rabbits etc. It would be bad enough to lose meat producing

animals to these predators, but just as bad, possibly

worse, would be losing grain since bread is the Staff of

Life. Terriers were invented to kill the vermin that threatened

the very existence of people through the loss of food

supplies. Once mankind became farmers instead of

gatherer-hunters, they stayed in once place to grow food,

so needed to store the surplus to keep themselves alive

through the winter months. Barns full of grain attracted

rats, mice and other small creatures who feasted on the

food and fouled it with their droppings. Less grain meant

less food on their tables, and predations by foxes or badgers

meant less chickens, ducks, rabbits and small animals

to sell to provide some cash for subsistence farmers..

As with all purebred dogs, terriers evolved out of need,

and it had to be a specialized animal to be capable of doing

what was asked of it. It had to be able to get into small spaces,

it had to be willing to go down a dark tunnel

underground, and it had to be brave to face an adversary

that was ready to fight for its life. Killing rats and

mice was one thing, but the objective of the underground

exercise was to make the quarry come out of the tunnel

through the bolt-hole, where the longer legged terriers

would be waiting to dispatch it. Often, the quarry would

not leave the safety of the tunnel, and then the terrier was

prepared to fight it to the death if necessary. Many a good

dog has died battling a foe in the darkness. And many

more have dragged the carcass back through the tunnel to

proudly display his kill. When you consider that some of

these tunnels can be 30 or 40 feet long and deep underground,

with other tunnels and dens branching off them,

some to bolt-holes and others to blind ends, it needs a

very brave, strong, focussed dog with staying power to

navigate the twists and turns, locate the quarry and worry

it into either bolting or fighting, all in pitch blackness.

The baying and snarling of the adversaries would alert

the huntsmen to where the animals were, and they would

start digging down to them, planning to break through

over top of the terrier, remove the dog and dispatch the

badger or fox who they knew would be cornered and

have nowhere else to go. Digging down to the dog is hard

work, and it was all guesswork as to finding and hitting

the right place. Today, we use an electronic collar sending

out a signal to a locator to tell us exactly where the

dog is situated underground.

These natural tunnels are quite narrow in diameter, so required

a reasonably small dog to enter them. The dog

needed to be able to turn around and come out, so a

longer backed dog was the answer. The huntsman needed

to get the dog out of the way quickly once they broke into

the tunnel, so the tail was the obvious place to grab (away

from those flashing teeth) thus a thick-based tail was

needed. In the darkness, pushing through roots and rocks

could cause eye injuries, so shaggy head hair gave protection.

A dog that quits at the first nip from its quarry

would be useless, so in order for the dog to have the staying

power to remain at the job, he was given a very thick

 

skin along with a dense hard coat to provide the protection

he needed. What he needed, he was given - strong

haunches to propel himself forward on his belly, a deep

rib cage to allow expansion of lungs and heart action,

powerful jaws with huge teeth, and above all, the will to

succeed.

The terrier evolved over a space of time, as all things do,

as mankind saw what was needed to do a better job - new

and improved, you might say. Over time, selective breeding

of dogs showing they possessed the talent needed for

the particular job produced a variety of terriers with varying

leg lengths. Short powerful legs were for digging and

going to ground, longer legs hunted above ground, al-though

I have seen a Lakeland terrier gets itself to the end

of a 9” square tunnel and Border terriers do it regularly at

Earthdog Tests. Strength, courage, staying-power, tenacity,

and above all the will to do what it was bred to do -

all these things a good cairn terrier should possess.

FORM

These are the things a good cairn terrier must have:

Big strong well-filled muzzles with big strong teeth - a

working dog needs these things if he is to do his job

properly, and a cairn that possesses these attributes will

also possess a correct and beautiful head, which will enhance

his appearance. He does not have the long head of

the Scottie, and he should not have a short muzzle - the

“cutesy” face we sometimes see is all wrong.

To do his job properly, the cairn terrier must not have

short legs! Yes, it is classed as a short-legged breed but

he must have some daylight under his belly if his legs are

to be long enough to be able to run for miles and climb

around on rock piles (cairns) or wood piles, or craggy

hillsides searching for prey. Short legs, especially if they

are crooked, mean the dog has to work harder and expend

much more energy doing it. Along with longer bones, he

needs dense bones that are less likely to break easily and

which give better support for the muscles attached to

them, but the dog must not appear bulky or stuffy.

The dog needs a longer back for flexibility, but a toolong

back is not good either. The ideal cairn is medium -

the breed standard says it is a “medium” dog - and he

should be one-third longer than he is tall. He should not

have the short back of the West Highland, or the long

back of the Scottie.

The cairn terrier is a pack animal, these little guys work

together in the field, they have to get along with each

other, and most cairn breeders do not like to spar their

dogs in the ring since it is rarely done properly. And why

a judge would spar bitches is beyond me as older ones

will ignore each other, and younger ones want to play. A

pack of cairns all snarling and lunging at each other

would get no hunting done at all - and believe me, they

would rather hunt than fight.      

 

                                                                                                                    

 

                                                                

Cairn Form & Function Page 2

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