How often do you hear this?

[Hagar]

As Cairn Companions ( They are kind of like a cat, and are not OWNED by anyone ), how often do you hear something like this?

Your Cairn is not being "Bad", but just his energetic self. A person nearby will say something like; "What do you expect? He IS a Terrier after all". or "Yup, He's ALL Terrier?

Hagar.

[goforette]

I have lots of people that tell me "oh you got terriers..." like I have chosen a reject breed or something - they're all into their big labs and puggles and "dog of the moment" - they look at me with zero sympathy like I decided to punish myself - let me tell you even in my worst puppy moment with them both ganging up on me - it's nothing compared to the damage that some of their retreiver pups are doing to their homes - I'd take a little terrier anyday.... we have tiny damage - they have BIG damage....

[Barney's Mom]

I look at it this way: You have to be pretty intelligent yourself to willingly own the most intelligent breed on earth!

[MikeC]

AMEN TO THAT!

[goforette]

I look at it this way: You have to be pretty intelligent yourself to willingly own the most intelligent breed on earth!

Perfectly stated Cairns Rule!

[kcsdogs]

I hear this all the time! Most recently from a Cairn Rescue organization!!! I just say hey look these are wonderful little dogs and their "terrierness" is one of the things most facinating and endearing about them, I count my self luck to be one of the few people who thrives on this temperment.

[Hagar]

If I knew then what I know now, when I picked Renny, I may have looked for slightly less energetic breed. Even researching different breeds didn't really prepare me for a Terrier's temperment. I didn't realize that a "Terrier" is a whole 'nother kind of dog. They are a bundle of energy, sometimes curious and aloof like a cat, yet alert and protective of their people and territory. and a total clown with their entertaining antics.

Now that he lives with me, would I change anything about him? Absolutely not. I have laughed longer, harder, and more often since he moved in than I have in years. My neighbor who has two "Doxies" constantly mentions how smart Renny is. Awhile back, he was running "hot laps" in the backyard and the neighbor after watching him for a bit, summed it up this way, she said "He absolutely loves life". She'll get no argument from me on that one.

I saw my Doctor a few weeks ago and he is really happy with the amount of exercise I'm getting. I told him that if he had told me a year ago that I'd be walking a dog nearly an hour and a half a day, I'd have told him he was totally nuts!

So, when someone makes a crack about Terriers, I just nod and figure they don't know what a real terrier ( Cairn of course ) is all about.

Hagar

[Eliz222]

I think the fact that most people who own a Cairn, will ALWAYS own a Cairn, speaks for itself!

[mollysmom1]

Having had a min schnauzer who was horribly aggressive towards anyone/anything he didn't know, I will take a cairn anyday! Miss Molly is so friendly and approachable-we call her the "princess" of the neighborhood, as everyone stops what they're doing when we come by on our walks. Several neighbors run in and get her cookies, and everyone has to belly rub her-her favorite thing in the whole wide world. But she is very independent and stubborn, but also very funny. She will run in circles and do cartwheels when she's worked herself up to a fever pitch. I don't know how she can keep this up for so long. People say that terriers are incredibly smart, and judging from the 2 I've had I have to agree. Sometimes I think they're smarter than we are (or maybe it's that they have our number ?). But I have a feeling that this may be my "forever" breed, as I love this little girl.

[SARpartner]

I usually get comments like "Do you really work that little lap dog?" or "Is he the team mascott?". Of course I really enjoy when we do demos because once people see him work they finally give the breed the respect it deserves.

Besides my Cairn and I are a lot alike, short, redheaded with an alpha attitude. But of course, I hold the Alpha B**ch title around my den.

[eastofeden]

I have to add to this topic.

New session of obedience started last night and since we are advancing we are now at a new dog training club location. The trainer of this session is one I have worked with in the past with my Dalmatians. She is an excellent dog trainer, but a bit cold and lacking in terms of interpersonal skills. She absolutely never gushes over dogs or owners in her class. She has Goldens, Shetlands, and German Shepards. Is titled in agility, rally, and obedience. Very focused on her dogs.

Becuase it was a new location and new dogs, Izzie immediatly went into Terrier mode and was barking and trying to spar with the Rotti & Mastiff in our class (No one told her that she is snack size for them). Our trainer turns and explains to the rest of the class that she is doing what terriers are bred to do, that they are independant and hardy dogs. I got Izzie settled. And we proceeded with the rest of the class.

Afterwards, the trainer comes up to me and says that Izzie is an "Such adorable dog and is so cute. If I ever were to get a terrier this is the kind I would get. She is so smart and is very responsive." I was floored. I had to call my sister who did not believe me when I told her what this trainer had said as it was so out of charactor for her.

[Lisad]

Yes, I know what you all mean. An older neighbor of mine tells me that my dog is nothing like her son's dog. I think people see a smaller breed and expect an automatic lap dog. I hear some of this too; "Oh, do you train him?? Then why won't he come when called??"

Hagar, I too exercise more then ever before. I'll hike 4 miles/day, 5 to 6 times a week with my pup and that's just his average exercise day and not even considered a "big energy use" day to him. For me, my cairn takes more effort in the areas of expending energy and in the efforts of training. Pound for pound, I believe our cairns are more dog than a bigger, heavier dog. It really takes a certain dog person to raise a terrier. I consider all of us in the elite group of dog owners. We are special because they are special.

[Maggie15]

Agree with sentiments above! ...i researched and picked a cairn for our first dog...and it was the right decision, she is what i expected in terms of temperament, actions etc. ...and so much more as a companion, pet whatever you want to call her... she is great!!...and yes i pretty much explain to everyone that she is NOT a lapdog... she's full of spunk and sees herself as a 150 pound cairn in the mirror... thats why she chased down a bouvier in the park recently!!

a

[bradl]

An elderly widow used to live next door to us. She mostly just sat on her porch and smoked. She was quite friendly. One day she called over and said, "My, your dogs are certainly a lot of company!" I have to agree - I think she stated it very well.

[Hagar]

Lisad, we average about three miles on our daily walks. We do about a mile in the morning (12 blocks) and about two (22 blocks) in the evening. In really hot weather we have been shortening them a little in the evenings if we start getting too hot, or add a couple of blocks if it's cooler out. We go every day and have not missed a day since last December.

Several of you have mentioned the folks who make it a point to say "Hi" and pet or otherwise greet our dogs along our walking route. There are several people who have to make a fuss over Renny whenever we go by. He has gotten to the point that if certain ladies are not outside, he will stall and dawdle when we go past as if waiting for them to come outside. One of these is an older lady who has difficulty walking, but she makes the effort to pet him whenever she is outside.

He likes everbody we meet along the way, but he definitely prefers the ladies. He also likes little kids, but I have to be careful that he doesn't knock a smaller one over when he gets excited.

He also has made several doggie friends that he has to greet when we go by. Face licking through a fence or "Butt sniffing" if we meet on the sidewalk.

Hagar.

[Will&Grace]

I couldn't pass up replying to this post. I had a cairn, my first, pass away last November. His name was Mr Mack and he was only 4 years old. I was devastated beyond words. I also have an 8 year old husky/shepard mix that was obviously very depressed as well. It was suddenly the 2 of us and our lives appeared as though we had died along with Mr Mack. The house was unbearably calm & quiet. I sat in a recliner every evening so sad because of the loss of Mr Mack and the way our lives suddenly seemed to have no life in them. We were instantly like 2 old ladies, aging by the day and almost zero noise or movement in our home. I worked a lot of extra hours because I couldn't bear the quiet lonelyness of our home. Gracie (my 8 year old mix) slept all the time. Didn't bother to get up if she heard a noise or anything. I would ask her to get and play with me and she would lazily walk over to me for a few "pets" and then go back to sleeping in her favorite spot. This went on for months. Gracie gained about 7 lbs - which for big dog is a lot. I gained probably 25 lbs and that even added to our depression and seclusion.

Well, Cairn Terrier to the rescue! I found a wonderful breeder in Pierce Nebraska and on March 18 I picked up my new little man "Will" In an instant I felt like "me" again and Gracie came right back to life. Every noise he investigates - we all get up and investigate. We walk at least 4-5 times a week becasue that helps with Will's abundance of energy. We both love our little Will more than I thought I ever could. And because of his love (mostly of life) we are all well again and happier than I could have imagined. I know in my heart that it is becasue Will is a Cairn that I/we got all we needed to repair our broken spirits. He is a typical Cairn, which to me appears to be the fact that they are just not typical. He loves us both well, on his terms of course, and since that is the way we were used to being loved by Mr Mack - it was an easy fit. Gracie has lost the 7 lbs she gained within 2 months of Will's arrival. As long as I am able - I will always have a Cairn - I could never imagine not having one! I jsut pray every day I get to keep this little guy a lot longer that I got to keep Mr Mack in my life. Cairns are the best dog for us - that we know for sure....

[toomanypaws]

I think the fact that most people who own a Cairn, will ALWAYS own a Cairn, speaks for itself!

You got that right! My friend was over visiting while I had my Cairns in the backyard to play in their pool. She loved my Lab and Aussie, but was amazed at the Cairns. She said she never saw dogs so happy and in love w/ life. They were so full of excitement and wanting to show off. She said they still acted like puppies.

[Kathryn]

Sometimes it's just great to hear from folks who truly understand and love terriers! There is just so much enthusiasm in this breed!

This morning Steve was getting Allie ready for her morning walk when she spied her squeaky ball on the coffee table. The walk was put on hold in her determination to get and squeak the ball for a while and also get a few rubs and pets at the same time. Then, all of a sudden, she remembers it is time to go out. You can see her thought process in her actions and her expression. She stands up, shakes, and practically grins at Steve. "Time to go." Out the door, her one loud bark at the world and they are off.

Not only do I love this dog without limits, I love that she makes me get exercise, and that I have met a whole new group of neighbors on our walks I never would have known without her. Our closest friend became a friend because, nine years ago when we both had high energy pups (hers is Walt, the border collie), we started getting together every Friday night to "let the dogs play." Hopefully, too, to wear them out so we could sleep a little later on Saturday! Now it's dog, dinner and a glass of wine - a weekly tradition.

My life would have been so boring without this dog.

[dufunny]

Siggy is the first Cairn that I have ever seen or owned. I am Bipolar and was going through a major depression that came after an intense mania, as they say "the more you go up the deeper you will go down." Anyway, I did not get out of bed for over a month. My husband came home one day and told me that we were going to Louisiana that weekend to get a dog. I did not want a dog and I did not want to take a road trip either, but he convinced me. Needless to say, we got siggy. I could not even get outside of my head enough to realize how precious he was until we had him for about a week. It was immediately clear that he was a high energy dog, so rather than staying in the bed/couch all day I knew that he needed me to walk him (short walks) about three times a day (behavior that is typically "prescribed" for depression). He became my lifeline, soon I was back to level and my little sig-monster helped me lose the 20 pounds that I gained because our little walks gradually turned into four to five mile walks. At that point in my life there was nothing any human could say to make me laugh or look toward the future optimistically, but Siggy could. He is now almost three and I cannot imagine my life without him. He keeps me active (because if I don't take him for a walk when it is time to walk he will sit at the front door and growl, then whine, then eventually come at look at me with his beautiful brown eyes)...who can resist that! He is so in tune with my moods that he knows just what to do whatever mood I am in, he always makes me laugh. He has more personality than any dog that I have ever seen and a lot of the people that I run into in my line of work) I will definately always own a cairn. Sure, I have had my moments of exasperation, but typically I just have to give him a look and he will stop whatever he is doing. The only thing I have not been able to control is his "little dog" syndrome, he always barks like mad at the big dogs in the neighborhood when when we are walking...but in the BIG picture, what does that matter anyway?

[Hhoky]

I too am 'new' to life with a Cairn, and I woudn't have it any other way! I have always shared my life and my home with animals, so has my Hubby but neither of us has come across one a special as our Izbell.

I will also admit that I have never had a terrier, but my Nana did and that little Scruffy furball was a terror (so I used to think) but she thought the world of that little dog, so much she has not had another one since,(till now I am pleased to say, she is so in love with Izbell she can't wait to open her heart and home to one of the babies. Big red, Yeah Nana!!) Its been 15 years, she was so heart broken and though I loved my dogs I couldn't emagine being that stricken by the loss of them. Coming from a "bad" past I think I hardened myself to loss and hurt.

I even couldn't cry when we had to put our beautifull Dobie girl down because of a brain tumor, my Hubby was a horrible wreck and though I felt sorry for his loss I still didn't feel it like he did.

But then came Iz. For me she is something beyond mere pooch. She is a breath of fresh air and new life to my heart. I realize now all that I have missed in my life. I just can't describe it right. My kids and hubby have made little comments that tell me they have seen the change in me as well, who would have thought a little scruffy furball could do so much.

Before Izbell my life was half lived...like always wearing rubber gloves, never really feeling anything....but now, life is so much better than I ever thought.

So to those people who look at me with pity or say "wow a terrier huh?, you must be a brave person."

I think of my Nana, look at Iz and say "Nah, this scruffy furball's a blessing!" and grin my fool head off!