.March, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
167 
Compared with the wire fox terrier, he is four or five 
pounds heavier and larger for his weight 
Again compared with the Airedale, the main differ¬ 
ence is one of pounds and size for weight 
A touchy dog, quick as lightning to resent familiarity 
or interference from other dogs 
at all this balderdash by solemnly declaring that the sole and only 
reason the Irish terrier was not itemized in the manifest of the 
Ark was that Noah knew they conld swim so well that it would 
be foolish to take a pair of them aboard. 
Dog fanciers dote upon finding an ancient and honorable 
lineage for their favorite breed, but the terrier from Erin is 
quite well able to stand upon his own straight legs, thank you. 
However, those who feel that age is a desirable attribute for the 
If you are looking for a good companion, pick out a bright, husky pup, with goo< 
straight legs, a shortish back, small ears, dark eyes, and a red wiry coat 
Irish terrier to possess will be glad to know that there is good 
reason to suppose that he is no upstart. When he was discov¬ 
ered in the North of Ireland he was well established in distinct 
type and bred true. These two facts are the tests of a thorough¬ 
bred and proofs of age. There were differences in detail among 
the early dogs, greater differences than we now see in a class of 
Irish terriers at our bench shows, but all were sandy or reddish 
in color, and all were markedly more light and racy in outline than 
the other terriers of Great Britain. 
About 1875 the breed began to make friends outside of the land 
of his nativity. English fanciers took him up, attracted by his 
winning disposition and his marked individualities, and all the 
discussions about his origin proved to be valuable advertising. 
But historical debates were not the only ones held on the attract¬ 
ive subject of the Irish terrier. His early friends wrought them¬ 
selves into furies over the questions of how much white should 
be allowed on his chest and what should be the correct color of 
his toenails. Next came the cropping question — in those days 
the Irishman’s ears were cropped, as the Great Dane's and the 
Boston terrier’s are now—but this was settled once and for 
all bv the firm action of the club devoted to the interests of the 
breed. The Irish terrier can, therefore, claim justly to have 
initiated the cropping discussion which ended in the abolition 
of this custom for all breeds in England, a question that has 
recently been put to our own American Kennel Club, and which 
may soon be answered by an anti-cropping edict in this country. 
The red fox terrier bugaboo, which, like the poor, is always 
with us, was first raised over the long, lean head of Champion 
Bachelor, a famous dog who made his debut in 1885. Every¬ 
one who knows both the Irish and the wire fox terriers knows 
that the two are, speaking roughly, similar dogs. They are, 
however, quite distinct in type. In the first place, the Irishman 
is not only four or five pounds heavier, but, being lithe and 
racy, he is larger for his weight. He is built after the model 
of a thoroughbred racehorse, while the fox terrier is a cobby 
hackney. The greatest difference, however, is in the head and 
expression. The Daredevil’s head is, roughly, like a wedge; 
the fox terrier’s is coffin-shaped. Moreover, the correct Irish 
head has a definite 
“stop,” or dent, be¬ 
tween the eyes; the 
ears are placed 
higher and carried 
more lightly; the 
eyes are set in at a 
more acute angle; 
the stiff hair on the muzzle 
is a tuft under the chin — 
not on the upper lips. All 
these seemingly trifling de¬ 
tails result in a very great dif¬ 
ference in expression. The 
fox terrier looks keen and 
varminty ; the Irish terrier ex¬ 
pression is alert and devil- 
may-care. The difference, 
which seems a mere technical 
distinction on paper, is very 
appreciable when one sees two 
typical dogs of the breeds. 
(Continued on page 198) 
The ears should be placed high and car¬ 
ried lightly, the eyes set in at an acute 
angle 
