Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

The breed worked the small holdings of Ireland for centuries before it was ever written down, doing whatever a farm needed: killing rats, herding a few cattle, guarding the yard and flushing game for the pot. It was a poor man's dog, kept because it earned its keep on land too small to support kennels of specialist breeds. The Irish Kennel Club recognised it in 1937, and the breed reached the United States and Britain in the decades after the Second World War, initially as a rare curiosity among terrier fanciers.

Living with a Wheaten means living with a dog that treats the whole household, and most strangers, as friends worth bouncing at. As puppies and young adults they are notoriously exuberant, prone to a springing greeting sometimes called the Wheaten Greetin', and it takes real, consistent handling to teach four-paws-on-the-floor manners. The coat, unlike most terriers, is soft rather than wiry and sheds very little, but it mats readily and needs brushing several times a week plus regular trimming to keep it out of the eyes and off the ground.

Wheatens are food-motivated and generally biddable enough for pet-home obedience work, though the terrier stubbornness is still in there under the soft coat. They do best with owners prepared for daily exercise and for a dog that wants to be included rather than left in a kennel run.

Today the breed is a popular family dog in Ireland, Britain and North America, valued for its friendliness towards children and lack of the harder edge found in some terrier breeds. It is prone to a handful of serious health conditions, so buying from a breeder who tests for them matters more than with many terriers.