Irish terrier

“ In our own island, the Scotch terrier is hard to beat. The right breed are wonders of pluck, endurance, perseverance, and intelligence; their voices are sharp and penetrating, and their long, lithe bodies are carried on short, active legs; they are, moreover, charming companions, and fasten on to their owner’s affections as firmly as to a badger’s neck. The Irish terrier, when small enough, is a good one, and so is the rarer old-fashioned English broken-haired black and tan. ”

“ But, after all, success in the show ring is not the one and only thing to be aimed at, and the Irish Terrier is not to be regarded merely as the possible winner of prizes. He is above all things a dog for man's companionship, and in this capacity he takes a favoured place. He has the great advantage of being equally suitable for town and country life. In the home he requires no pampering ”

“ For Van Horn had often listened to the recitals of Jerry’s pedigree by Tom Haggin, over Scotch-and-sodas, when it was too pestilentially hot to go to bed. And the pedigree was as royal-blooded as was possible for an Irish terrier to possess, whose breed, beginning with the ancient Irish wolf-hound, had been moulded and established by man in less than two generations of men. ”

“ A great movement has existed, for sometime, in favour of the Irish Terrier, who should be almost unbroken in reddish-brown colour, I mean with little or no shading, what is called self colour. This is a "good all [Pg vii] round" breed, able to follow a horse, a trap, be a good guard or companion, take care of himself in his "walks abroad," or have a turn at anything which comes in his way in the vermin line.
Two more breeds I can strongly recommend to any in doubt as to a suitable dog to take up as household guard or companion. ”

“ The greatest fault of the Irish terrier is his fondness for barking unnecessarily; but he is particularly intelligent, active, and vigorous, and will learn any trick your ingenuity can devise for him. ”

“ As he was twirling his cane aimlessly before the fireplace, wondering how long it would please Miss Doris to keep him waiting, there came a breathless scamper and rush, accompanied by delighted giggles, and the next moment an Irish terrier, growling and snarling in mock fury, slid over the polished floor, pursued by a young girl who had a firm grip on the stubby tail. ”

“ The man who mistakes him for an Airedale, as many do, is one who does not know an Irishman from a Scot. The Airedale has a touch of the national dourness; I believe that he is a Calvinist at heart, with a severe sense of personal responsibility. The Irish terrier can atone vicariously or not at all for his light-hearted sins. The Airedale takes his romance and his fighting as seriously as an Alan Breck. The Irish terrier has all the imagination and humor of his race; he has a rollicking air; he is whimsical, warm-hearted, jaunty, and has the gift of blarney. ”

“ Statistics would probably show that in numbers the Fox-terrier justifies the reputation of being a more popular breed, and the Scottish Terrier is no doubt a formidable competitor for public esteem. It is safe, however, to say that the Irish Terrier shares with these the distinction of being one of the three most popular terriers in the British Isles. ”

“ Breeding up to the standard of excellence necessary in competition in dog shows has doubtless been the agent which has brought the Irish Terrier to its present condition of perfection, and it is the means by which the general dog owning public is most surely educated to a practical knowledge of what is a desirable and what an undesirable dog to possess. ”

“ Since the rise in popularity of some of the other smaller terrier breeds, the Irish has fallen somewhat in the estimation of the fanciers, but those who have bred him for years and have a specimen or two about would not part with the fiery Irishman for all of the other terriers combined. ”

“ I refuse to live in the same house with one of those pampered, trifling little beasts. If we decide to fill old Rover's place I suggest that we get a rough-haired Irish terrier." He rolled the "r's" round his tongue. "Something robust that can bark and chase cats, and not lie all day on a cushion, like one of those dashed Chinese ..." ”

“ Jackeen's Irish terrier is Bran,—though he does not closely resemble the great Finn's sweet-voiced, gracefully-shaped, long-snouted hound; the coracle lying on the shore of the little lough—the coracle made of skin, like the old Irish boats—is the Wave-Sweeper; and the faithful mare that we hire by the day is, by your leave, Enbarr of the Flowing Mane. No warrior was ever killed on the back of this famous steed, for she was as swift as the clear, cold wind of spring, travelling with equal ease and speed on land and sea, an' may the divil fly away wid me if that same's not true. ”

“ The dog must present an active, lively, lithe, and wiry appearance; lots of substance, at the same time free of clumsiness, as speed and endurance, as well as power, are very essential. They must be neither cloddy or cobby, but should be framed on the lines of speed, showing a graceful racing outline. TEMPERAMENT—Dogs that are very game are usually surly or snappish. The Irish Terrier as a breed is an exception, being remarkably good-tempered, notably so with mankind, it being admitted, however, that he is perhaps a little too ready to resent interference on the part of other dogs. ”

“ The Fox Terrier — Useful in Many Ways.
The dozens of types of this interesting, though generally impracticable terrier family we pass over, permitting us to give wider attention to the one or two types that have earned recognition. The ugly, little Irish terrier is sometimes used to good advantage for crossing, where heedless, reckless pluck is sought. These dogs are very game, yet remarkably good tempered with man. But they dearly love a fight, and have earned their commonly used nick-name "Dare-devils." ”

“ A compound was pointed out to me as the dwelling of their ‘Ju-ju woman,’ described as ‘white,’ held by the Aiede folks in great reverence; many sacrifices of dogs are made to her, as she has a particular fancy for eating them! My Irish terrier ran fearlessly in, and, lest he should get his throat cut, I rushed in after him, and came face to face with the old lady. She was a loathsome object, an albino negress, with snow-white hair, skin of a horrible blanched colour, and a terrible pair of red eyes. ”

“ On my pointing out that I could not be interested in an animal of which I had hitherto not heard, Teixeira wrote, 4.6.20:
... It must have been my morbid delicacy that prevented me, knowing your dislike of dogs, from mentioning the brown dog before. As a man gains strength, he loses delicacy: that explains though it does not excuse my late reference to him. He is an Irish terrier, endowed with a vast sense of humour, who runs about on three legs (which is one more than I, who am eighteen times his age, can boast) and plays with me from ten till half-past six (when I go to bed) . ”

“ The following description of the breed is by my friend, Mr. L. I. Barnett, so well known as Secretary of the English Section of the Irish Terrier Club, and a frequent judge:—
Points of the Irish Terrier.—"Head long, rather narrow; punishing jaw; eyes, small and dark; ears fairly small, not set on too high; legs straight, and strong; feet, round, and thick, with good heels; chest narrow, with good depth of brisket; back strong, and straight, with tail set on rather high; loins strong; neck, strong, and muscular; coat very hard, and straight, shorter on head; colour yellow-red, darker on ears ”

“ Dag Daughtry muttered weightily aloud, as, bottle in hand, he leaned back in his arm-chair while Kwaque knelt at his feet to unlace his shoes, “now to consider a name for you, Mister Dog, that will be just to your breeding and fair to my powers of invention.”
CHAPTER IV
Irish terriers, when they have gained maturity, are notable, not alone for their courage, fidelity, and capacity for love, but for their cool-headedness and power of self-control and restraint. They are less easily excited off their balance; they can recognize and obey their master’s voice in the scuffle and rage of battle ”

“ It may interest some of your readers to hear that certain other animals can also do this, two instances having come under my own observation. A cat belonging to a little girl I know was on the child's bed one morning, and made a spring at a picture of a thrush, about life-size, which was hanging near. The other case is that of a dog—a female Irish terrier—who is in the habit of running with her mistress's pony carriage. When she sees the pony being harnessed, she often shows her delight by jumping up at its head and barking. ”

“ There are two maiden ladies in Ireland, who, although they have never hunted, and are long past the age at which they are likely to do so, always, from sheer love of sport, walk a couple of foxhound puppies for their district hunt. We want, I think, more of this sporting Irish feeling among our sex, for I am sure that apart from all other considerations, a hunting woman would find more to interest her in the rearing and training of a foxhound puppy, whose career she could literally follow, than in spending money and time in clothing and nursing a useless pug or toy terrier. ”

“ But it must be genuine affectation. The hauteur of a fox terrier lady with a stranger cad-dog is made infinitely more precious by the certainty that when the Parent’s eye is removed, it will immediately become transmuted into the most unbridled familiarity.
I recall a sunny summer morning when, on the lawn tennis ground at Drishane, Martin and I received a visit from the then parson of the parish, and from his large black retriever. Candy and Sheila, my fox terriers, ladies both, received it also, but in their case, with a dignity that we could not hope to emulate. ”

“ Hartshorn. "There are nearly a hundred recognized breeds of dogs in this country, all different, and eighteen of these are terriers. To make them easier to remember, I will divide them into three classes, smooth-coated, wire-haired, and long-haired. The smooths are the bull terrier, the Boston, the smooth fox terrier, the Manchester, and the Doberman pinscher. The wires are the wire-haired fox terrier, the Airedale, the Bedlington, the Irish, the Welsh, the Scottish, the West Highland white, the Dandie Dinmont, the cairn, and the Sealyham. ”

“ Pointers and setters are much used by sportsmen in the field, and are possessed of keen scent and cunning. The retriever, which is useful for domestic as well as sporting purposes, is sagacious, good-tempered, and intelligent. An English retriever, whether smooth or curly coated, should be black or black and tan, or black with tabby or brindled legs. Among the terriers, or vermin killers, the best-known varieties are the fox terrier, the Skye terrier, and the Irish and Airedale terriers. ”

“ The prominent Irish Terriers of the 'seventies varied considerably in type. Stinger, who won the first prize at Lisburn in 1875, was long-backed and short-legged, with a "dark blue grizzle coloured back, tan legs, and white turned-out feet." The dam of Mr. Burke's Killeney Boy was a rough black and tan, a combination of colours which was believed to accompany the best class of coats. Brindles were not uncommon. Some were tall on the leg, some short; some were lanky and others cobby; many were very small. There were classes given at a Dublin show in 1874 for Irish Terriers under 9 lb. weight. ”

“ A modern club, which has tried to restore the breed, lays down that the Irish wolf-hound should be ‘not quite so heavy or massive as the Great Dane, but more so than the deer-hound, which in general type he should otherwise resemble.’ Red deer abounded all over the country; and martens, now almost extinct, were so plentiful that the Earl of Ossory, in Henry VIII.’s time, kept a pack of hounds for them alone. ”

“ Closely allied to horse-racing is fox-hunting, and fox-hunting, as well as the hunting of the stag and of the hare, has flourished exceedingly in Ireland for a long time past. A great deal of needed employment is one of the results. Dogs are specially bred and trained for each of these branches of sport. Irish foxhounds, staghounds, harriers, and beagles have a high reputation. More native to the soil, and so interwoven with the history of the country that it is often used as one of its symbols, is the Irish wolfhound. ”

“ Lombard says that the finest hunting dogs in Europe were produced in Ireland: “Greyhounds useful to take the stag, wild boar, or wolf.” Pennant describes these dogs as scarce, and as being led to the chase in leather slips or thongs, and calls them the “Irish greyhound.” Ray describes him as the “greatest dog” he had ever seen. ”

“ I have said that many assert the Irish wolf-dog to be no longer in existence. I have ventured a denial of this, and refer to the wolf-dog or deer-dog of the Highlands of Scotland as his actual and faithful living representative. Perhaps I am wrong in saying “representative.” I hold that the Irish wolf-dog and the Highland deer-dog are one and the same ”

“ The magnificent Irish deer—not then extinct, and than which no deer of modern age has antlers half so large, or has half so noble an appearance—galloped with bounding, graceful step across the plains of Ireland. Bears hibernated through the greater part of the severe, almost endless winter; and when the climate became suitable, cunning beavers followed their life’s work by the side of broad shallow rivers that drained continents, part of which are now no more. ”

“ In Ireland the pig has long been understood to pay the rent. Hence, no doubt, it comes to pass that Irish rents are not always paid up. That an animal such as the pig, a grunting, groveling wallower in sloughs, should be so popular a favorite among the Irish does not speak too well for them. In England the favorite and most bepraised domestic beast is the dog. The keeping of a pup of some sort is a mark of true English blood. Dogs in Ireland do not appear to be so popular. The fact is, of course, that the pig has been thrust down the Irish throat by greedy, grasping landlordism. ”