OUR BREEDING VALUES

Within the world of purebred dogs, Wheatens stand out as. “the best pal anyone could have in any situation”.They were developed as a breed for that reason. There are several breeds of long legged terriers that existed on Irish farms, but only one had the soft temperament that enabled it to work its way into the homes and hearts of Irish farm families. The qualities that endeared them to people back then have been developed and improved along different lines in different countries for nearly 100 years. The differences now commonly grouped into “Irish” or “American” Wheatens, with corresponding variety in the coat types.

1. Temperament. This will always be our first consideration. If a dog or bitch isn’t a great pet, we won’t consider it for our breeding program. Alongside temperament, all of our breeding dogs are professionally critiqued for health and soundness and are proven breed leaders for breed “type” and conformation, but we will not chase show wins at the expense of temperament.

2.  Alinex Wheatens sets ourselves a high benchmark for health testing and accountability. We health test all our breeding dogs for the major diseases known in the breed as well as major canine joint diseases. This includes hip and elbow scoring, eye testing, kidney function testing and routine blood and urine analysis. All Alinex Wheatens are homozygous negative for PLN (ie. no PLN and no carriers of PLN). Wheatens are considered a healthy breed and as breeders we have the opportunity to value and continue to build this legacy. We take this responsibility seriously.

3. Breeding great dogs requires considerable time and is costly. We give this passion the time and resources it requires. We are home-based 24/7 and at least one adult is always available for our puppies.

4. We believe that a great dog comes from great genetics, best practice puppy rearing, and educated and committed homes. We hold a high standard for our choices in each element of this equation.

5. We are signed up members of a breedwide health accountability program. (USA based open registry) This requires us to report for public record any instances (in our dogs) of the major diseases of concern in Wheaten Terriers.

6. We are lifelong learners. We consult our mentors and are intentionally connected in to people who research best practice, evidence based health and training for Wheatens.

7. We do everything we can to produce Wheatens who are people-oriented, clever and trainable, soundly structured, with abundant beautiful coat and a pleasure to have in the family.