OH THE GREAT BREED OF IRISH TERRIERS!
O
By Katherine “Kitty” Warner
h the great breed of Irish Terriers. Every- thing is true of their majestic courage, wick- ed intelligence, curious and clown-like antics
walk, allowing me to hold onto her hair on her back for balance, never moving faster or away from me. She often withstood my sitting on her back and pulling her ears like a pony, when my Mom put her in my playpen. Our Irish Terriers and other ter- rier breeds allowed me to dress them in clothes, attending tea parties with hats and clip-on earrings, (the earrings never lasted more than a couple of seconds before they were hurled into the air from the dogs shaking their ears.) Th ey never growled or bit me, not even a well-deserved warn- ing. Th ey are de fi nitely pack oriented and many Irish can run together, provided the pack is well-established and there is a strong human alpha presence. At home, they want nothing else but to be next to you and the family during any activity. According to the history of Irish, one of the reasons the Irish spread in popu- larity from Ireland to England, Western Europe, Americas and points beyond so quickly was their de fi nite “racy and elegant appearance.” Th e desired bright red color and fearlessness was well-liked and their numbers grew quickly. Th ese attributes led to their involvement in WWI, where they delivered messages in extremely hostile conditions, throughout the trenches of the allied forces. Personally, I have sold my pet Irish Terriers to people all over the world,
where they have and live with amazing people and do incredible things. To name just a few Irish activities; bird fl ushing, mountain climbing, boating, swimming, therapy work, dog training, sled pulling, tricks, skateboarding, lure coursing, 4-H, agility, rally, obedience, strong dog, rat- ting for ratings, etc. Th e downside of the breed is stubborn- ness, obstinacy, food theft and chewing of tissue or paper towels. Also, you might fi nd an occasional Irish who thinks there is not much separating him from human counterparts. For example, my dog Bear (now age 11) decided to leave our tent dur- ing one weekend of camping at a renais- sance faire many years ago. He evidently made friends with both neighbors and after a couple of hours of “partying” he came back to bed with me in the tent. Th e next morning I fi nd out Bear had been eating venison and drinking beer and fi ne brews late into the night. Th is dog has more friends than I do. Th eir ability to assess people and situ- ations allow them to make wonderful body-guards too. It is a breed that either gets to you or does not. Th ere is no wishy- washiness about the owners either. Most have pretty strong personalities, just like their Irish. Having grown up with them, I can’t imagine living with any other breed of dog.
and loyal companionship. Th e Irish we see at dog shows is certainly not the dog we see at home. Outside and in the ring, they show their requisite fi erceness with snarling lips, dagger eyes, and vocalizations that discuss their mom’s and each others’ questionable lineage. As soon as they are done in the ring, the show ends and a di ff erent dog emerges. For Irish Terrier enthusiasts, we know the Irish is great, but what made them great? I believe it is their humble origins. Long before they went to their fi rst dog show in 1873, they were the Irish farm family dog. Th ey were responsible for keep- ing predators away from livestock, killing small and medium rodents, specializing in rats. Th ey can go after a badger and be victorious. Th ey also had yet another big- ger job, and that was glori fi ed babysitter. Th e Irish farm families were usually large in numbers, so the Irish looked after the children too. Th is explains their ability to be extremely tolerant of teasing, badgering and general chaos. I know they are tolerant, as they too were my siblings, nursemaids and babysit- ters. Our girl “Mitch” taught me how to
“THE DESIRED BRIGHT RED COLOR AND FEARLESSNESSWAS WELL-LIKED and their numbers grew quickly.”
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