France

Breeding conditions

• Cotation is a voluntary SCC ranking from 1 to 6 (4 = recommande, 5-6 = elite), not a registration gate - a litter can be registered at the LOF without it. But it is the recognised ladder a French breeder climbs, and the health conditions attached are real. The French equivalent of Denmark Basis Plus: compliance rewarded rather than compelled.
• Cotation for the Cairn requires a behaviour test at "tres bon" minimum after 9 months, genetic identification registered with the SCC beforehand, and a veterinary certificate of freedom from patellar luxation after 15 months. OCM is additionally required at Recommande and Elite levels.
• France asks for a certificate of FREEDOM from patellar luxation, where Luxembourg, Flanders and the Netherlands grade the joint and permit some grades to breed.
• The patella age threshold is 15 months, against 12 in Luxembourg and Flanders.

Read this first

• Earlier research reported that no dedicated French Cairn Terrier breed club site could be located. That was wrong - the club is CATE, at club-ate.fr.
• The unresolved "recommande / elite" classification is the SCC cotation system; CATE publishes its criteria at club-ate.fr/reglements-cynophiles/faire-coter-son-chien.
• No eye examination and no vWD test applies to the Cairn in this club - those belong to the Scottish Terrier in the same rules.
• STILL UNVERIFIED: whether the SCC itself conditions LOF litter registration on any health test. centrale-canine.fr returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches.
• France attaches OCM to titles; Germany attaches binding mating rules to the same test results while leaving the test optional. Neither makes it a registration gate.