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Kerry Blue Terrier

Introduction

The Kerry Blue Terrier of today is not much different from his predecessor, but just who that predecessor was is anybody's guess. The breed has been known in Ireland for at least 150 years, but its origins are as mysterious as the ancestry of breeds developed centuries earlier. As typical in Ireland, legends abound; high on the list is the tale that the peasants developed the breed because noblemen restricted ownership of the Irish Wolfhound to the upper classes. The gentry hunted with the giant hounds, and the countrymen poached with their Kerries. Yet another version has it that a Russian ship wrecked in Ireland's Tralee Bay and a blue dog swam ashore. Breeding of this dog with local terriers produced the Kerry Blue. Another account identifies the ship as belonging to the Spanish Armada. It is further said that the Kerry Blue Terrier may have been bred from the Irish Terrier and the Soft-Coated Wheaton Terrier or from an earlier terrier and the Irish Wolfhound. In any case, the Kerry Blue was found mostly in the mountains of County Kerry around Lake Killarney. He was first and foremost a working dog, used for hunting small game and birds, retrieving from land and water, and for herding sheep and cattle. He has even been trained as a police dog in England. Today, he is a formidable watchdog and gentle companion. It was first shown as the Irish Blue Terrier in Ireland in 1916; in England it became the Kerry Blue Terrier and was shown at Cruft's for the first time in 1922. The dog came to the US about the same time; four Kerries were shown at the Westminster Kennel Club show in the miscellaneous class that year. Trimming the dog for the show ring in England gave the breed popular appeal.

GENERAL APPEARANCE *** Upstanding, well knit and proportioned, well developed and muscular body.

CHARACTERISTICS *** Compact, powerful terrier, showing gracefulness and an attitude of alert determination, with definite terrier style and character throughout

TEMPERAMENT *** Disciplined gameness.

HEAD AND SKULL *** Well balanced, long, proportionally lean, with slight stop and flat over the skull. Foreface and jaw very strong, deep and punishing; nose black; nostrils of due proportion.

EYES *** Dark as possible. Small to medium with keen terrier expression.

EARS *** Small to medium and V-shaped; carried forward but not too high.

MOUTH *** Gums and roof of mouth dark with perfect, regular scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

NECK *** Strong and reachy, running into sloping shoulder.

FOREQUARTERS *** Shoulders flat as possible with elbows carried close to body while standing or moving. Legs straight, bone powerful. Front straight, neither too wide nor too narrow.

BODY *** Short coupled with good depth of brisket and well sprung ribs. Deep chest. Topline level.

HINDQUARTERS *** Large and well developed, stifle bent and hocks close to ground giving perfect freedom of hind action.

FEET *** Round and small. Nails black.

TAIL *** Set on high and carried erect. Preferably docked.

GAIT/MOVEMENT ***Free and powerful. Fore and hind legs moving straight and parallel, stifles turning neither in nor out.

COAT *** Soft and silky, plentiful and wavy.

COLOUR *** Any shade of blue with or without black points. Tan permissible in puppies, also a dark colour up to the age of 18 months. A small white patch on chest should not be penalised.

SIZE *** Weight: Mature dog 15-16.8 kg (33-37 lbs)
Bitches proportionately less, 15.9 kg (35 lbs) is the most desirable weight to aim for.
Ideal height: Dogs 46-48 cms (18-19 ins) at shoulder
Bitches slightly less.

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.

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