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Original poster

Irish Terrier?

15 replies

lapsedrunner · 05/01/2006 19:51

Any other Mumsnet Irish Terrier owners out there {grin}??

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Original poster
lapsedrunner · 08/01/2006 09:38

bump

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Joannie2 · 15/02/2006 15:50

Hi Lapsedrunner, I have an Irish, the lovely Olive. She is 3 1/2 now and is the apple of my eye. She is a very typical Irish, a free spirit....with attitude. I am 6 months pregnant with my first child, and up until now Olive has been the baby - I hope she adjusts well to the new arrival. You can see some photos of Olive at www.irishterriers.com - type Olive into the gallery search. Look forward to hearing about you and your Irish.

Joanne

Frenchgirl · 15/02/2006 16:21

Not quite an Irish but a Lakeland Terrier here!!
Mac is 20 months old and still has a bit of a mad puppy attitude but starting to calm down...
he is gorgeous and I did consider an Irish when we got him, they look great! Lakies are now an endangered breed, aren't Irish as well? It is a shame..

Frenchgirl · 15/02/2006 16:24

Joannie2, just had a look at Olive, she is gorgeous!! Love the furrowed brow on the puppy picture

Mac would love her......

Joannie2 · 15/02/2006 17:59

Hi Frenchgirl, We had checked out some Lakie breeders before we got Olive. I love lakies and I'm determined to own one one day, well once I get a bigger house and another couple of Irish of course . I am definately a long-legged terrier gal. Your right, it's a shame about our lovely breeds being on the Vulnerable Breeds list, but while we have committed breed enthusiasts I don't think we need to worry too much - at least that's the hope. A world without some "terrier attitude" would be too boring to consider

Do you handstrip your Mac? Olive is in need of some stripping, but my belly is getting big now and it is so awkward getting down on the floor with her. She will just have to stay hairy for a while longer - my husband says he prefers her that way, but I think it is just his excuse to get out of stripping duty.

Frenchgirl · 15/02/2006 18:03

a lovely lady does the stripping for me (goodness that sounds rude and weird)
but we have to do it every 2 to 3 months (especially in the winter)!
I think long legged terriers are great too, and those floppy ears!!!
Mac has an Airedale friend that he meets at the park and they look so funny together (little and large!)
I do admire you doing the handstripping yourself...

Frenchgirl · 15/02/2006 18:06

this is where Mac comes from
Holly is his mum

Joannie2 · 15/02/2006 18:31

Holly is just beautiful, a real stunner (I shouldn't have looked at the puppies page....swoon). Is Mac a black and tan? I think all the long-legged terrier breeds share that same great character, they have a fire in their eyes.

Joannie2 · 15/02/2006 18:36

Doing a full handstrip is a big job, it can take me upto 5 hours depending on how thick her coat is and how good a finish I want. I usually just roll her coat, stripping out some of the hair every week, it helps keep it neat and tidy and saves my fingers getting blisters

Frenchgirl · 15/02/2006 20:06

yes he is black and tan
looks like she had some 'liver' coloured ones last year
the puppies are extremely cute
they are very smart dogs, very quick to learn good and bad habits aren't they

Joannie2 · 02/03/2006 16:27

Bumping for Lapsedrunner Smile

Original poster
lapsedrunner · 02/03/2006 17:07

Joanne, thanks for bumping.

Olive looks great and soooo well groomed Envy.

I'm just about to go out but will be back tomorrow to post properly tomorrow about Hattie. Grin.

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Original poster
lapsedrunner · 03/03/2006 08:15

Back again (went to theatre with dh for 1st time since ds was born, he's 3.5!).

Our Irish is called Hattie and is 5 this month. I was brought up with terriers but this is my/our first Irish. I can't imagine having any other breed now, we often talk about having a 2nd one (dog, not child!) but it is really not practical right now. Also I'm not exactly sure how she would react to a mate in the house, she is a typical feisty Irish Grin.

She was 18 months old when ds was born and has been fantastic with him. She has a great pedigree but is very much a scruffy Irish. We have her stripped every 6 months but her legs & tummy are clipped. Also as a puppy her ears were perfect but very slowly (almost without us noticing) one of them popped up. There is no way I could have glued it down like some breeders do.

She is well travelled as when we bought her we lived in the UK but are currently in Austria. She has travelled back to the UK twice (by car)so her Pet Passport is getting good use. Have met a 2 or 3 other Irish over here and I gather there is a pretty healthy "scene" in Germany.

Having a dog and a baby is hard work but it is great for ensuring that you get out of the house. Just get a baby bjorn type sling for the early days then a really good three wheeler for off road walks.

Great to find another Irish fan Grin.

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Joannie2 · 03/03/2006 10:41

Hope you had a nice night at the theatre - I'm jealous Grin.

Hattie sounds super - a proper wee Irish. I think once you have had an Irish it would be very difficult going back to another breed. What line is Hattie from, Olive is a Drumshaw, an old Scottish line from the 1940's. I was hoping to get to Crufts this year (spectating only) but now that I'm pg we are giving it a miss. I went last year, it was amazing, and there were some lovely Irish showing from the Continent. I've seen some lovely German dogs in the past, they seem to take showing and breeding very seriously over there.

Like you I would love another Irish, but I think I'll have to wait a couple of years, me, hubby, baby and two Irish in a one bedroomed bungalow might not fit Grin. How is Hattie with other dogs? Olive is good, but has her moments - she will not back down once challenged.

Olive's ears are also pretty wonky now (the IT Community photos are when she was about 11 months), after a year they started flipping back like a whippets. I didn't like the thought of glueing either and I think her ears make her unique (and very cute).

I love the Irish, I know that they could be some peoples idea of a worst nightmare, but to me they are ideal.....I like a challenge Wink.

Joanne

PS. Hattie is a great name for an Irish.

Original poster
lapsedrunner · 03/03/2006 13:04

She is a Breezy all the way through her mothers side of the breeding. Her mothers dam (can't really say grandmother with dogs can you?) was bred by Edna Howard-Jones who I gather was a bit of an Irish expert.

She is good with other dogs (we did loads of socialisation) however true to breed if provoked will good as good as she getsGrin. Mind you she was pinned down by a labrador recently and she realised it was best to lie still and wait for the other dog to back off which surprised me.

Must dash, have to get ds from Kindergarten.

Which part of the UK are you in?

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