Page 185 - Showsight March 2013

interests their SCWT. There is a vast array
of activities that family members can enjoy
throughout life with their SCTW: agility,
flyball, herding, obedience, therapy, track-
ing, tricks, to name only a few.
SCWTs are considerably easier to live
with, especially as puppies and young-
sters, when exercised daily. Preferably
this includes providing, in a safe area, the
opportunity to run full speed and explore
unencumbered their surroundings. For
this reason many breeders highly recom-
mend a fenced yard for families consider-
ing a SCWT puppy.
The SCWT is a single-coated dog and
as such does not shed. Instead the coat
grows long and will reach the floor if not
trimmed. To keep them mat free, clean
and comfortable, regardless of the desired
coat length, it is imperative to brush and
comb the SCWT very week, and more fre-
quently when they transition from puppy
to adult coat.
Trimming the SCWT can be little to
severe. For those who prefer a SCWT look like
a SCWT, trimming is required to foster the
essence of the breed as described in the SCWT
Illustrated Breed Standard and Amplification:
• Coat: soft, silky, waving, flowing,
warm wheaten color.
• Silhouette: square, medium-sized,
neck moderately long.
• Head: rectangular long, in pro-
portion to the body; ears small to
medium, level with the skull and
point to the ground.
Grooming guides are available at www.
scwtca.org/pubs.htm#groom.
In summary, the SCWT is a joy to live
with. Their versatility adds spice to life
and many exude a youthfulness that lasts
long into their senior years. With a SCWT
around, dull moments are rare. To learn
more about SCWTs, the best single source
iswww.scwtca.org.
History
There have been some really great
dogs and many devoted breeders since
1947 when Lydia Vogel imported the first
Wheatens into the US. Ten years later the
O’Connors imported a dog from Maureen
Holmes, an Irish breeder who was one of
those responsible for saving the breed from
near extinction in Ireland. On March 17,
1962, the O’Connors, Ida Mallory, the
Charles Arnolds and a few other devotees,
including Patricia Adams founded the Soft
Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America.
During the next ten years a handful of
enthusiasts traveled to dog shows across
the USA promoting the breed to the pub-
lic and to the American Kennel Club until
finally in 1973 the day arrived when the
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier was eligi-
ble for championship points. A national
specialty held on Montgomery County
Weekend in October of 1973 marked the
beginning of championships for this newly
accepted Irish breed. CH Abby’s Postage
Dhu of Waterford finished his title that
first weekend surprising everyone since he
was owner-handled by Marjorie Shoemak-
er, and was competing against some of the
top terrier handlers of the time. Benmul
Belma, an Irish Champion imported by
Carol Carlson and Emily Holden, fought
it out with Innisfree Annie Sullivan,
owned by Gay Sherman (Dunlap). Belma
was handled by Peter Green and Annie by
Roberta Krohne. Belma finished first but
Annie went on to make breed history by
becoming the first Best in Show Wheaten.
She also contributed significantly in the
whelping box.
CH Stephen Dedalus of Andover,
owned and bred by Jackie and Cindy Got-
tlieb, finished quickly and proved to be a
stud dog who influenced the breed in a
major way. He was the sire of CH Abby’s
Postage Dhu of Waterford who, bred to
Annie Sullivan, produced CH Gleanngay’s
Goldilock dam of the watershed dog of the
breed in the United States, CH Gleanngay
Holliday. Before Doc (Holliday), type was
undetermined in the breed. There had
been a few imports from Ireland in the
early 1970s but CH Holmenock’s Halpha,
imported from Maureen Holmes by Brian
and Mary Lynn Reynolds, was the only
one bred to produce a line of dogs. Before
Doc, the breed looked like one breed in
the East, another in the Midwest, and yet
another in the West. Doc’s extensive use
as well as the relocation of Andover, Jackie
and Cindy Gottlieb, now Cindy Vogels, to
Colorado, began the solidification of an
American type that allowed the breed to
look more alike in the Montgomery Coun-
ty Wheaten Specialty Ring.
The late 1970s were dominated by CH
Gleanngay Holliday and CH Briarlyn
Dandelion, owned by Lynn Penniman
(Carothers). A Doc son, CH Andover
Song ’N Dance Man, walked away with
the SCWTCA national specialty four
times, once from the veteran’s class. He
is also the only Soft Coated Wheaten
Terrier to win the group at Westminster
Kennel Club and that took place on Val-
entine’s Day in 1989.
There were many really handsome
males during the late 80s and 90s. Two
of the top winners were CH Wildflower
Stardust, owned and bred by Janet Turner
(Dalton) and CH Gleanngay Bantry Bay
Kashmir, owned by Candy Way. Both
were stallions and owned the ring when-
ever and wherever they were shown. Other
very deserving dogs that defined type were
CH Doubloon’s Master of Illusion, owned
by Cindy Vogels and Jackie Gottlieb, CH
Shar D’s Let the Games Begin, owned by
Shari Boyd and Dee Boyd, CH Paisley
After Midnight owned by Kathy and M.E.
McIndoe, CH Legacy Wild West Wild-
flower, owned by Robert Hale and Jon
Caliri, and CH Kaylynn’s August Moon
owned by Kay Baird.
It seemed for a few years that there
was not going to be another stallion type
Ch. Gleanngay Holliday ROM
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