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Kerry Blue Terrier breeders

About the Kerry Blue Terrier The Kerry Blue Terrier takes its name from County Kerry in Ireland and from its coat colour.

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Advertise your Kerry Blue Terrier puppies, litters and stud dogs

Are you a Kerry Blue Terrier breeder?

With so few Kerry Blue puppies registered each year, buyers need an easy way to find breeders. List your kennel on caninebreeder.co.uk so they can find you by breed and location. Your free profile shows your kennel name, website, social media, location and categories, and it is free to advertise Kerry Blue Terrier puppies for sale or a Kerry Blue Terrier stud dog. A Premium profile adds a showcase for your services and past litters. Add your listing, see pricing or read how we verify breeders.

No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.

  • Free basic profile: your breeder or company name, website, social media, location, breeds and industries.
  • Litters and stud dogs advertised in their own sections, never mixed with puppies for sale.
  • Premium showcase for your services and prices, previous customers, awards, video, gallery and health certificates, with your phone and email shown to buyers.
  • Sponsored articles about your breed or industry, written and published by our team.
  • Featured placement at the top of this page, labelled as sponsored.

Create your free breeder profile Advertise a litter Advertise a stud dog

Is it free to advertise here?

Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Kerry Blue Terrier

About the Kerry Blue Terrier

The Kerry Blue Terrier takes its name from County Kerry in Ireland and from its coat colour. It is a medium-sized breed in the Royal Kennel Club (RKC) Terrier group and one of the RKC's vulnerable native breeds, the British and Irish breeds with fewer than 300 RKC registrations a year. Kerry Blue registrations fell from 168 in 2016 to 57 in 2025.

Origins

The breed was used to control rats and to hunt otter in rivers. Accounts of its early history differ, but records mention a local black or blue type of dog in Kerry, thought to be the basis of the modern breed. Kerry Blues made their show debut in Ireland in 1913, entered as the Irish Terrier (Blue). They were first called Kerry Blue Terriers at a show in Killarney in 1916, and The Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1922.

Size and build

The RKC breed standard describes an upstanding, well-muscled and compact terrier. Dogs ideally stand 46 to 48 cm (18 to 19 in) at the shoulder, with bitches slightly smaller, and the preferred weight for a mature dog is 15 to 17 kg (33 to 37 lb), with bitches proportionately lighter.

Coat and colour

Puppies are born black and turn to shades of blue by about 18 months. The standard calls for a soft, silky coat that is plentiful and wavy. Any shade of blue is accepted, black points are allowed, and a small white patch on the chest may occur. The RKC's registration colours for the breed are black, black and blue, black turning blue, and blue. The RKC lists the breed as non-shedding, with grooming once a week; ask breeders how they keep and trim their dogs' coats.

Exercise and home life

The RKC suggests up to an hour of exercise a day. It says a Kerry Blue can suit a small house with a small to medium garden, in town or country, and gives the lifespan as over 10 years.

Temperament

The standard sums up its temperament as "disciplined gameness" and asks for an attitude of alert determination. The RKC adds that, for all its glamorous coat, the Kerry keeps a feisty terrier spirit. Compare it with other terriers such as the Irish Terrier, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier and Glen of Imaal Terrier, or see all Terrier group breeders.

Kerry Blue Terrier health tests

Kerry Blue Terrier health and testing

The RKC health standard gives one Good Practice priority for the Kerry Blue Terrier: prioritising genetic diversity. No BVA screening scheme or DNA test is listed as Good or Best Practice for the breed at present, the RKC offers no breed-specific DNA testing package, and there are no additional breed-specific breeding restrictions.

With registrations this low, careful management of the gene pool matters. The RKC's guidance on managing genetic diversity is to breed puppies with a coefficient of inbreeding at or below the breed's annual average, and preferably as low as possible, and to avoid heavy use of popular sires. Any health tests a breeder has had recorded can be looked up on the Health Test Results Finder, and the RKC names a breed health co-ordinator for the breed. If you have a question about a particular dog's health, speak to your vet.

The breed is in Breed Watch Category 1: the RKC has not flagged any breed-specific points of concern for show judges.

  • Good Practice: prioritising genetic diversity (coefficient of inbreeding at or below the breed average)
  • No BVA scheme or DNA test currently listed by the RKC as Good or Best Practice
  • Breed Watch: Category 1
  • Status: vulnerable native breed (fewer than 300 RKC registrations a year)

Choosing a Kerry Blue Terrier breeder

Choosing a Kerry Blue Terrier breeder

Few Kerry Blue litters are born each year, so be ready to wait; a patient search is better than a rushed one. Because the RKC's main health priority for this breed is genetic diversity, a careful breeder will tell you the coefficient of inbreeding for the mating and how it compares with the breed average. They should be happy for you to meet the mother, explain why they chose the stud dog, and show you any health test results, which you can check on the RKC Health Test Results Finder.

Expect straight answers about coat care, the change from black to blue, and life with a determined terrier. Good breeders ask about your home and routine, give you a written contract, and will take a dog back if your circumstances change. The RKC breed page links to its Find a Club service, which can put you in touch with a breed club. Read our buyer safety guide before paying anything.

  • What is the coefficient of inbreeding for this litter, and how does it compare with the breed average?
  • Can I meet the mother, and why did you choose this stud dog?
  • Which health tests have the parents had, and can I see the certificates?
  • How do you groom and trim your Kerry Blues, and how often?
  • Will you take the dog back at any age if I cannot keep it?

Kerry Blue Terrier questions

Why is my Kerry Blue Terrier puppy black?

According to the RKC, Kerry Blue puppies are born black and turn blue, in varying shades, by about 18 months old. The breed standard allows tan, or a darker colour, in puppies up to that age.

Do Kerry Blue Terriers shed?

The RKC lists the breed as non-shedding, with grooming once a week. The breed standard asks for a soft, silky, wavy coat, so ask the breeder how they keep and trim it.

Is the Kerry Blue Terrier rare in the UK?

Yes. It is on the RKC's list of vulnerable native breeds, which covers British and Irish breeds with fewer than 300 RKC registrations a year. The RKC recorded 57 Kerry Blue registrations in 2025, down from 168 in 2016.

What health tests should a Kerry Blue breeder do?

The RKC's Good Practice priority for the breed is genetic diversity, so ask for the coefficient of inbreeding of the mating compared with the breed average. No BVA scheme or DNA test is currently listed as Good or Best Practice, but you can check any recorded results on the RKC Health Test Results Finder.

More for Kerry Blue Terrier owners and breeders

Official sources