Is she a cairn or a mix?

[justeventit]

Hi there! I'm new here and I have a rescue "cairn" that I ended up with. She is the love of my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world but I am curious if she is actually a cairn. I was told by the guy who gave her to me that both of her parents were in fact purebred cairns but she has a longer coat and her tail drastically curls over her back. I have a few pictures of her and I figured what better way to get my questions answered then by people who know cairns!

Sorry that these aren't the best pictures but they are the best I could do. Most of the pictures I have are of her misbehaving or her quirky habits.

Thanks a bunch!

[Newman]

The 3d pic makes me fee like it's almost a purebred but I Am not sure to be honest. Very beautiful colors... my goodness

[justeventit]

Thank you! The thing that really throws me off is that tail of her's. I've never seen a cairn with a tail that drastically curled over the back.

I forgot to add, her tail has long hair on it as well. That picture where you can see her tail was from when she was younger. It was the only picture I had with her tail in it.

[Autumn & Lola]

She is absolutely adorable, and her first pic really does look like a Cairn. She could very well be a purebred, just not a show dog. The breed standard for tails is a fairly straight up, carrot shape. From the American Kennel Club website:

<<Tail

In proportion to head, well furnished with hair but not feathery. Carried gaily but must not curl over back. Set on at back level.>>

The fact that her tail curves over does not disqualify her from being a Cairn. It just means that this would be a "fault" in the ring. (But certainly not as a beautiful, loving pet!

(I hope I explained this correctly. )

[Hillscreek]

She sure does look like a cairn to me!

[pindrop]

and me....she is adorable!

[Lynn in TN]

She is a beautiful Cairn! Her fur is the right length for a Cairn in full coat, and there are several cairns on this forum that their tail curls over their back. My Cairn Kelly's tail is straight but a little longer than it should be. It doesn't mean she isn't a Cairn it just means she might not qualify in the show ring, as Autumn&Molly said. Very few dogs are perfect (like humans).

As far as misbehaving and quirky habits I would love to see those photos as they are always my favorite. haha.

She looks full Cairn to me.

Welcome to the forum!

[Zekey's Mom]

Nessie looks to be 100% sweetie pie! Very cute, especially her puppy pic. I agree with others, she probably is all Cairn, but perhaps with a "faulty" tail. Zekey's does that, but then he IS a mix.

[justeventit]

Thanks everyone! I wasn't really sure. I've only ever met three other cairns so I haven't had much experience with them but I must say, I am IN LOVE with this dog. She is currently in a bratty stage but we're working through that. I actually just came in where we have made her a digging pool. HAHA we took the kiddy pool that was in the picture up top and put dirt in it and boy, was that heaven for her! She even had our chessie involved. I have a video that I may just have to upload.

Anyway, thanks again guys!

[Hillscreek]

She is currently in a bratty stage

Must be a cairn if in a bratty stage! Great idea to make the 'digging pool'

[hheldorfer]

She's beautiful and sure looks like a Cairn to me. Buffy sometimes carries her tail curled up like that, too.

[Hawkeye]

I agree with the others, looks like a cairn to me and sounds like she's acting like one too. She is beautiful.

[cairnfan]

She looks like a cairn to me. Bear's tail was crooked when he was a puppy. It was almost like a kink in his tail. Now that he is an adult the kink is gone and his tail does have a little curl to it.

[pkcrossley]

she looks overwhelmingly cairny to me. i understand what you mean about the tail. looks like a husky tail. part cairn, part husky? my cairn redmon has a slightly long tail with a curve in it, but he is all cairn. it can happen.

[Idaho Cairns]

I agree with all of the above--a lot of Cairns seem to have that longer "banana tail" but all the rest of that pretty pup looks Cairn to me. Enjoy.

[kieiras mom]

Welcome,glad you found the forum. She sure looks like pure cairn. She will love her digging pool. Enjoy her as they tend to grow up fast

[tlwtheq]

Welcome to Cairndom. Your new baby girl is adorable! (Brattiness (sp?) and all!)

[sanford]

Definitely a cairn... and very pretty as well. As Idaho says, the straight, carrot shaped tail is considered the breed standard, but I've seen some banana shaped tails curl over the back just as much as your little one's does. In fact there was a good discussion here recently re our cairns' tails... both banana & carrot shaped, and all of them were cairns, so you are hardly alone!

I don't understand what pkcrossley means by a "husky tail." I don't see any husky in your cairn. (pk... You are kidding, right? ). If the hair on the tail is long, that's no different from all cairns... The hair on a cairn's tail, as well as the rest of the body will keep on growing unless the tail is neatened up by clipping or stripping it to the proper (shorter) length.

[jo_]

I'm no expert and have only been in the 'cairn world' a couple of years but she looks like a cairn to me. Jagger and Eddie are both purebreds and have very different tails. Jags often holds hers curled over her back similar to your girl.

[justeventit]

Thanks everyone! I was mostly wondering because I want to get her listed with the AKC through PAL. I want to do earth dog with her eventually and I really didn't want to waste the money if she didn't look cairn so I was a little paranoid.