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Irish Terrier

History

The Irish Terrier originates - as his name already indicates - from Ireland. In Ireland there are four breeds that distinctively differ from the terrier breeds of the Continent as well as England. Following the old traditions the Irish Terrier seems to be the oldest breed of the Irish terrier breeds. However, written proofs are rare and thus it cannot be proved definitely and for sure. What is known on the origin of this breed lies in the mists of the past as with most of the other terrier breeds. But one fact seems to be certain; one of his ancestors was the wire-haired Black-and-Tan Terrier, nowadays no longer existing. It may very well be assumed that the Irish Terrier we know today derives from breed lines of the north of Ireland In the Club for Terriers (Klub fuer Terrier) the Irish Terrier may recall on a long history. Already in the first Breed Book of the Club Irish Terriers had been registered. His career in shows began around the year 1870, and very soon he was well known even beyond the borders of Irelands becoming one of the most attractive and requested dogs for and in exhibitions of that time. The highest number of entries ever noted had been achieved in London in 1900 stating more than 350 Irish Terriers. Already then very much money had been paid for a winning dog, e.g. the breeder of Champion Bolton Woods Mixer got 500 pounds when sold the dog or Champion Straight Tip changed owners for more than 400 pounds. That are quite considerable amounts taking into account the former rate of. This rapid development had been favoured by the founding of the "Irish Terrier Club" on March 31st, 1879. A great merit of this Club is the prohibition of cropping for all dog races, being set up by the Kennel Club on demand of the ITC. It purports no dog having cropped ears born after December 31st, 1889, to be permitted to attend any Kennel Club Show. That too is why you will find dogs having cropped ears and evidently shorter tails on older pictures, as is with e.g. Killiney Boy and CH Erin, both ancestors of our today's Irish TerriersKilliney Boy had been bred by Mr. Burke from Dublin and later on been sold to Mr. Waterhouse, where he lived till he died. Though he won some first places he had great influence on the breed due to his being a great hereditor. His parents were called Jack and Jess, nobody knows where they derived from. As the ancestress of our present Irish you have to denote CH Erin, a highly decorated bitch winning many rewards. On her first show in Dublin she was sold by an unknown breeder of Ballymena, District of Antrim, to Mr W. Graham, known as the "Irish Ambassador". Out of the mating of the two dogs and their progeny the breed of the Irish Terrier came off, not yet having the elegance we know today, but the first steps had been taken. The great influence these two dogs have had at that time shows the pedigree of the male Belfast Rufus, published in a book on Irish Terriers by Mr F.M. Jowett edited in 1906: The pedigree showing eight generations Killiney Boy is mentioned by 28 times and CH Erin by 25 times. From these two dogs a breed derives belonging to the soundest and sturdiest breeds.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: *** The overall appearance of the Irish Terrier is important. In conformation he must be more than the sum of his parts. He must be all-of-a-piece, a balanced vital picture of symmetry, proportion and harmony. Furthermore, he must convey character. This terrier must be active, lithe and wiry in movement, with great animation; sturdy and strong in substance and bone structure, but at the same time free from clumsiness, for speed, power and endurance are most essential. The Irish Terrier must be neither "cobby" nor "cloddy," but should be built on the lines of speed with a graceful, racing outline.

TEMPERAMENT: *** The temperament of the Irish Terrier reflects his early background: he was family pet, guard dog, and hunter. He is good tempered, spirited and game. It is of the utmost importance that the Irish Terrier show fire and animation. There is a heedless reckless pluck about the Irish Terrier which is characteristic, and which, coupled with the headlong dash, blind to all consequences, with which he rushes at his adversary, has earned for the breed the proud epithet of "Daredevil." He is most affectionate, and absolutely loyal to mankind. Tender and forbearing with those he loves, this rugged stouthearted terrier will guard his master, his mistress and children with utter contempt for danger or hurt. He is ever on guard, and stands between his home and all that threatens

HEAD: **** Long, but in nice proportion to the rest of the body; the skull flat, rather narrow between the ears, and narrowing slightly toward the eyes; free from wrinkle, with the stop hardly noticeable except in profile. The jaws must be strong and muscular, but not too full in the cheek, and of good punishing length. The foreface must not fall away appreciably between or below the eyes; instead, the modeling should be delicate. An exaggerated foreface, or a noticeably short foreface, disturbs the proper balance of the head and is not desireable. The foreface and the skull from occiput to stop should be approximately equal in length. Excessive muscular development of the cheeks, or bony development of the temples, conditions which are described by the fancier as "cheeky," or "strong in the head," or "thick in skull," are objectionable. The "bumpy" head, in which the skull presents two lumps of bony structure above the eyes, is to be faulted. The hair on the upper and lower jaws should be similar in quality and texture to that on the body, and of sufficient length to present an appearance of additional strength and finish to the foreface. Either the profuse, goat-like beard, or the absence of beard, is unsightly and undesirable.

TEETH: *** Should be strong and even, white and sound, and neither overshot nor undershot.

LIPS *** Should be close and well fitting, almost black in color.

NOSE *** Must be black.

EYES *** Dark brown in color; small, not prominent; full of life, fire and intelligence, showing an intense expression. The light or yellow eye is most objectionable, and is a bad fault.

EARS *** Small and V-shaped; of moderate thickness; set well on the head, and dropping forward closely toward the outer corner of the eye. The top of the folded ear should be well above the level of the skull. A "dead" ear, hound-like in appearance, must be severely penalized. It is not characteristic of the Irish Terrier. The hair should be much shorter and somewhat darker in color than that on the body

NECK *** Should be of fair length and gradually widening toward the shoulders; well and proudly carried, and free from throatiness. Generally there is a slight frill in the hair at each side of the neck, extending almost to the corner of the ear.

SHOULDERS and CHEST *** Shoulders must be fine, long, and sloping well into the back. The chest should be deep and muscular, but neither full nor wide.

BODY *** The body should be moderately long. The short back is not characteristic of the Irish Terrier, and is extremely objectionable. The back must be strong and straight, and free from an appearance of slackness or "dip" behind the shoulders. The loin should be strong and muscular, and slightly arched, and the ribs fairly sprung, deep rather than round, reaching to the level of the elbow. The bitch may be slightly longer than the dog.

HINDQUARTERS *** Should be strong and muscular; thighs powerful; hocks near the ground; stifles moderately bent.

STERN *** Should be docked, taking off about one quarter. It should be set on rather high, but not curled. It should be of good strength and substance; of fair length and well covered with harsh, rough hair

FEET and LEGS **** The feet should be strong, tolerably round, and moderately small; toes arched and turned neither out nor in, with dark toenails. The pads should be deep, and must be perfectly sound and free from corns. Cracks alone do not necessarily indicate unsound feet. In fact, all breeds have cracked pads occasionally from various causes. Legs moderately long, well set from the shoulders, perfectly straight, with plenty of bone and muscle; the elbows working clear of the sides; pasterns short, straight and hardly noticeable. Both fore and hind legs should move straight forward when traveling; the stifles should not turn outwards. "Cowhocks" - that is, the hocks turned in and the feet turned out - are intolerable. The legs should be free from feather and covered with hair of similar texture to that on the body to give proper finish to the dog.

COAT *** Should be dense and wiry in texture, rich in quality, having a broken appearance, but still lying fairly close to the body, the hairs growing so closely and strongly together that when parted with the fingers the skin is hardly visible; free of softness or silkiness, and not so long as to alter the outline of the body, particularly in the hindquarters. On the sides of the body the coat is never as harsh as on the back and quarters, but it should be plentiful and of good texture. At the base of the stiff outer coat there should be a growth of finer and softer hair, lighter in color, termed the undercoat. Single coats which are without any undercoat, and wavy coats are undesirable; the curly and the kinky coats are most objectionable.

COLOR **** Should be whole colored; bright red, golden red, red wheaten, or wheaten. A small patch of white on the chest, frequently encountered in all whole-colored breeds, is permissible but not desireable. White on any other part of the body is most objectionable. Puppies sometimes have black hair at birth, which should disappear before they are full grown.

SIZE *** The most desirable weight in show condition is 27 pounds (12.2 kg) for the dog and 25 pounds (11.3 kg) for the bitch. The height at the shoulder should be approximately 18 inches. These figures serve as a guide to both breeder and judge. In the show ring however, the informed judge readily identifies the oversized or undersized Irish Terrier by its conformation and general appearance. Weight is not the last word in judgement. It is of the greatest importance to select, insofar as possible, terriers of moderate and generally accepted size, possessing the other various characteristics.

Faults **** Any deparure 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.

Note *** Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.