Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier - Irish Haircoat


Heartland Classics offers quality gentle natured Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers produced by our Irish import parents. These parents have traveled many miles to become at home with our family. One look at these beauties and you’re sure to fall in love. In the past years, we have since adopted a few loving American born Wheatens as well. Our Irish born parent stock meet the standards of both the IKC and the American Kennel Club (AKC) and therefore carry registrations from both clubs.

When breeding an Irish coated wheaten to an Irish coated wheaten, all puppies in the litter will have Irish coats. Upon further research and study you will find it said time and time again that the Irish bloodlines produce a healthier dog due to the larger gene pool and the lack of the crossbreeding that was done by Americans and the British to create the dense wooly coats of today’s American coated Wheatens.

Although not done often, if an American coated dam/sire is bred to an Irish coated dam/sire, we are able to produce an American coated puppy with wonderful first generation Irish blood. Part of this litter would carry Irish haircoats with the remaining puppies carrying American haircoats.

Although all Wheatens do stem from Irish roots, those with American haircoats have deviated from the original Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier breed as it originated in its homeland. We spent the additional time and money to import our dams and sires from Ireland to ensure good health and the traditional Irish coats that are a rarity here within the states. We do raise both Irish coated and American coated puppies. Neither coat sheds, both are low dander and great for allergy sufferers. All Wheatens are born dark brown and go through a color changing process and a haircoat change which actually takes a full two years for the adult coat to fill in.

Please to take the time to make yourself aware of the differences between the two coats.

Irish Haircoat

An Irish coated puppy is born with soft hair as well. This hair goes through a changing process for several years. They too are born dark and lighten. About the time they leave me, their hair is beginning to have some bristles intermixed with the soft glossy wheaten colored coat which is referred to as the “harsh” puppy coat of the Irish wheaten. Their hair is slow to grow. Professional grooming will not need to be done until they are approximately 9 months of age. At this time scissoring will be done to form the wheaten terrier headset, as well as scissoring to even up the body hair. 

The haircoat will slowly lighten and by the time they reach the two-three years the hair will have lightened, the hair has softened, falls in beautiful waves and carries an irresistible sheen. Here and there it will carry a few of those bristles in it yet. Because of those bristles, this coat does not tangle like the American coat and does not require the overall grooming of the American coat. In the Irish showring, the SCWT are penalized if they are trimmed with those clippers as used on American coats.