After having had our 2 Westies for the past 15 years, I'm curious as to what the differences (other than obvious appearance) are between a Westie vs Cairn.  

I feel like their temperaments are very similar - is this accurate?

Do Cairns need to be groomed as often?  We had Waldorf and Statler groomed every 6 weeks as their hair would get very matted otherwise.

Thanx in advance for your advice/info!

Jill

In general, I think temperament is quite similar and will depend largely on training, but in our experience (having two of each breed over the last 40 years) the Westies were both a bit mellower than our Cairns. Which isn't to say that either breed will EVER give you the upper hand!

Both of our Westies more readily matted than the Cairns but that can also depend on grooming and ancestry.

Emmy (Cairn) has never had a single mat and she also rarely needs a bath, though she is definitely an indoor dog. She gets groomed about once every 3-4 months and seems to shed quite a lot of her undercoat.

We do not have children...Eric and  Ellie I had to watch if ever small children were in an area we were and also Biba is not good with them..but we are not likely to have visitors with them ever..its just if we are in streets and they are around.Cairns always want to be in on the action and can keep going  and zooming and all mine have loved to Bark at various things...Bibas Favorite is tractors and pick ups with stock tyrailers that go past the gate on the lane...the horse box can drive past slowly and she never makes a sound though..another one is motorbikes!..of course a bonus is being different colours means they dont show the dirt like Westies LOL!..although the smell the same as Biba did on Sunday rolling in Fox Do Doo's!..shower and tomato ketchup !!

I am sure you will get lots of replies Jill and which ever you decide will be a bundle of fun  and joy..like cream cakes Naughty but nice sometimes.

Hugs and kisses Annie Bibsy and Drew xxxxxxxxxxxxx

my westies were a alittle more mellow the cairn, but had such different  personalities, but I loved having but kinds.

sandi and presley, buster and robin at the bridge

Diana, our very first Westie Cindy had skin issues as a puppy but we switched her to strictly high quality 'grain-free' kibble after getting advice from our vet. Since then, we've only given similar diets to all our girls and have not seen any skin issues.

It may also help that we avoid exposure to grasses, which was another valuable bit of advice from our vet.

However, it does seem that Cairns are less susceptible to skin allergies in general.

Wondered if Cairns had the same skin issues, thanks for the info Mark.

From what I can tell from the adventures of TC pups is that Westies seem more mellow. Cairns are aggressive. Not in a bad way but more in an active ADHD way. They're always on the go and into something. You have to be on your toes. They're less loving and people oriented than the TC Westies. They want to be near you but not on top of you (unless you have food). They're not cuddly lap dogs but they can be, it has to be on their terms. They're hard-headed, stubborn, loyal, loving companions-as long as you feed them often, rub their bellies and let them run the household LOL!

Growing up with a Cairn was the very best experience but I don't know if my mom sees it that way!