The first to steal my heart (Cairn Terriers)

Member Name: goosey

Product:	Cairn Terriers
Date:	12/07/09 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Too many to list

Disadvantages: None

I was about eight years old when, as a birthday surprise, I was given my very first dog - a Cairn terrier named Bingo; the cutest little bundle of fur you could ever imagine. He was twelve weeks old, about eight inches long and four inches in height.

When the door opened, in rushed a four legged ball of light, grey fluff, skidding across the freshly polished, linoleum floor - there's a clue as to how long ago that was. He bounced up to me ( by now I was sprawling on the floor, mouth wide open - agog!), and sank his needle-sharp teeth into my new socks before spotting and attacking my trailing shoe laces.
The bonding between us was immediate. He developed into a healthy, mischievous, mostly obedient,yet self-willed poppet - but more of that later.

First I shall tell of some interesting snippets of information,gleaned over the years, either from experience or from the pages of books and magazines.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HISTORY OF THE BREED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is said that the Cairn terrier is one of the oldest terrier breeds in the world, bred mainly for fox hunting and ratting, being small, agile and very strong. Apparently they are left pawed, which I am assuming means that they only dig using their left paws - I'm sure, though, that Bingo used both his paws when rearranging the soil in our garden.

The Cairns are closely related to Scotties and Westies; they all originated from the same stock in the Scottish highlands. It has been known that all three types of terrier have been found in one litter - though not recently I suspect.
They were originally known as 'Short-haired Skye Terriers,' but when they were introduced to the UK in 1909, the name was rejected by the Kennel Club because of strong opposition from the 'Skye Terrier' breeders. (Skye terriers look very similar, except their coats are very much longer than the Cairn's.) So that is when and why the Short-haired Skye terrier became known as the Cairn terrier.

~~~~~~~~~
DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~

Cairns are small, rough haired dogs, standing (with all four paws on the ground) about eight inches in height and fifteen inches in length, their tails are comparitively short - three to four inches perhaps.
Their outer coats are coarse and weather resistant, their undercoat, thick, soft and fluffy, which insulates them against the cold.
The colours associated with the breed are black, red, sand and various shades of grey. Bingo was a very light grey, almost a 'dirty-white' in colour. I have yet to see a red one.

~~~~~~~~~~
TEMPERAMENT
~~~~~~~~~~

Apart from being a cuddly ball of fun, they are said to be adventurous - I can certainly vouch for that and will tell a story about Bingo's adventures later.
They are intelligent - what dog isn't?
They are strong, loyal and obedient, but can also be self-willed and very obstinate.
They are ideal pets around children and of course, adults.
They were bred as working dogs and will, when kept as pets, be happy hunting and killing mice, rabbits and squirrels - given the opportunity.

~~~~~
BINGO
~~~~~

Although Bingo was officially my dog, I must admit that my parents did the house-training bit when he was a puppy, and also made sure he was fed correctly. I had the enjoyable task (hardly a task) of giving him plenty of exercise in the form of walks or play.

However, Bingo had a mischievous, stubborn streak in him. For the biggest part, he was obedient. He taught me his signals for 'walks' and 'play.' If he wanted to go for a walk, he would bring me his lead, drop it at my feet and sit up and beg - his back as straight as a die, his front paws vigorously thrashing the air. If he wanted to play, he would tug at my socks or laces or else bring a toy, drop that in front of me and beg in his usual energetic manner.

Sometimes though, he wanted to scoot off and explore the world on his own. If we dared leave the back door open, he would creep forward, glance over his shoulder, to check he was far enough away from me to escape capture before shooting out of the door, up the garden path, across a small stream and into the nearby fields. No amount of calling would entice him back. He became 'cloth-eared' within seconds of leaving the house.

This happened quite frequently in the summer season, when the door was left ajar. After a coupleof hours, we would receive a phone call from our local police station: "Hello Mrs......, We have Bingo here, would somebody (meaning me) like to come and fetch him please.."
The station was a good mile away from home and Bingo, after sometimes rolling in some undesirables in the field, would make his way to the police station, where they gave him water and sometimes tit-bits! No wonder he gave himself up to the police!!

I would cycle to the station and place him in the wicker basket suspended from the handlebars, where he sat quietly and comfortably, enjoying the elevated views on the homeward journey.

One day, I got a call from the police saying "Bingo's here again...." Only this time, Bingo was at my side. Obviously the police station was becoming a popular venue for Cairns.
Those were the days when there was very little in the way of traffic to worry about and the police were more tolerant of errant pets. Sadly, that would not be the case today.

I am not going to describe our parting, for sadness has no place in this review. He was my 'first-love' in the doggy world and though long gone, will never be forgotten.

Summary: The first but not the last