Lifespan?

[wellygoggles]

I've recently taken on a 12.5 yo male Cairn and was told by a former Cairn breeder that she once had a bitch who lived until 24yo!  I find this hard to believe but would welcome comments

[tlwtheq]

Wellygoggles!  So good to hear from you!  I thought that since you had started a forum in

New Zealand we'd never hear from you again!  About the lifespan, it sounds plausible tho'

not typical by any means.  My first Cairn, Holdsworth, lived until 18 with minimal health care.

I always attributed that to him being a generally happy-natured guy.

Under certain circumstances, I don't see why a Cairn couldn't go on longer.

 

Gosh it's good to hear from you!

 

Tara

 

P.S. - love the veni, vidi, velcro...I'll have to pass that one on.

Edited May 8, 2014 by tlwtheq

[Idaho Cairns]

Our first Cairn (a rescue) was sixteen when she passed.

[bradl]

I'd put 24 in the "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof" category. Not saying it couldn't happen, but seems a stretch to me. I met a JRT mix once who made it to 21, but that's the limit of my personal experience. 

 

I've seen Cairn folks celebrate a rare 18th birthday.  Haggis made it three weeks shy of 17.   My personal longevity calculus seems to fall along these lines:

• < 12 is taken too early
• 12 and up and I mentally prepare myself for anything, but still expect many more years
• 14 and up I start preparing myself in earnest because I've always heard that 14 was "average" lifespan, and I know a goodly number of Cairns who clustered around this average
• 16 and I am grateful and loving every moment of every day and pray nature has gifts yet to bestow, but steel myself for the inevitable

That's just my perspective and it sort of varies by the individual dog of course. Your mileage may vary. No matter what, they can't live as long as I'd prefer.

[pkcrossley]

i'd say you've got a some solid time to look forward to with your new friend (some day i would like to do what you have done). my first cairn lived to be only just 12 twelve, but teddy is chugging right along at 5 and counting. but my previous dogs, both cairn-sized, lived to be 18 and 17. i like brad's comments. a healthy, happy dog's lifespan is impossible to predict; a 15 year old may have substantial good quality time ahead. they are all a hundred percent alive till their last day. bless  you, and enjoy!

[Hillscreek]

Every day is a gift no matter what the age.

[Sam I Am]

A year in a dogs life is forever to them . My Jock lived for 12.5 yrs and as much as I would have loved another 2-3 yrs it's wasn't to be. But I feel blessed that for those 12.5 yrs I had the company of the most amazing Cairn. Don't count the years but the days. and make every day a gift from the best pal you will ever have.

[wellygoggles]

9yo Fergus, red brindle, and 12.5yo Bailey, wheaten

[Lynn in TN]

Perfect Beauty!

[bradl]

Aw thanks for sharing the photo. Bailey looks quite the charmer! (Not that Fergus isn't )

[pkcrossley]

handsome guy! i can see how you could not resist that face. he looks so happy and peaceful. 

[Hillscreek]

What a great pair they make.

[sanford]

Bless you for adopting a 12.5 year old!

 

I adopted Carrington when he was 10. He lived to 16.5 years and was full of fun and energy until after his 15th year when his age eventually caught up with him. Having adopted a senior dog, I knew that every day was precious and for all the loving care I lavished on Carrington, his presence in my life was repayment many times over!

 

Wishing you love and much happiness with Bailey, (and Fergus as well)!

[LindaMC]

Awe, great pictures of your two boys, both of them are handsome devils!   Best to you for adopting a senior.  Maisie is my first Cairn so have no advice on their lifespan.....my two previous dogs were both Labs who both lived just shy of 13 years.  Maisie is a 1.5 years old, so I'm still dealing with a puppy here...

[kieiras mom]

Lovely dogs. Hope you have many more years with the both of them. No knowledge of lifespan with cairns as Keira is my first. My beagel lived to 13, still to short a time with loved pets.

[pkcrossley]

i love sanford's comments. he has spoken so often of carrington i thought he must have had him from a pup! it isn't the quantity of time but the quality. that bailey looks like he just full of quality. 

[montdoug]

Strange coincidence that this thread is posted right now as we've been dealing with the rediculously early loss of Merlin the cat who was Gus' best pal, he was just 9. Gus was 8 just yesterday on the 18th    and I have to admit to being most concerned about him as you can see the gray in his coat and sense his maturity showing even though he still all dog and full of excitement about life. As my wife said yesterday when we were once again talking about Merlin and I expressed my fear of our other pets aging, "We just have to love them every minute that they are with us", Gus is truly this mans best friend (next to my ever so wise and loving bride of course).

Here's wishing all of you an extaordinary amount of time to share with your pets.

Edited May 19, 2014 by montdoug

[Sam I Am]

The scary part is as they are aging so are we. When I got Jock as a pup I didn't have grey hair at all ! He was pretty grey when he passed away ...I look in the mirror 12.5 yrs later ...mmmmmmmm.

[tlwtheq]

The scary part is as they are aging so are we. When I got Jock as a pup I didn't have grey hair at all ! He was pretty grey when he passed away ...I look in the mirror 12.5 yrs later ...mmmmmmmm.

You got that right!

[Crazy4Cairns]

They really can live a long time.  Our first two Cairns both lived to 18.  They were only a couple year apart in age - so yes we had couple of  years of  not moving furniture etc  because one or the other's eyesight was failing.  And as they aged they became particularly attached to their cold weather sweatshirts.  They have been gone for over 20 years now and I still miss them! (Photo attached of them helping wrap xmas presents). Because our first two Cairns lived so long, my family (my parents and siblings who also have cairns) - have designated each other as guardians for each of our cairn children just in case our individual cairns out live us - this way they will always be with a member of family.     

[_whits_]

 Because our first two Cairns lived so long, my family (my parents and siblings who also have cairns) - have designated each other as guardians for each of our cairn children just in case our individual cairns out live us - this way they will always be with a member of family.     

That's so very good of you to have a plan for what would happen to your Cairns if you were gone. The rescue I adopted Addie from rescues most of their Cairns from two situations 1) puppy mills and 2) deceased owners who didn't expect their Cairns to outlive them, or expected family to take them in who didn't follow through.