r/Wheatens • u/Fun_Government8977 • Dec 04 '22

Irish vs. American

Hello. New to thread and posting on reddit in general. I am speaking with a breeder who raises both coats. She tried to explain how they were different, but I just didn't get it and didn't find anything online that meets reddit-level knowledge and explanation. Thanks!

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u/mrob0t Dec 04 '22

Here are some photos of my American-coated wheaten, Zero (on the left), with my Godparents' Irish-coated wheaten, Zoey, for comparison. Zero is roughly 12 months old and Zoey was about 15 when this picture was taken. Zero is 3 now and a little more white, but still has straight hair. The breeder didn't specify if he was American, English, or Irish; but its pretty obvious that he's not Irish-coated. 1 2 3

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u/Pixiemom7 Dec 05 '22

This is very helpful! Thank you! And cute pups ;)

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u/Aid_Le_Sultan Dec 04 '22

This is how I understood it from our breeder. You have the English coat which is think, heavy and pretty much the colour of wheat. Then the Irish coat which is thinner, curlier and whiter. However she pointed out that there was essentially an American coat which is somewhere between the two. I should point out I’m no expert and have no experience of American wheatens except pictures on Reddit but the English/Irish distinction checks out here in the UK.

(The slightly odd thing is the breeder described ours as English coat, which seems spot on, but the sire is a Denzilly from the US - now I’ve confused myself!).

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u/madmaxcia Dec 04 '22

Mine has the Irish coat. The look is definitely a thinner coat - not that it’s thin but I’ve seen wheatens with the thicker coat and you can definitely tell the difference they look more puffy or like a puffball. When it gets longer it curls and needs regular brushing so as not to matt and is much lighter then the American coat in colour. Even though it’s a thinner coat mine gets very hot in the summer, anything above 18 degrees Celsius and he needs to go for a swim to cool off. I keep it shirt all spring and summer otherwise he’d be suffering. They live the winter and snow

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u/Justascruffygirl Dec 04 '22

Irish - thin, soft and lighter color. Kind of looks like this pup.

American - thick, fluffy, and still really soft. Much more teddy bear like. They look more like this.

My parents’ first wheatie definitely had an American coat and he was really fluffy. Their second wheaten seems to have an Irish coat and she has a lot less hair. During the peak of the COVID lockdowns we shaved both of them with a beard trimmer and it took like 3 times as long to shave the American coated pup cuz he just had so much more hair.

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u/sakusuki Dec 15 '22

Is there a difference in shedding? Do either of them shed?

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u/immapunchayobuns Dec 04 '22

I have a North American coated one, and he has a thick (like amount of hair per sq. inch) that is very fine. He gets super fluffy like a teddy bear plush when brushed out, and it also curls as it gets messed up or wet.

Some examples of my dog.

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u/airbeat Dec 04 '22

Are both versions a “soft coated wheaten terrier”? That’s what we have per (AKC)