The breeds · terrier
AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 3
Kerry Blue Terrier.
FCI 3 utilization: the hard job of tackling otters in deep waters, engaging badger underground and hunting vermin; also a good watch dog and loyal companion. RKC: used to cull rats and adept in hunting in rivers to kill otter. UKC: one of three long-legged Irish terriers, developed by crofters as all-purpose farm dogs for herding, guarding, hunting, retrieving and vermin control; used for nearly every canine job including police and military work. Wikipedia: bred to control vermin including rats, rabbits, badgers, ferrets, foxes, otters, hares, deer and even wolves, later a general working dog herding cattle and sheep..
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.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
UKC allows 17 in; AKC and FCI prefer 17.5 in. low/high span all three.
Weight
AKC, UKC and FCI agree. No source prints a bitch weight.
Coat
AKC, UKC and FCI agree.
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the standard's coat (medium dense single coat that does not shed = 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
McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population. Not in Teng et al. 2022. The AKC page 12 to 15 year band is not used here. Wikipedia repeats 12.4 years.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule (up to 1 hour = 60).
Exercise need
AKC bands are not mapped to minutes; RKC supplies the minutes figure.
Energy
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming load
RKC band mapped by the library rule (once a week = 2); the AKC band and UKC wording describe more work, and show trim is professional clipping. 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 and RKC agree on otter and badger. The Wikipedia quarry list (hares, deer, wolves) is broader than any registry text and is editorial.
Primary game
FCI and RKC name the registry quarry; Wikipedia's longer list is editorial.
Also used on
UKC is the registry statement; the Wikipedia sports line is uncited.
Field trial standard
The Teastas Mor line is Wikipedia (editorial); the field-trial dates are the FCI's. No current test scoring read.
Water work
Registry statements on otter work; no statement on swimming ability or retrieving from water.
Cold water
Derived: water work is a stated job, but the coat is a single, soft coat on a 33 to 40 lb dog. No measured data.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners and breeders submit films, and poor results are less likely to be submitted), so this is not the rate across all dogs of the breed; the true population rate is not known.
Elbow dysplasia
OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners and breeders submit films, and poor results are less likely to be submitted), so this is not the rate across all dogs of the breed; the true population rate is not known.
Most common disorders
Single editorial source; Wikipedia's veterinary citations were not read.
More
akc bands
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. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Kerry Blue, Irish Blue Terrier
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour kerry blue terrier, on the record.
Log the days, the miles and the birds, and the KENAI app keeps the dog’s story beside the breed’s. Free to start.
Get the app