Irish Terriers are medium sized, well built, racy dogs. They are highly energetic and very affectionate toward humans. They make wonderful family pets. They need a lot of socialisation to get on well with other dogs or pets. They require a lot of exercises daily (an hour walk a day, at last 30 minutes off leash is highly recommended) and they will take as many exercises You provide. That makes them great companions for active people. My Irish terries are stalkers at home. They always want to drag my attention and they will always choose to take a nap close to me. Hugs and kisses are provided daily by these little devils. That said, they are not dogs for everyone. They need a lot of positive training throughout all their lifetime. All negative methods will lead to aggression. Irish terriers like lo check if the rules are still on, so You need to be patient and persistent leader. They are not suitable for first time dog owners. It’s a healthy breed. Footpad hypekeratosis used to be an issue, but breeders worldwide work on eliminating this disease. All our dogs are genetically free from hiperkeratosis. Irish Terriers live up to 15 years. And one more thing one need to know: they have a huge sense of humour and they will use every occasion to make You laugh. With Irish Terrier You are never alone.
IRISH TERRIER BREED STANDARD
FCI-Standard N° 139
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Ireland.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID
STANDARD: 13.03.2001.
UTILISATION: Versatile farmyard dog, family pet, guard dog with
utter contempt for danger or hurt, hunter and gundog.
FCI-CLASSIFICATION: Group 3 Terriers.
Section 1 Large and medium-sized
Terriers.
Without working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: Ireland has produced four
Terrier breeds, all of which are markedly different from terriers on
the continent and in England. The dog now officially called Irish
Terrier is possibly the oldest of the Irish terrier breeds but records are
so scarce that it would be difficult to prove this conclusively. Before
the 1880s the colour of the Irish Terrier had not been settled. Apart
from red they were sometimes black and tan and sometimes brindle.
At the end of the 19th century efforts were made to breed out the
black and tan and the brindles so that by the 20th century all Irish
Terriers showed the red coat. The red coated Irish Terrier soon made
its appearance on show benches in England and in the United States
where it was enthusiastically received. The Irish Terrier’s reputation
was enhanced during the First World War when they were used as
messenger dogs in the terrifying noise and confusion of trench
warfare, thus proving both their intelligence and their fearlessness.
The first breed club was set up in Dublin on March 31st 1879 and the
Irish Terrier was the first member of the terrier group to be
recognised by the English Kennel Club in the late 19th century as a
native Irish Breed.
GENERAL APPEARANCE: The dog must present an active,
lively, lithe and wiry appearance; lots of substance, at the same time
free of clumsiness, as speed and endurance as well as power is very
essential.
The Irish Terrier must be neither “cloddy nor cobby” but should be
framed on the “lines of speed” showing a graceful racy outline.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: The Irish Terrier, while being
game and capable of holding his own with other dogs, is remarkably
loyal, good tempered and affectionate with mankind, but once he is
attacked, he has the courage of a lion and will fight to the bitter end.
The dog’s reputation for getting into scraps with others, sometimes
even in the showring, is undeserved. Though the terrier may be
fierce when the circumstances call for it, the Irish Terrier is easily
trained and a gentle pet, living up to his early description as “the
poor man’s sentinel, the farmer’s friend and the gentleman’s
favourite”.
HEAD: Long, free from wrinkles.
CRANIAL REGION
Skull: Flat and rather narrow between the ears, getting slightly
narrower towards the eyes.
Stop: Hardly visible except in profile.
FACIAL REGION
Nose: Must be black.
Lips: Should be well fitting and externally almost black in colour.
Jaw: Must be strong and muscular, of good punishing length.
Teeth: Should be strong, level, free from canker and the top incisors
slightly overlapping the lower.
Cheeks: Not too full. There should be a slight falling away below
the eye so as not to have a Greyhound appearance.
EYES: Should be dark in colour, small, not prominent and full of
life, fire and intelligence. A yellow or light eye is most
objectionable.
EARS: Small and V-shaped, of moderate thickness, set well on the
head and dropping forward closely to the cheek. The top line of the
folded ear should be well above the level of the head.
An ear hanging by the side of the head, like a hound’s, is not
characteristic of the Terrier, while an ear which is semi-erect, is even
more undesirable. The hair on the ear should be short and darker in
colour than that on the body.
NECK: Should be of a fair length and gradually widening towards
the shoulders, well carried and free from throatiness. There is
generally a slight sort of frill visible at each side of the neck, running
nearly to the ear.
BODY: Should be symmetrical, neither too long nor too short.
Back: Should be strong and straight, with no appearance of
slackness behind the shoulders.
Loin: Muscular and very slightly arched. A bitch may be slightly
longer in couplings than a dog.
Chest: Deep and muscular but neither full nor wide. Ribs fairly
sprung, rather deep than round and well-ribbed back.
TAIL: Should be set on rather high, carried gaily but not over the
back or curled. It should be of good strength and substance and
fairly long. Customarily the tail is docked so that two-thirds of its
original length remains. The tail should be well covered with rough
hair and free from fringe or feather. Only a natural tail (undocked) is
allowed in countries where docking is banned by law.
LIMBS: Both fore and hind legs should be moved straight forward.
FOREQUARTERS:
Shoulder: Must be fine, long and sloping.
Elbow: Working freely clear of the sides.
Forearm: Moderately long perfectly straight with plenty of bone and
muscle.
Pastern: Short and straight, hardly noticeable.
St-FCI n°139/02.04.2001
5
Forefeet: Should be strong, tolerably round and moderately small,
toes arched and neither turned out nor in, black toenails most
desirable. Pads sound and free from cracks or corny excrescence.
HINDQUARTERS:
General appearance: Should be strong and muscular.
Thigh: Powerful.
Stifle (Knee): Moderately bent.
Hock joint: Near ground
Hind feet: Should be strong, tolerably round and moderately small,
toes arched and neither turned out nor in, black toenails most
desirable. Pads sound and free from cracks or corny excrescence.
GAIT /MOVEMENT: Fore and hindlegs carried straight forward
and parallel, elbows move parallel to the axis of the body, working
free of sides, stifles neither turning in nor out.
COAT
Hair: Should be dense and wiry in texture, having a broken
appearance but still lying flat, the hairs growing so closely and
strongly together that when parted with the fingers, the skin cannot
be seen, free of softness and silkiness and not so long as to hide the
outlines of the body, particularly in the hindquarters and free of lock
or curl. Hair on face of same description as on body but short (about
three-quarters of a centimetre long), almost smooth and straight, a
slight beard is the only long hair (and it is only long in comparison
with the rest) that is permissible and is characteristic. A “goats”
beard is suggestive of there being silky and bad
hair running through the coat generally.
Legs: Free of feather and covered, like the head, with as hard a
texture of coat as body but not so long.
Colour: Should be “whole coloured” being red, red-wheaten or
yellow-red. White sometimes on the chest. A small amount of white
is frequently to be seen in all self coloured breeds.
SIZE AND WEIGHT:
Height at the withers: Approximately 18 inches (45.5cm).
Weight: Dogs 27lbs (12.25kg).
Bitches 25lbs (11.4kg).
FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be
considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be
regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect
upon the health and welfare of the dog.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:
• Aggresive or overly shy.
• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities.
• Nose: Any colour other than black.
• Jaws: Decidedly undershot or overshot.
• Colour: Any other than red, yellow red or red wheaten. A small
patch of white on chest is permissible as in other whole-coloured
breeds.
• Feet: Corny excrescence or cracks on pads.
N.B:
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully
descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical
conformation, should be used for breeding.
Bloomosalem 