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Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers - anyone own one?

dmharris

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We're thinking of adopting a SCWT and wonder if anyone has any advice. The boy we're looking at is neutered, a couple years old and available because of a divorce. I'll have to drive 6 to 7 hours one way to see him before I decide. I've read the AKC website and others I've found, but wanted to see what Tug SCWT owners might have to say about the breed.
 

spirits

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I hope you have a lot of energy

Hi. A coworker raised and bred the breed and my neighbor has 2. They are a terrier breed and are extremely intelligent and energetic. The female was a wonderful dog but the male has some aggression issues towards other dogs. They are very active and need a lot of attention. However they have great personalities. The bottom line is that they are big dogs and need to be active. At our age I think they would make great companions and force us to be active. Is that what you are looking for?
 

dmharris

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We have over an acre fenced with an Invisible Fence and I've trained 9 dogs on it, including our now deceased, 80 lb Airedale Terrier and a wire-haired German Pointer. So we prefer larger dogs. I'm fostering a Bichon Frise and he's very cute, but more like a dog "accessory" than a real dog, if you know what I mean. We have a spaniel/sheltie mix which is about as small as I like. We have a large house and we all agree it needs a large dog. They tell me this Wheatie is sweet and playful.
 

wackymother

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I would be careful. We've known of two Wheatens that were just not right (and none that were "perfect"). One was very fearful, to the point where it wouldn't leave the house. The other was aggressive. It sounds like you are completely ready to help the dog with problems, but...

If the dog is sweet and playful, you would think that either the husband or the wife would want to keep it.
 

dmharris

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True, but after splitting they might have lived in dwellings that would not accommodate a dog. Only a look, square in those big brown eyes will tell me his temperment, along with time in a safe environment. I would like to find out who the breeder was, if possible.
 

charford

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Friends of mine have a Wheaten. He is non-allergenic. At age 6, he is still very active. He is the baby of the house and doesn't like it when my 3 year old visits, because he doesn't get as much attention. This particular Wheaten steals food from the table and the countertop. He is a very affectionate dog. I have had 2 Bichons, and he has a very similar temperament -wants lots of attention - loves to run up and investigate (sometimes requiring some barking)- just a bigger dog.
 

dmharris

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Thanks Charford. This Bichon I'm fostering is under 2 and a playful guy so if this Wheaten is just a bigger version that would be grand.
 

MelBay

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A good friend is on their third one in 25 years of marriage. They haven't had a dud or a problem child yet. I'm a Boxer person myself, but her little dogs are very sweet and perky. She always manages to get one from a rescue group which can be dicey, but she's lucked out.
 

Deb from NC

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I have a friend with a male SCW terrier and he is a very sweet dog. He's now 6 years old and has never been any trouble. To me he doesn't seem like a typical terrier at all...maybe he's just unusually calm! (I also don't consider them to be big dogs, but my dog is a 135 lb Great Pyrenees !:) If it were me, I would most definitely go look at him. (BTW my friend's dog is a rescue, as is mine..it's the only way to go....)
 

dmharris

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I'm going to drive 6 to 7 hours today to see him tomorrow. Wish me luck! Thanks for your encouragement. I feel drawn to this breed this time around. We will see. I'll report back.
 

dmharris

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Well I'm here and the shelter doesn't open until 2:00, so I'm nervous as heck, like an expectant parent. Oh wait, I was the one giving birth as an expectant parent. Maybe l'm like an expectant grand parent. Wish me luck. I'll let you know what happens!
 

dvc95

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I'm interested to see how it went. I have a Wheaten Terrier and absolutely adore her. She's a terrier so I had to break her of her digging tendencies (normal). I also have to spend a lot of time with grooming. Wheatties have something closer to hair rather than fur. It grows all the time and her face needs constant trimming to keep it out of her eyes. But the maintenance is worth it. She is sweet as can be (although fairly skittish around people--loves other dogs) and the snuggliest dog I've ever owned.

Heidi
 

dmharris

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Okay, so I arrived at the shelter (387 miles from home, but who's counting?) at 1:00 just to make sure I could find it and then drove around the cute town until 1:30. It was hot, so I parked in the shade away from the building and sat in my car. About five minutes later a woman pulls up next to me, gets out of her car, walks to the building texting on her cell phone. So I get out of my car and wander around. Later a man pulls up and sits on a bench with this woman. Several other cars show up. I'm getting anxious by then. Are they all here for the same dog? (It's a small shelter run by all volunteers.)

Yes, they're all here for the same dog. I tell myself that whatever God decides I'm fine with. Two couples leave but the first woman and man are there for the Wheaten. We both are "nice" people, but after an hour, the President of the shelter decides on me simply because I e-mailed her first and showed up first.

So we did the paper work, did a test drive to make sure he rode well in the car and took off for home. Six and a half hours later we arrived last night at 10:15 to the greeting committee of my husband, and two daughters 19 and 22. Other than being stinky from being in the shelter since July 6 (no one advertised him until last week!) he was a complete gentleman in the car. We stopped twice, once at PetSmart to buy some supplies and everyone loved him, very friendly to everyone.

He is too tall to be a greatly bred Wheaten and has a little coarse hair along the ridge of his back. But very cute and a gentle giant. We took him and our spaniel mix girl (in two cars) across the street to a business parking lot to introduce them on neutral territory (both are altered). It went okay, but he is big and I didn't want to let him get too close to her just yet. So we walked parallel with distance between them and then some sniffing of each other occurred, then back home. We kept him separated from other animals in the solarium with tile floor, screen door to the outside, and I got up at 6:30 and he was great! No mess, did his business outside and now is laying down on the solarium floor (my home office is in this room) so he's not alone.

He found the toy basket and picked out some stuffed animals and loves chewing on a big bone.

Heidi, we've had an Airedale in the past and would get him groomed a couple times a year. What do you do with your girl trimming-wise? I'm not sure how "formal" he should be clipped. The AKC site shows the severe terrier look, but that seems to take away from that cute Wheaten look. His hair is 4 inches long, so he needs trimming.

Thanks everyone for your help and support! It was an exhausting, nerve-wracking day but I'm sure he slept better here than in the shelter. I'll let you know what we name him. I told my daughter to think of Irish male authors for names, so my husband suggested "Bono" or "Guiness"! Men! ;)
 

falmouth3

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I'm so glad you got him. You certainly put out a huge effort to get him. I can't believe that they had so many people coming for one dog!

Best wishes for a long and happy life together!

A number of years back, we wanted to adopt a dog at the local shelter, but because she had been a stray, they had to keep her 7 days. Day 7 was a Sunday and they were closed on Sundays. So we went on Monday after work and someone else had the dog out. When they put her back in her cage, we took her out and the little boy from the other family started screaming and crying. As soon as we came back in with the dog, we found out that the family had filled out the paperwork and they left with the dog. So we chose another dog and we had the same story, she wasn't available until the next day. I asked if we could be sure that she'd still be available when we came back the next day. So they put her in a separate area so she'd still be there for us because no one else would see her. We still have her and love her dearly
 

vivalour

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Advice for possible newbie dog owners?

I'm following these discussions with great interest because we are about to launch into looking for a family dog at our local shelter. This is motivated by our 11-year-old son who has wanted a dog for some time, but mom (me) was reluctant. I have no expereince with dogs, although we did have a much loved family cat for many years while I was growing up. We don't have any animals at the moment.

We back onto a large conservation area that is heavily used by dog owners, and we have a backyard -- although it is not huge. We are pretty active as a family for walks, etc. but have severely cold, snowy winters from Dec to end of March when long periods of outdoor exercise are less appealing --though not impossible.

I looked into the wheaten terrier and golden retriever breeds, but am a bit put off by heavy shedding and backyard digging (we also have a nice garden and I don't know which plants/bushes would be poisonous/harmful for dogs to chew). We are not in a hurry, and want to visit the local shelter as a family to get an idea of what would be a fit for newbies like us. I would rather not get a new puppy so that we can see the temperament of the dog at the outset.

Any advice re best age or breed for newbies like us would be appreciated!
 

Deb from NC

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Congratulations ! Keep us posted on how he's doing and what you end up naming him.
Deb
 

dmharris

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Well we bathed him and he smells immensely better and the soft coat is evident, but he will need to be clipped as he has some mats at the base of his skin all over. I wonder if he ever was clipped as he's not quite two and his hair measures 4 inches.

I had my girls do a brainstorming of Irish names and the one that won was Guinness. Since we lost our Airedale about 6 years ago, my husband still claims he was the best dog. When I saw the Wheaten, I knew Doug/husband would love him as he's like a blond Airedale. So Rory, Riley and Beckett were all name contenters, but I let Doug pick the name and he said Guinness hands down. I wonder if that has anything to do with beer? Hmm. He also suggested Bono, but we girls said "Nah!"

Vivalour, good for you in trying to adopt. Here are a few keys I've learned.

1. When you take a dog out of the pen, if he/she wants to bolt, you don't want that dog. You want a dog that is interested in YOU.

2. 25% of shelter dogs are pure breds. With economic hard times, you will see more of these. I would check into breeds and decide what you like and then go to a rescue site for that breed. Or as I did, register on Petfinder.com for a breed.

3. Altering is important to keep the dog from wandering and having behavioral aggression.

4. There are non-shedding breeds, bison frisce, lasha apsoe (don't grade my spelling) are a few.

5. Don't expect the dog to stay in your yard by itself. It will need training and walked on a leash.

6. Seldom do they come house broken. Read up on how-to's.

7. I prefer a non-puppy, i.e. over two years as they're easier and their disposition is more clear.

Hope that helps!
 

vivalour

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Vivalour, good for you in trying to adopt. Here are a few keys I've learned.

1. When you take a dog out of the pen, if he/she wants to bolt, you don't want that dog. You want a dog that is interested in YOU.

2. 25% of shelter dogs are pure breds. With economic hard times, you will see more of these. I would check into breeds and decide what you like and then go to a rescue site for that breed. Or as I did, register on Petfinder.com for a breed.

3. Altering is important to keep the dog from wandering and having behavioral aggression.

4. There are non-shedding breeds, bison frisce, lasha apsoe (don't grade my spelling) are a few.

5. Don't expect the dog to stay in your yard by itself. It will need training and walked on a leash.

6. Seldom do they come house broken. Read up on how-to's.

7. I prefer a non-puppy, i.e. over two years as they're easier and their disposition is more clear.

Hope that helps!

Congrats on getting Guinness -- what a perfect name! And thanks for the tips -- we also picking the brains of dog-owning friends and getting books from the library. Hoping that by the end of the month we'll be "dog ready" ....:zzz:
 

Deb from NC

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Hi Vivalour,
I volunteer at our local shelter, and there are a lot of great dogs available thru no fault of their own, as I'm sure you know. For a first time dog owner,
I love Labs and Goldens (or lab or golden mixes) because in general they tend to be smart but easy going. Of course they are not small ! Bichons are nice little dogs too..and if you can find one (not easy) Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are just a joy. I love my Great Pyrenees but he sheds massively, drools and digs! But I wouldn't trade him for any other dog in the world :)
Let us know what you end up doing! Good luck!
 

vivalour

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Thanks for the suggestions Deb from NC, we will put them on our short list. Big is ok as long as they don't knock us over, I guess! (I'm 5'2")
 

ColleenD3

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As a fellow newbie dog owner, wanted to share the best adivce we've ever gotten...
Every dog, regardless of size, needs to be walked. Not a stroll around the block walk, but a purposeful, boundry-setting, you as the leader, walk. Gets their wiggles out, helps with bonding, good for the souls. Can't tell you what a difference this has made with our mini schnauzer, not to mention her people!
Something to keep in mind when considering your Dec.-Mar. weather.
 
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