Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Forum:
coat selection

Is a thick-coated or a thin-coated wheaten better? I have raised two bichons, so if you can compare the grooming needs to this breed, I would appreciate it.

There are two types of wheaten coats: the original Irish coat and the fuller, thicker North American coat. "Better" is a subjective term, so its clearly whatever your preference is. I think the North American coat is much more attractive, but it requires more grooming and maintenance.

A typical adult American-coated Wheaten should be brushed/combed every few days. A thorough brushing will take about 45 minutes (you will need to backbrush the entire coat with a slicker brush and then, layer by layer, comb out with a greyhound comb). They will need to be groomed/cut every six weeks. Of course, a puppy will require less time (their coats dont mat up yet). They will go through a difficult stage at about 9 mos. - 18 mos (depends on dog) where they can mat up almost overnight. The Irish coat requires less grooming (maybe once a week?) and may be more on par with the grooming required with a Bichon.