Kerry Blue Terrier

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Ireland.
MOST SUITED AS Watchdog and family pet.
SIZE
The shoulder-height is 45 – 48cm (17 ½ – 18 ½ in). The weight is between 14 – 18kg (31 – 39 ½ 1b).

COAT
The Kerry Blue has a soft, thick and abundantly curly coat without an under-layer. The colour is light to dark blue. Puppies are born black and it can take up to a year and a half before the coat changes colour to blue.

CARE REQUIRED
The Kerry Blue Terrier needs to be trimmed with scissors and trimmer. In addition to this, they need grooming occasionally with brush and comb. Dogs for showing will require greater levels of grooming. An advantage of the Kerry Blue is that he does not lose hairs.

CHARACTER
The Kerry Blue Terrier is intelligent and has a very good memory, they are lively and boisterous, self-confident, vigilant and brave, and they bond very closely with their handler. In addition they can be stubborn, they are hardy, have a mind of their own, and are ever-ready to fight their own kind. They rarely bark. The Kerry Blue can be willful.

TRAINING
Because this dog is active, self-confident, and stubborn, it needs a handler who is confident of his ability and leadership. They are not therefore suitable for beginners. It may want to attack other dogs in the street and this must not be tolerated – even though it is a natural character trait of the breed. The Kerry Blue certainly has an aptitude for sports like fly-ball and training but if you decide to involve the dog, it is important that it relishes the challenge. If lessons or drills are too monotonous for the Kerry Blue, its stubbornness is likely to surface.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
The Kerry Blue Terrier is loving with children and very attached to its handler and family. Try to make it confident with cats and other household animals when very young so that it will not pester them when older. Some of them very much enjoy the company of other dogs, while others prefer to go through life as an “only dog.” This does not solely depend upon the early social training but is largely dependent upon the individual dog.

EXERCISE
The Kerry Blue is a sportive dog which likes to accompany its handler on long walks. It will accept the occasional week passing without such a good outing without grumbling.

NOTES
The Kerry Blue Terrier is something special. Its coat is meant to look unkempt. If you want a dog which is not everybody’s friend and which is also fairly unusual, provided you are confident in yourself, can be consistent, value a dog that has a nature all of his own, then the Kerry Blue will be a good choice.