the cairn as an earth dog

[luke]

hello new to this site but i actually joined to get more info on the breed

i work kc whippets on rabbits and rats and was looking for a terrier that

would fit into my pack.a mate of mine use to work them and they were

clever little earth dogs and didnt recieve to much punishment not

like the fell and the pat witch are a bit to gun ho.is there any pacific

lines i should look out for in a working cairn.i am from scotland

so any information on suitable breeders in this area would be much apreciated.

a pic of my whippet pups

[bradl]

Welcome Luke. Clever is a good term indeed for these Cairns. We're not allowed to recommend specific breeders on the forum. We are *delighted* to have a fair number of international members, but given that the host of CTF is the US parent club, the usual recommendation to check the CTCA's breeder referral would be of little help to you!

Check your PMs - I'll mention at least one line that seems to have had persistent success through several generations in the American Kennel Club's sanitized simulation of earthwork. Even though AKC Earthdog is only an organized approximation of real field work, the dogs love it all the same.

[Greg P]

I don't think you'll find too many cairns (at least in the US) that do real field work. Not because they are not capable, but because they are too cute for the average cairn owner to take the chance of a live field injury (or death). While I believe cairns in a prey situation are somewhat fearless, they would work "within" themselves. Another obstacle to the real field earthdog hunt is the ever growing size of the cairn. Their height and larger chests are growing right out of being able to get down a natural vermin tunnel. Our standard calls for a 10" male, however they hardly exist. Males seem to be going straight to 13"-15" (especially in Europe and Canada), which I think is a shame. Cairns don't have a problem in the 9x9 simulated tunnel. I believe certain lines still hold a high degree of "gameness", which for me will always be one of the criterea that we use as we breed.

Personally, I would love to learn and participate in a live earthdog vermin(groundhog, fox, badger) hunt to see how good a cairn could be.....but my wife wouldn't allow me to risk injury to the dogs. Simulated earthdogs events are as close as we'll get. (And besides, we dont' have much in the way of vermin on the W Coast, unlike the E coast that has ground hog, fox, badger, skunk, etc.)

The simulated earthdog events are fun for both owner and dog, and IMHO one of the very best relationship builders between owner and cairn.