Cairn Terriers are funny, curious, fearless adventurers. They have a sweet personality and love spending time with their people. Wherever you want to go they will want to go along. They are great family pets and love children.
Cairn Terriers have medium length coats with two layers, a wiry top layer and a soft under coat. Shedding is light-medium. life span is 13-15 years. Average size for a male is 10 inches and 14 pounds. The female averages at 9.5 inches and 13 pounds.
Origin
Hundreds of years ago all vermin dogs in Scotland were referred to as scotch terriers. As early as the year 1600 there were Cairn type dogs in the West Highland and the island of Skye. Their name originates from piles of stones used as boundaries or to mark graves called “Cairns”. Vermin liked to live on and under the piles of stones so the Cairns were developed as one of the smaller vermin exterminators. Their smaller size helped them dig down in the piles and rout out the vermin. They were also used in groups for foxes, otters and other predators. They were first named in print in 1887 and were recognized by the AKC as a breed in 1913. Interesting fact: Toto in The Wizard of Oz is a Cairn Terrier.