#1 Pyper & Sauce:
Seeing is Believing - from Angela from across the pond in New
Zealand 07-2014
Hi,
Just discovered your site and thought I would share something
unusual....
Firstly though, I will give you some of our Cairn history...
We bought our first Cairn, from a
local New Zealand breeder, about 20 years ago when our children were 5
& 1 respectively. We loved this ratbag of a dog but sadly lost him
at 4yrs due to a congenital liver shunt. Within another two months, we
found another breeder and were claimed by a female cairn who was the
most loving and compliant dog EVER! We had the pleasure of having her
with us for 13 years, until a cancerous tumour burst in her abdominal
area. (We had been taking her to a vet insisting she was not well, but
were told that her bloating was actually fat and that we should put her
on a strict diet!)
Anyway, after three months of tears, we plunged again and bought
another female cairn - sight unseen, except for photos of the parents.
She is a chewer of shoes, a digger, and always keen to find an escape
route! However she is, uncharacteristically, a lap-dog.
We also have a pet reptile - a breaded dragon. Our previous cairn
seemed to get along fine with it so at about ten weeks old, we
introduced our new puppy (Pyper) to beardie (Sauce). Amazingly, they
also seemed to like each other. Just to prove this, I have attached a
video clip for your amusement. (Hope you can open it)
Thanks for your site - cairn owners need to be a special breed!
Cheers,
Angela
Comment:
Thanks for the email and video from New Zealand! I guess my main
comment would be, 'What would Rufus do upon seeing such a large
lizard?' My guess would be going initially into total shock and
upon recovery from that in true obnoxious Cairn fashion, a nonstop
barkfest.
That is a nice looking bearded dragon - I have not seen that color
before. Trolling around on the internet, it appears there are
lots of colors I have not seen before :
Good luck with Pyper and Sauce!
#2 is Simon and Daphne.....from Alison.....09-09-2016 - Similar Cairns, Similar Poodles
As a kid I grew up with
a Standard Poodle. I remember it as being a very clingy hyperactive
pain in the neck. It was surprisingly vain. Every time it would get a
haircut it would prance around and show off. It was like a shark
— it would counter surf and steal food. It would watch you eat and
drool long strings off really gross drool. I swore I would never ever
get another dog.
My husband and son finally coerced me in to getting another dog, and
after much research, we ended up with a Cairn Terrier. It was a
really great dog.
We had him for 14 years until he died from cancer. He was
obedient. We had him trained by a woman who was known as the Jack
Russell Training Nazi. She knew how to train a terrier. He would
come when called. He could be taken on a walk off leash. He learned a
bunch of tricks. He won best dog trick at the Lincoln county dog fair
and ended up on a full page spread of the Lake Oswego Review. We
trained him not to bark, so if he really really needed to bark he would
whisper bark. He was good at socializing dogs with “issues”. He didn’t
particularly care for balls. He would have to be bribed to chase one
and bring it back. He did love a good squeaky toy.
Here he is as an elderly dog missing a few front teeth and on an off leash hike.
~ Alison
Note: As is often the case, Simon wasn't the end of the story.....Enter Daphne
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Comment:
I liked your standard poodle description - very close to ours, except
for the drool part. Nice looking cairn terriers as well. In
our cairn's latter years, he did very well walking off-lead as
well. While the standard poodle was running around, getting into
trouble and generally losing his mind, the cairn was a practiced
little gentleman in comparison.
Good luck with Daphne and thanks for not making 2016 a dry year for this Cairn page!!
~ Dan
#3 is Cole.....from Thomas.....and I Thought I'd Finally Drained the Swamp...01-03-2017
Wife and I loved you Cairn story.
We are on Cairn #3. Cole has
never and will never work for NASA, but he’s sweet and loves
people. (Hates all other animals, mail trucks, UPS and FedEx
trucks and drivers, etc., etc.)
All of our Cairns have had very varied personalities.
A quick story about Gizmo, our first Cairn.
When we finally bought our first
home, our daughter, on her 16th birthday decided she’d like a
dog. I was on the road when she announced this to my wife who
started by calling the local shelter before calling me.
The owner of Cobblestone Kennels reported that they just got a 4-year old Cairn male and she thought he might be a good fit. (WHAT????)
When I arrived home, we went to visit
with Gizmo. The kennel owner reported what good boy he was and
that he was fully house broken and would NEVER make a “mistake” in our
newly renovated home. She brought him out to meet us at which
time he immediately got the “Oh, he’s so cute!” and then he proceeded
to take the biggest dump ever recorded in Cairn history. The
Kennel lady said, “Oh, This is my fault! I wasn’t paying
attention to the clock!” At which time Gizmo took a second
dump. I asked, “Who’s responsible for this one?”
Wife and I were both dog people although I’d never had one and for no apparent reason, were not put off by this episode.
Gizmo was the best first dog
experience anyone could have. He was a love, well behaved, only
barked at the mail person and, although was abused in his first home,
glued himself to my wife and myself.
The only person he was not enamored
with was my daughter, his owner for roughly two weeks. (Of
course, she then realized he required care, love and feeding, none of
which she would allow cutting into her teenager time.)
Am sure we’ll always be Cairn owners although, they are certainly…. NOT for everyone!
Best, Tom
Cole, Our present best buddy helping with the holiday decorations
Gizmo and me after a truly long winter day
Comment:
Well well. and I thought I'd finally drained the swamp of those
actually willing to Cairn Terrier ownership.
Three Cairn's? Some sturdy constitutions there. Cole is a
nice looking little guy. In pictures, it always seems to be the
ears that gives them away.
Our dog Rufus wasn't really attached to anyone living in the house, but
it did get very sickening when one of our sons paid a visit - ears
down, head down , tail down wagging a mile a minute.... a
disgusting look of adoration along with that cairn smile. Those
were the only times we saw utter subservience and complete adoration
towards anyone.
And you are right... they are not for everyone.
I'm glad your experiences have been good ones.
~Dan
Nevada Lizard Hunt
~Dan
Pup vs
Adult Coat Colors
A number of
people
have asked if I have pics of coat colors as a pup and then
coat colors as an adult.
I don't have
many.
If you have a
couple
pics to spare of pup and then adult coat colors, I'd like to start
showing the comparisons.
-Dan
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