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Cairn Terrier

The breeds · terrier

AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 4

Cairn Terrier.

UKC history: developed in Scotland to hunt otter, fox and other vermin along the shoreline; a small working terrier, agile and alert. AKC standard: an active, game, hardy, small working terrier of the short-legged class. RKC: from the 17th century used in the Western Highlands and the Isle of Skye to keep down vermin that threatened game; lighter in build than the other Scottish terriers, a game, rugged and harsh-coated sporting terrier. FCI 4: Group 3, Section 2 small-sized terriers, without working trial..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

14YRMedian lifespan13.8 to 14.3, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
13–17LBWeight, all linesbreed 13 to 16.5 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size small).. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

9.5 to 12.2 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Registries differ: AKC prints a smaller ideal than UKC and FCI; low and high span all three. Left as a both-sex row because UKC and FCI do not split by sex.

Weight

13 to 16.5 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Span of AKC, UKC and FCI; AKC and FCI differ only in rounding at the low end.

Coat

AKC: hard and weather-resistant, double-coated; any color except white; a slight wave is permitted, silkiness or curliness is a fault. UKC: cream, wheaten, red, gray or nearly black, brindling acceptable. FCI 4: same colours; not solid black, white, or black and tan. AKC page: grooming frequency 2 of 5, shedding 2 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: medium coat, sheds, groom more than once a week.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · AKC: hard, weather-resistant double coat, profuse harsh outer coat and short soft close undercoat. UKC and FCI agree: double-coated, harsh but not coarse.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard's coat (medium double coat = 3). No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

14 years (13.8 to 14.3)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK VetCompass-derived population; the AKC page band is not used here.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size small).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 1 hour' mapped to 60 minutes.

Exercise need

AKC page energy level 3 of 5 and mental stimulation needs 3 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: up to 1 hour per day, suits a flat or apartment, small to medium garden.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to the library scale.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · RKC: grooming more than once a week.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'more than once a week' mapped to 3 on the 1 to 5 library scale.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

UKC history: developed in Scotland to hunt otter, fox and other vermin along the shoreline; a small working terrier, agile and alert. AKC standard: an active, game, hardy, small working terrier of the short-legged class. RKC: from the 17th century used in the Western Highlands and the Isle of Skye to keep down vermin that threatened game; lighter in build than the other Scottish terriers, a game, rugged and harsh-coated sporting terrier. FCI 4: Group 3, Section 2 small-sized terriers, without working trial.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC, AKC, RKC and FCI wording.

Primary game

UKC: otter, fox and other vermin along the shoreline. RKC: vermin that were a threat to game, in the Western Highlands and on Skye. Wikipedia (editorial): the name comes from cairns, where the terriers often flushed out vermin; the Kennel Club of the UK registered the breed separately in 1912.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC and RKC are registry statements; Wikipedia is editorial.

Search pattern

RKC: they often worked in small packs, going into the cairns, the small outcrops of stones common on the highland moors, that gave the breed its name. Wikipedia: the name comes from cairns where the terriers flushed out vermin.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Single registry statement (RKC) plus Wikipedia; no pack or voice detail beyond that.

Field trial standard

Cairn Terrier is on the AKC Earthdog eligibility list (Recognized Breeds): dogs must be 6 months or older and AKC, PAL or FSS registered. FCI 4 classifies the breed 'without working trial'.

Breed clubAKC

Earthdog levels and scoring were not read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

8.4% · OFA current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026: 227 evaluations; Normal 91.2%, Dysplastic 8.4% (Mild 7.9, Moderate 0.4, Severe 0.0); OFA rank 149.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Current all-data OFA statistic, accessed Oct 8 2026; OFA submissions skew toward breeding stock, and 227 dogs is a small sample.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia (editorial) lists commonly reported hereditary conditions: bronchoesophageal fistula, cataracts, craniomandibular osteopathy (lion jaw), Krabbe disease (globoid cell leukodystrophy), Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, lens luxation, luxating patella, ocular melanosis, portosystemic shunt, progressive retinal atrophy, von Willebrand disease, hip dysplasia, atopic dermatitis.

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial list, no frequencies; not a VetCompass or club survey figure.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 4; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the Cairn Terrier against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Cairn

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

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