|
The long, clean-lined head of a champion
Irish Terrier is comprised of a flat skull, powerful
whiskered, bearded muzzle with punishing jaw and teeth, small, dark,
and fiery eyes set well into the skull with v-shaped button down
ears whose tips fall on the skull at the outside corner of the eye.
The ears break-over slightly above the skull accentuating the length
of the terrier's face, forming a line when viewed in profile from
tip of nose to break-over.
The hair on the ears is finer textured
and darker colored than the rest of the dog. The eyebrows are
slightly bushy and tapered into the skull to accentuate the fiery
eye. The nose is black.
The outer coat of an Irish Terrier
is harsh,
and wiry and lies close to the body with a soft, dense undercoat.
Color can vary from almost wheaten to red to dark mahogany red.
|
Champion
Willie in Profile |
|
A champion Irish's front legs are long, straight and
muscular, furnished with rough wiry hair that gives a tubular
appearance from elbow to small well- rounded feet. Rear legs are
strong with moderate turn of stifle and similarly furnished/footed.
The gate of an Irish Terrier is free, easy, and
graceful with good reach in front and drive extension behind.
Books have been written on Irish Terrier grooming. Suffice
it to say the Irish Terrier you see in most photographs has had a
lot of time and effort spent on grooming.
|
Ch. Redloch's Texas Twister, Rowan
|
|
The process that produces
these results is called plucking or stripping, literally pulling the
dog's hair out by the roots until only the under coat remains. Doing
this on certain parts of the dog over an extended period of time
(called stage stripping -- removing the hair in stages) produces the
results seen in the show photos as new hair grows back.
The reason for stripping is because terrier hair
(not fur) grows in such fashion that the maximum color and texture
is found at the very tip of a hair shaft as it emerges from its
follicle. The base of the shaft is thin, soft and less color
saturated. So if the dog is clipped, all that is ever seen is the
relatively thin, colorless hair shaft. The result is texture like
seal fur and very muted color.
For those Irish Terrier owners who don't want to or
don't have the time to groom their pet (the vast majority of
owners), there are professional pet groomers who will clipper Irish to
look more or less like the photo that first stole your heart.
However, the process makes both coat texture and color suffer due to
the nature of the dog's hair (described above).
Whether groomed by the owner or a groomer, periodic
vigorous brushing and combing should be done and the dogs nails
should be trimmed. Frequent baths are not necessary. The harsh wiry
coat naturally repels dirt and debris and is not prone to tangle or
mat. Irish Terriers shed very little and tend to have less dander, which is a big bonus for
people with allergies. Usually, brushing removes the dirt and dead
hair while distributing natural skin oils and virtually eliminating
the need for bathing.
About twice a year, the Irish Terrier should have
its outer jacket completely stripped off to its under coat. It will
look as though its in a form fitted union suit for a while, but not
to worry, in three months it will be ready to show and at six months
its time to repeat the stripping. Facial and leg furnishings take
some skill to sculpt and should be maintained on a more regular
basis -- say every month or so. They should never be completely
stripped off.
Breed Recognition:
FCI = Federation Cynologique Internationale
AKC = American Kennel Club
UKC = United Kennel Club
KCGB = Kennel Club of Great Britain
CKC = Canadian Kennel Club
ANKC = Australian National Kennel Club
NKC = National Kennel Club
NZKC = New Zealand Kennel Club
CET = Club Espanol de Terriers
CKC = Continental Kennel Club
APRI = American Pet Registry Inc.
|
IRISH
TERRIERS
Life Expectancy. About 12 to15 years.
Health Issues. A healthier breed is hard to
find. Irish Terriers are not prone to major hereditary disorders as
with other breeds, such as hip displaysia or liver problems. They
suffered from corny feet in the past, but this is virtually gone from
today's dogs. Their coat type makes them attractive to those with
allergies because it sheds so little and has so little associated
dander.
Origins. The predecessors of today's Irish
Terriers were not dogs of the nobility but of the common man. They
had to earn their keep on the family farm since their masters
literally could not afford to keep them otherwise. Being Irish in the
mid-1800's was especially tough for man and his dog. The Irish Potato
famine wiped out over a million of Ireland's human inhabitants between
1845 and 1851 and forced millions more to America's shores. The
characteristics of the breed admired today served the dog well then.
Able to defend itself against quarry significantly
larger than itself, this trait also enabled the Irish Terrier to be a
provider for himself and his human family. Cautious, intelligent, a
good hunter, retriever (yes retriever), and a ratter beyond compare,
the Irish Terrier was able to bring food home and keep it from being
ruined by eliminating destructive vermin. And the Irish Terrier's
harsh wiry coat enabled it to endure extremes of weather with little
shelter.
So it survived and thrived and became popular in
England and Ireland in the later part of the 1800's. It rapidly took
the form we know today as dog shows emerged in England and Ireland in
the late 1870's; that encouraged breeding and fixing breed type. The
traits that enabled the Irish Terrier to survive the potato famine
made it a fabled war dog during the First World War as a messenger in
the trenches and on battlefields.
The Irish Terrier came to America around 1875. About
20 years later, the Irish Terrier Club of America (ITCA) was formed.
Today the Irish Terrier is primarily a companion dog, but it retains
its instincts to hunt, track, and retrieve. Properly trained, an Irish
Terrier makes an excellent watchdog, guard dog, or police dog. Being
of good temper, the Irish Terrier also makes a loyal family pet. |
