Colors range from different shades of red, to red wheaten, to wheaten. In the United States, approximately one-fourth of the Irish Terrier's tail is docked at three days of age. The dew claws are also removed at that time. The vast majority of puppies must have their ears trained in order to attain proper ear carriage. The ears are trained by gluing them to the skull for months on end.
Coats vary in texture.
There are also smooth coats, flat coats, open coats, curly coats, wavy coats and pick out coats. The preferred method of grooming is stripping. Brushing and some maintenance is needed in between the times the coat is stripped. It's not difficult to learn, and is not painful to the dog. It's done with the use of the forefinger and thumb, or a dull stripping knife.