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Cairn Terrier colors
©Berit Rosenfeldt

It is almost impossible to give exact colors of the puppies when they are young.
According to the Danish Kennel Club rules we have to register the pups only 3 weeks old, and at that point getting the colors correct is pure luck. Breeding for colors will take you nowhere, like picking the pup because of the color will be of no use.

Our breed can change colors a lot because of the brindle gene.
Brindle means that the coat is striped like a tiger. The single stray of hair has variation in color, normally dark at the skin and lighter at the tip. A cairnterrier coat should never be spotted like a giraffe.

 


   
Creme Light Brindle    
 
Wheaten Light Brindle Darker Brindle  
Red Rich Red Red Brindle Dark Red Brindle
 
Grey Grey Brindle Dark Brindle  

PS Any variation of Brindle will be OK
 


Color Changes
Some of the cairns go through dramatic color changes.
Here is a few samples of the same dogs at different ages

6 month

 

5 year


 
2 years 7 years


Fault in colors
In our FCI standard the following colors are faults: Black, White and Black/Tan
Black and White are easy to see, so here is a sample of a very rare Black/Tan cairn color.

Black / Tan
Colored like an Airedale & Australian Terriers
This part is from the rear thigh

©Berit Rosenfeldt www.cairn.dk