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Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

The breeds · terrier

AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 40

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier.

AKC standard: 'a medium-sized, hardy, well balanced sporting terrier'; temperament happy, steady, 'less aggressiveness than is sometimes encouraged in other terriers'; timid or overly aggressive dogs are a major fault. UKC history: an Irish terrier 'of the common, working people' that 'had to earn its keep', used to hunt otter and badger and as a guardian against intruders; spirited and game, willing to defend but not aggressive. FCI 40 utilization: used by small farmers 'to kill vermin or help with the work about the farm' and 'for a long time in the difficult job of hunting badgers and otters'; Group 3 Section 1, without working trial. RKC: used for hunting badger and otter. AKC history page: tenant-farmer's all-purpose farm dog, adept at herding and guarding sheep, killed vermin and warned of intruders, kept for scent and the hunt. Wikipedia (editorial): all-purpose farm dog for over two hundred years, herding, watching and guarding livestock, and vermin hunting. Showsight (breed-community article): 'a working, sporting terrier' that rid the farm of vermin, herded and guarded sheep, hunted with his master and protected the family and farm..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.7YRMedian lifespan13.2 to 14.4, measured on real dogs.
19 / 18INHeightdogs 18.5, bitches 17.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
30–45LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 35 to 45 lb; breed bitches 30 to 35 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size medium).. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 18.5 in (18 to 19) · bitches 17.5 in (17 to 18)

Breed clubAKC breed standard

UKC and FCI print no figure for bitches; AKC figures stand.

Weight

dogs 35 to 45 lb · bitches 30 to 35 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard

UKC and FCI print no figure for bitches; only the AKC does, so the span is the AKC range.

Coat

AKC: abundant single coat, soft and silky with a gentle wave, any shade of wheaten; woolly, harsh, crisp, cottony or frizzy is a major fault; coat on the head falls forward to shade the eyes. UKC: same; puppies show red/gray cast and black mask that clear with age; UKC also shows American and European trims. FCI 40: single coat, trimming permitted, untrimmed not over 5 in; mature coat between 18 months and 2.5 years. AKC page: shedding 1 of 5 (AKC band). RKC: medium coat, does not shed, groom every day.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 1 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · AKC: an abundant single coat covering body, legs and head, soft and silky with a gentle wave; never clipped or plucked for show. UKC: single coat, undercoat only on the ears. FCI 40: single-coated, not to exceed five inches untrimmed.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard's coat (abundant long single coat, no undercoat; rubric has no exact bin, 3 is a judgment call). No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.7 years (13.2 to 14.4)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK population. The AKC page band (12 to 14 yr) is not used here.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size medium).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 1 hour' mapped to 60 minutes.

Exercise need

AKC page energy level 4 of 5 and mental stimulation needs 3 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: up to 1 hour per day, suits a small house, small to medium garden, town or country. RKC lists the breed as a vulnerable native breed. Wikipedia (editorial): energetic and playful.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to the library scale.

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · RKC: grooming every day. AKC standard: the coat must never be clipped or plucked for the show ring. AKC page: grooming frequency 4 of 5 (AKC band).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'every day' mapped to 4 on the 1 to 5 library scale.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC standard: 'a medium-sized, hardy, well balanced sporting terrier'; temperament happy, steady, 'less aggressiveness than is sometimes encouraged in other terriers'; timid or overly aggressive dogs are a major fault. UKC history: an Irish terrier 'of the common, working people' that 'had to earn its keep', used to hunt otter and badger and as a guardian against intruders; spirited and game, willing to defend but not aggressive. FCI 40 utilization: used by small farmers 'to kill vermin or help with the work about the farm' and 'for a long time in the difficult job of hunting badgers and otters'; Group 3 Section 1, without working trial. RKC: used for hunting badger and otter. AKC history page: tenant-farmer's all-purpose farm dog, adept at herding and guarding sheep, killed vermin and warned of intruders, kept for scent and the hunt. Wikipedia (editorial): all-purpose farm dog for over two hundred years, herding, watching and guarding livestock, and vermin hunting. Showsight (breed-community article): 'a working, sporting terrier' that rid the farm of vermin, herded and guarded sheep, hunted with his master and protected the family and farm.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Primary game

FCI 40: vermin, and for a long time badgers and otters. UKC: otter and badger. RKC: badger and otter. AKC history page: vermin; the dogs 'might often be found with their owners, out for the hunt, bringing down small game'. Showsight: vermin on the farm; some Wheatens chase squirrels and rabbits keenly, others do not.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 40

Also used on

AKC history page: herding and guarding sheep; watching the family for intruders. Showsight and Wikipedia (editorial): livestock herding, farm guard. Wikipedia: the American Herding Breed Association accepted the Wheaten for herding capability tests and trials in the 1990s; Showsight notes the breed 'has recently acquired certification for herding'.

Breed clubAKC breed history

AKC and editorial agree on herding and guarding; current AKC herding eligibility not read.

Search pattern

Showsight (breed-community article, editorial): temperaments vary; some Wheatens 'circle their humans with apparent intent to keep the flock together', others 'dart ahead tracking or hunting with no interest in checking back'. AKC history page: keen on scent, out with their owners on the hunt.

EditorialShowsight Magazine

Editorial; no registry source states how the dog hunts (voice, pack or single).

Field trial standard

The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier does not appear on the AKC Earthdog eligibility list (Recognized Breeds and FSS breeds, read Oct 8 2026). FCI 40 classifies the breed 'without working trial'. Wikipedia: accepted by the American Herding Breed Association for herding tests and trials in the 1990s.

Breed clubAKC

Earthdog levels not read; Barn Hunt eligibility not checked.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

5% · OFA current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026: 7,809 evaluations; Normal 94.6%, Dysplastic 5.0% (Mild 3.7, Moderate 1.2, Severe 0.2); OFA rank 180.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Current all-data OFA statistic, accessed Oct 8 2026; OFA submissions skew toward breeding stock.

Elbow dysplasia

8.2% · OFA current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026: 1,006 evaluations; Normal 91.6%, Abnormal 8.2% (Grade 1 7.4, Grade 2 0.8, Grade 3 0.0); OFA rank 58.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Current all-data OFA statistic, accessed Oct 8 2026; OFA submissions skew toward breeding stock. Percent is OFA 'Abnormal' (elbow dysplasia grades 1 to 3).

Most common disorders

Wikipedia (editorial): best known for two protein-wasting conditions, protein-losing nephropathy (PLN) and protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), both potentially fatal and said to be more prevalent in females; also renal dysplasia, inflammatory bowel disease, Addison's disease, cancer, food and environmental allergies and skin disease.

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial list, no frequencies; not a VetCompass or club-survey figure.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 4; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 10 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Wheaten, Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, SCWT

Every breed, read the same way.

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All published breeds

Your soft coated wheaten terrier, on the record.

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