]

The only way a breed stays close to the standard is if judges penalize dogs that do not confirm to it. If there really is an issue with a breed then it's time to require a scale and a measuring stick as part of the judge's examination, even if it is only at breed speciality shows.

My first Cairn was about 16 lbs if I recall, fit the standard, was of medium size compared to others being shown and finished her A.K.C. breed championship quickly, and was the product of a U.S. bred bitch and an imported dog from the U.K. Even the U.S bitch had a lot of U.K. cairns in her lineage - as do many U.S. cairns. It is the birthplace of the breed after all. :-)

I have two Cairns now and I live in the U.K. They are related - the sire of my bitch is the grandfather of my dog. My bitch is also about 16 lbs and would fit just fine in the U.S. show ring. My dog is nearly 20 lbs, was doing very well in the show ring, but was retired early due to a little problem with his testicles (once in a while he would pull one up when they were being "counted" by the judge.) He is lean, muscular and the most athletic dog I have ever known. My husband says Rudi (my dog) is like "looking at a Cairn through a magnifying glass." I think he is too big.

U.K. Cairns in the show ring by and large are not much bigger than U.S. cairns. I think attention needs to be given on both sides of the pond to sticking as close to the standard as possible . .. and either one will do.

Stacey