Talk:Irish Terrier

Vulnerable Native Breed
This breed is classed in Britain as a VNB - a breed which originated in the UK but now has registration numbers with the Kennel Club of less then 300 puppies per year.

I'm a Canadian teenager on a gap year before Uni and I'm really interested in this. Would anyone like a VNB paragraph/link on this page? I can write it, but am ignorant about formatting etc. Plus, I'm trying to put together a whole collection on all 29 breeds on this list, including history and so on, using Wikipedia as one of my many sources. If you can help, or are interested at all, please contact me either on my talk page or at green_ied_dragon@hotmail.com

--The Wizard of Magicland 19:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Not a dog-fighting breed?
Is there really any evidence that this terrier was ever developed specifically for fighting? I'd guess that most terriers are feisty and people might have put them up to it, but I find it hard to believe that most terriers were ever developed with dog fighting in mind. Elf | Talk 01:04, 23 September 2005 (UTC)


 * List of dog fighting breeds states:

Dog Fighting Breeds is a list of dog breeds originally developed for, or commonly used at some time in their history for dog fighting.


 * Indeed, this dog was used for dog fighting at one point in it's history. In contemporary times, Western culture only use PitBulls and Tosas.  In the Middle East Gull Terr, Gull Dong and Bully Kutta's are used. Please stop following me around, it's strange... LaLa 02:22, 23 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Is there much conclusive evidence that the breed was used for fighting? I have been searching the web, as well as my most reliable dog books, and can't find many (barely any at all in fact) places that say that irishes were used commonly, or at all, in dog fighting. Most places I've looked don't even mention the sport being associated with the breed. Pharaoh Hound 00:20, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

I have recently purchased my adorable Irish Terrier, feisty-yes, intelligent-most definitely, but i do not think for fighting!..I do think if they had to defend themselves or their owners, they would do it without thought or hesitation. I read they were used as messengr dogs throughout several wars/battles, because they had spectacular memories, did not get distracted nor did loud noises detour them. So i just thought i would add my two cents. ty

Some accurate information was needed...
I have now taken some time over a few days and deleted weird information on this breed - such as "all of them are aggressive", "they are frequently used in flyball" etc.

I have also written something ïn the appearance, history and temperament sectiosn. Feel free to agree or disagree :-) Much remains to be done...

Then I created a Wikipedia account for myself :-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Singeri (talk • contribs)


 * Good, the article needs a bit of rewrite - I found several spelling errors yesterday, but I'm sure there are more.. (Please sign your posts - see Sign your posts on talk pages thanks. -- Armadillo From Hell 13:24, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Armadillo, I am not sure which ones were typos and which ones just my bad English - not a mother tongue, you see!

I posted info about this page in The Irish Terrier Community (see External Links). Before soon somebody replied and had checked the date of the founding of the first breed club. Thanks! I started rewriting the History Section.

Singeri 10:04, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Irish Terriers are one of the seven true rish breeds they are extremely compatible with children and a great family dog ,they were bred in Ireland as a farmyard dog for dispatchment of vermin and also a versatile cattle dog ,they are one of the earliest breeds of terrier and used as messenger dogs in WW1

Edits by 172.129.200.135
Not vandalism but appaling style (hence Tone tag). Would it be better and easier to revert all these or try to tidy up ?? Pete Orme 13:52, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Personally, I would revert. The edits really don't add anything significant, and it removed some stuff from the history section. Additionally, the edits to the temperament section seem extremely pro-irish terrier. I like the breed, but the edits portay it as saintly ("The Irish Terrier is a winsome dog!"). -- Pharaoh Hound  (talk)  18:00, 5 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I know nothing about the subject, and just bumped into it somewhow, I've been trying to catch spelling wrrors and grossly bad parts, but as a whole the article is very poor and needs a lot of rewrite. I've been tempted to revert anything added that is not done with some degree of quality. There is too much fluff and POV that adds nothing. -- Armadillo From Hell 01:21, 6 October 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes, I agree. Neither one of you knows anything about the subject. So why not just revert it to the drivel that was there. It was full of inaccurate information that had nothing to do with Irish Terriers. But I guess your point is to fill a page with balderdash and piddle waddle rather than something worth reading about Irish Terriers from someone who knows Irish Terriers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.155.223.212 (talk • contribs)


 * Instead of posting negative messages which contribute nothing, you could contribute to the article - since you claim to know something.-- Armadillo From Hell 00:42, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

The Appearance section truly was bit on the fluffy side now :-). I edited the page a bit and tried to use a matter-of-fact tone. As for the older version, the history section contained some incorrect stuff. So if a revertion is done, at least the errors will have to be deleted.Singeri 07:10, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

A new try
I came accross the Dog Breed Project and decided to give this page a go. I tried to adopt the Table of Contents specified. I do not feel qualified to join the project per se, but am awaiting everybody's comments on my contributions on this specific breed.Singeri 14:08, 19 December 2006 (UTC) How does one make additions to the info box? i would like to see the nicnames Red Devil, Daredevil and Redhead there. Singeri 08:27, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Tone of the article
In my opinion this article is getting a lot better, after I have deleted a lot of "fluff". When and who takes away the banner stating "this page is not written on a formal tone"?Singeri 08:27, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Actually, the article is quite improved since I've had a serious look at it, and I'm going to remove the banner. -- Pharaoh Hound  (talk)  13:50, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Hand stripping
I got my Irish Terrier as an 8 week old puppy in November 2006 and absolutely love him to bits - having never owned a terrier I was not familiar with how to care for his coat but have managed to do the hand stripping very easily. I've read loads on the web and from books but I can't find any information on whether I should pull out the hairs that are around the edges of his ears. This hair is very soft and is firmly attached and not going to be plucked out like the rest of his coat. Should I use scissors? Does anyone know of any resources that might provide advice on this? 160.9.41.23 15:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)Archies mum
 * After a quick bit of searching I turned up this statement from the Irish Terrier Association (UK) "the ears must be free of fringe" . Unfortunately it doesn't elaborate further. The Irish Terrier Club of America has this to say on grooming "Strip hair from the inside and outside of the ears" . I've never owned an IT (or indeed any dog, thus far), so I can't say anything from experience. Hope this helps. -- Pharaoh Hound  (talk)  16:35, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

After a little bravery, I managed to answer my own question! I figured that as all other literature strongly advises against clipping or anything other than hand stripping then I should try again with the fringing round the ears. The fine hair does pull out as it does on the rest of the coat but my dog did notice I was doing it. I found that if I gently gripped the ear between forefinger and thumb and held it steady avoiding any jerky movements whilst pulling the fine hair out at the same time (with my other hand), then he didn't mind so much. I did have to be quick though and it took several sessions as his attention uickly wandered and keeping his head and ears still is extremely difficult for him (in fact, his ears seem to have a life of their own, they are more like periscopes or antennae than ears!). I will post pictures of the before and after results shortly. 160.9.41.115 13:41, 28 February 2007 (UTC)Archies mum

You should cut it. A good scissors and two minutes of your time. Do not torture your own dog! Ears are very sensitive. I'm wondering that you wasn't bited. (I had Irish Terrier) Ias130 —Preceding comment was added at 16:21, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

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