The Kerry Wheaten is a newer hybrid canine for which there is little to no information available about the hybrid itself. There is, however, an abundance of information available on the two parent breeds, the Kerry Blue Terrier and the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. Since there is no known date or location of origin, nor is there any information about the reason why the two breeds were combined, we will have to glean whatever we can from the histories of the two parent breeds. The Kerry Blue Terrier. also known as the Irish Blue Terrier, originated in the southwestern part of Ireland sometime in the late 1700's or early 1800's. It was bred to hunt and eliminate rats, attend to livestock and guard people and property. The exact heritage of the Kerry Blue is surrounded in mystery, but it is believed that several other terrier breeds had some influence on the breed's development. Those other terrier breeds included: the Irish Terrier, the Welsh Terrier, the Bedlington Terrier and the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. The breed began to appear in the show ring in the late 19th century and was eventually brought to America to appear in the show ring at the 1922 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in Madison Square Gardens in the Miscellaneous class. The Irish Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1922 with The Kennel Club (England) soon thereafter. The American Kennel Club officially recognized the Kerry Blue Terrier breed in 1924. Today, in addition to the breed's excellent performance in the show ring, the Kerry Blue still maintains his premier strengths in hunting and herding, as well as cultivating skills as an earth dog, gun dog, retriever, guard/watch dog and family companion. The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, also known as the poor man's wolf hound, is a breed that also hails from Ireland and can be traced back at least to the 1700's through records in County Kerry and County Cork. Though the Wheatens were found all over Ireland, they were predominately located in the south and southwestern areas of the country many years before record keeping began. It seems this breed was more of a wild breed, running freely and having their litters in barns, brush, haystacks or any place where they could find adequate protection for their young. Given this wild beginning, only the healthiest and most fit Wheatens were able to survive. It is believed that this may be the oldest breed of Irish terriers. This wild beginning wasn't the only blow dealt the Wheatens; it seems that tax laws established early in English history prevented the poor man from owning a hunting dog worth more than five British pounds, standing taller than 19 inches at the withers and having a long tail without being taxed beyond what they could pay. So, the poor man (also known as commoners) developed a breed which stands 19 inches tall, is worth less than five British pounds and has a docked tail to avoid being taxed and still provide them with the hunting dog they needed. The Wheaten became a hard-working, all-around, multipurpose dog for the struggling tenant farmers and provided them with not only guardianship of their property, possessions and people, but also was valued as a eradicator of vermin and herder of a variety of livestock. The Wheaten was truly built for these activities as the dense coat allowed them to perform virtually in any task required and even permitted them to bolt badgers and fox from their dens. This multipurpose canine breed was so very skilled in all of the areas needed by the tenant farmers but he is also gentle and loving and quickly became a beloved family companion. It was 1937 before the Irish Kennel Club recognized this versatile canine breed, competing for the first time in the Irish Kennel Club Dog Specialty Show that same year on Saint Patrick's Day. The Wheaten made its way to the United States in 1946 and was finally recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1973 and in Canada in 1978. The Kerry Wheaten hybrid is recognized by: The American Canine Hybrid Club, Designer Breed Registry, Designer Dogs Kennel Club, Dog Registry of America, Inc. and the International Designer Canine Registry.
