Dog breed guide
Cairn Terrier
A small terrier with a harsh double coat that is brushed a couple of times a week and sheds little. Purina Australia says it is generally good with children but independent and best trained consistently from early on. The Royal Kennel Club lists it as suitable for flat or apartment living with up to an hour of exercise a day.
Cairn Terrier at a glance
- Adult weight, male
- 6 to 8 kg
- Adult weight, female
- 6 to 8 kg
- Size
- Small, under 10 kg
- Height
- 28 to 31 cm
- Lifespan
- 12 to 15 years
- Coat
- hard and weather-resistant double coat, profuse harsh outer coat with short soft furry undercoat
Ratings
Petboost editorial ratings from 1 to 5, drawn from the breed standard text under Sources. A breed with no basis in the sources for a rating shows none.
- Shedding
- Grooming effort
- Energy
- Trainability
- Good with children
- Suits an apartment
5 means it sheds heavily
5 means it needs the most grooming
5 means it needs a lot of exercise
5 means it learns quickly and eagerly
5 means it suits a family best
5 means it copes best in a small home
Next steps
- Find a local groomer or daycarePet businesses near you that take bookings online.
- Check a Cairn Terrier puppy's weightWhere a puppy sits against the breed's adult range.
- Dog age in human yearsFrom a formula, not the seven-to-one rule.
Sources
- Petboost breed reference data, adult weight ranges (breed list snapshot).
- AKC, Official Standard for the Cairn Terrier, https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/CairnTerrier.pdf, read 5 Oct 2026
- Purina Australia, Cairn Terrier breed page, https://www.purina.com.au/cairn-terrier.html, read 5 Oct 2026
- Royal Kennel Club (The Kennel Club UK), Cairn Terrier breed page, https://www.royalkennelclub.com/search/breeds-a-to-z/breeds/terrier/cairn-terrier/, read 5 Oct 2026
General information about the breed, not veterinary advice. Speak with your vet about your own pet.