Irish Terrier - Top 10 Facts

Irish Terrier is considered one of the oldest terrier breeds. The active and compactly sized Irish Terriers are suited for life in both rural and city environments. Their harsh red coat protects them from all kinds of weather.

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In this video, we are counting down the top 10 facts about the Irish Terrier that you might not know.

A Quick Overview:
Group: Terrier Dogs
Weight: 25 to 27 pounds
Height: 18 to 20 inches tall at the shoulder
Life Expectancy: 12-16 years

Irish Terriers are wonderful watchdogs, barking to warn their owners of anything new. Some dogs will become excessive barkers if their behavior isn't controlled from the start. Thanking the dog for the alert and then distracting him with another command or game is a good way to make sure your dog learns to control his barking.

Irish Terriers are excellent people dogs when they receive early socialization, and this helps make them wonderful family companions. They're best suited to families where someone is home during the day. They aren't overly active indoors and are happy to relax with their people, but they need exercise in the form of walks and occasional romps in a securely fenced area. The Irish Terrier has excellent hunting skills and a strong desire to seek out and destroy vermin, so a fenced yard and leashed walks are necessary for his safety. He'll chase rapidly moving objects without paying attention to where the chase is leading him.

Irish Terriers adore children and are great playmates, especially when raised with them. Make sure very young children are supervised at all times to prevent injury to both the dog and the child. Irish Terriers can learn to get along with cats if they're raised with them from puppyhood, but they may not be trustworthy around smaller pets, especially pets from the rodent family such as mice, rats, hamsters, and gerbils. Their terrier instinct to hunt this type of animal may be too strong to overcome.

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[danstewart]

I miss Casey. She lives to be 16.

I was awakened one night to growling. She had a raccoon trapped in the garage. It entered through her dog door. The fight lasted for thirty minutes.

She was so happy to show me what she had protected our family from.

[hails.bails]

I have a 7 year old Irish terrier. She is a ball of energy and a big old scaredy-cat! She is very loyal and loves to be around other dogs at the dog park. She is not afraid to show her confidence though if she doesn’t like them. My sweet girl also is very sassy, she loves to play and laugh at us if we’re too slow at grabbing the tug of war toy. If you’re considering getting an Irish terrier I highly recommend it!

[DogsWiz]

Is your Irish Terrier aggressive toward other dogs?
How fearless, spunky, versatile, and active do you think your Irish is?
Let us know in the comments!

[ri_god]

"Irish Terriers can eliminate hundreds of rats in hours." I take my terrier to my office now.

[JoJoSavo]

I have a 7 year old female IT... she is actually great with 90% of other dogs, with 10% randomly setting her off. It must be something IT's can sense in certain dogs.

[csullivan]

IT's bark but only when it is needed. They are loyal but if you accept people into your home they will accept them. Otherwise, they bark or alert or act aggressive. They do not take kindly to invaders that have not been cleared by their human owners. My male can be aggressive to other dogs, but my female is normally not. It is more about protecting their territory than being aggressive toward other dogs. My male IT can be stubborn but my female is compliant, the IT nature in general is stubborn until they respect you. Once they respect you they normally comply, maybe not as fast as other dogs, but they normally comply. Both my IT's are absolutely gold, their love and playfulness is a joy! IT's can 'read' people and can know when someone is a weak leader, if weak, they will lead. An IT as a leader is a scary thing because they love to get into things or investigate. When they know their boundaries.... they will still test you... but normally come into compliance if you are a strong leader. They are not a dog that wants to please you just because you are a human... they want intelligence in their human like a human wants intelligence in their dogs.

[kohinarec]

We had one. It was 56 cm tall at shoulders and weighed 25 kilos. Was a daredevil lacking all urge to please. But it was an active an loyal dog - quirky and due to injuries sustained as a pup, unpredictable (he recklessly jumped from a high terrace and hurt his back and later lost one eye to glaucoma. After that he became more unpredictable, even biting me once. Possibly because his visual impairment caused him to view fleeting shadows and such as threats. BUT he was loyal, participated in all activities (he would drag three meter trunks and large branches from the woods to our wood-chopping block, liked to hop onboard for fishing trips, alerted my parents if he heard something go bump in the night, kept cats out of the yard (but never harmed them), and intervened if my older brother played too rough with me or if we got into a scuffle, pulling him away and standing between us. He had fierce bravery and primitive cunning. Was euthanized aftet he developed a cancer 15 years ago at age 10. I was 16 then. Bye, Skip, you damn lovable rascal of a dog.

[drm]

I's say this video is about 60% accurate.

My dog is not aggressive at all, in fact, he's the nicest dog in the dog park. He even tolerates annoying dogs that try to dominate him way longer than I would and only sorts them out if they don't stop. It's true though that once they go too far, the size of the other dog doesn't matter. Otherwise he gets along with any dog, big or small, plays nicely, never hurts any dog and never EVER starts a fight.

He tolerates everything from our children (8 and 5). Never retaliates, regardless of what they do. If he had enough or they're too much, he just walks away. Not even a growl. Never seen a dog like him before.

He doesn't bark lots at all. In fact, he barks way less than other dogs I've seen. In the first 3-4 months, he didn't bark at all. We didn't even know what he sounded like. Only later, when he grew up and took over the night watch from me, we have learned that he has a real deep big dog voice. During the day he's chill and not too bothered about anything. But when I'm asleep, he takes over the role of the family protector. Every noise must be investigated immediately and then he checks on every sleeping person in every room to make sure they're all okay before he goes back to sleep. If it's a bigger event or a louder noise, he picks a place for the rest of the night where he can see every room entrance from. Initially he barked on these occasions, then I told him off a few times, now he just growls a bit and goes on to check. Only barks when necessary.

If you give him enough exercise, he is super calm at home, resting most of the day. One long walk (1h) or two short walks (20-30m) are enough. Never chewed a shoe, a slipper or destroyed any furniture. He stole a few fluffy toys from the kids when he was a pup but he doesn't do that anymore. Everything that smells like another animal, he tracks down and takes though. Bird feathers, that sometimes my kids collect for example don't survive long in the house.

With that said, he has a really strong hunting instinct with an incredible nose. He can go into a sniff-trans and then he can't even hear or see you. I'm hoping that this behaviour will fade over time as all things will become "less new". He's 10 months old now. This limits where we can allow him to free-roam, but he is trainable. After a few months of practice, when we see ducks during our walk, he now looks back for instructions. If I say "go", he shoots out. If I say "no" or "leave it", he leaves them about 80% of the time, even though I can tell that he really really wants to go chase them.

He is stubborn, there's no two ways about it. Fits well into my family :) He approaches learning with a "what's in it for me" attitude. You need to make him think that what you're asking was his idea in the first place or make sure it's worthwhile for him to listen to you. Food, play, big praise or a loving cuddle all work. I'd say food and play work best. However, if you make him pointlessly sit-stand-sit-stand-sit-stand several times, after a few times, he'll be like "this doesn't make any sense" and starts ignoring you. He listens, but does so on his own terms. He finishes the task but takes his own path to get there. If you call him, he will still finish sniffing that spot, or checking out that bush, then he turns around and does what you asked. He's never going to be like a Doberman or a Malinois.

He is a very loving dog. He never leaves my side, but does so in a polite, non-intrusive way. He's always close, but doesn't enter my personal space. Typically stays within a metre but doesn't touch me, unless I call him.

He's a goofball and brings lots of fun to the family. Absolutely loves to play and make you laugh. He's an amazing play buddy for the entire family, but most importantly to the kids. He picks up your pace too - he plays gentle with my wife and my daughter and plays rough and tumble with my son and I but he's very careful not to hurt you.

And lastly, I can't imagine ITs being an outside dog. They want to be around you ALL THE TIME. Even if you just go on a car ride to the supermarket, they'd rather come with you and wait in the car than sit at home waiting for you to return.

[kohinarec]

We had one. It was 56 cm tall at shoulders and weighed 25 kilos. Was a daredevil lacking all urge to please. But it was an active an loyal dog - quirky and due to injuries sustained as a pup, unpredictable (he recklessly jumped from a high terrace and hurt his back and later lost one eye to glaucoma). After that he became more unpredictable, even biting me once. Possibly because his visual impairment caused him to view fleeting shadows and such as threats. BUT he was loyal, participated in all activities (he would drag three meter trunks and large branches from the woods to our wood-chopping block, liked to hop onboard for fishing trips, alerted my parents if he heard something go bump in the night, kept cats out of the yard, and intervened if my older brother played too rough with me or if we got into a scuffle, pulling him away and standing between us.) He had fierce bravery and primitive cunning. Was euthanized after he developed a cancer 15 years ago at age 10. I was 16 then. Bye, Skip, you damn lovable rascal of a dog.

[Sandwich]

My grandma and grandpa used to have 13 of them a while ago when I was pretty young, I came to visit them in Illinois sometimes every year, but they have 3 left now. I miss the rest of them 😢

[frida_uhl]

I was very surprised to see my dog in your video (footage from Jens Uhlmann). Because of that I feel somehow involved and would like to say a few things about your "facts". I'm aware that this is a free video that you've made but given your following and the fact that your channel wants to inform about dog breeds I guess it's safe to say that you want to inform accurately.
Fact 1: correct as far as my own research goes

Fact 2: this is about the oldest tale about the IT. "The red daredevil". I can't say how much I dislike this prejudice, makes it hard for IT owners in dog schools because trainers usually only "know" this one thing. It's true that at an earlier point they were "a little too ready", however, the breed has developed quite a bit and I can say that all ITs I know are confident dogs. That's not what I would call aggressive. And every dog can develop their favourite enemy in the neighborhood.

Fact 3: you're right, they're very sensitive. So never be aggressive towards them even when they did something wrong. Dogs never plan on annoying us.

Fact 4: true. Some have stronger, some have lesser hunting instincts

Fact 5: my upstairs neighbors' chihuahua mix is annoying. My Irish never barks just because. She is very quiet. When in a pack I'm sure this can be different or when there's a reason (strange person on the property etc)
Mine has never digged a hole and happily lives in an apartment.

Fact 6: no dog that gets a proper amount of excerise and mental stimulation cares whether he lives in an apartment or a big house. When people have a big yard I think there's higher risk that they won't walk the dog enough, thinking he got his excerise in the yard. ..

Fact 7: same thing as 6, any dog, no matter the breed, will start destroying things and misbehaving if you disregard their needs.

Fact 8: definitely true 😂 my Irish wins many hearts on every walk we take

Fact 9: yes, generally very healthy

Fact 10: Irish terriers need to be handstripped if you want the coat to look its best and actually preserve the functions of the wired hair. Why you chose to show footage of someone clipping!! an Irish terrier I do not understand. Hand stripping is not rocket science but takes some practice and a lot of time/or regularity. (The lady of the original video actually states that this particular dog had been clipped for years so his coat is ruined and not able to strip anymore)

Again, it's great that you present lesser known breeds🐕 but I'm sure that a lot of people use these videos as information when looking for a dog. In which case it's negligent of you to do poor research 😐
I know this was a lot but I don't want these beautiful dogs to be misrepresented. Maybe you could redo your video after more research so people get the correct information and can enjoy your videos even more ✌️

[redwingfan]

Most Irish Terriers get along with other dogs if they're trained to be around them.

[hansandresen]

Every time you say "dog", it sounds more like DUCK.

[Nooasailor]

My irish terrier loves other dogs and she always has

[Iloveamerica]

i have 1 week old irish puppy from the shelter that i just picked they only said it was a terrier until i found out it was an irish terrier

[oisin]

Had to say goodbye to my 15 1/2 year old Nora 2 weeks ago- best companion I could have asked to grow up with. If getting one beware of the territorial nature of them, as said in the video they are very fierce towards other dogs

[tindalljames]

Never use electric clippers on a terriers coat, it'll destroy the outer layer and won't grow back the same. This video is accurate to our IT. on most points though. She really struggled to get along with our Border Terrier at first but now they tolerate each other. She's great with other dogs when we're on a walk however and plays with other dogs she knows although she does play too rough for some dogs. She can also jump six feet from a standing start so kitchen counters are easy game for her.

[elleeme]

"They don't get along with other dogs"- shows video of one playing with another dog.

[pitbull_fi]

I have5 years old irish terrier and she have gave birth to 8 more...irish terriers ARE NOT barking a lot, some of the owners of the puppies have asked after few months do they even bark? They bark way less than average dogs do

[jennypennybridge]

Why not show trimming instead of cutting? The fur gets ruined by cutting 😱 Potential puppy buyers: Trim your dog regularly (4-8 times a year) at a professional dog trimmer 👍 Apart from that; mostly a good description of the IT 👏 although our IT and the ones I've met only barks to alert us or when in hunt mode - far from yepidiyep all the time. Sensitive, amusing, bold and feisty, that's the IT. Any rough thought of leadership you can forget. Be loving and wise and show respect. You'll get the same in return. If not - be firm but never ever violent or even physical. They're to smart for that shit.