there were some thoroughly absorbing reports from shows in Ireland. In 1873, the Live Stock Journal said of the class of Irish Terriers at the Dublin show that the dogs were all of different types and had “no reason to be called Irish, except that they had Ireland as a birthplace!”
The least known of the Irish terriers, the Glen of Imaal Terrier from County Wicklow, a game and spirited long-bodied terrier, colored in blue, wheaten or brindle.
By 1874, the Dublin show offered prizes for Irish Terriers under 9 pounds in weight, while in 1876 there were 34 entries for Irish Terriers above 16 pounds and below 16 pounds. Of particular interest is that, at this show, the judge had been selected because he had been a breeder of “wild Irishmen” for 20 or 30 years, and so had special knowledge. It was believed that his findings would meet with general approval and would settle, once and for all, the question of type. However, contrary to expectations, the results gave rise to “a wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Prizes went to long legs, short legs, hard coats, soft coats, thick skulls and long thin skulls, and some prizewinners were mongrels.
The following is part of an amusing poem, published after this particular show and called
“The Wail of the Irish Terrier”: “My father came from Limerick, My mother came from York; A half-bred Yorkshire blue-and-tan, They hailed me from Cork; An Irish terrier I was called, And sent on bench to show, But oh! How little they believed I should cause such a row!”
The above is intended just to give the reader a small taste of the confusion that reigned in Ireland prior to the turn of the 20th century. It is prudent to add that at that time the Irish Terrier was required to have a coat that “Must be hard, rough and wiry, in decided contradistinction to softness, shagginess and silkiness, and all parts perfectly free from lock or curl.” Clearly it was the Irish Terrier that we know today to which this description was aimed, but it is also clear that today’s Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier was at that time among their ranks.
BREED NAME CONTROVERSY
There was certain controversy surrounding the name of the breed in the early days. “Irish Wheaten Terrier” was at first suggested, but breeders of the Irish and Glen of Imaal Terriers were very much opposed to this, as the color “wheaten” was an accepted color for each of these breeds. Indeed, wheaten was then the preferred color for Irish Terriers.
THE TERRIER BREEDS DIVIDE
The first breed standard for the Irish Terrier was drawn up in 1880 but, as we have already seen, dogs with open or soft coats were often benched with them. The colors of these soft-coated dogs could include blue, gray, silver and wheaten. Only from 1914 onward was the Kerry Blue separated as a distinct breed.
The Soft Coated Wheaten was the last of Ireland’s terriers to be recognized as a distinct breed, apparently because some influential people had a vested interest in other of the terrier breeds, thereby preventing the Soft Coated Wheaten from making the necessary progress. Mr. Patrick Blake, who was a Kerry Blue fancier, had been highly impressed by a Wheaten Terrier that performed especially well at a field trial in 1932, and he was determined to guide the breed away from obscurity and possible extinction. With his friend Dr. G. J. Pierse, in 1934 Blake founded the Softcoated Wheaten Terrier Club, and several applications for recognition were made to the Irish Kennel Club. Recognition was finally granted in 1937, when the official name “Softcoated Wheaten Terrier” was adopted and the breed was presented at the Irish Kennel Club Show in Dublin, held on St. Patrick’s Day. In 1939, the breed was recognized as a National Breed.
A WORKING TERRIER
For many years, the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier was employed for the work of hunting both otters and badgers. This was a difficult job and, when the breed was entered in field trials, it often took prizes more consistently than did other breeds, thereby establishing itself as one of Ireland’s top working terriers.
The breed is highly trainable and excels in agility trials. This Wheaten is clearing the bar jump at an agility trial.
In the breed’s early days at Irish shows, to become a full Irish champion, a certificate of gameness was also required. There were two necessary trials, minor and major. In the minor trial, the dog had to go after rabbits, showing an interest in them by following the scent persistently and, if possible, catching one. This test also involved releasing rats into a canal, and the dog was expected to go in after the rats without hesitating. For the second test, the major, a badger was sent into a winding tunnel and the terrier was then released into the tunnel. The dog had to find the badger within one minute and then had six minutes to make contact, but without making a noise. It was better still if the dog pulled the badger out! These trials were mercifully outlawed in the mid-1960s, so that from then on Soft Coated Wheatens could become champions in the show ring without proving their prowess with game.
There were two main reasons for outlawing these trials. In the first instance, they were considered cruel and, as a result, were giving the breeds involved with them a bad name. Secondly, it was rumored that other breeds were being introduced into breeding programs in an endeavor to make the dogs more game, which was damaging breed type. Nonetheless, it is known that secret badger trials took place for many years after they had been officially banned.
The Soft Coated Wheaten was recognized in Britain in 1943, but by 1950 it had still not yet gathered many supporters on the other side of the Irish Sea. However, the breed was doing fairly well in Ireland, with 18 dogs entered at the Irish Terrier Club’s show that year.
BATTLE OF THE SCISSORS
Mrs. Maureen Holmes had her first Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier in 1932 and later had a dog called Silver Wheat, from Dr. Pierse. Although Dr. Pierse did not encourage trimming, Mrs. Holmes began trimming hers, and what she described as “the battle of the scissors” began. This trimming, though, was done only in a very moderate way, merely to enhance the outline of the dog.
IRISH LAW
It is interesting sometimes to research early laws, for often they have references to our canine friends. In Ireland, during the 18th century, tenant farmers were actually prohibited from owning any dog with a value greater than £5.
In 1950, Soft Coated Wheatens were entered at Crufts, but after a few years of success it is said that in England their appearance changed dramatically, almost overnight. The Irish dogs that appeared at Crufts soon looked out of place and were disregarded by judges.
Although in Ireland every endeavor has been made to keep to breed type, this seems not to have been so in all countries. The Irish breed club has tried to educate newcomers to the breed, warning them when the club felt that the breeders were straying from typicality. Over the years, there has been some concern about the fact that Irish breeders sent abroad too many of their own Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, this at the risk of not retaining sufficient numbers of high-quality stock in the breed’s homeland.
THE WORLD CONGRESS OF KENNEL CLUBS IN DUBLIN
An especially important year for the Soft Coated Wheaten
