This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, February 2015 issue.
With a spring in his step, an eternal twinkle in his eye and attitude in every fiber of his body, the Irish Terrier very well qualifies as “one of the most magnificent of God’s creatures in the dog world.” Devoted, yet free-spirited, fierce sentries yet gentle with children, Irish Terriers have enraptured their owners and breed enthusiasts for generations. They are energetic, courageous and adventurous dogs who are affectionate, loyal and sweet to their family owners; are bold, inquisitive and intelligent; and make terrific and entertaining companions. They are playful and relatively easy to train; and despite their spirited nature, still want to please their owners. They do well with active children and are curious, bold and ready for action or adventure. Because of their strong protective and watchdog natures, the Irish Terrier requires an owner who is dominant, calm and firm; yet gentle in training and approach. Irish Terriers are also full of terrier energy and normally need at least average amounts of exercise. When in public, they should be leashed and generally kept away from small non-canine animals. Additionally, the Irish Terrier has a tendency to explore and to chase such animals as squirrels or mice and thus should be prevented from running off-leash in open, unsecured areas.
Irish legend has it that the Irish Terrier was created by leprechauns, but what is known is that the Irish Terrier is one of the oldest of the terrier breeds. Te breed is about 2000 years old, but the earliest images of it are found in paintings from the 1700s. Although originally developed in County Cork as one of the terrier breed hunting dogs, the breed later evolved largely into a farm dog, whose primary function was to serve as a ratter and guard dog, although they were still used to flush and retrieve game. While prized in Ireland for its courage, hardiness, unsurpassed speed and skill as a ratter, the Irish Terrier was also famed for its ability to work in virtually any climate and for its ideal temperament for life in close proximity to people. Irish Terriers are referred to in Irish manuscripts as “the poor man’s sentinel, the farmer’s friend and the gentleman’s favorite,” and were originally bred more for their working qualities of pluck and gameness than for their looks. At that time, they were of many types and colors—black and tan, grey and brindle, wheaten and red. Color or size apparently did not matter at that time, so long as they were hardy and game. It was not until 1873, when showing in the Dublin Ireland dog show, that the breed first became popular and that any form of standardization of the breed was deemed necessary. Te first Irish Terrier breed club was established in Dublin in 1879 and Irish Terriers were the first members of the terrier group to be recognized by the English Kennel Club as a native Irish breed, shortly before the end of the nineteenth century.
By the 1880’s, the Irish Terrier was the fourth most popular breed in Ireland and England. Tey became somewhat popular in the United States when brought there for the first time in the late nineteenth century, achieving a popularity ranking of thirteenth among 79 then recognized AKC breeds in the 1920s. Prior to World War I, they were taken to all parts of the British Empire. Te Irish Terrier Association, founded in England in 1911, included as Vice Presidents members of English, German and Indian royalty, including the Hapsburgs and England’s King Edward VII, as well as high ranking military officers. During World War I, Irish Terriers achieved significant acclaim serving as message carriers between troops on the front lines, largely in France and showed great courage as sentry dogs, messengers, guards and ratters in the terrible conditions of trench warfare that existed on the Western Front. Teir bravery and spirit, as well as great tenacity as shown in that situation, led to the following quote from the Commandant of the British War Dog School, where Irish Terriers were trained for their wartime service: “My opinion of this breed is indeed a high one. Tey are highly sensitive dogs of fne mettle and those of us who respect and admire the fner qualities of mind will fnd them amply refected in these Terriers. Tey are extraordinarily intelligent, faithful and honest and a man who has one of them will never lack a true friend.” Famed author Jack London’s books Jerry of the Islands and Michael, Brother of Jerry written in 1915 and 1916—shortly before London’s death—were about Irish Terriers that, according to the bloodlines described in the beginning of the books likely were based on real Irish Terriers. Te breed has also been featured in art by several known British and American artists, including Maud Earl, Tomas Blinks, Margaret Kirmse, Morgan Dennis, Ric Chasoudian and current Irish Terrier breeder and exhibitor Ellis West. Te Walt Disney Company also loosely based the character of “Tramp” in the classic Lady and the Tramp upon an Irish Terrier. Former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon King also owned several Irish Terriers—all named Pat—and apparently had seances to “communicate” with the first Pat after that dog’s death. Irish Terriers also served as longtime mascots for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team providing, among other things, halftime entertainment for enthusiastic crowds. Finally in this arts and culture area, the Irish Terrier breed was featured in the 2007 movie Firehouse Dog, in which an Irish Terrier was cast as a canine hero—a designation not surprising given the breed’s wartime heroics. Although the Irish Terrier is not now as popular a breed as it was in the 1920s and 1930s, those of us who are active in breeding and raising Irish Terriers generally prefer it that way, since there is currently little or no danger that the Irish Terrier will be improperly overbred, as can occur in many of the current most popular U.S. breeds.
Te Irish Terrier is in my view one of the few AKC recognized breeds that can still be termed both a work and a show dog. Versatility should be the middle name of the Irish Terrier. Although not primarily an earth dog, there is much to commend the breed in many sporting contexts. Formal activities engaged in by Irish Terriers include bird flushing, lure coursing, livestock protection, barn hunt, land/water retrieving, therapy work, ferreting/ratting, tracking and hunting of vermin and den animals, police and military work, 4-H activities, agility, rally, obedience, conformation and canine good citizenship. In addition to such more formal activities, Irish Terriers are also more than willing participants in virtually every outdoor activity, including among other things mountain climbing, boating, swimming, sled pulling and skateboarding. The breed will heartily adapt to virtually any situation. Not only will Irish Terriers be an enthusiastic, sturdy, tolerate and forgiving playmate for children, they will guard children and the home with fierce determination, devotion and dependability, aided by their strong ability to assess people and situations.
They are bold, fearless and courageous dogs who are affectionately referred to as “the daredevils of the dog world” by breed fanciers, due to the reckless fire of their personalities. Although they are energetic, the Irish Terrier does not need tons of exercise. A good brisk daily walk and a weekly trip to the dog park or similar function will suffice. Because the breed tends to chase small animals, Irish Terriers should generally be kept on a leash when not inside a secured area and generally should always have a fenced yard or fenced dog run. In the company of people they love and with adequate exercise, they will be calm and content living in either the city or the country. Te Irish Terrier is playful and will happily spend hours in the yard engaging in numerous play functions. After a tough day of play, you can anticipate that your Irish Terrier will snuggle up with you on the couch and expect his tummy to be rubbed until he falls asleep IRISH
Irish Terriers when full grown stand about 18 to 19 inches at the shoulder and normally weigh 25 to 28 pounds—small enough to be carried for short distances when necessary. Tey are double coated, with a coarse, wiry topcoat and a softer, fine undercoat. Tey do not shed. While no dog breed is entirely non-allergenic, Irish Terriers produce less dander than the vast majority of other breeds and people with low to mild allergies often have little nor no allergic reactions to them. Although the Irish Terrier coat can be clipped, that coat maintenance method is not recommended, since doing so impacts the water resistant element of the breed’s double coat, makes the coat grow softer and can negatively effect the depth of the breed’s natural red color. Instead, the preferred method of grooming is called “stripping”—plucking out the dead hair of the outer coat using the forefinger and either the thumb or a dull stripping knife. Such stripping does not hurt the dog. Stripping should be done on a pet coat about three times per year, starting at about six months of age. With practice, it is possible to maintain the Irish Terrier coat by weekly raking it with a stripping knife.
Otherwise, daily brushing and some maintenance is needed between the times when the dog is stripped, in order to keep the coat clean. Te breed should be bathed only infrequently, in order to preserve body oils necessary for the sheen of the coat. Although certain not required, it is recommended that the ears of the Irish Terrier be glued down into the proper place on the head by the breeder or other breed expert for at minimum a six to eight month time period immediately prior to the dog’s first birthday. Such “training” of the puppy ears produces a significantly more aesthetically pleasing look for the remainder of the dog’s life than does the absence of such “training.” Te normal life expectancy of the Irish Terrier is between twelve and sixteen years. In contrast particularly to many of the larger breeds, Irish Terriers are one of the most healthy breeds and there are no known health conditions or problems that are seen consistently in the breed. Most Irish Terriers do not show signs of allergies toward food.
Irresistible, irrepressible, unforgettable, loving and high spirited, the Irish Terrier is the perfect companion and truly a dog lover’s dog. Tose of us in the Irish Terrier breed consider ourselves fortunate to regularly interact with dogs in this breed who have hearts warm and generous, their souls intact and the personalty and fire of their terrier ancestors. We are indeed highly blessed by the presence in our lives of a breed with such great charm and character. In closing, the writer Albert Payson Terhune, in a short story about an Irish Terrier contained in Terhune’s Real Tales of Real Dogs, wrote a tribute to the Irish Terrier that many in the breed believed to be the finest description of the Irish Terrier in print. I am pleased to be able to share it with you. It reads: “The Irish Terrier is perhaps the finest dog on earth. He does not throwaway his priceless devotion and loyalty on every stranger who may chirp to him. But to the death, he is the comrade, protector and exuberant playmate and sympathizing comforter of the human who has won his heart and respect. He is an Irish gentleman of the deathless old school; a fiery gentleman, from the tips of his braced toes to the rough thatch of his crown. He is more. He has a heart three sizes too big for his shaggy body; a heart that is as white and clean as that of a knight-errant. He is no bully, but will flinch not one-hundredth of an inch from the fight that is forced on him, be the odds ever so impossible against him. There is a psychic side of the Irish Terrier, too, found in almost no other dog—a tinge of the mysticism of the land of his ancestry.
