Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

The Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier is the Irish farm terrier with a silky wheat-coloured coat quite unlike any other terrier's.

History

It was the general-purpose poor man's dog of Irish smallholdings for centuries — herding, guarding, killing vermin — and was not recognised in Ireland until 1937, on Saint Patrick's Day. It shares ancestry with the Kerry Blue and the Irish Terrier, and unlike those it kept the soft single coat.

Temperament

The breed is known for being cheerful, affectionate and less scrappy than most terriers, greeting people enthusiastically — the "Wheaten greetin'" is a standing joke among owners and a genuine training problem.

Care and training

It needs substantial exercise and consistent training, particularly around jumping up. The single silky coat sheds little but mats readily and needs frequent combing and trimming.

Health

Known tendencies include two serious inherited conditions the breed's clubs screen for — protein-losing nephropathy and protein-losing enteropathy — along with renal dysplasia and Addison's disease. These are known patterns for the breed and a matter for a breeder and a vet; the measured facts are in the panel.