"Best Little Pal in the World": How Big is Too Big?

[Guest]

[Dan]

So, is my 31 pound male not a Cairn?

[Posey]

This is just my opinion but show quality and pet quality are two-different things. Our Nicky's tail is longer then standard, is ears are set closer together. Muzzle may be a bit longer, these less than perfect qualities would keep him out of show dog quality. Butr he is a registered Cairn Terrier. He has every habit and trait, good and not so good of a Cairn Terrier. His weight is 19 lbs. To us he is the best Cairn there could ever be. So love your little Cairn and yes, he is a Cairn, may be like Nick like not show quality. But is he not the "best little buddy in the world?"

Posey

[Guest]

The August 2003 edition of Cairn Capers contains the outline seen above with a few additions and corrections.

For example, the outline published in August includes the CTCA 2003 Letter to AKC-approved Cairn Judges as well as the following words of John Marvin:

1975:

John T. Marvin quotes the US Standard (Italics) and adds his interpretation (Roman):

[Guest]

Beynon, L. W. H. & Fisher, Alex. (1963). The Popular Cairn Terrier. Chapter 12: Points and Character, pp. 118

[Guest]

1995:

According to popular belief, the Cairn Terrier is the oldest of the short-legged terriers and the foundation for other breeds such as the Scottish Terrier and the West Highland White Terrier. Of course, Scottie and Westie people might disagree.

What is known is that for centuries a hardy, short-legged dog was bred by gamekeepers and crofters in the northern reaches of Scotland. This little dog was of no distinct breed. Some had prick ears, some ears were dropped. Most had harsh, weather-resistant coats. They were small, hard-working dogs who earned their living by hunting everything from rats to badgers. They were not bred for looks but for gameness in going to ground. A dog who would not go into a tunnel in the earth or a rocky cairn after vermin twice his size was not worthy. It is said that many of these little "earthdogs" were without the tips of their noses, a disfigurement caused by underground encounters from which they emerged victorious but scarred. This was considered a badge of honor. However, it also led to a common misconception that Cairns were bred to go to ground and kill their prey when in fact it was more desirable for them to bolt the vermin for huntsman to destroy.

Christine Carter. The Cairn Terrier: History, Training, Selection, Care & Breeding. T. F. H. Publications, Inc.: Neptune, NJ.

[Guest]

November 1958 AKC Gazette Cairn Breed Column by Miss Lydia S. Coleman

Republished with the kind permission of the author.

With each passing month I am convinced that the Cairn breeders are a wonderful group of people, enthusiastic and helpful. Since I became writer of this column, not one month has passed that I haven't received a note or letter from at least one Cairn fancier. All of the information you send me is certainly appreciated because it can be used in the column or because it tells me you are enjoying the columns. Thank you and please keep the news coming!

First on the agenda this month is an exciting bit of publicity for our breed sent to me by Peggy Dowe. An article in the English magazine, Dog World, tells of Walt Disney's plan to make a movie based on the book, Greyfriars' Bobby. This book tells of a dog which stayed with his master after the man's death and followed his body to the grave in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bobby kept watch over his master's tombstone for 14 years (1858-1872). Until recently it was thought that Bobby was a Skye Terrier; however, when John Holmes was appointed by Disney to procure, train and handle dogs to play Bobby from puppy hood to old age, he discovered that Bobby more nearly resembled a Cairn. In this movie we will be able to see a Cairn which kills rats, chases cats, and loves to swim. personally, I can't wait to see Greyfriars' Bobby. Do you recall the Cairn with the kosher appetite in "Pal Joey" and the heroic one in "The Wizard of Oz"?

Carl Brewer very thoughtfully accepted my open invitation to express your opinions on the controversial subject of weight brought up in Kathryn Glick's article and has written:

"The question of weights and sizes has been very controversial over the years and will continue to be. Everything else being equal, I feel sure that dogs and bitches of the correct weight and size will win more often than those of unorthodox weights, regardless of the region. If this theory is not true, we should seriously consider furnishing the judges we select a copy of our Standard to refresh their memories. This subject is fully and carefully dealt with in Article 11 of our Standard which follows very closely the English Cairn Standard."

Mr. Brewer has made a constructive suggestion and I would like to add to it. The majority of Cairn judges are people who have not bred or owned a Cairn or measured one. Therefore, they may have become used to seeing Cairns in their own particular area which may be too small, too large, or of the correct size. Let us suppose that one particular judge has his eye adjusted to oversize Cairns, and a dog of the right size -- according to the Standard -- enters the ring. He will probably put the dog down and tell the owner he did so because the dog is too small. An incident of this sort happened recently when a judge did not put up a well known dog because "it was too small." The amusing part of the story is that this particular dog has been criticized by other judges for being "a little bigger than I like. It is all right in a breed such as Poodles to have a size preference because their Standard allows for a leeway of several inches in each variety. But in a breed which has a specific limit on size and weight the dog of correct size must win [italics in the original]. Otherwise, why adhere to the Standard? The real responsibility for correct size lies with the breeders for they should breed and show dogs of the right size. Then each judge will have his eye re-educated [sic] and know what size a Cairn is meant to be.

- Miss Lydia S. Coleman, Box 81, Connecticut College, New London, Conn.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 1959.

Miss Lydia S. Coleman. AKC Gazette Cairn Breed Column p. 27.

Republished with the kind permission of the author.

Cairn Terriers

Cairn Terrier Club of America

One often hears a particular Cairn referred to as a

[Guest]

American Kennel Gazette May 1972

Cairn Terriers

Cairn Terrier Club of America

The following comments by Mr. A.K.M. Meiklejohn of Cornton Cairns, in England are quite interesting with respect to the question of the progress the breed has made. He writes,

[Guest Sean Albert]

Excerpt from the September 1965 AKC Gazette Cairn Breed Column, p. 67 - 68, written by Girard A. Jacobi

"How short is short? Our Standard describes the Cairn as a member of the short-legged class [italics in the original] of terriers. To me this does not mean that a Cairn's legs should be short in proportion to his body length, especially with the explicit wording of paragraph 8 of the Standard that there be a medium [italics in the original] length of leg and the wording of paragraph 1 and 7 that the Cairn should be 'strongly but not heavily built' and that the body should give 'an impression of strength and activity without heaviness'. A Cairn with a too-short length of leg in proportion to his body length will look heavily built and not active if he has the well-muscled, strong body with well-sprung, deep ribs called for in paragraph 7 of the Standard. In addition, remember that Cairns were meant to be able to hunt and navigate freely in rocky terrain and this is not easy for a dog with very short legs.

Terriers can be roughly divided into long-legged and short-legged classes. The Cairn being one of the smallest of the terriers and longer than he is tall, rather than square and cobby, logically fits into the short-legged classification. We certainly don't want him as high on the leg proportionately as a Fox Terrier, but neither do we want him as low as his cousins the Skye and the Scottie. To say he is a member of the short-legged class of terriers is quite different from saying he should have short legs!" Column Continues

[spa]

1984:

Tom Horner, in his 1984 book on Terriers footnote 1 , describes Westie type as being ". . . neither as low-to-the ground and stocky as the Scottish Terrier, nor so lithe and wiry as the Cairn. He is strongly built with well-boned straight legs of medium length which are placed under the body, so that though he is not a tall dog he is still upstanding. . ." footnote 2

1 Tom Horner, Terriers of the World: Their History and Characteristics (London; Boston: Faber & Faber, 1984), .

2 Joan Garber

[spa]

The article that appears on the CTCA Cairn Talk Forum has been revised and expanded.

The article first published by the Housatonic Cairn Terrier Club in two parts. The original article, Part I and Part II, may be found in Cairn Capers, both on-line and in print, using the following citations:

PDF/Adobe Acrobat Reader Version of HCTC Newsletter: "Part I: The Best Little Pal in the World: How Big Is Too Big?" Cairn Capers Vol. XXVIII Issue 4 (May 15, 2003): 1 & 4.

Please see:

http://www.thehctc.org/Capers.htm for details.

PDF/Adobe Acrobat Reader Version of HCTC Newsletter: Cairn Capers "Part II: The Best Little Pal in the World: How Big Is Too Big?" Cairn Capers Vol. XXIX Issue 1 (August 15, 2003): 4, 6-8.

Please see:

http://www.cairnterrier.org/affiliates/files/2003_08.pdf

An up-to-date version of the article, with pictures added, is available through the CairnTerrierHistory Yahoo!Group.

Please see:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CairnTerrier...20Too%20Big%3F/

Questions, corrections, and comments about this article may be directed to the author via e-mail:

SeanPAlbert@aol.com