meet the... Kerry Blue Terrier

Head

• General Appearance: Somewhat mesaticephalic to slightly dolichocephalic skull-type, moderate in size, somewhat long, and in proportion to the rest of the body. The head is clean-cut and without excess skin or wrinkle, tapering only slightly from the topskull to the end of the muzzle. The skull is narrow, flat, and elongated when viewed from any direction. It is somewhat broad but appears narrow in comparison to the overall length.
• Expression: Keen, alert, watchful, stately, and terrier-like.
• Stop: The stop is slight, almost imperceptible.
• Skull: The ideal muzzle-to-skull ratio is 1:1, with the topskull being equal to the muzzle. The ideal muzzle-to-skull axis is parallel.
• Muzzle: Well-developed and appearing prominent, long, full, and broad. The plane, or bridge of the muzzle, is straight. The upper and lower jaws have good bone substance and are equal in length, strong, and well-developed, never appearing snipey or weak.
• Lips or Flews: The lips are clean and fit tightly over the teeth and jaws.
• Nose: The nose is well-pigmented and black. The nostrils are well opened.
• Cheeks: Moderately full below the eyes but never coarse, gently falling away behind the eyes. Cheeks are smooth, never appearing chiseled or coarse.
• Dentition and Bite: Forty-two strong, clean, and white teeth. The bite may be level or scissor. Contact must be made between the top and bottom incisors. Missing or broken teeth due to routine work are not to be penalized.
• Eyes: Somewhat small to moderate in size, oval to almond in shape, dark brown in color, and with a keen and fiery appearance. The eye rims are well-fitted and well-pigmented. They are never bulging. There should be sufficient bone in the surrounding orbital sockets to protect the eyes.
• Ears: Small to medium in size, set high on the skull, and somewhat well-apart. Dropped, v-shaped, and may have a slight lift at the base. The fold of the ear should fall level with or just above the level of the skull. The tips may point somewhat forward toward the eyes or down toward the cheek. The inner edge of the ear should fall close to the head. The ears are never long, overly large, or broken.

Body and Tail

• General Description: Compact, somewhat racy, and of good substance. The body is never cloddy or heavy. The width at the forequarters is approximately equal to the width at the hindquarters.
• Neck: Moderate length allows for proud head carriage. It is strongly muscled with a slight arch. The neck tapers smoothly from the deeper and broader body toward the head. The neck is clean-cut and without excess skin, throatiness, or dewlap.
• Chest: Deep and broad but never wider than deep. The brisket extends to the point of the elbows.
• Topline: Level from somewhat prominent withers to croup. The back is fairly long, broad, strongly muscled, and straight, yet supple. It should never appear slack or sagged. The loin is short, taut, and just slightly arched, yet supportive. The topline is never swayed or roached.
• Croup: Flat, strong, and level with the back.
• Underline: A moderate tuck-up is present, but it should not be extreme. The underline is taut and firm, without any indication of sagging or excess weight.
• Ribs: Long, well-sprung, well-laid-back, and oval-shaped, never barrel-chested or slab-sided.
• Tail: Set high on the croup, thick at the base, and tapering toward the tip. Carried gaily in accordance with the dog’s mood and energy level, but never up over the back or tucked. The tail may be left natural (preferred) or docked short. Natural tails are of a medium length, with the tip of the last vertebrae extending to the hock joints when held down. Docked tails are cut to about one-third of the original length.

Forequarters and Hindquarters

• Forequarters: The forequarters are always balanced with the hindquarters and well-angulated with well-laid-back shoulder blades. The shoulder blades are fairly long and approximately equal in length to the upper arm and forearm or may be just slightly longer than the upper arm.
• Elbows: The elbows are close to the body. The point of the elbows is approximately half the dog’s height at the withers.
• Forelegs: Frontal View: Straight, of good muscle of good bone, and parallel to one another.
  Side View: The forelimbs appear straight with strong pasterns.
• Pasterns: Short, never weak or broken.
• Hindquarters: The upper and lower thighs are fairly long, equal in length, strong, sturdy, good bone, and well-muscled.
  Rear View: When viewed from the rear, the rear pasterns are parallel to one another.
  Side View: Good angulation will allow the rear toes to align with the point of the rump or within one to two paw-lengths behind the point of the rump, with the rear pasterns remaining perpendicular to the ground and parallel to one another.
• Stifle Joint: Well-angulated with a good bend to well-let-down rear pasterns.
• Stifle Joint: The angulation of the hindquarters is always in balance with the angulation of the forequarters.
• Feet: Oval to round and compact, with well-arched toes and tough pads.

Coat

• Skin: Well-fitted, yet supple. The skin should never obstruct the outline of the dog.
• Coat Type: The soft, dense outer coat may be very wavy or just somewhat curled. It should never appear harsh and wiry, or frizzy. The undercoat is downy-soft. The face boasts furnishings, including eyebrows, mustache, and beard.
• Coat Color or Pattern: Various shades of solid blue, blue-gray, or gray-blue.

Movement

The movement is free, energetic, efficient, and effortless. The characteristics of a healthy structure are evident. When moving away, the forelegs and rear pasterns should remain parallel to one another. When viewing movement from the front, the forelegs should remain parallel, with elbows and paws moving neither in nor out. From the rear, the back pads should be visible when the rear legs are extended. As speed increases, the forelimbs and hindlimbs will converge to the centerline of gravity. From the side, the topline should remain firm and level. Good reach of movement in the front allows the forepaw to extend out in line with the nose. When extended, the width between the forefeet should be approximately equal to the width between the hindfeet when extended, indicating balance, good reach, and good drive. Dogs that exhibit any sign of breathing or locomotive difficulty shall be disqualified from the show ring.

Temperament

The Kerry Blue Terrier breed is a terrier through and through but also a versatile dog. Like the other Irish Terriers, he has a large personality to match his large terrier size. The Kerry Blue Terrier is intelligent, bold, confident, watchful, and what many describe as willful and somewhat arrogant. However, these dogs take to training in obedience and agility-related tasks more readily and easily than many other breeds, making them ideal candidates for competitions, including police dog work, agility, flyball, and even herding and retriever work. While doting on their family and people, they can become reserved or indifferent toward strangers and other dogs. Like many terriers, they are not ideal housemates for smaller animals, as they can become predatory. Any unprovoked aggressive or fearful behavior toward people is incorrect for this breed.

Faults

All dogs should be in proper healthy condition, free from disease or defect. Any departure from this description is considered a fault. Unless altered, all male dogs should have two fully descended testicles.