Short legged normally built Terriers
When the ANKC Jack Russell breed standard was written just two decades ago, it recognised the problem of bowed front legs that plague many of our short legged terriers. So steps were taken to eliminate it by demanding in the breed standard that spanning a terrier was a requirement. Unfortunately, other short legged terriers in this section have no such measurement.
As a result, the chest of some terriers in this section has incorrectly become deeper and deeper. As a result, incorrect bowed front legs instead of straight ones, are too often seen on some of these terriers.
The breeds we are discussing in this section are:
Cairn Terrier
Historically and even today at first glance to the uneducated eye some of these breeds may look similar. After all, all six are small and have some form of a a rough coat. A quick look at the breed standards is not very enlightening either!
An examination of the in-depth dicussion on these breeds, plus consideration of the terrain in which they worked as well as the animals they were bred to hunt, gives some answers.
Although this is but a quick overview of these breeds, it is to be hoped that it will be of assistance and an inspiration for anybody concerned to investigate, understand and respect the subtle differences between all the short legged terriers. For these sorts of differences retain terrier breeds' distinctiveness, and define their breed type.