How Big is Your Cairn?

[kjwarnold]

The breed standard for Cairns says:

"Involves the weight, the height at the withers and the length of body. Weight for bitches, thirteen pounds; for dogs, fourteen pounds. Height at the withers, bitches nine and a half inches; dogs, ten inches. Length of body from fourteen and a quarter to fifteen inches from the front of the chest to back of hindquarters."

I've hardly ever seen a Cairn this size, most are bigger and some much bigger! Packy weighs in at 17 lbs. and he's not fat at all -- it's all muscle there. We always thought our first Cairn, Willie, was small at 14 1/2 lbs. Do they weigh the dogs at shows to make sure they are exactly the breed standard weight?

[Abby's Dad]

Abby is 15# and an off duty conformation judge told me that she was on the small side - go figure

[savannahsmom35]

Savannah is 16.2 pounds and the vet said she is perfect for her size. I think she is short and long according to the standard. I will measure when I get home. I measured before but I forgot what the measurements were.

[Marmielin]

Tink was 11.5 lbs when she went to the vet and he said she was fine. But, we all thought she was too thin and looked skinny. I've been feeding her more, and she now weighs 13 lbs. I'm not sure about her other measurements, but think I'll measure her tonight.

LindaB

[tena]

Sophie is still lighter than the standard at 11.5 pounds and she's of standard height and length. It was part of the way the vet identified her as a Cairn.

Yet, the dogs on this forum seem so much bigger than she is. I have always felt a bit embarrased by her small size compared to other dogs. She looks very fit and trim...she's just small, or actually standard.

[wheezie23]

Tucker and Scruffy are both weighing in at 19 lbs, and neither one of them are overweight. Tucker is definitely too long in body, so he appears to be thinner. Scruffy is as solid as a rock, and a nice even size all the way down his torso. I thought they were overweight, but the vet says they're fine. I've run into other cairn owners who look at my monsters and say, "what do you feed those two?!"

Thela

[kareyt]

Hello! I am new around here and new to the breed. our little miss Emerald is still a pup.

When I was doing research and speaking with other CTCA members I was told the European Cairns are bigger than the American. This may account for the size differences.

[Tracy A.]

My boys come in at 17 & 18 pounds....

[toomanypaws]

The last time I weighed them, Kiara was 20 lbs, Abbey 15 lbs, and Hannah 13 lbs.

[Guest posting as: Hagar]

When Renny was neutered at six and a half months, he weighed 11.3 pounds. The vet says he will probably not get much bigger, but will likely "Bulk up" some more and his weight should top out at 14-15 pounds. Hagar.

[myhoneymoonbaby]

Vinny Goombots weighs in at a tremendous 12 pounds! Although, his Napolean Complex puts him at about 100lbs!

[savannahsmom35]

I tried to measure Savannah last night and I am not sure if I did it wrong or what but I got that she is 14 1/2 inches long and 11 inches tall!!! I am not exactly sure that I measured her height right.

[Eliz222]

I have tried to look up how exactly to measure my dogs, but I must be having a blonde "momment", because I can't figure out how to measure! I "think" the withers is between the shoulder blades?? How do you measure from the middle of the chest to their hind quarters? Do you take the measuring tape and go under?? Please don't laugh.....but I do better with visuals.

[kjwarnold]

Hey, Shoe -- that's why I didn't figure out the length and height measurement for Packy -- I didn't quite know where to start and stop! I have a feeling that he's a little longer than the standard, but like you, I wasn't sure how to run the tape measure.

[brin145]

Measure her at the withers (shoulder) to the floor. Mine are obviously all "pet quality", especially Kiara and Abbey, but the standard calls for body length to be from 14" to 15" from the front of the chest to the back of the hindquaters. An easier way to check for proper back length in proportion to height (which according to the standard should be 10" for males and 9 1/2" for females) is to measure the dog w/ either your eye or a ruler from floor to withers and from withers to tail set. These measurements should be equal. You will find that a dog standing 10" at the withers should measure 10" from withers to tail set, provided the tail is set correctly. Females are generally slightly longer than males.

This information was taken out of "The Cairn Terrier", by Christine Carter.

Too Many Paws posted this earlier in the year. So I would say the tape goes over.

[Eliz222]

OK, call me crazy, but I took a picture I had of Finch and pasted some arrows on her body. Would you please tell me which ones I use to measure?

THis one is for the length. Do I use A or B? Or something else?

Do I use A or B to measure how tall she is?

The line from the top is in the middle of the shoulder.

Thanks for your help.

[kjwarnold]

Okay, according to that, Packy is really long! He's 14 1/2" when I measure from withers to tail set. I used up in between his shoulders for the start. He's 14" tall, from the same point to the floor.

Nice "stay" pose from Finch!

[toomanypaws]

Shoe, I believe you measure both height and length from the withers which would be "A".

[MarkN]

My Charlie, a 1-1/2 yr old male is a lean and mean 18 pounds. His parents are Swedish which would explain why he is more like the FCI std rather than the smaller AKC standard.

Mark N

[Eliz222]

I hope I'm not driving anyone crazy....one more question......do I measure from the wither to the beginning of her tail or do I measure further down at the hip? I'm talking about the first picture.

[Eliz222]

OK, I don't really know what I am doing, but my dogs seem very long! If I measure from the middle of their shoulders to the beginning of their tail....I have very long dogs! Scout is about 12 inches tall and almost 15 inches long and Finch is 11 inches tall and 13 inches long...give or take a few inches....lol!

[toomanypaws]

That sounds about right. Both Kiara and Abbey are a bit long at 15 1/2" & 15".

[bradl]

I believe the length is technically "B" measured from the prosternum (the bony projection at the front of the chest) to the rearmost projection of the rump (what I've heard called "the sit bone"). The shorter measurement from the withers to tailset is a convenience, and hopes to relate in a linear way to what you'd find from the harder-to-measure full-length measurement. That linear approximation doesn't take into account variations of shoulder and rear angulation, though.

[toomanypaws]

Now I'm embarrassed. When in doubt, we should call on Brad. I guess I must have been thinking the easy way to check for proper length in proportion to height is to measure from withers to tail set. Those measurements (height and length) should be equal, which with my three they are not.

Looking back at my records, my three were measured from the chest to rear, which would be "B". Sorry for the confusion.

[bradl]

For the record, our gang, from small to tall:

Stella, aged 2 years - 10 inches, 12 lbs 12 oz

Barley, aged 11 years - 10.75 inches, 12 lbs 3 oz

Echo, aged 4 years - 11.75 inches, 15 lbs 11 oz

Haggis, aged 10 years - 12.25 inches, 17 lbs, 5 oz

Haggis was actually 16.5 lbs this week - these measurements were from last Labor Day.

For a 'weights and measures' clinic at a fun day last year, I made up the attached card. It's meant to be printed on a postcard. At the clinic, a very experienced breeder used a good wicket and a high-quality baby balance to take the height and weight. We didn't do the length because it's a Darned Difficult measurement to take in a consistent, accurate, and repeatable way. I have an idea involving lasers ...

height_card.pdf