Cairn Size

[Guest Sean]

CTCA Newsletter Summer 1998

A friend recently lent me a stack of old issues of The Cairn Terrier Club of America Newsletter from the late 1990s. An article in the Elements of Education column written by Lydia Hutchinson and published in the summer of 1998 (Volume XXIII, Issue 2, page 35 to be precise) deserves to be republished IMHO. It addresses several points in the standards debate from an interesting perspective.

Sean

[Guest Sean]

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

Cairn size ought to have been explained in the recent CTCC proposed changes to the CKC Cairn terrier breed standard. A strikethrough version of a breed standard is required by the CKC Policy and Procedures Manual under Procedure RG002--Proposed Changes To A Breed Standard; Section 3 . The last sentence of paragraph 3 states:

"It shall be set out section by section with an explanation for each amendment." [N.B. 'It' refers to the required strikethrough version of a breed standard indicating proposed changes.]

I wonder if the CKC followed its own procedures and required the CTCC to "set out" a "section by section explanation of each amendment"? If so, it would be good for Cairnites to see this explanation, particularly the explanation of heading 4, labeled "size," of the "strikethrough version" of the CTCC's proposed changes to the CKC Cairn terrier breed standard.

One wonders how the explanation of the amendment of the CKC Cairn breed standard concerning size would withstand Lydia Hutchinson's assessment of the issue in 1998. Mrs. Hutchinson stated:

". . . I always like to point out that the American and Canadian standards are much closer to the original British standard on the subject of size. Cairns are always meant to be terriers of the short-legged class, and anything that approaches the size and shape of Boarders is incorrect." Lydia Hutchinson's Elements of Education Column Summer 1998 CTCA Newsletter.

Perhaps a Cairnite from Canada can share the section by section explanation.

Sincerely,

Sean