A dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta dog, and Cairn Terriers have gotta dig.

Nature sees to it that they can do so easily. The front paws on a Cairn Terrier aren’t just well-padded, they’re larger than their rear paws, a distinct advantage to a dog intent on digging from America to China. Their forefeet may also be slightly turned out, but from the pastern only, and that’s allowed so that the dog can balance and scramble up rocks more efficiently. Interestingly, most Cairn Terriers are usually left-pawed, and in dogs, that’s been shown to correlate to superior performance in tasks related to scent. We’re not sure what accounts for a Cairn’s “never say die” attitude, but Cairn folks aren’t kidding when they say, “If you give a Cairn an inch, he won’t take a mile, he’ll take 100 miles.” Having grown up with the breed, we can’t disagree.