Profile of the Cairn Terrier

Description:

Cairn terriers are one of the cutest – smallest breed of dog you’ll ever find. With a white or gray coat of longer length, and those big brown eyes, they make you want to pick them up on the spot and bring them right home. Well, there are a lot of things you should know before bringing home this lovable doggy.

These dogs are highly pricey. The cheapest – peer bred you’re going to find will be about $1,000.00. *Cha Ching* Not to mention this breed of dog usually requires multiple surgeries during its life time for knee replacements, hip replacements, and so on.

Average life span:
The Cairn terrier lives to be around the age of 15 years. With good care and a loving family they sometimes make it to be 20 years old. It is rare though. Females tend to live a little longer than males do.

Height:
Cairn terriers stand between 9 and 13 inches tall. Male Cairns’ are usually taller than females. Most of the height does not come from their legs but instead from their body. Cairns have very short legs.

Weight:
The Cairn terrier can reach up to 27 pounds. The lowest one is supposed to weigh is 7 pounds. A healthy weight is about 15-20 pounds. Cairns are known to gain extra weight, over 27 pounds, easily. Since they are so cute many owners will feed them a little extra just to receive that cute little puppy – like look. Try not to fall into the same trap. A Cairn weighing over 34 pounds will most likely not live up to its full life span and will live an unhealthy life style.

Health Problems:
Cairn terriers will put a BIG dent in your wallet time to time due to the fact they are prone to bad knees and hips. It is likely that you will have to replace at least one knee or one hip in your dogs’ life time. Without treatment, your Cairn terrier will have to be put to sleep or given to a family that can pay for its treatments. This is a sad fact of owning a Cairn terrier.

Temperament:
Cairn terriers have a great attitude. They are very energetic, loving, caring, intelligent, and playful dogs. They are also very good with children. The Cairn terry takes its job of protecting its family seriously, children and all. Though they are small, they do a great job of watching over family members when it comes to strangers.

Daily activities:
Cairn terriers require low care. All they really need is a loving family, somebody to play with each day, a daily brushing, water, and food.

Overall:
Cairn terriers can and will put a big dent in your wallet when it comes time to buy them and if/when they have health problems. When it comes to buying food and other needed supplies for care they are rather cheap to care for. No big yards are needed and a big home is not needed. They make great family dogs, apartment dogs, or just a one person dog.