speed of cairn terrier?

[chrish]

hi everyone, I am new to the forum. I have a cute 16 year old honey brindle Cairn named Jock and my sister has a funny (yet stupid) 14 year old honey brindle Cairn named CeCe. We also have a pet rabbit named Hamish and this is where my question stems from. I was sitting on the couch looking at Hamish and put a question to my sister as to whether Jock (in his younger years of course!) would have been able to run faster than Hamish. My sister reckons that he wouldn't have been able to outrun Hamish but I am convinced Jock would have been able to outrun and make a furry hat out of Hamish.

Would anyone care to let me know if a male Cairn in his prime would be able to run faster than a young rabbit?

I would appreciate any help in settling the bet. By the way, I will share pics of Jock and CeCe when I get onto my computer.

- Chris

[bradl]

There may be only way to find out for sure.

Um, we're having some Cairn racing at our fun day on September 1st. If you're in the neighborhood (Oregon) drop by and find out

It's an interesting question. When I was growing up we had a cocker spaniel who would chase a very large domesticated (but loose) rabbit around the back yard. I do believe the dog could have caught it, except the rabbit was smarter than the dog. It would race along and then slam on the brakes. The dog would literally trip - at warp speed - over this very large rabbit and then crash and roll, while the rabbit would take off in another direction. Lather, rinse, repeat. Hours of fun. The dog caught the rabbit in one sense, but never caught the rabbit in any useful sense.

Welcome. Looking forward to pics

[chrish]

thanks for the reply. Apologies for the lack of information in my profile... I have just updated it and unfortunately I wont be in the neighbourhood as I am in Australia

I have googled for the information but couldn't find anything however if anyone has the track length and best times of any previous races please let me know as with that information you can work out a speed. Your story regarding the Cocker Spaniel and the rabbit was pretty funny however I suspect the rabbit would have had trouble if it were being chased by a Cairn because as we all know Cairn's are very cluey.

- Chris

[bradl]

Well we'd love to have you if you care to make the trip I quite agree on the approach of Cairns v. Cockers.

We've never clocked our racing - it's all been simple head-to-head matches in the past. Might try some timing this year! Wish I knew a police officer with a radar gun and a Cairn.

[bradl]

Sorry for the multiple posts. It doesn't look good for the Cairn. I've got to believe a whippet could dust a Cairn, and a rabbit and Whippet appear to be evenly matched. Surely treachery and stubbornness can make up the difference!

[chrish]

I reckon you're right. A whippet would cane a Cairn in a race so it looks like a Cairn couldn't catch a rabbit unless it were caught by surprise or injured.

- Chris

[jimnconnie]

I'll bet a Cairn could catch a rabbit (or a Whippet) if either was nice enough to jump into a burrow!

[pkcrossley]

i have two rabbits and a cairn. i won't be telling my dog about this question, as i have only convinced him after many years to coexist quietly with the rabbits (they are in an enclosure). i don't think he could beat them in a race. but i think he could certainly catch them --rabbits, if you have watched them, always pause and look around. fatal.

[goforette]

After seeing the speed of my two racers I'd place ALL my money on the Cairn and not the rabbit....

[chrish]

hmmm interesting views, guys. I really wish we could find out the speed of a Cairn as I reckon it would be close.

- Chris

[Barney's Mom]

As I was sprinting down the street in hot pursuit of my "precious" little Cairn who decided to take off like a bandit out of the yard, he got a glimpse of a rabbit. We had been playing ball before his escape and he had the ball in his mouth while he was running down the road playing "keep away". (GRRRRRR......) Anyway, when he saw that rabbit, he promptly dropped the ball and took off like a lightning bolt after the poor thing. Barney is 17 months old, and even at his young age, he didn't have a rabbit in his mouth when I finally caught him!

Outside the racetrack, I don't think it is speed that's the issue, it's technique. Cairns are fast, no question. But rabbits have an uncanny sense of bluff and dodge. For a really nice lesson on this, dust off your old Little Golden Books and read Little Cottontail! Little Cottontail's mother gives him an excellent lesson on survival from a preying fox, but it could easily be applied to ambitious Cairns!

[pkcrossley]

alright, that solves it for me. real-world test run. rabbits are probably safe from cairns. now if we could only make cairn owners as safe as the rabbits...

[Maggie15]

yeah i would have thought in a pure sprint that a cairn would catch a normal rabbit (not a jack rabbit)...but rabbits in fields really zig zag lots, when i was a kid our lab would catch the odd jack rabbit, they are very fast, and i would think the lab is 'lot' faster than a cairn... rabbit can stop and change directions very quickly...

i think maggie is pretty fast, i'd be fun to see her stretch her little legs and lungs out racing with some similar dogs!

a

[Kathryn]

Gosh, I'm still not sure rabbits are safe from cairns. Aliie caught one over a year ago in our back yard -- a full grown rabbit! And I was terrified because the rabbit was kicking like mad, and Allie was absolutely determined to play keep-away with that rabbit, and it looked like it could knock her jaw off if it caught her with a good kick. Her problem wasn't getting the rabbit -- it was keeping it. I finally yelled loud enough that she dropped it and it ran off. I don't know whether she caught it by surprise but it definitely had a warning: she greets the world each morning with a series of large barks as she runs off the deck into the yard.

[Eliz222]

My Cairns are fast, but I do believe, that if they were to run side by side with a rabbit, they would lose! LOL!

[onesojourner]

A cairn is smarter than a rabbit so I think they could catch one.

[pkcrossley]

funny thing, my mother just called and said that a little female westie living next door to her, a sweet little muffin-face who is great friends with my mother, killed a rabbit in the yard. she came prancing up in her bows and ribbons with the bloody trophy suspended from her shampooed, brushed, and lovingly pampered jaws. very proud of herself she was, since this was her first kill. her humans tried to hide their horror and smile proudly as the corpse was deposited at their feet by their beaming little girl.

cairns have an instinct for triangulating on their prey. in the open its unlikely a rabbit could be overrun by a cairn. but in the real world there are obstacles, even if only rocks and tree trunks, where a smart and fast cairn, even working alone (not their tradition) could pounce on a rabbit that had taken a nanosecond to catch its breath, survey the surroundings, or think desperately of an escape plan. when opposing a terrier, he who hesitates is lost.

[Newman]

my Cairn would win on any race, lol he is 23lb's and pure muscle and he is faster then any dog we've had, he is part hunting dog too, he is so fast...

let's race i live in washington state, above oregon

[dianer]

Interesting question. The few rabbits I have seen here are very large and very fast and known as black jack rabbits. Of my two cairns, one is smart and the other is fast and they do work together but I think they probably don't have a chance. Not that they wouldn't love to try.

[The Cairn Farm]

If I rabbit just ran, I'm not sure a Cairn would catch it. However, they do not and Chloe has caught a rabbit. Thankfully I was right there and had her drop it before she harmed it!

[Marty & Sherry]

A pack of terrierists (3) CAN catch Cottontails. I've seen the rabbit fur fly a couple of times. The problem is while they are discussing amongst themselves who gets the kill the prey gets away.

[pkcrossley]

cairns have short legs for their body form (they are technically dwarfs), and rabbits have very long hind legs for their overall form. cairns are not racers, but they can sprint a very short distance at blinding speed. a rabbit trying to get back into its hole over a space of 6 to 8 feet might be at real risk; a rabbit running a hundred feet to safety will win. i would say this is why cairns are called "cairns" --they figured out that the way to get your prey is to trap it in a cairn or a maybe a shallow den, rather than try to chase it all over the farm. or, if they work in teams, they can corner a victim above ground. smart!

what matters is: cairns run faster than people.

[hheldorfer]

what matters is: cairns run faster than people.

Darned right!

Now what about Cairn vs. squirrel - on level ground, with no trees? I say the Cairn would win. Squirrels (especially the portly buggers who hang around my bird feeder)don't seem to be as aerodynamic as Cairns. Hmmmmm.

[bradl]

I just came across this topic (from 12 years ago!) and realized that today it would be easy to get an answer, thanks to the AKC's FastCAT program.  Sorry to be so slow @chrish but at least we finally know ...

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by bradl

[hheldorfer]

Thanks Brad.  And you have once again proved that no, you're not going to catch your dog if he runs off after a rabbit.