An ancient hardy terrier developed in Ireland that survived the great famine in the 1840s
Playful, spirited, hardy, and intelligent.
Bred by the Celts for hundreds of years as farm dogs who's duties included herding, guarding livestock, and hunting vermin.
In Ireland they were only owned by common people, regarded as the 'poor man's wolf hound'. Their tails were traditionally docked partly to avoid taxes that larger breeds as their cousins the Kerry Blue and Irish Terrier were subject to.
Typically they have one of two coat types, the traditional Irish type, at maturity (2-3yrs) is thin, non shedding, and shimmers silkily like a ripe wheat field, (a defining feature the breed is named by, 'Wheaten') as puppies it is harsh and wirie. The Wheatens in America have a thick heavier coat, and are 'cuter' as puppies because they are fluffy
