History
of the
Kerry Blue Terrier
This jack-of-all-trades ability made the Kerry Blue Terrier invaluable among farmers whose hardscrabble life required a canine that could more than earn its keep.
But what made the breed beloved was its sensibility, which, whatever its origins outside the isle, at a certain point became quintessentially Irish.
The Kerry’s undeniable terrier temperament – alert, quick witted, scrappy –
is leavened by a sentimental attachment to those he holds dear, a sensitivity to
the moods of those around him, and an impish sense of humor.
All in all, a description that could apply as much to a pint-hoisting
workingman at any Dublin pub.
As legend has it, the roots of the Kerry Blue Terrier harken back to
the Spanish Armada, a fleet of 130 ships that left port in Lisbon in
July 1588 with the goal of invading England and deposing the
Protestant Queen Elizabeth I.
The Invincible Armada, however, turned out to have been inaccurately named. Anchoring in the Strait of Dover, the Spanish ships were badly battered by the nimbler British forces. Forced to break ranks, the Spaniards had no choice but to take the long way home, navigating counterclockwise around the northern tip of Scotland. Hampered by autumn gales, food shortages and navigational errors, to say nothing of the damage incurred by British canons, many of the retreating Spanish ships were lost along the western coast of Ireland.
One of those ships wrecked near County Kerry was said to have included a dog that was its only survivor. Some accounts say he was terrier-like; others suggest he might have been a Spanish Water Dog, a breed with a thick, wavy coat.
Regardless of his pedigree, this nameless survivor carried his
fighting spirit onto dry land: His tendency to challenge every
dog he met made him a popular sire, and he was bred to
many of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier females
on the island. Over the generations, this resulted in the
Kerry Blue Terrier, a new native breed with a soft,
dense, and wavy coat in shades of blue that varied from
deep slate to light bluish-gray. The dog’s character was just
as striking as his appearance, his intelligence and adaptability
on par with his gaminess and determination.
Genetics & Health Testing
The Kerry Blue terriers coat genetics comes back form their anscetors the Glen of Imaal, Irish, and Bedlington terriers.
The Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier is the Kerry’s primary contributor, and will sometimes re-emerge, albeit very subtly: Kerry Blue puppies can have a brownish tinge to their coat, a vestige of their Wheaten roots that eventually disappears.
Somewhat incongruously, Kerry Blue puppies are born black, and iat approximately 18 months the coat begins to “clear,” leaving behind the dazzling blue-hued coat that is the breed’s hallmark.
The Kerry Blue Terrier is a healthy breed with only minimal health testing required. We, at Invalhalla , test for Degenerative Myelopathy and von Willebrand's Disease Type I. We ensure any puppies which go out to thier new homes are healthy and will be part of the family for their entire life.
Information kindly sourced from AKC Kerry Blue Terrier - https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/kerry-blue-terrier-history/