Irish Terrier

The Irish Terrier is a breed of dog that originated in Ireland. It is one of the many Terrier breeds. This breed is compact and active hence is well suited for city as well as rural environments. It has a harsh coat which is red in color and this protects it well in different kinds of weather. The Irish Terrier is ideally described as rectangular, red and racy. The Irish Terrier should seem powerful without being heavy or sturdy. Its outline is very different from other terriers. Its body is proportionately long when compared to the Fox Terrier. The tail is usually docked after its birth and is two thirds of the total initial length. Its tail must originate quite high up, however it should not curl or stick right up over the back or on either sides.

Its ears should be folded right above the skull and should be small. The ears should ideally be lighter than the color of the rest of the coat. This breed normally comes in colors like wheat, red wheat or golden. There might be a small patch of white on the chest. There should not be other white markings. The appearance of grey hair indicated old age with this breed. This breed has a double coat and the outer coat should be wiry in structure and straight. It should never be silky, soft, wavy, curly and woolly. The coat is expected to stick flat against the skin and should not be long enough to hide the real shape of the dog. The coat needs to be trimmed often due to the long hair at legs and thus is expensive to maintain. The chin may appear to have a small beard. Their eyes must be dark brown.

The Irish Terrier must not exceed 48 cm when measured at the withers. However, sometimes the females are known to be 50 cm tall and dogs may even be 53 cm. Very rarely do the Irish Terriers weigh just 11 to 12 kg (25-27 lb). Usually they weigh 13 kg for females and 15kg for males. Irish Terriers are not hyperactive but are lively. They are generally good with people and get along with children. It is not recommended to own Irish Terriers as your first dogs. It involves a lot of hard work because these dogs are full of energy. They are responsive to consistent and firm training and respect their owners. It is advisable to never use violent means with them.

Irish Terriers are known to be dominant with other dogs and are commonly attracted to species of the same sex. They may start fights with minimum provocation. Hence they need to be controlled well and they will turn out to be very good guards and watch dogs. Irish Terriers are an intelligent breed but slow learners of new things. They require experienced trainers. Irish Terriers have a good sense of smell and scent. They can be taught to track either human scent or animal blood. Irish Terriers are a healthy breed. The life expectancy of this breed is around 13 to 14 years. They have low incidences of hip dysplasia. But, they have high occurrences of cataracts and hypothyroidism.