The Irish Terrier has the softest, most gentle & loving disposition  -

                          a good-looking,  long-legged terrier with a delightful sense of humour  ....

                                        IDEAL HEIGHT -  Dog : 48 cm (19 ins);   Bitch :  46 cm (18ins)

           COLOUR:  'whole-coloured' -  most preferable colours being red, red/wheaten or yellow/red.  

           COAT - harsh & wiry, having broken appearance, free of softness or silkiness, not so long as to hide                

                 the outline of body particularly in hindquarters, straight & flat, no shagginess & free of lock or curl.  

At base of these stiff hairs is growth of finer & softer hair, usually termed the undercoat.

Hair on foreface crisp & only sufficiently long to impart appearance of additional strength. 

           EARS - small & V-shaped, of moderate thickness, set well on head & dropping forward closely to cheek -                            

                                   top of folded ear well above level of skull. 

                          Ear must be free of fringe & hair thereon shorter & darker in colour than body.

             HEAD & SKULL - head long, skull flat & rather narrow between ears, narrowing towards eye -

                         jaw strong & muscular, but not too full in cheek, & of good length.  Nose black.

             EYES - dark, small, not prominent.

             NECK - fair length & gradually widening towards shoulders, well carried & free of throatiness.

             BODY - chest deep & muscular, neither full nor wide - body moderately long;

                  back strong & straight with no appearance of slackness behind shoulders;

        loin muscular & slightly arched; ribs fairly sprung, rather deep than round & well ribbed back.         

                  Strong & muscular hindquarters, thighs powerful, hocks well let down.

       Stifles moderately bent -  hindlegs move straight forward when travelling, hocks not turned outwards.

            TAIL - set-on pretty high, carried gaily.

            FEET - strong, tolerably round, moderately small, toes arched, neither turned out nor in -

                                             pads sound & free from cracks or horny excrescences.

            GAIT/MOVEMENT - fore & hindlegs carried straight forward & parallel -   

                     elbows move perpendicular to body, working free of sides, stifles neither turning in nor out.

                               Character & Temperament of the Irish Terrier  - 

                                 Plucky, courageous, often 'reckless'  -

              a devoted, loyal & gentle companion of loving & empathic disposition.

     Can be somewhat feisty with other dogs  -  however, of good temperament

                             with an endearing, caress-inviting appearance.  

   Extraordinary devotion & sympathetic attitude to the moods of adults 

                 -  shows softness & reliability with children.

                         -  active, lively & of humorous character  -    

                                    - Irish Terriers are essentially happy natured dogs!

  'published with kind permission from the Kennel Club - The Kennel Club'

 http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk                       

        Grooming of your Irish Terrier

                         Grooming ?  .....  who mentioned grooming?    

                                   What .... for me?      really .... ?     how ... ?       

    The wiry coat of the Irish Terrier requires                                         (Photo: Lesley Steele)

                  Hand Stripping

 For the pet I.T. approx every  3/4  months  with the use of a stripping knife  -   

             this will help pluck out dead hair in the direction of hair growth  -

                      plucking the hair out between the thumb & stripping knife.

  -  Ears must be free of fringe; generally a slight fringe at each side of neck,

                                               running nearly to corner of ear;

           hair on legs dense & crisp;    tail free of fringe or feather, but well covered with rough hair; 

                 coat not so long as to hide the outline of body particularly in hindquarters;                  

           hair on foreface crisp & only sufficiently long to impart appearance of additional strength.  

                                                .....  a harsh coat & a graceful, racy outline.                                                                                                       

    Faults :

    Vets today will tend to see more dogs suffering from an inherited condition, or where

inheritance has contributed to the condition suffered, than, for example, bacterial and viral infections,

which are largely under control.

    With over 400 inherited diseases identified in dogs in general,

                                                how does this affect the IRISH TERRIER?    

What do you need to look out for?   

       The Irish Terrier is basically a healthy dog  - 

   ... very occasionally, cases have been reported of cracked pads:  

             (Palmoplantar Hyperkeratosis)  -   

               -    this is an abnormal development of the epidermis of the footpad,

            which hardens and in severe cases can lead to fissures and cracks.

  Thankfully, this is a rare phenomenon and most breeders have never seen a case.                                                

   Where a case does occur, the purchaser should inform the breeder.             

Research has been carried out on the Irish Terrier breed by Binder et al. (2000).                                      

                                                                                     Display designed by Lindsay Williamson & Alex Noonan