Cairn Terrier Health 101
Your Guide To Buying A Healthy Cairn Pup
Step 1 - Know Your Information Is Good
The internet is a blessing and a curse.
Anyone can put up a fancy website without having to prove their depth of knowledge and experience in any way. Honestly, there is so much misinformation on-line it is alarming and does a great deal of harm.
I began breeding cairn terriers when I retired and moved to an appropriate location to do so. However I have been deeply involved in dogs since I was certified as a Master Police K9 Instructor in 1979. I am retired from 20 years as an animal control officer. I have written nearly a hundred published articles on dogs and have three well received books on dogs published. I have been an expert witness on dog training for both the Seattle Police K9 Unit and the Tacoma Police K9 Unit in court cases. I have traveled to five countries as a speaker to law enforcement and animal control agencies on dog behavior and aggression. I have put over 70 advanced training titles on my own dogs including schutzhund, ring sport and man-tracking. I have been a serious student of the most successful breeding programs for 50 years. As a "dog expert" I have been on 48 Hours, The Oprah Show, CNN, Bryant Gumble's Eye On America, McNeil/Lehrer News Hour and dozens of local television news shows.
Dogs have been my life-long passion and my particular interest is the history of dog breeds and the practices of the most successful dog breeders of the past.
I began breeding cairn terriers when I retired and moved to an appropriate location to do so. However I have been deeply involved in dogs since I was certified as a Master Police K9 Instructor in 1979. I am retired from 20 years as an animal control officer. I have written nearly a hundred published articles on dogs and have three well received books on dogs published. I have been an expert witness on dog training for both the Seattle Police K9 Unit and the Tacoma Police K9 Unit in court cases. I have traveled to five countries as a speaker to law enforcement and animal control agencies on dog behavior and aggression. I have put over 70 advanced training titles on my own dogs including schutzhund, ring sport and man-tracking. I have been a serious student of the most successful breeding programs for 50 years. As a "dog expert" I have been on 48 Hours, The Oprah Show, CNN, Bryant Gumble's Eye On America, McNeil/Lehrer News Hour and dozens of local television news shows.
Dogs have been my life-long passion and my particular interest is the history of dog breeds and the practices of the most successful dog breeders of the past.
Step 2 - Do Your Research Before You Buy
In my opinion the American Kennel Club and its member "mother clubs" for each breed do a really poor job of educating the public about just how to go about buying a healthy, ethically bred puppy. And its a shame as this knowledge not only benefits you, as a puppy buyer, but also the cairn breed in general; knowledge and love for dogs directs puppy buyers to ethical breeders who health test.
Breeders have the ability to make our breeds as healthy as possible in many areas by using the science currently available. Of course there are issues like cancer which sadly cannot be predicted by anyone and are caused by such a wide range of reasons.
One goal of my site is to give you resources for educating yourself on the basic diseases and conditions which can be common in the cairn terrier and the health testing available which allows a breeder to avoid producing puppies with these conditions.
Health testing basically consists of DNA testing, physical exam for things like eye, patella and heart health and xray examinations when the dog is an adult to look for orthopedic signs of things like hip or elbow dysplasia. When a breeder health tests their dogs the point is not only to be aware of any possible issues ahead for the individual dog but even more importantly, it enables the ethical breeder to either remove the dog from the breeding program or to use this knowledge to select mates which do not suffer from the same condition.
Please use the following information to familiarize yourself with what you need to know to not only help yourself, but also help the entire breed by utilizing ethical, concerned breeders when purchasing your cairn. (Links below).
Breeders have the ability to make our breeds as healthy as possible in many areas by using the science currently available. Of course there are issues like cancer which sadly cannot be predicted by anyone and are caused by such a wide range of reasons.
One goal of my site is to give you resources for educating yourself on the basic diseases and conditions which can be common in the cairn terrier and the health testing available which allows a breeder to avoid producing puppies with these conditions.
Health testing basically consists of DNA testing, physical exam for things like eye, patella and heart health and xray examinations when the dog is an adult to look for orthopedic signs of things like hip or elbow dysplasia. When a breeder health tests their dogs the point is not only to be aware of any possible issues ahead for the individual dog but even more importantly, it enables the ethical breeder to either remove the dog from the breeding program or to use this knowledge to select mates which do not suffer from the same condition.
Please use the following information to familiarize yourself with what you need to know to not only help yourself, but also help the entire breed by utilizing ethical, concerned breeders when purchasing your cairn. (Links below).
A pup's first successful hunt! So proud!