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Irish Terrier

The breeds · terrier

AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 139

Irish Terrier.

FCI 139 utilization: versatile farmyard dog, family pet, guard dog with utter contempt for danger or hurt, hunter and gundog. AKC standard: family pet, guard dog and hunter; spirited and game, with a 'heedless, reckless pluck'. UKC: an all-around farm dog and hunter; used as a messenger dog in the First World War. RKC: the first native Irish terrier recognised by the Kennel Club. Wikipedia (quoting Jowett, 1947): by instinct a thorough vermin killer, bred for working qualities and gameness..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.5YRMedian lifespan13.1 to 14, measured on real dogs.
18INHeightall 18. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
25–27LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 27 lb; breed bitches 25 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 1 hour per day; suits a small house; town or country.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

18 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1968

AKC, UKC and FCI agree; no range printed.

Weight

dogs 27 lb · bitches 25 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1968

AKC, UKC and FCI agree.

Coat

AKC: dense and wiry, rich in quality, broken appearance but lying fairly close, skin hardly visible when parted, not so long as to alter the outline; undercoat finer and lighter; single, wavy, curly or kinky coats undesirable. UKC and FCI 139 the same. Colour: whole-coloured bright red, golden red, red wheaten or wheaten; a small white patch on the chest permissible.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1968

AKC, UKC and FCI agree.

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · AKC standard: dense, wiry coat with a broken appearance, lying fairly close, with a finer undercoat; legs free of feather. UKC and FCI 139 the same.

DerivedAKC breed standard, 1968

Derived from the standard's coat (medium dense double coat = 3). No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.5 years (13.1 to 14)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population. Not in Teng et al. 2022. The AKC page 13 to 15 year band is not used here. Wikipedia repeats 13.5 years.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day; suits a small house; town or country.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule (up to 1 hour = 60).

Exercise need

AKC page energy level 3 of 5, mental stimulation needs 4 of 5, good with other dogs 1 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: up to 1 hour per day. AKC standard: built for speed, power and endurance; 'Daredevil'. Wikipedia: needs exercise and large amounts of walking; enjoys training and learns fast.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to minutes; RKC supplies the minutes figure.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · RKC: grooming more than once a week; medium coat; sheds. AKC page: coat grooming frequency 1 of 5, shedding 2 of 5 (AKC bands). AKC standard: dense, wiry, broken-looking coat lying close, with an undercoat. Wikipedia: wiry coat fairly easy to groom; pet dogs plucked every few weeks to remove dead hair; a show dog needs an expert trimmer to mould head and legs.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped by the library rule (more than once a week = 3); the AKC band is lower. Both are shown.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 139 utilization: versatile farmyard dog, family pet, guard dog with utter contempt for danger or hurt, hunter and gundog. AKC standard: family pet, guard dog and hunter; spirited and game, with a 'heedless, reckless pluck'. UKC: an all-around farm dog and hunter; used as a messenger dog in the First World War. RKC: the first native Irish terrier recognised by the Kennel Club. Wikipedia (quoting Jowett, 1947): by instinct a thorough vermin killer, bred for working qualities and gameness.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 139

FCI is the only registry text that says 'gundog'; no source read describes the gun work.

Primary game

Wikipedia (Jowett): vermin. RKC Terrier group: fox, badger, rat and otter above and below ground (group text, not Irish-specific). FCI 139 and AKC name no quarry.

EditorialWikipedia

No registry names the quarry for this breed.

Field trial standard

The Irish Terrier is NOT on the AKC Earthdog eligible-breeds page read Oct 8 2026. FCI 139: Group 3, Section 1 large and medium-sized terriers, without working trial.

Breed clubAKC

No test scoring or pass rate read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 1; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Irish

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your irish terrier, on the record.

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