Cairn Terriers are probably the oldest terrier breed. They originated in the wild and picturesque Scottish Highlands. The terrier's Saxon name is "earth dog," which amounts to "the digger." Latinized, the name became terrier, from the Latin word for "earth," terra. That probably strikes you as odd because terra obviously gives rise to the English word terror. What's the connection between "earth" and "terror?" Words wear out around the edges over time, and terror originally was not just another word for fear or fright. It meant a specific kind of fear — what we call "whistling in the dark" or "burying one's head in the sand." That is, a "darkened" or "underground" state of mind in which one does not think straight and may even be unconscious of his fear because he is in denial of it. And so, by association with notions of darkness/unknowing, death, burial, and the underworld, the word for "earth" also gave rise to the word terror, mindless fear. But wouldn't we terrier lovers like to think that seeing how terriers worry their prey helped make this literary connection? Truly, terriers are the terror of all varmints in the earth, for they were bred to hunt them.
Ice-Age glaciers and heavy weather scoured the barren, rocky summits of the Scottish Highlands, chiseling steep-sided valleys called glens with long, slender lochs (lakes) at the bottom.
A cairn is a pile of this exposed rock, common as rocky outcrops of land. But many cairns are man-made, like the one shown at right. During the Stone Age, people built cairns as monumental burial sites. Also, for centuries Scottish farmers have cleared their rocky fields by piling the stones as cairns along boundary lines.
These cairns and the crevices in rocky outcrops create the ideal habitat for a plague of vermin. So, a small dog that could burrow underground and rout animals from crevices and cairns was needed. Hence the name Cairn Terrier. And every Highland home had one.
Cairns Terriers were bred to hunt foxes, badgers, weasels, otters, rodents, and other vermin. The Cairn killed small prey and routed large prey from its lair for the farmer to kill. For such a life in such a climate, the dogs were bred for courage, intelligence, tenacity, agility, sturdiness, a weatherproof coat, big teeth, strong jaws, and stout claws.
The early history of the Cairn is as misty as the land they came from. Nobody has discovered the breed's exact origin. Records go back as far as the early 1500's, when chroniclers mention the ancestral Cairn as the "earth dog of Argyllshire." Elizabethan chronicles speak of the ancestral Cairn as the "earth dog of the North," a small terrier used to hunt foxes and badgers in Scotland. These dogs were so admired and highly prized that King James VI of Scotland sent six to a friend in France, ordering that they cross the treacherous English Channel in at least two ships.
The direct line of the pure breed in today's Cairns originated in the Scottish Highlands or the Isle of Skye more than 200 years ago. The Isle of Skye (The Misty Isle) is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides, situated off the west coast. This line gave rise to Scottish Terriers, West Highland White Terriers, and Skye Terriers. Its no-nonsense looks show that the Cairn remains closest to the no-nonsense breeding of the original, small, working terrier stock.
If you are thinking of getting a Cairn Terrier, be sure to consider the job Cairns were bred to do: They ARE hunting dogs, but they hunt independently, not under the direction of a master. So, Cairns are like other hunting dogs in some ways and different in other ways. Their main difference from other hunting dogs is that, being bred to hunt independently, Cairns have no inbred need to mind you.
Also, consider the size of their prey! Cairns were bred fearless. They are often described as a "big dog in a small dog's body." For, they have no idea how small they are. This explains amazing stories of Cairn heroism in protecting humans from attack by much bigger dogs. But it also explains heartbreaking incidents of Cairns killed by roaming big dogs they challenged, because the Cairn was tied out on a leash and could not escape.
Nothing's more amusing than a Cairn on Varmint Patrol. But just because Cairns were bred to rid the world of varmints doesn't mean that you should let them. Virtually all wild animals have parasites, and a pet you let kill them WILL get infected. If this happens continually, regular veterinary checkups won't control the problem, and the result is misery for your pet. Plus, these parasites can then pass to humans. Since people see a doctor when they feel ill, this is seldom serious. But it can be, as when cats pass certain parasites from mice to pregnant women. So, there's no need to panic if your Cairn gets a varmint, but do what you can to prevent it.
© 2002 - 2007, Kathy Krajco - all rights reserved.
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It was last updated on 10/27/2007.
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