The following information is taken from books that we've read about the breed - we just found some of the Cairn's history interesting and useful in understanding the breed as it is today.

Derived from the word 'Terra' (latin for earth) terriers were originally bred and introduced into this country as dogs for killing vermin. They found their prey by digging in the earth, a habit that they still have now as our garden is testiment to! The terriers were tenacious and had a loud bark which was needed to help their owners find them when they were underground. We hope that we don't have to use this to locate either of our boys...!

From the terrier group, the Cairns were fearless hunters of foxes, badgers and otters from rocks, hence their eventual name of 'Cairns'. There was some confusion about the name of Cairns in the early 20th century, when they were called the Skye terrier and the Scotch terrier, but as Skye terriers were already Kennel Club registered, when the early Cairns were entered into shows, objections were raised. By 1912, there were four championship shows that held Cairn classes.

As you can see, the tenacious, aggressive killing machine that is the Cairn terrier retains these characteristics to this day.....!!!