Kashon

The Kashon is a designer dog, an intentional crossbreed between an entertaining and affectionate companion animal known as the Bichon Frise, and the Cairn Terrier, a small, tenacious terrier that was originally employed as pest control on farms on the Isle of Skye. The Cairn Terrier is the descendant of a very old line of terriers that hunted vermin such as otters and foxes along the wild, rocky shores of Scotland. All of Scotland’s terriers were simply lumped together under the heading of Scotch Terrier until 1873 when the Terriers were separated out into the subcategories of Dandie Dinmont and Skye Terriers. The Cairn Terrier fits into the subcategory of Skye Terriers, along with the Scottish Terrier and the West Highland White Terrier, and was first imported into the United States 1913. The Bichon Frise is a small dog that is most often solid white. This breed is the descendant of an ancient Italian water spaniel, the same Italian water spaniel that contributed heavily to both the Poodle and the Maltese dog breeds. Known as the Bichon Tenerife and prized for their cheerful and loving dispositions, Bichon Frise dogs often traveled with sailors both to rid the ship of vermin and to be used as items of trade. From the 1300’s to the 1800’s they were favored by one royal family or another, but when they fell out of favor with the royals, these spunky little dogs were able to find success working the streets with organ grinders and performing tricks at circuses and fairs. This breed was first introduced to the United States in 1956 and was not recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club until 1972.