Tell me about your Cairn Terrier/Update page 2

[Pea-n-Me]

Would love to hear what these dogs are like!

Include pictures, please!

 

[low-key]

That was my main dog when I was growing up. Hairy and faithful, are the two memories that stick with me, her name was Goldie

 

[suejai]

We also had a Cairn in my teen years. Yes they are hairy, but so sweet and game for anything without too much of the stubborness of other terriers. I would love to get one again. Ours was named Kelly. She lived to be 13 years old. I don't have a picture of her on my computer but this is what she looked like.

 

[suejai]

Who can resist that little face!

 

[luvmy3]

As sweet as my Cairn is she is a stubborn girl and training her was trying at times. There are things we never were successful at, like her barking at other dogs and anyone/thing that passes our house. She doesn't like to listen to us, although sh eis very smart and knows exactly what we are telling her. Despite her need to bark at dogs and people she is very friendly and plays well with other dogs and wants to play with every person she meets. She is playful and lovable and IMO the cutest darn thing ever!

ETA We do clip her fur even though she is double coated. We have alot of ticks where I live and despite her tick meds and us treating our lawn she does get them on her and the shorter the fur the easier they are too see.
We grow her fur out as normal in the cold months, but I can't find a pic on this computer so you can see the difference.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Good info and pictures, thanks for sharing!

What is grooming like? (Oops I see you mentioned it luvmy3)

I want to see Goldie!

 

[StephMK]

We had a Cairn growing up and my mom grew up with several terriers. Duffy was the craziest pup in the litter and lived to age 15. She was an awesome dog & the gray/black color.

 

[low-key]

G
I want to see Goldie!

thanks i would to, but havwe to look thru my moms old albums to get a pic of her, i was like 10, that like 15-20 years ago

 

[Maridw]

We had a Cairn growing up too. Her name was Scootsie. (She was our second Scootsie - original was a Pekingese that we had in the Azores. Named after the Portuguese Escudo). Got her as a puppy one Christmas. She was about 17 when we had her put to sleep. She was a very good dog and very active. As she got older we had a couple other dogs that would engage her to play so it kept her going. She was easy to train too. We had her trained to the yard without a fence. She knew her boundaries. She also traveled very well. We took her across the country with us and never had a problem with her.

Would love to have another. I will find a picture of her and post.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

thanks i would to, but havwe to look thru my moms old albums to get a pic of her, i was like 10, that like 15-20 years ago

Fuzzy math

 

[tallygirl]

We have one now, he is 10 years old, his name is Archie. To me, he is the best dog! He loves to play, gets along with kids, travels well, is smart, AND doesn't shed. People don't think he is that old because he really hasn't slowed down much.

We have a window seat in one of our front bedrooms and he spends a lot of time there. He barks if another dog or a cat comes into the yard. And at the UPS truck, don't know why but he goes crazy at a UPS truck, not Fed Ex or the mailman, just UPS!

He's not really been trained, but he is a quick learner. For instance, in the late evening if I come out of the bedroom having changed into pajamas he will watch me but continue to lie on his bed. But if I come out with a robe on, he will get up and stretch and head for the front door because he knows we're going outside. I have an alarm set on my phone to take meds at 9:00 every night. Maybe two days in a row while I was in the kitchen doing that I gave him a treat. Now, when my alarm goes off, he heads in there expecting a treat every time.

He's really only been around one other dog. Our DS and DDIL have an 80 lb. Golden Retriever and they get along great. They will roll on the floor together, play tug of war with a toy.

He does like to dig, like most terriers but that seems to have lessened as he's gotten older. We live in a semi-rural area and he has caught and killed a snake, a squirrel and a bird (I was upset about the bird) but that's what they were bred to do long ago.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but they really are great dogs.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We have one now, he is 10 years old, his name is Archie. To me, he is the best dog! He loves to play, gets along with kids, travels well, is smart, AND doesn't shed. People don't think he is that old because he really hasn't slowed down much.

We have a window seat in one of our front bedrooms and he spends a lot of time there. He barks if another dog or a cat comes into the yard. And at the UPS truck, don't know why but he goes crazy at a UPS truck, not Fed Ex or the mailman, just UPS!

He's not really been trained, but he is a quick learner. For instance, in the late evening if I come out of the bedroom having changed into pajamas he will watch me but continue to lie on his bed. But if I come out with a robe on, he will get up and stretch and head for the front door because he knows we're going outside. I have an alarm set on my phone to take meds at 9:00 every night. Maybe two days in a row while I was in the kitchen doing that I gave him a treat. Now, when my alarm goes off, he heads in there expecting a treat every time.

He's really only been around one other dog. Our DS and DDIL have an 80 lb. Golden Retriever and they get along great. They will roll on the floor together, play tug of war with a toy.

He does like to dig, like most terriers but that seems to have lessened as he's gotten older. We live in a semi-rural area and he has caught and killed a snake, a squirrel and a bird (I was upset about the bird) but that's what they were bred to do long ago.

Probably more than you wanted to know]/B], but they really are great dogs.

Not at all, I'm enjoying the stories.

Can someone describe the "terrier tenacity" or "terrier personality"? What exactly does that mean.

And thanks for sharing, all. Looking forward to hearing more and seeing more pictures.

Oh, and also, has anyone ever trained one of these dogs to NOT go after rodent? I know it's instinctual, but just wondering if, say, a well trained Cairn could exist happily, even in the same room, with a charming white little hamster. (See signature.)

 

[kofslinky]

I have never had the privilege of a Westie or Cairn, but I have several friends who have one. Sophie belongs to my DBF. She's a sweet little dog who he adopted several years ago. She loves to lounge around the house and curl up in my lap (which drives him crazy because she won't curl up with him). She can be a little nippy, but usually it's just playful. She's good with kids when there around, and will occasionally escape the yard and go on an adventure. (She loves visiting the horse a few houses down and trying to show how she's in charge- the horse doesn't seem to buy it.) Sophie does seem to have some sort of allergy problem, and loves to scratch herself bald- hence the coat. Sophie is quite the mouser, and has caught several of them. She also will spend hours staring at the wall when she hears the mice, but as she has gotten older her mouse-catching skills have diminished. (She used to be better at it than the cat, but now the cat wins.)


Sophie by bianchiea5, on Flickr

The next one is Bonnie. She's about a year old and has finally started to mellow out of her puppy phase. She's been in obedience training for the past few months, as her "mom" is training her to be a therapy and cancer-sniffing dog. She loves to climb all over you and run around, but is still very young. She lives with two other dogs and they (mostly) get along fine. (Her issue tends to be with Laika, who I think is a pekingese-yorkie mix that wasn't used to not being the puppy anymore. They're finally getting along better after a year.)


Bonnie as a puppy by bianchiea5, on Flickr
(She was so difficult having her picture taken at this age- she never stopped moving I swear!)

They used to have a Cairn named Chauncey, but he passed away a couple years ago. He could be a little mouthy, but we always got along well. Chauncey loved to go after the chipmunk that lived in the wood pile- if he'd caught a whiff of that chipmunk you couldn't get him to come back inside; you'd have to go pick him up and bring him back, and he wasn't always happy about that. He never bit me, but he nipped at me a couple times. He wasn't one for cuddling, but I always liked him.


Chauncey by bianchiea5, on Flickr

Then there's Brodie, and he's quite a character. (He's also a West Highland White Terrier as opposed to a Cairn, but they are similar.) He belongs to my DBF's father Rick, and I guess he's a little more of the "terrier personality" than the rest. I've met him once- he's very talkative and can be nippy, but he seemed lovable anyway. He likes to be in charge, but he is a character. He also seems to have a thing for the postman- both the UPS and FedEx people give him cookies I believe, so he likes them; the postman doesn't, so Brodie isn't as much a fan. He even has his own blog, which is always a great read. (I don't have any pictures of Brodie unfortunately.) Rick used to have two other Westies, Shannon and McKenna, but both have passed. They were also pretty good dogs from what I have heard (I only met them a couple times).

I would have to say that both Cairns and Westies are pretty good dogs. I would get one in a heartbeat. They do have their quirks, but don't we all!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Great info, kofslinky.

 

[FayeW]

I have two Westies, but after having white dogs I will consider a Cairn next. After all, they are already dirt coloured!

Cairns and Westies are delightful!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I can understand that. We used to dog sit a white dog and I remember how difficult the white hairs were. (Dark hairs are bad enough!)

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Anyone else? I know there are more Cairn people out there!

 

[MrsPete]

We had one when I was a kid, and he was a great dog.

He was kind of a small dog who didn't know he was small. He had a bit of a "big dog" personality in that he'd take on anything, knew no fear.

They're a nice size -- not too big to be house dogs, not so small as to be wimpy little nothings. Easy to transport in the car, don't eat as much as massive dogs. My latest dog was 80 lbs, and although I loved her, I don't think I want another that size. The size (and cost) of the dog house, the bed, etc. is big.

Ours was a healthy little fellow. I don't remember whatever became of him -- he "disappeared" while I was away at college, but I believe he lived to a ripe old age.

They enjoy being indoor or outdoor dogs.

They are high-energy dogs and love to run with kids. They'd be a poor choice for an elderly person who couldn't walk them (or turn them out into a fenced yard) on a regular basis. Ours had a tremendous love for those "pull toys" -- that's a poor description, but I mean the twisted rope things that the dog bites into while the person pulls back the other way. Oh, did he love to play that way. He was a rough-and-tumble kind of dog.

Lots of personality. We all absolutely adored him.

They love to bark and are fairly noisy critters. No one will ever sneak into your house without your knowledge.

"Cairn" means rock. These dogs are diggers (i.e., digging under the rocks) and will attempt to dig out of any fence -- not because they want to leave you, but because digging is just soooo muccch fuuuuun.

They're hunters. I've had cats bring me "gifts" of small dead animals, but our Cairn Terrier was the only dog who ever gave me such a gift.

Ours was a smart little pup, though he clearly recognized that we were the humans and he was the dog.

I do remember dog hair being an issue. If you plan this to be an indoor dog, assume you'll need regular grooming. Plan for this to be an expense -- either in terms of money or time.

 

[keenercam]

We have a sweet, loving, brindle-colored Cairn named Cali Skye, who turned 13 this past July. We've had her since she was about 10 weeks old. We'd gone to a breeder to look at a Westie and when I saw how dirty their faces were from food and how they had grass stains on their paws, I realized a white dog was not a good choice for us. The breeder urged us to consider a Cairn, which is similar in size and temperament, but not white.

The breeder told us the following things about the breed: They are loyal to a family, not just one person. They are generous and loving and have enough room in their hearts to love everyone in their household and will welcome new friends into the home as well. They are not as territorial as some other breeds and will not be a problem in our very social household. They read personalities very well and can be calm when necessary and playful when warranted. They are broad across the chest and stable to the ground, being able to tolerate the rough and tumble play that may come in a household with small children.

Having been given that description by the breeder, we were sold on the breed. When trying to decide between siblings, the little girl wrapped her paws around my husband's arm as he lay her on her back in his arm (like a baby) and licked his hand. She immediately had him wrapped around her and took a special place in his heart.

We soon learned that Cali was everything the breeder promised and more. We handled her so much right from the very beginning. Our kids were 7 and 12 and they constantly played with her and treated her like their little doll.

She has always been what each of us needed and wanted in a dog. She is my daughter's baby sister, allowing her to dress her up and play with her at whim. Cali sleeps in Jenn's room most nights (Jenn is 25) on a footlocker at the end of the bed that is piled high with blankets and a pillow on top. We call it Cali's throne. With our son, she would play hard to get, running away and waiting for him to chase her. When he didn't pay attention to her, she'd tug on the bottom of his jeans or shoelaces trying to get him to pet her. For DH, she's always been the little rough and tumble, wanting him to throw toys for her to fetch and loving to play tug with any kind of chew toy or rope. For me, she has been a constant companion. I was sick for many years with a debilitating heart condition and if I was asleep on the couch, she'd lay on me or next to me, or she'd just lick my face to get me to acknowledge her so she'd know I was okay. She still gets excited when any of us gets home, and she follows me from room to room as I do chores or keeps me company on the couch when I am reading.

I truly cannot imagine a day of our lives without her. She is so sweet and generous of spirit, and I believe that she is everything the breeder told us we could expect from one of his Cairns.

Can you tell we are all madly in love with our furbaby?

 

[njmom47]

My aunt and uncle had a Cairn named Nutmeg, Meggie for short. I wasn't around her constantly but I enjoyed that dog when we visited! She was cute and comical, but I think I remember her jumping a lot. That I'm sure could've been fixed with some obedience training. I would give a thumbs up!