Cairns are “easy keepers”. This means that it takes very little food to maintain an adult Cairn in perfect weight and condition, so owners must carefully measure the amount of kibble and raw food that their Cairn receives. Adding cooked French cut green beans and lots of hot water to the dog’s food is a way of filling his tummy without adding extra calories. Usually, Cairns do better with two small meals a day rather than one. With only one meal a day, many Cairns will become nauseated as stomach bile enters an empty stomach, causing the dog to vomit that foamy yellow bile. Eating twice a day seems to prevent such nausea.

Either weigh your dog once a week or “span” it frequently. In “spanning”, place your hands around the waist of the dog with his back end towards you. You should be able to easily feel your Cairn’s ribs with no fat buildup in the abdominal area. If the dog has gained too much weight, you’ll have difficulty feeling its ribs, and you will easily feel a bulging, accumulated fat area around the abdomen. Please remember that only a Cairn in good, lean, hard condition is a healthy Cairn. Very well written with lots of humor.

Review by Kath Littlefield