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.

Teaching the Wheaten terrier the way to do things doesn't consume much time because this breed can pick up instructions quite easily. This dog is smart, quick to learn, energetic and playful. It is sweet-tempered, graceful and confident; and it loves playing amongst children and other animals.

The unique and amusing character of the Wheaten terrier is its way of welcoming people and this is fondly called the "Wheaten Greeting". What it does is that whenever a friend or family arrives, it enthusiastically jumps up to lick the person's face. This dog is welcoming to strangers but it would bark as a signal that someone is approaching; and because of this, the Wheaten Terrier makes an excellent watchdog.

The Wheaten is a straightforward dog therefore the master should be straightforward, too. In teaching this breed, the master should be firm, consistent, confident and patient or the Wheaten will not pick up what you teach it. The Wheaten is an enthusiastic and intelligent learner and learns fast when the owner knows how to use the right teaching method for this breed.

The only relative linked to the Wheaten is the Kerry Blue Terrier and for how many years of existence, it was only in 1937 that the Irish Kennel Club accepted the Wheaten as a breed. In 1946, the Wheaten fist reached United States and one famous breeder of the breed is Lydia Vogel. In 1943, the British Kennel Club admitted the Wheaten and in 1973, the AKC finally accepted the breed, too.

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