Crooked Creek Cairn Terrier Update for November

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great visit with family in Missouri. Even with the turmoil and stresses we're faced with on a daily basis, there is so much to be thankful for. Christmas is in the air and I'm still in shock that we're heading into December. I don't know where the time goes but it definately goes faster as each month goes by.

We received a preliminary report on Libby's puppies that died. It was a bacterial infection, but we are puzzled since antibiotics did not treat them. Further testing is being completed to see what strain of bacteria it was to see if it was a resistent strain, and we're waiting for recommendations on treatment and prevention for the future. I'm glad it wasn't viral and all of the dogs and puppies are doing fine here, so hopefully we won't have it occur again. We can only learn and move forward. With all the sanitizing I do, I'm still in shock that anything could have infected them. How do dirty puppy mills EVER raise puppies in the first place!? I even switched last year to a professional strength vet/kennel sanitizer instead of my good old Lysol that I used to use. I use bleach on the outside runs so the mama can't step in something and bring it back into the whelping box to her puppies. I just don't know what else I can do and it's frustrating to think you do a good job and still have something as simple as a bacterial infection occur. I know life isn't perfect, but I want it to be!!! LOL

I have planned upcoming litters for the year. The preliminary plans are posted on the Our Cairns page of the website. Sires and/or dates are subject to change if someone cycles at a different time than planned. We're holding upcoming litter choices for those that did not get a puppy recently, but we'll resume deposits after everyone has their puppy. In the meantime we'll accept a waiting list for next available puppies, and upon assuring that the puppies are available, we'll accept deposits.

I have several dogs that need new photos as they are maturing. Lanie & Bailie are just gorgeous and Miyah is still a puppy but so far she's making it into the breeding program. She's a beautiful gray brindle color and has everything headed in the right direction. Daisie is still as cute as a button! I'm really excited about the quality of the next generation for Crooked Creek Cairn Terriers.

Bridget whelped

Bridget whelped this morning. She had a male that was just huge. He is the size of a 3 week old already! I waited around a couple hours and when she continued to push with no results, I checked her. She had a puppy that was trying to come down and she wasn't able to make progress. I took her in and we did a c-section. Another healthy female but much to my surprise, that was it. Just 2 HUGE puppies took up enough room for 6! Bridget is in pain, but is doing pretty well. The puppies are latching and are strong. After losing Libby's puppies, I really hoped for extra puppies. We'll make plans to save the next upcoming litters for those already waiting. At this point we're at nature's mercy. So we're hoping and waiting for strong healthy puppies and some nice litter sizes.

Brindle Cairn Terrier Color

The brindle gene causes a striping pattern in the coat. Cairn Terriers are often mislabeled in color, because with a long coat it's difficult to tell if a dog is a wheaten with black hairs in their coat, or a light brindle. A light brindle has black striping that goes all the way through the undercoat and has a lot of light colored hair in their coat. A dark brindle has the same striping in the coat but may have much more dark than light. A true brindle can not lose the brindle gene, even though Cairns do change color over time and from season to season. You can have a very dark puppy that appears to be a brindle because of the dark color. But if it does not have the tiger striping, it is not a brindle. I only know about the brindle gene because I owned a horse with the brindle gene and was so intrigued. In horses, the brindle gene is so rare there are not enough brindle horses in existence to trace the genetic marker!!! Shai was quite a rare Quarter Horse!!!!! Attached is a photo of his left side, where the tiger striping is very obvious. This is how the striping appears in the Cairn Terrier at birth and as the coat grows longer, the striping looks more mixed throughout the coat and they can be from a dark color to a light color. Also attached is a photo of Hailie from the side, showing her striping of silver, wheaten, and streaks of red. The black goes all the way through the undercoat and she is genetically a brindle even though she is very light in total color.