Kiko

[The Hersch]

This is Kiko, my Irish terrier bitch lady.

[bettyjoan]

She is beautiful!  How old?

[The Hersch]

She is beautiful!  How old?

Thanks, I think so too. She still acts like a puppy and can run about 30 mph, but she'll be 7 next month.

[darkstar965]

Thanks, I think so too. She still acts like a puppy and can run about 30 mph, but she'll be 7 next month.

30 mph? Wow! She is a gorgeous dog. Really unique in the best of ways. The ears are great. I'm curious about your attachment to this breed? Did you grow up with them? Is Kiko your first? General descriptions of temperament and health online make them seem suitable for most any responsible owner willing to provide the necessary physical and mental exercise. Do you agree with that? How is she with other (friendly) dogs?

Feel like we're doing a dog chat here. :-)

[jsfairfax]

Kiko is one of the finest dogs I have ever seen....you should be proud

[The Hersch]

30 mph? Wow! She is a gorgeous dog. Really unique in the best of ways. The ears are great. I'm curious about your attachment to this breed? Did you grow up with them? Is Kiko your first? General descriptions of temperament and health online make them seem suitable for most any responsible owner willing to provide the necessary physical and mental exercise. Do you agree with that? How is she with other (friendly) dogs?

Feel like we're doing a dog chat here. :-)

30 mph may be an exaggeration, but she is really fast. The ears are actually not great in terms of conforming to the breed standard. They're supposed to fold toward the front like this:

(A random picture from Google images.) Unfortunately, real-life Irish terriers' ears don't really do this except by means of gluing them down when they're puppies. Kiko's ears were glued before she came to me, but I didn't keep up the practice because I don't approve of it. Her ears dropped perfectly when she came to live with me (she was five months old), but started standing up more and more over the course of the next year.

Kiko is my second Irish terrier. My first was Cassie, who came into my life when she was 3 1/2 and I was 44, and gave me almost 12 years of perfect companionship. When she died, I didn't intend to get another dog right away, and didn't really intend to get another Irish terrier, but just a few weeks later, a breeder offered Kiko (not her name then) to me (for sale), and when I figured out that Kiko's great grandfather had been Cassie's littermate brother, I felt as if it was somehow intended that I have her. So I was only without an Irish terrier for one month, as it turned out.

Kiko is great with other dogs. Sometimes on leash she will growl and lunge at other leashed dogs, which is actually her way of trying to play with them, but usually misinterpreted by the walker of the other dog, who conveys apprehension to their dog who then reacts with hostility. It's not a big problem, and it's only once in a while.

Temperament and health are as you say. The Irish terrier has no common congenital health problems, and has a usually sunny and enthusiastic disposition. One warning: Grooming requirements are pretty intensive. Google "terrier hand stripping" and you'll see what I mean.

[The Hersch]

Kiko in flight:

This was on February 11, 2010, the day after the third tremendous snowstorm of 2009-2010. Kiko--like most dogs, I think--loves the snow. It unleashes her Superdog ability to fly.