The Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier is an adorably fluffy breed of dog that originated from Ireland. Primarily, this dog was bred to pose as a herding dog, watch dog, livestock guard and ratter. Today, the Wheaten terrier is mostly adopted as a pet and most often, it is pitted in dog competitions such as agility, obedience and tracking.
As experts say, the Wheaten Terrier does not have a fur for a coat but hair. Its coat sheds minimally and is considered hypoallergenic. The Wheaten’s coat has four types namely, the Traditional Irish, Heavy Irish, English, and American; all hair types grow out like human hair and therefore need to be cut as a form of grooming, often.
As an adult, the Wheaten terrier’s hair is color wheat or white but the white color is not given much weight by the kennel clubs. As a puppy, this breed may have a brown, red or mahogany coat but others may be born wheat-colored or white-colored already. Those puppies born with dark hairs will grow up to become wheaten-colored because the dark hair will grow out and eventually fall off to be replaced by the wheat colored hair.
Grooming the Wheaten terrier’s hair does not include hair brushing as this tends to make the coat fuzzy. The best way to groom the Wheaten terrier is through combing with the use of medium-toothed comb. This should be done regularly, daily if necessary, and should be done from its puppy years unto adulthood.
Training this breed to obey does not require harsh words or hard sessions because they are quite smart and learn easily. They are naturally enthusiastic and lively dogs and love to play around children and other animals. They are sweet-tempered, easy-going, graceful and confident that, as an owner, you dont have to worry if they will get along with other people or creatures during any socialization event.
The Wheaten is a friendly breed and in fact, it is very friendly it has its own unique way of greeting people. The Wheaten would jump up and lick a person’s face when it likes him or her and this approach is called, the “wheaten greeting”. Towards strangers, this dog is not aggressive but it will bark at incoming people, making it a good watchdog.
This creature is a straightforward dog that needs straightforward master therefore; the owner should display leadership in forms of firm and consistent approach, and patient disposition. The dog can learn quickly when it is guided by such approach. Moreover, this dog is mostly inactive inside the house and so an apartment setting would be fine for it as long as it still gets to exercise daily outside.
There is no proved nor concluded ancestor for this breed but it is said that it is related to the Kerry Blue Terrier. This breed had been flourishing in the Irish countryside for decades before the Irish Kennel Club recognized it in 1937. The first batch of the Wheaten terriers is brought to the US in 1946 and one of its famous breeder is Lydia Vogel. In 1943, the British Kennel Club recognized it as a breed and in 1973; the AKC admitted it finally as a member.
