Home / Questions / Glen of Imaal Terrier
It is a genuine breed trait, famous enough to have its own name: the Glen sit. The dog settles upright on its hindquarters, front paws hanging, rather like someone relaxing into an armchair. Strong hindquarters, developed through generations of digging and badger work in the Wicklow hills, make the pose easy, and owners treat it as the breed's party piece.
The Glen of Imaal suits terrier lovers who want the strong, silent type: a powerful Irish worker that is notably less yappy and less frantic than its cousins. The Glen of Imaal suits terrier lovers who want the strong, silent type: a powerful Irish worker that is notably less yappy and less frantic than its cousins.
Questions multiply once the dog arrives, and most of them are answered somewhere in this breed's section: the profile, its other question pages and the tools linked below.
The temperament record reads: Confident, funny, determined and loyal. Working bred energy at 5/5 does not switch off indoors unless the day has genuinely spent it.
Context from the wider record: the Glen of Imaal Terrier stands in the Terrier group, originates from Ireland, and carries a temperament summarised as Confident, funny, determined and loyal.
The Glen of Imaal Terrier's growth stages run 8 weeks at about 4 to 5 lb, 9 months at about 24 to 27 lb, 18 months at about 32 to 36 lb, ending at the adult range of 32 to 36 lb and 13 to 14 inches tall. Home ground: Ireland. The record groups the Glen of Imaal Terrier with the Terrier breeds.
Senior age arrives at about 8 years in a medium breed, and the whole arc deserves planning. The owners who do best with the Glen of Imaal Terrier are the ones who read pages like this one before the puppy arrives. The Glen of Imaal Terrier profile is the companion read: same record, full depth, including the life stages and screening notes.
If this question is part of choosing the breed, run it against your worst week rather than your best: the exercise in the rain, the grooming in a busy month, the dog care during a family illness.
Every breed carries a short list of conditions it sees more often than average, and the Glen of Imaal Terrier, living 12 to 15 years, is no exception. The profile's health record names them with notes; screening breeding stock for those conditions is the buyer's strongest protection. The full record behind these answers sits on the Glen of Imaal Terrier profile, including the growth and health tables.
It depends on the dog's prey drive and upbringing more than on the breed label. The Glen of Imaal Terrier's record with dogs reads With early socialization; cats it is raised with are usually accepted, while strange small animals outdoors are a different question for most dogs. Every breed average hides individuals; breeders and rescues who know their dogs can tell you where a specific dog sits.
Its record lists the usual conditions honestly, and its 12 to 15 year lifespan is the summary statistic. Screened breeding and lean keeping move an individual Glen of Imaal Terrier toward the good end of its own record.
The Glen of Imaal Terrier in detail: the facts and the honest verdict behind this owner question.
The honest Glen of Imaal Terrier budget: food, insurance, year one and the lifetime total, worked out from the breed's own record.
Yes, famously and without apology.
Last updated: November 6, 2026