Kerry Blue Terrier

Description:
The Kerry blue Terrier got its name from its natal county in Ireland. Its coat has a very distinctive bluish grey color that is pretty uniform over the dog's whole body. This Terrier has been well made with a short and straight back and long chest, its thorax should not look round. Its head is longish but in proportion with its body; the skull is flat with a slight stop; the apparent length of the muzzle is equal to the length of the skull. It has clean cheeks; ears that are shaped in v and small but should not look like those of a Hound or hang. It has small dark eyes that should not be prominent. The neck is moderately long and clean. Contrary to most Terriers, this dog's coat is soft, thick and wavy. It's height is anywhere from forty six to forty nine centimeters in the case of the males, females are about four centimeters under that. The ideal weight is of sixteen to twenty kilograms.

Ideal owner:
The Kerry blue Terrier is a very elegant looking dog, is good with kids, and is a good guard dog as well as show dog. Its Irish origin has made of this dog a robust work dog, that is aggressive towards other dogs and that knows how to defend itself. It has quite the character and knows how to manipulate its owner to getting what it wants. This dog is a perfect apartment dog because of its size and adapts well to many life styles.

Growth:
At birth a Kerry blue Terrier will weigh around 225 to 350 grams. It is born black and might have some white spots on its chest or paws, as well as some white hair on its stomach. The tail of this dog is docked and the dewclaws are cut after a few days of birth. When this dog is an adult its tail should touch an imaginary horizontal line from the tallest point of its head. The way this dog carries its ears is important to give it the right look and on many occasion these may need to be glued. Amateurs are suggested to find out as much as they can about this breed and are recommended to get professional help to adjust its ears. This dog's coat will change color at adolescence, from black to blue. The white spots, supposing they are too big, should have gone away when it becomes an adult. Kerry blue Terriers need to be socialized and well cared for during its first year of life to avoid it from becoming aggressive and behave antisocially.

General health:
A robust and versatile Terrier, the Kerry blue has a strong body and healthy mind. Besides stripping, the amount of care its coat requires is minimal, however if you are intending to use it as a show dog you will need to put a lot of emphasis on its coat. Over a decade ago this dog had a noticeably long life span of around fifteen years, but lately a lot of malignant tumors have been seen in the older ones, reducing their longevity to thirteen years. Anyone interested in acquiring one of these dogs will need to find out about its lineage to help reduce the risk of cancer. It may have ocular problems including ectropion. Hip dysphasia does not represent a risk to this breed, but elbow dysphasia has been observed. A neurological disease sometimes affects younger ones, which causes rigidity of the legs to begin with and continues to increase until the dog is no longer able to walk.