Couple changes in FCI standard for Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier were done in February 2001. Here are my comments from the position of the breeder.

TAIL:
Well set, not too thick. Carried gaily but never over the back. The tail is docked so that two thirds of its original length remains assuming it is in proportion to the dog. An undocked tail is permitted.

It is forbidden to dock tails in dogs in lot of countries in Europe for some years, the standard for undocked tail was added to official FCI standard. It is necessary to realize, that he the carrying of tail, either docked or not "should never be carried over the back".

COAT
HAIR: A single coated dog. Texture soft and silky to feel and not harsh. Young dogs excluded from this. Trimming permitted. Trimmed dogs : Coat cut close at neck, chest and skull, and left especially long over eyes and under jaw. Whiskers encouraged. Profuse feathering on legs. Body coat trimmed to follow the outline of the dog but not sculpted. Tail trimmed close and neatly tapered. Untrimmed dogs : The coat at its longest not to exceed five inches (12,7cm). Soft, wavy or loosely curled with the sheen of silk. Under no circumstances should the coat be "fluffed out" like a Poodle or an Old English Sheepdog. Dogs shown in this condition should be heavily penalised as they give a wrong impression of type and breed. Special attention is drawn to puppy coat development. Pups are seldom born with the correct coat of maturity, care must be taken when assessing this point. They go through several changes of colour and texture before developing the mature adult coat. This usually occurs between 18 months and 2,5 years. Pups : Are seldom born with the correct colour or texture coat. They come reddish, greyish and sometimes clear wheaten. The masks are generally black. Sometimes there is a black streak down the centre back or black tips to the body coat. These dark markings clear away with growth.

This part of the standard was not changed, in spite of this it does not seem to be known enough. It is necessary to "heavily penalized" dogs, which are not coated according to standard.

COLOUR: A good clear wheaten of shades from light wheaten to a golden reddish hue.

Everyone could have different idea about the wheaten colour itself. Standard states lot of possible shadings of wheaten colour, but excludes white, apricot, gray and black. Those colours must be penalized in adult dogs. Please note parts of standard with faults and eliminating faults. White colour comes often with lack of general pigmentation, skin is not gray, toenails are not black, nose and eye rims are not deep black (as it is prefered in other parts of the standard). There are lot of Wheatens with those faults in Czech breeding programs, they are successful in shows together with dogs with coloured hairs. It is not the way to improve the breed, dear breeders and judges!

FAULTS
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree. Nervousness. Viciousness. Undershot mouth. Overshot mouth. Overall mature coat not clear wheaten colour.

ELIMINATING FAULTS
Yellow eyes Dull, thick, woolly or cottony textured hair. White coat. Brown coat. Dogs carrying any of the above eliminating faults should never be bred from.

The part eliminating faults is new. It is the pursuit of tighting up the conditions for breeding dogs in FCI countries and to achieve real respect of the important points of the breed according to standard from the country of origin. The coat is typical point, noticeable from the first look over the dog. In all Europe there are problems with coats for many years. Thatīs why the big part of the standard takes notice of the coat texture, development and colour. Thatīs why the standard says, that dogs with dull, woolly or cottonly textured hair should NEVER be used in breeding.