COUNTRY: Ireland
WEIGHT: 33-40 pounds
HEIGHT: 17l/2-l9l/2 inches
COAT: Soft, profuse, dense and wavy
COLOR: Born black and clear to any shade of blue by the age of 18 months
GROUP: Terrier
Like his cousin the Irish Terrier, the Blue Terrier of Eire has little literary reference before the 1800s. Oft repeated legends tell us that the Blue's ancestor swam ashore from a ship wrecked off Tralee Bay in the late 1700s, or even that it was from Spanish ships of the Armada in 1588. "This dark survivor was supposed to have mated with local terriers to produce a dog with a dark blue coat and the type and temperament of a terrier." There are also references to "blackish blue" terriers indigenous to County Kerry and other areas going back further that could have been the rootstock and to what the "dark survivor" was bred.
His rather soft wavy coat is distinct among the terriers. With all of the above evidence, even if the story of the shipwreck survivor is true, it is hard to know what type of dog he was. Would he have been a shaggy sheep dog type who instilled the herding ability and longer coat with fading pigment into the local terrier population? Or was it a water dog, of the type that produced the Poodles, Forties and Water Spaniels, who introduced the graying factor, soft wavy coat and water ability? All interesting speculation—the answer to which is lost in the mists of Irish lore.
Although used for all jobs required of terriers, the Kerry was said to be the only dog that "will tackle an otter, single-handed, in deep water." He also was used in his native land to tend stock.
This "true blue" native of the Emerald Isle enjoyed a peak in the 1920s, when no less than four clubs sponsored him in Ireland. The Kerry represented more than 25 percent of total Irish Kennel Club registrations in 1924. It was during this time that the struggle for national independence from Britain was going on, and the Kerry became a mascot for Irish patriots. His favor was such that, even during those bitter times, the Dublin Blue Terrier Club of 1920 was made up of members on both sides of the political fence. Politics were tolerated—or ignored— when it came to dogs, however. According to breed history, the first show held by the group was set up without permission of the ruling British KC. It was judged by Dan Nolan (at the time on the British authority "wanted" list for being a member of the Irish Republican Army). Among the spectators and competitors at this event were members of the English KC as well as an Inspector from the Constabulary. Yet all turned a blind eye while they competed for the Wyndham Quinn Challenge Cup for best Kerry!
American fanciers first exhibited the breed at Westminster in 1922. Among more contemporary owners, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst and heavy-weight champion Gene Tunney both owned Kerrys.
The Kerry in Ireland is required to be shown in an untrimmed, natural state. Elsewhere, the dog is exhibited with a sculptured, scissored coat. He is reported to be a long-lived dog. Like his close cousins, the Irish Terrier and the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, he is a leggy, rangy dog.
Kerry Blues are born black and, if correct, have the dominant gene for coat fading. The color begins to fade to gray and acquires its adult solid slate gray color by 18 months. This is the same graying or fading gene seen in some Bearded Collies and Poodles.
While he sometimes suffers from an undeserved reputation for surliness, he can be described today as he was in 1922 by fancier E.M. Webb: "His temperament is well nigh faultless, if a slight tendency to diminish the cat population be excepted. He is .... unrivalled as a ratter, charming as a companion, trustworthy as a watchdog."
WEIGHT: 33-40 pounds
HEIGHT: 17l/2-l9l/2 inches
COAT: Soft, profuse, dense and wavy
COLOR: Born black and clear to any shade of blue by the age of 18 months
GROUP: Terrier
Like his cousin the Irish Terrier, the Blue Terrier of Eire has little literary reference before the 1800s. Oft repeated legends tell us that the Blue's ancestor swam ashore from a ship wrecked off Tralee Bay in the late 1700s, or even that it was from Spanish ships of the Armada in 1588. "This dark survivor was supposed to have mated with local terriers to produce a dog with a dark blue coat and the type and temperament of a terrier." There are also references to "blackish blue" terriers indigenous to County Kerry and other areas going back further that could have been the rootstock and to what the "dark survivor" was bred.
His rather soft wavy coat is distinct among the terriers. With all of the above evidence, even if the story of the shipwreck survivor is true, it is hard to know what type of dog he was. Would he have been a shaggy sheep dog type who instilled the herding ability and longer coat with fading pigment into the local terrier population? Or was it a water dog, of the type that produced the Poodles, Forties and Water Spaniels, who introduced the graying factor, soft wavy coat and water ability? All interesting speculation—the answer to which is lost in the mists of Irish lore.
Although used for all jobs required of terriers, the Kerry was said to be the only dog that "will tackle an otter, single-handed, in deep water." He also was used in his native land to tend stock.
This "true blue" native of the Emerald Isle enjoyed a peak in the 1920s, when no less than four clubs sponsored him in Ireland. The Kerry represented more than 25 percent of total Irish Kennel Club registrations in 1924. It was during this time that the struggle for national independence from Britain was going on, and the Kerry became a mascot for Irish patriots. His favor was such that, even during those bitter times, the Dublin Blue Terrier Club of 1920 was made up of members on both sides of the political fence. Politics were tolerated—or ignored— when it came to dogs, however. According to breed history, the first show held by the group was set up without permission of the ruling British KC. It was judged by Dan Nolan (at the time on the British authority "wanted" list for being a member of the Irish Republican Army). Among the spectators and competitors at this event were members of the English KC as well as an Inspector from the Constabulary. Yet all turned a blind eye while they competed for the Wyndham Quinn Challenge Cup for best Kerry!
American fanciers first exhibited the breed at Westminster in 1922. Among more contemporary owners, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst and heavy-weight champion Gene Tunney both owned Kerrys.
The Kerry in Ireland is required to be shown in an untrimmed, natural state. Elsewhere, the dog is exhibited with a sculptured, scissored coat. He is reported to be a long-lived dog. Like his close cousins, the Irish Terrier and the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, he is a leggy, rangy dog.
Kerry Blues are born black and, if correct, have the dominant gene for coat fading. The color begins to fade to gray and acquires its adult solid slate gray color by 18 months. This is the same graying or fading gene seen in some Bearded Collies and Poodles.
While he sometimes suffers from an undeserved reputation for surliness, he can be described today as he was in 1922 by fancier E.M. Webb: "His temperament is well nigh faultless, if a slight tendency to diminish the cat population be excepted. He is .... unrivalled as a ratter, charming as a companion, trustworthy as a watchdog."
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