Irish Terrier Breed Standard
Terrier Group

Head
Long, but in nice proportion to the rest of the body; the skull flat, rather narrow between the ears, and narrowing slightly toward the eyes; free from wrinkle, with the stop hardly noticeable except in profile. The jaws must be strong and muscular, but not too full in the cheek, and of good punishing length. The foreface must not fall away appreciably between or below the eyes; instead, the modeling should be delicate. An exaggerated foreface, or a noticeably short foreface, disturbs the proper balance of the head and is not desirable. The foreface and the skull from occiput to stop should be approximately equal in length. Excessive muscular development of the cheeks, or bony development of the temples, conditions which are described by the fancier as "cheeky," or "strong in head," or "thick in skull" are objectionable. The "bumpy" head, in which the skull presents two lumps of bony structure above the eyes, is to be faulted. The hair on the upper and lower jaws should be similar in quality and texture to that on the body, and of sufficient length to present an appearance of additional strength and finish to the foreface. Either the profuse, goat-like beard, or the absence of beard, is unsightly and undesirable.

Teeth

Should be strong and even, white and sound; and neither overshot nor undershot.

Lips
Should be close and well-fitting, almost black in color.

Nose
Must be black.

Eyes
Dark brown in color; small, not prominent; full of life, fire and intelligence, showing an intense expression. The light or yellow eye is most objectionable, and is a bad fault.

Ears
Small and V-shaped; of moderate thickness; set well on the head, and dropping forward closely toward the outside corner of the eye. The top of the folded ear should be well above the level of the skull. A "dead" ear, hound-like in appearance, must be severely penalized. It is not characteristic of the Irish Terrier. The hair should be much shorter and somewhat darker in color than that on the body.

Neck
Should be of fair length and gradually widening toward the shoulders; well and proudly carried, and free from throatiness. Generally there is a slight frill in the hair at each side of the neck, extending almost to the corner of the ear.

Shoulders and Chest
Shoulders must be fine, long, and sloping well into the back. The chest should be deep and muscular, but neither full nor wide.

Body
The body should be moderately long. The short back is not characteristic of the Irish Terrier, and is extremely objectionable. The back must be strong and straight, and free from an appearance of slackness or "dip" behind the shoulders. The loin should be strong and muscular, and slightly arched, the ribs fairly sprung, deep rather than round, reaching to the level of the elbow. The bitch may be slightly longer than the dog.

Hindquarters
Should be strong and muscular; thighs powerful; hocks near the ground; stifles moderately bent.

Stern
Should be docked, taking off about one quarter. It should be set on rather high, but not curled. It should be of good strength and substance; of fair length and well covered with harsh, rough hair.

Feet and Legs
The feet should be strong, tolerably round, and moderately small; toes arched and turned neither out nor in, with dark toenails. The pads should be deep, and must be perfectly sound and free from corns. Cracks alone do not necessarily indicate unsound feet. In fact, all breeds have cracked pads occasionally, from various causes.

Legs moderately long, well set from the shoulders, perfectly straight, with plenty of bone and muscle; the elbows working clear of the sides; pasterns short, straight, and hardly noticeable. Both fore and hind legs should move straight forward when traveling; the stifles should not turn outward. "Cowhocks"--that is, the hocks turned in and the feet turned out--are intolerable. The legs should be free from feather and covered with hair of similar texture to that on the body to give proper finish to the dog.

Coat
Should be dense and wiry in texture, rich in quality, having a broken appearance, but still lying fairly close to the body, the hairs growing so closely and strongly together that when parted with the fingers the skin is hardly visible; free of softness or silkiness, and not so long as to alter the outline of the body, particularly in the hindquarters. On the sides of the body the coat is never as harsh as on the back and quarters, but it should be plentiful and of good texture. At the base of the stiff outer coat there should be a growth of finer and softer hair, lighter in color, termed the undercoat. Single coats, which are without any undercoat, and wavy coats are undesirable; the curly and the kinky coats are most objectionable.

Color
Should be whole-colored: bright red, golden red, red wheaten, or wheaten. A small patch of white on the chest, frequently encountered in all whole-colored breeds, is permissible but not desirable. White on any other part of the body is most objectionable. Puppies sometimes have black hair at birth, which should disappear before they are full grown.

Size
The most desirable weight in show condition is 27 pounds for the dog and 25 pounds for the bitch. The height at the shoulder should be approximately 18 inches. These figures serve as a guide to both breeder and judge. In the show ring, however, the informed judge readily identifies the oversized or undersized Irish Terrier by its conformation and general appearance. Weight is not the last word in judgment. It is of the greatest importance to select, insofar as possible, terriers of moderate and generally accepted size, possessing the other various characteristics.

General Appearance
The over-all appearance of the Irish Terrier is important. In conformation he must be more than a sum of his parts. He must be all-of-a piece, a balanced vital picture of symmetry, proportion and harmony. Furthermore, he must convey character. This terrier must be active, lithe and wiry in movement, with great animation; sturdy and strong in substance and bone structure, but at the same time free from clumsiness, for speed, power and endurance are most essential. The Irish Terrier must be neither "cobby" nor "cloddy," but should be built on lines of speed with a graceful, racing outline.

Temperament
The temperament of the Irish Terrier reflects his early background: he was family pet, guard dog, and hunter. He is good tempered, spirited and game. It is of the utmost importance that the Irish Terrier show fire and animation. There is a heedless, reckless pluck about the Irish Terrier which is characteristic, and which, coupled with the headlong dash, blind to all consequences, with which he rushes at his adversary, has earned for the breed the proud epithet of "Daredevil." He is of good temper, most affectionate, and absolutely loyal to mankind. Tender and forebearing with those he loves, this rugged, stout-hearted terrier will guard his master, his mistress and children with utter contempt for danger or hurt. His life is one continuous and eager offering of loyal and faithful companionship and devotion. He is ever on guard, and stands between his home and all that threatens.

Approved December 10, 1968

Irish Terrier(爱尔兰梗)

[头部] 长，但与身体其他部分比例协调；头颅平坦，两耳间较窄；没有皱纹，轮廓中，止部不明显。颌部必须很结实而且肌肉发达，但面颊不丰满，而且长度要求要求严格。脸部在两眼间，但不能太低；事实上，造型十分精致。夸张的脸部或明显短的脸部，都会破坏头部的整体平衡，属于有缺陷。面部与头颅以止部为界，其长度大致相等。口吻或面颊的肌肉过度发达、两鬓骨骼过度发达，这些情况被专业人士称为“厚脸皮”、“过度发达的头”、“厚脑壳”，都属于缺陷。上下颌的毛发长度和质地与身体上的毛发一样，有足够的长度使脸部显得结实、完整。不能太多，象山羊胡子，也不能太少，太多或太少都属于缺陷。

[牙齿] 应该结实、整齐，颜色洁白而且健康；上颚突出式咬合和下颚突出式咬合都属于缺陷。

[嘴唇] 紧闭，颜色为黑色。

[鼻镜] 必须为黑色 [眼睛] 颜色为深褐色；小，而不突出；充满精力、热情和聪慧，显示出热情的眼神。浅色或黄色眼睛是严重缺陷，最要不得。

[耳朵] 小而且呈V字形；中等厚度；位置恰当，向前折叠，垂在眼角边。耳朵的折叠线应该比头顶略高。“死了”的耳朵——象猎犬那样的垂耳属于严重缺陷。耳朵上的毛发必须很短，而且比身体上的毛发颜色略暗。 [颈部] 长度适中，靠近肩部逐渐变宽；骄傲地高高昂起，喉部没有赘肉。脖子两边的毛发略有卷曲，延伸到耳角。

[肩部和胸部] 肩部精致、长而且向背部倾斜。胸部深而且肌肉发达，但不突出或宽阔。

[身躯] 身躯长度中等。短背不是爱尔兰梗的特点，而且属于缺陷。后背结实而且笔直，在肩膀后方不能出现松弛或“塌陷”的情况。腰部结实而且肌肉发达，略拱，肋骨健康、深而不圆，深度与肘齐平。母狗也许比公狗长一些。

[后躯] 结实而且肌肉发达；大腿有力；飞节靠近地面；后膝关节适度弯曲。

[尾巴] 断尾，去掉总长度的1/4。尾根位置高，但不卷曲；毛发长度适中、被毛粗硬。

[腿和足爪] 足爪结实，相当圆，而且偏小；足尖上拱，不向内翻也不向外翻，趾甲颜色深。脚垫深，必须非常结实而且没有龟裂。单个裂纹不说明脚垫不健康，事实上，所有品种的脚垫都会因为各种原因，而偶然出现裂纹。腿部长度适中，与肩部结合良好，相当直，骨量充足、肌肉发达；肘部在身体两侧；腕部短、直，不明显。当跑动时，前腿和后腿都笔直向前；后膝关节不能向外翻。“牛肢”是指飞节向内翻而足爪向外翻，属于严重缺陷。腿部不应该有饰毛，腿部毛发与身体上毛发的质地相似。

[被毛] 浓密而且呈金属丝状的刚毛，毛量丰厚，看起来不太平整，其实是非常紧密的贴在身上，毛发如此紧密而粗壮，所以用手指拨开毛发，皮肤几乎不可见；没有柔软或丝状被毛，不能长到改变身体轮廓外形，尤其是后躯。身体两侧的毛发不象脊背或腿部的毛发那么粗硬，但也应该丰厚而且质地良好。在粗硬的被毛下面，有一层精致、柔软的毛发，颜色略浅，称为底毛。单层毛（没有底毛）、波浪状被毛属于缺陷；卷曲和纠缠的被毛属于严重缺陷。

[颜色] 应该是整个都是有色的；火红色、金红色、麦红色或小麦色。胸部有白色斑纹，这在纯色品种中经常出现，是允许的，但不理想。身体其他地方出现白色毛发都属于缺陷。有时，小狗出生时身上会有黑色毛发，到成年后就没有了。

[体型] 在比赛中，最理想的体重为：公狗27磅/母狗25磅。肩高大约18英寸。这些数字对繁殖者和评判来说，是标准尺寸。然而在比赛中，评判是根据形态和一般外观来鉴别体型偏大或偏小的爱尔兰梗。体重并非是评判的最后标准。体型正常的爱尔兰梗具有其他很多重要特征。

[一般外观] 爱尔兰梗的一般外观十分重要。整体外观的分数比例比其他各部分分数的总和还大。必须将其当成一个整体，对称、比例和协调对整体平衡而言，十分重要。此外，还有性格特征。这种梗在活动中必须是有活力的、有韧性而又坚强，而且非常有生气；身体结构结实、强壮，骨量充足，同时不能笨拙，速度、力量和耐力都很好。不“娇气”，其身体轮廓是适合奔跑的流线形。

[气质] 爱尔兰梗的气质反映出其早期背景：他曾经作为家庭宠物、护卫犬和猎犬。他脾气好、精力旺盛、喜欢游戏。爱尔兰梗最大的特点是其显示出来的热情和活力。爱尔兰梗最大的特点是粗心大意，而且喜欢不顾后果地、冒失地向前冲，去袭击对手，从而为这一品种挣得了“冒失鬼”的光荣称号。他脾气好，对人类完全忠诚。这些粗鲁、冒失的家伙，以他们的爱和体贴，来保护他们的主人、女主人和孩子们，从来不怕任何危险。他的一生都充满了忠诚、忠实和献身精神。他可以使他的家庭远离危险。

标准通过日期：1968年12月10日

原作： 酋长

来源： 转译自AKC

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