!"#$%#&&'$()*#$!#&&+#& !"#$%&'#()'*+,'*- ! hen I was a young teenager in the late 1970s, my cousin and her husband had an Old English
Sheepdog which they trained and showed to an AKC Companion Dog (CD) title, earning many awards at matches and trials along the way. I decided that one day I too would have a dog that I could successfully compete in obedience with, and the search for a suitable breed was on. In my junior high school library, I found a book on dog breeds that included a picture of an athleti- cally built but very beautiful and unique- looking large terrier breed: the Kerry Blue Terrier. It was the accompanying text that clinched it for me, though; the author described the breed as a “canine Jack of all trades and a master at most.” In 1990, I finally got my first Kerry, thus beginning my 20+ year love a ff air with the breed, and my successful involvement in AKC obedi- ence and many other dog sports. Especially when I was competing in obedience with my first Kerry back in the 90s, judges and fellow competitors frequently commented on how surprised they were not only to see a Kerry Blue Ter- rier competing, but that he was actually good! I also encountered skepticism from breeders when I told them that I wanted a Kerry for obedience competition; the breeder I ended up getting my first two Kerries from even initially urged me to consider another breed. But, as I now advise people who are considering add- ing a Kerry or another breed to their fam- ily, the best indication of what to expect is to simply look at what the breed was historically used for. Kerry Blue Terriers were originally developed as all-purpose, working farm dogs: they were expected to guard, herd livestock, and even retrieve upland game in addition to the more traditional terrier jobs of vermin eradica- tion, etc. In fact, the Kerry along with the 268 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J UNE 2014
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