Training the Kerry Blue Terrier

by Chris Brill-Packard

Required reading for all Kerry owners.

In the past six years of training my two Kerry Blue Terriers, I have learned a great deal from Keely and Doogan. As a child, I grew up with a Kerry Blue Terrier, named McTavish. She was a true sweet heart, laid back and a great pet. My mom had trained her to boundaries, and taught us kids how to treat her with kindness and love which was returned ten fold.

When we brought Keely home at the age of six weeks, she was this cute black ball of fur that would retrieve a ball that was almost the size of her head and come running back. I knew that I wanted to train her to be a good, well-behaved pet. We enrolled in a puppy socialization class at 16 weeks. As we progressed, one instructor noted how Keely was so intense and thought she would be a good obedience dog and encouraged us to go for our Companion Dog title and then further. What I did not know as I signed up for each class was that a Kerry Blue Terrier views the world very differently from other dogs.

A Kerry Blue Terrier from its very background is a problem solver, a dog that is used to thinking more independently; a dog acutely aware of its surrounding (360 degrees) and that will create more challenges for learning all skills for the trials of an obedience title.

Tom Sawyer's Murphy

I will share a few experiences with you so those of you who want to train a happy working Kerry Blue Terrier may have quicker success in the ring.

A Kerry Blue Terrier needs to think that the obedience skill is fun. In order to make learning an obedience skill fun, the handler needs to create excitement about learning the skill. Most trainers ask you to repeat the skill many times. I have found that the Kerry Blue responds quickly to training when there are fewer repetitions intermixed with play. The play may be a favorite toy or ball, provided as a reward and play for a job well done.

Learning a new skill takes time. Shaping the behavior with play, and praise gradually brings you to the skill being performed well and with speed without repeating the skill so much that you bore your dog. Corrections need to be light with the Kerry; most of the time just placing the dog back at the beginning with no praise is enough for the Kerry to understand that he needs to work at it again. Keely is very quick to give me the body language that she thinks the skill is boring, if we repeat it more than two or three times. If Keely or Doogan perform a skill perfectly the first time, I do not repeat it. I praise them and move onto play or some other skill.

In my training class, I have had to pull my Kerry Blue to the side and intermix other games and play so they do not repeat a skill over and over at a training class. These extra games are a benefit to your training because your Kerry will think you are the best play toy and will be less distracted by other people and dogs in the class.

The Kerry Blue has a quick, alert mind, keen eyesight (360 degrees) around them. Training your Kerry to keep their eye on you is very important for obedience work. It is also very important for success in the Agility ring and other title work. Using quick random heeling with random turns--right, left and about turns, left about turns will train your Kerry Blue to think that if he doesn't watch you, then he is missing out and could get a correction. We laugh at how many times Keelys' right eye is on me but the left eye is keeping track of everything else around her.

Every Kerry owner will need to be a keen observer of their dog's reaction to the different techniques used in obedience training. I found that my Kerry could not learn using chicken wire on the floor for the drop on recall. After one touch of the chicken wire on the recall, taught my dog that there was a "trap" on a straight path to me on the recall. This caused Keely to go around either to the right or left of the straight path to me. Again, the Kerry Blue proves to be aproblem solver. She solved the problem by avoiding the straight path on the recall "it can't get me if I curve around it." It took six months of retraining recalls before Keely learned to trust
that the "trap" was gone permanently. Another trainer threw a key ring in front of her (without my permission) to make her stop short and drop. Just one key ring thrown at Keely taught her not to trust coming in on the recall. Another long retraining session for recalls.

Is your dog jumping when things are dropped? Are they foot sensitive? Noise sensitive? Are they over stimulated by food or a toy? These are important clues to the types of training techniques to use or not use.

Consistency is another key in dog training. When you say a command, you need to back it up. If you do not back it up, the Kerry Blue Terrier will quickly manipulate the handler. Kerry Blues are quick to figure out what is to their advantage. Kerry Blue Terriers will problem solve a situation so they can get what they want. It is up to us human beings to teach them what is to their benefit.

Consistency applies to calling the dog into the house, sitting for its meal, laying down on command whenever you need him to lie down. The consistency creates an understanding with your Kerry that every command is a command to be followed. It will make every day living understandable to your dog and will make doing everything around the house easier for you. A down stay as the Federal Express person arrives at your door needing a signature. A sit stay as you allow visitors to greet your Kerry, no jumping up on visitors. A down stay as your family eats dinner, no begging food or grabbing food off the table. A stand stay for the vet exam. These are all very valuable skills for your dog.

I try to let my Kerries know that I am proud and happy with my voice, so they know when they are right. This is a skill that I had to learn because I am a quiet person. I had to learn to be more expressive in happy tones when my dogs were responding correctly learning a new skill. Our voices are perfect tools for praise; our voice is with us all the time, unlike the treats and clickers. When teaching a new skill, I over-praise so the dog builds confidence. This helps the Kerrys' attitude towards the skills, since he knows you are happy with him, he is more likely to continue to play the game of obedience.

Before a training session, think about what you want to accomplish. What behavior you will reward; how you will intermix play and to keep the training short in duration. A 5-10 minutes session once or twice a day works very well.

I hope these experiences will assist you in your training. I know that my six years of training are no match for the many experienced trainers out there. I read a number of books, attend seminars and think through the techniques and ask myself how my dogs might respond before I ever try a technique on my dogs. I think a good handler is one who understands how their dog thinks and reacts. If you are not comfortable, tell your instructor "no" and why you choose not to use that technique. Then think of some alternative techniques that may work. I am not perfect. I have made many mistakes in training, and I learn from Keely and Doogan every day. They keep me honest in our training. Have fun with training, and so will your Kerry.