(from DOGS IN REVIEW, October 2001:)

                                         
MEET THE  GLEN OF IMAAL TERRIER
                                   

                                by Bruce Sussman and Mary Mc Daniel, D.V.M.

     On  September 1, 2001 a new chapter begins in the long saga of an Irish breed that, despite its extensive history, remains unfamiliar to many. For on that date, the venerable Glen of Imaal Terrier joins the AKC's Miscellaneous Class and will be able to compete in competitions for conformation, agility, junior showmanship and obedience at AKC events throughout the land. If all goes as planned, the breed will also be entering earthdog competition, at which it is especially adept, in 2002. It has been a long journey to this point and the breed almost did not get here; twice in the twentieth century, the Glen was rescued from the very brink of extinction.  But Glens  now have a strong grasp on life and an equally strong hold on the hearts of an ever-growing band of breeders and fanciers throughout the world. If you are among those who have yet to make the acquaintance of this indomitable survivor, we invite you to read on and,  better yet, stop by the Miscellaneous Class ring and meet the Glen of Imaal Terrier.
     The Glen has been variously described in the popular canine literature as a rough-and-ready Sealyham, a miniature Irish Wolfhound, a Soft Coated Wheaten or Kerry Blue on short legs, and a Cairn Terrier on steroids. While these descriptions might allude to an aspect of the Glen's profile, they ultimately miss the point. The Glen isn't a rough-and-ready or miniature anything. It predates some of the breeds to which it is likened and is truly a unique and specific terrier breed developed long ago in a remote valley of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. The breed now bears the name of its origins--the Glen of Imaal. There are references in the literature to this hardy race of terriers going back over two hundred years. Glens were present at the very first dog shows in Ireland in the late 19th-century, but it wasn't until 1933 that a breed club organized seeking recognition from the Irish Kennel Club. In 1934 this was granted and the Glen of Imaal Terrier joined their Irish and Kerry Blue cousins as one of three fully recognized terrier breeds of Ireland. (The Soft Coated Wheaten was recognzied three years later.)  Recognition was simultaneous in the United Kingdom where Glens were shown in the "Any Other Variety" Class until 1980, when they graduated to breed-specific competition and joined the Terrier Group. The breed has had a presence in America since the 1930's, though significant progress was not made until 1980. The Glen of Imaal Terrier Club of America was founded in 1986 and is now the AKC-designated parent club for the breed. (For more information, visit www.glens.org) 
     Presented in this issue  is the offical standard of the breed as adopted by the Glen of Imaal Terrier Club of America and recently approved by the AKC for Miscellaneous Class competition. To better understand what a Glen of Imaal Terrier is, there are several points worthy of highlighting.  As the opening paragraph, General Appearance, states, the Glen is:

   "...a medium-sized working terrier. Longer than tall and sporting a double coat of medium length, the Glen possess great strength and should always convey the impression of maximum substance for size of dog. Unrefined to this day, the breed still possess "antique" features once common to many early terrier types: its distinctive head with rose or half-prick ears, its bowed forequarters with turned out feet, its unique outline and topline are hallmarks of the breed and essential to the breed type."

The above speaks to the very essence of the breed. In assessing a Glen of Imaal Terrier, pay heed to those points and you will not go far wrong. This is a working terrier, designed to take on badger especially, and its conformation must reflect the ability to peform its task--a Glen must possess great strength yet be agile enough to get down a hole. The most common reaction we get when someone puts their hands on a Glen for the first time is..."Wow. That's a powerful dog."  This is a breed that is longer than tall. As the standard later states, the height to length ratio when measured from sternum to buttocks and withers to ground, is approximately three (height) to five (length). This makes for a dog that is slightly longer than tall when considered from withers to tail, and substantially longer than tall when considered from sternum to buttocks.  With regard to substance, the key words in the sentence are "impression" and "for size of dog." The height range for the breed is 12 1/2" - 14". For a breed of this substance and length, that 1 1/2" difference makes for a considerable range in size when all three dimensions are considered, so one is looking for the impression of great substance appropriate to the size of the dog.  But perhaps the most significant statement in this opening paragraph of the standard is the final one--regarding the "antique features" of the Glen.  This is an unrefined breed that very much looks today as it did centuries ago in Ireland. When you observe a Glen, you are looking at living history and these "antique" features are responsible for that essential impression. Its ears are rose or half-prick, never full-drop or full-prick. Its forequarters are moderately bowed (though not fiddle-fronted), never straight. Its front feet turn out. This is not the allowable slight turnout of the Westie, but a required ,  perceptible turnout. Its topline rises slightly to an extraordinarily well-muscled loin. Most Glens will stack a level-ish topline, but in repose, and when moving, the slight rise is clearly evident and correct. We might add that it is also responsible for there being no back problems in this longer-than-tall breed.
     A word about color: unlike its three terrier cousins of Ireland, the Glen is not a breed defined by color. The three allowable colors--wheaten, blue, brindle--may be of any shade or depth of shade and with regard to brindle, the manifest colors may be in any combination or proportion. So in the case of a blue brindle, the light blue, dark blue and tan hairs may present themselves in any balance or arrangement. Though breeders will prefer the darker shades since there is a genetic lightening agent at play, there is no preference for color or depth of color in the conformation ring. Furthermore, this is a late-maturing breed (some would say a very late maturng breed--often not achieving physical maturity until its fifth year) and, like so many features of the breed, color will continue to modulate through maturity.
     We are aware that it will be a while yet before true familarity with the Glen is achieved by judges and the fancy, but we look forward to the process. The simple fact that we are here at all speaks volumes to the staying power of this remarkable breed. For in these days of "reality-based" television,  what we have in the Glen of Imaal Terrier is a true survivor.

(from TERRIER TYPE, November 2001: )
 

                   INTRODUCING......the GLEN OF IMAAL TERRIER

                                  by Bruce Sussman

     If you have been to an AKC show in the last month you may have noticed something "new": a rough-and-ready terrier,  cutting a unique profile with its distinctive outline and topline, while its bowed front legs and turned out feet headed purposefully towards the Miscellaneous Class ring.  Who is this "newcomer?"  Allow me to make an introduction. What you saw--and it may well have been the first one you ever saw--is a Glen of Imaal Terrier. Named for a valley in the starkly beautiful mountains of Ireland's County Wicklow where it was developed long ago, the Glen has finally "arrived" in America in sufficient numbers to warrant the AKC's recent decision to add the breed to the Miscellaneous Class as of September 1, 2001. You may need to readjust your thinking a bit. Many of us have grown accustomed to there  being three beloved terrier breeds of Ireland; the Irish, Kerry Blue and Soft Coated Wheaten.  Well, there are four.

HALLMARKS OF THE BREED

     The Glen of Imaal Terrier is very much a big dog on short legs, which speaks both to its conformation and its attitude towards life. Standing 12 1/2" to 14" at the withers and weighing an average of 35 pounds, a Glen should always give the impression of maximum substance for size of dog, the key word being "impression." They are longer than tall in  a ratio of approximately three (height) to five (length), measured from sternum to buttocks. The breed sports a double coat of medium length: a harsher outer coat and a soft undercoat.  Accepted colors are wheaten (any shade), blue--ranging from silver to deepest slate, and brindle, which may be any combination of shades but is most often seen as blue brindle, a mixture of dark blue, light blue, and tan hairs in any combination or proportion. Unrefined to the present day, the Glen still possesses what we have come to think of as "antique features" that were once common to many early terrier types: its rose or half-prick ears, its unique topline that rises slightly to an extraordinarily well-muscled loin, its bowed front legs with feet turning out perceptibly at the pasterns, are all essential to the breed type and have been so for over two centuries. The docked tail is set high and carried erect, though undocked tails on imports  are acceptable.
     Glens are late-maturing, often not coming into their own until their fourth or fifth year. Resilient to the point of stoicism, the breed is generally less excitable than some other terriers.  When working, they are active, agile, silent and dead game. Speaking of which, the Glen's prowess as a superb earthdog has already been noticed in the US. The American Working Terrier Association  recently recognized the breed and we have our first Glen to be awarded an AWTA Certificate of Gameness. She is Rainbow Spring's Irish Rose, "Emma", owned by Les and Monique Anthony and bred by Peg Carty. 

ORIGINS

     The Glen of Imaal Terrier is no upstart. As one 19th-century writer put it, "There is a glen, Imaal, that has always been, and still is, celebrated for its terriers."  Another writer of the period states, "There is another strain of terriers kept in the Wicklow Mountains which still exists but is not recognized, being mostly blue and tan with an occasional wheaten...long in body and not straight in front, but dead game."  Geographic isolation and a harsh environment  produced a tough, game, achondroplastic (dwarf) terrier, well-designed not only for the eradication of the traditional terrier foes, badger especially, but also a very unique chore; they were turnspit dogs. The turnspit was a large wheel which, when paddled by the dog, would turn a spit over the hearth. It was a canine-propelled rotisserie, if you will. The Glen's short, bowed front legs and well-padded loin were idealy suited for this task.  For several hundred years these hardy dogs performed their tasks in this remote corner of Ireland relatively unnoticed by all except those who treasured them.
     Like so many breeds, Glens began to emerge into the public eye with the advent of dog shows in the late 19th century. There is documentation of Glens being exhibited as early as 1875. It wasn't until 1933, however, that fanciers of the Glen  organized, drafted a breed standard and petitioned the Irish Kennel Club for recognition. This was granted in 1934,  the Glen becoming the third of the four Irish terrier breeds to be so recognized.  Their Soft Coated Wheaten cousins followed suit three years later.
    The War years that followed all but put an end to progress in the breed. There were no  champion Glens made up in Ireland for over forty years. After the War, activity began to bubble up once again, but this time it occurred first in Britain. A few years later,  Eithne Cleary and Maureen Holmes--a familiar name to enthusiasts of the Soft Coated Wheaten--played instrumental roles in the breed's comeback in Ireland.  By the late 1970's, a bonafide revival was in bloom and this was directly the result of the emergence of a dog in the UK that would prove to be the most significant pillar of the breed to date. His name was Eversley Patrick, "Berg" to his friends, owned by Liz Gay of Malsville Kennels. A blue brindle dog of immense style and quality, he not only put his stamp on the breed but also aroused tremendous enthusiasm for Glens in the UK. Eversley Patrick's progeny went on to become the foundation of the breed in his homeland as well as in Finland,  Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Norway and the United States. These nations, together with Ireland and the UK, remain to this day the centers of the Glen world.

GLENS IN AMERICA

     There are sporadic reports of Glens emigrating to America with their owners as early as the 1930's, and a few imports trickled in during the following decades, but the breed did not gain a foothold in the United States until 1980 when they drew the attention of several dedicated breeders and fanciers  who imported foundation stock from Ireland and the UK. These trailblazers included  George Spence of Georgia, Randy and Sally Mc Farland of California, who also had Soft Coated Wheatens,  Frank and Mary Murphy of Kansas City,  Pat Young of Wisconsin and  Karen Worth of Massachusetts, whose Glenworth prefix is known well in Irish Terrier and Soft Coated Wheaten circles. Karen imported three Glens in the early '80's, the most influential being Irish Ch. Glenheights Dandy, who quickly became the first significant sire in this country. Led by Frank and Mary Murphy, these early pioneers of the breed, and several others, banded together to form The Glen of Imaal Terrier Club of America in 1986. Today, the club has over 120 members in 38 states and represents some 400 Glens that are recorded with the Foundation Stock Service of the AKC.  Until the recent AKC news, Glens have been shown in America at various rare breed venues under FCI rules--the American Rare Breed Association's (ARBA) events, most commonly-- and, to a lesser degree, at UKC shows. The highlights of the show year, however, are the club's annual National Specialty in April and its yearly roving event, the Glen Gathering, in September. At both events breeder-judges invited from around the world have presided over ever-growing entries.
     The breed continues to draw new fans. Imported Glens are still arriving, chiefly from the UK, Ireland, Finland, Germany and Denmark while American-bred litters have inched up into the low double digits per year.  Progress is clearly evident. This year's National Specialty, held in Allentown, Pennsylvania on April 28th, drew a record entry of forty-three Glens. Though the classes continued to include many imports,  it was interesting to note that all of the major awards, save Winners Dog, went to American-bred dogs. The judge for the event,  noted Glen-breeder Norma Wilkinson-Kerr (Salterswall) of Scotland,  commented in her critique, "You are improving the breed no end."

THE ROAD AHEAD

     Several challenges present themselves to the Glen enthusiast. The gene pool is small, and we must proceed with caution. Thus far the health of the breed has been quite strong. Though late-onset PRA has been recently diagnosed, we have been fortunate to have gained the advice and hands-on counsel of Dr. Gregory Acland, the leading authority on the subject.  There has been worldwide cooperation in the fancy which has produced an international PRA database for the breed.
    We must screen puppy buyers carefully and not only to guard against exploitation; this is a real terrier of considerable substance that is not right for everyone. Those who are interested in the Glen must also be made aware of the realities of grooming a harsh-coated breed. Clippers are not an option. Furthermore, this is a talented earthdog and we must strive to preserve the breed's innate gameness. But perhaps the greatest challenge of all is to ensure that the Glen of Imaal Terrier does not fall victim to fashion. Today's Glens are true descendants, in form and spirit, of their "celebrated" ancestors who worked and romped in County Wicklow centuries ago.  As guardians of the breed we must seek to guarantee that the same will be said in generations to come.