Cairn Terrier The Dog Who Went Over The Rainbow

The Great Depression hit everyone hard in Hollywood; even actors like Terry who'd managed to put together a respectable career. She'd appeared in a handful of movies, including roles opposite Shirley Temple in the 1934 film "Bright Eyes" and with Spencer Tracy in 1936's "Fury," but she was still looking for that one big break -the picture that would turn her from a bit player into a star.

In the fall of 1938, Terry's "manager" Carl Spitz got a call from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.The studio was looking for just the right actor to portray a key role in the upcoming adaptation of Frank L. Baum's classic fairytale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and wondered if Terry would like to audition for the part. Terry nailed the audition, earning the role of Toto, and went on to become the most famous cairn terrier ever to grace the silver screen.

Today it's hard to imagine The Wizard of Oz without a cairn terrier as Toto. The scrappy little dog was mischief-maker and devoted friend, courageous hero and comic relief - the same blend of characteristics that cairn terrier enthusiasts have admired for the last 150 years. The Wizard of Oz went on to become one of our most beloved movies - it was selected as the sixth greatest film of all time by the American Film Institute - and although it might be rash to suggest the movie would've been less successful had it not featured a cairn, it's difficult, if not impossible, to imagine another breed bringing the same panache to one of dogdom's greatest roles.

There's No Place Like Home

The fairytale landscape of Oz was a far cry from the cairn terrier's native landscape in the highlands and isles of west Scotland, where rocky outcrops took the place of yellow brick roads and the land was populated not with munchkins or tin men but vermin.

Although it may not be as romantic as dueling wicked witches, the first cairns spent their days scouring the fields for the badgers, fox and rats that stole the grain and livestock off the Scots' hardscrabble farms and estates. Cairn were but one of many generic terrier types that populated the highlands, probably from as early as the sixteenth century.

Owners favored different attributes in their working terriers according to their needs, and inbreeding ensured that the separate strains retained their characteristic points.

Much of the known early history of the cairn terrier, like that of the Skye terrier, centers on the island of Skye. In fact, the roots of both breeds center on the same families and estates: Drynock, Mogstads, Waternish Camusennary and Roseneath are all strains to which both breeds can be traced. The Roseneath name is also prominent in early West Highland white terriers.

It appears that certain families favored certain colors for their cairns. The Macdonalds of Waternish preferred dark grays and brindles, but the Macleods of Drynock favored silver grays. All of Scotland's terriers were grouped together as Scotch terriers until 1873, when they were separated into two classifications -Dandie Dinmont terriers and Skye terriers. The Skye terrier class included the breeds now known as the Scottish terrier, the West Highland terriers and the cairn terrier. eveloped from the same basic stock, the three were often found in the same litter and distinguished only by color.

Cairns were initially called short-haired Skyes, but Skye terrier fanciers protested the use of the name. To avoid future confusion, it was suggested that the name of the shorthaired Skyes be changed to the cairn terrier of Skye. Cairns were piles of stones which served as the landmarks or memorials. Common throughout much of Scotland, cairns were frequent hiding places for the small mammals hunted by terriers. The shortened name cairn terrier was agreed upon in 1912.

The breed made its official debut in America in 1913, when Mrs. Henry Price of Connecticut imported Sandy Peter Out of the West from Scotland. Sandy Peter became the first cairn registered by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in that same year. In 1917 the Cairn Terrier Club of America was granted membership in the American Kennel Club.

King of the Forest

Unlike the Cowardly Lion, the cairn terrier has courage to spare, thanks to its heritage as an earth dog. Preserving this lionhearted courage has long been a goal of fanciers and is reflected in the breed standard, which describes the cairn's general appearance as "that of an active, game, hardy, small working terrier of the short-legged class; very free in its movements, strongly but heavily built.

"This description reflects the fact the Cairn should have the hardiness to meet the performance of his ancestors," continues the AKC in The Complete Dog Book. "Utility should be the aim of the fancier, since the express aim of the Cairn Terrier clubs is to preserve the breed in its best old-working type."

Cairn owners are on intimate terms with the dog's ingrained, aggressive characteristics. Cairns will vigorously and vocally guard home and yard from all intruders, both friend and foe. They like to bark and can sound quite ferocious, even when playing. They will enjoy the company of other dogs, children and cats if socialized early, but the cairn's assertiveness can backfire on the owner if the dog is not trained and managed properly.

The reward for teaching a cairn the proper dignity and respect for other creatures is a dog that is almost eerily in tune with their owner's moods. Remember the devotion of Toto, who never left Dorothy's side except to chase something or save her life? That kind of steadfast loyalty is a hallmark of the breed.

Cairns were bred to dig out their prey, and members of the breed have not forgotten this. Care is needed to prevent it from digging its way out of a run. The cairn's exercise needs are moderate, but owners should not forget this is a "sporting dog" which makes it very active and inquisitive. Even within its own domain, the cairns wandering soul occasionally gets him into trouble - they love to investigate anything and everything, so make sure chemicals and other household dangers are kept secured. . . .

And Your Little Dog, Too

When he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1899, 15 years before the cairn's "official" arrival on this side of the Atlantic, L. Frank Baum had probably never set eyes on a cairn terrier, yet his description of Toto seems to fit the cairn to a T. "It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings," Baum wrote describing the dog. "Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose. Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly." As Baum described, the cairn's twinkling eyes, lively demeanor and steadfast companionship have endeared the cairn to many a Dorothy throughout the years.

The one area where Baum's description missed was the coat. Like many of his terrier cousins, the cairn's outer coat is hard, not silky, although the undercoat is very soft. Black is a typical color for the cairn, but the breed comes in a great variety of colors which will often change drastically from puppyhood to adulthood. Cream, gray, wheaten and red are other typical colors. The only color forbidden by the AKC is white.

A cairn should have a rugged appearance, in deference to its past in the Scottish Highlands. Its coat should never be trimmed with scissors (except for shaping the feet) but should be hand stripped by using the finger and thumb. Frequent bathing should be avoided as it softens the coat. The furniture-conscious will appreciate that the cairn is a low-shed dog. The soft undercoat will shed out twice a year, but regular combing will keep that under control.

The cairn's constitution matches its hardy demeanor and appearance. Few heritable diseases affect the breed, although it is not entirely immune to such concerns. Patellar luxation, an abnormally shallow groove in the knee so that the kneecap slips out of position, affects the breed, as does Leggs-Perthes disease - destruction of the head of the femur bone because of a decrease in blood supply. Lion jaw, or cranio mandibular osteopathy, a malformation of the lower jaw that becomes noticeable around three to four months, is also a problem. The best way to avoid these problems is to purchase your cairn from a reputable breeder who will have screened the breeding stock for flaws. The typical life span for a cairn is approximately 14 years.

The Yellow Brick Road

Cairn terriers may not be one of today's most popular dogs - the breed ranked 42nd in 1999 AKC registrations of the 147 breeds registered, up from 44th the previous year. Statistics only tell part of the story. Those who do share their lives with a feisty, steadfast and occasionally cantankerous cairn have already learned Dorothy's secret - that a dog who can make you laugh and keep you from growing gray is worth its weight in ruby slippers. We should all be so lucky as to have a cairn terrier by our side as we travel down the Yellow Brick Road.