Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

In my own words

 

Top of the morning to you,

Traditionally my breed is of Irish decent and was better known as ‘the poor man’s dog’ in the past. Thankfully, times have changed and I’m accepted as an esteemed hunter. I hunt all types of game: my owner keeps me as a ratter, hunter, gundog, watchdog and guard dog. So I’m a pretty helpful and rounded farm companion.  I’m a playful and alert around the home, they really keep the mood upbeat. I am very easygoing and cooperative—especially when I get lots of exercise and attention. I’m defensive without being aggressive, a hugely sociable type of terrier. My four coat varieties are: traditional Irish, Heavy Irish, English, and American. Luckily for my owner I shed very little, as he’s slightly allergic and with a pooch like me he does not produce any violent reactions. He provided me with authoritative training so I knew who was boss. I needed his guidance

Information essential about the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

 

Category: A type of terrier

Size:

 

Popularity:

 

 

Breed History:

 

the soft Coated Wheaten Terriers didn’t garner worldwide attention until their 1937 debut at the Irish Kennel Club Championship Show. No one knows for sure where or how they originated, but legend tells us that when the Spanish Armada sunk off the coast of Ireland, the little blue dogs that escaped the wreckage found wheaten-coated terriers waiting for them on shore.

Character:

 

This dog often stays puppyish into adulthood! It is a friendly, fun and reasonably tolerant dog, even with children and will tolerate a lot of play, even when it may not be in the mood. That said, while they are one of the few terriers that are tolerant towards children, early socialisation is still recommended as is supervised play between the child and the dog. It is defensive without being aggressive or argumentative, which is unusual for a terrier, but will always stand its ground and will protect its pack at all costs, being a good watchdog. It will bark to let the family know of unknown people at the house. Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers are lively, inquisitive, exuberant dog, but can be a true terrier in the way that it can be stubborn and headstrong. Because of this it is essential that this dog has a firm and confident leader and it knows its place in the family pack. Once this is established, it can be incredibly loyal, enjoying being with its family and hating to be left alone for long periods.

Temperament:

 

Like many terriers, it does not have the patience for canine sports, instead preferring exercise to take the shape of a good romp over-hills and woods. A good recall must be in place if the owner wants to let the dog off the lead as it will chase most moving animals, and will go to ground if necessary to catch its quarry. They are very determined dogs!

It is an enthusiastic greeter, and will often jump up to lick a person's face, commonly referred to as the "Wheaten greetin”. If socialized with cats as puppies, they may get along fine with them. If not, care should be taken in introducing them to cats, as the breed has a very strong "prey drive" because of its vermin-hunting origin. Wheatens can get along well with other dogs if properly socialized. They are extremely friendly and loving pets. Wheatens are very protective of their families and, although they may bark an alert at strangers, they rarely get aggressive. Many Wheaten owners thus say they make great watch dogs, but poor guard dogs.

 

 

 

Conformation:

The Wheaten Terrier is a medium sized dog with a ‘squarish’ shape. Its hair does not shed like many dogs. Like the Poodle, it carries on growing and therefore sheds very little. As it says in the name, the hair of this dog is beautifully soft and woolly. Pups are born a darker red, brown or black and they develop the characteristic golden wheat colour as they mature, reaching its final colour by a couple of years old. The coat sometimes is a darker colour at the tips of the outer guard hairs and if there is any damage to the skin underneath, the overlaying hair grows back a darker colour similar to a scar. The nose is always dark, and the eyes display a quick intelligence. They have a ‘beard’, which serves to enhance their boxy shape. The solid neck angles into a straight and strong back, with well-muscled hindquarters. The tail was customarily docked, however, however, from 2007 this was effectively banned in the UK, with permitted exceptions, (as defined by the Docking of Working Dogs Tails (England) Regulations 2007 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006). This ban also extends to the showing of some dogs with docked tails, with the exception of dogs that are demonstrating their working skills. This is something to bear in mind when buying a puppy as heavy fines can be imposed if someone is found to be in contravention to these Regulations

Colour:

 

Puppies have dark coats of either red, brown, mahogany or white. Their muzzles and ears may be black or dark brown. The adult coat may contain black, white, or darker brown "guard" hairs in addition to the lighter wheaten-coloured hair. If adults ever have skin injuries, the resulting hair growth will be the dark colour of their puppy coat before it eventually grows out to the wheat colour.

Training:

 

 

Care:

 

The woolly coat does require attention, optimally each day. It is quite a thick coat, which does not shed as much as some other breeds, and attention should always be paid in hotter weather. Exercise should be restricted to the cooler parts of the day to prevent overheating, and access to shade and water provided.

 

It has a lot of energy and will require ongoing walks and stimulation. These dogs do best when they are exercised regularly. They are cool weather dogs and can become easily overheated in hot weather

Health:

 

The soft Coated wheaten terrier is generally a healthy breed. They are susceptible to various heritable diseases, although are most known for two protein wasting conditions: protein-losing nephropathy (PLN), where the dogs lose protein via the kidneys and protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), where the dogs fail to fully absorb protein in their digestive tracts, causing it to pass in their stool. Both PLN and PLE are potentially fatal, but if caught early enough, can sometimes be managed with strict dietary changes and pharmaceuticals.

can live as long as 15 years. They have a litter size of up to 8 puppies.

 

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