Airedale Terrier. Bardi McLennan
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England. Barely 30 dogs survived WWII, but a sufficient number of good dogs have been imported since to assure their future. In Japan, Airedales serve on the police force.
LADDIE BOY
US President Warren Harding’s Airedale, Laddie Boy, had his own hand-carved Cabinet chair where he sat during important conferences. He was also allowed the distinction of greeting dignitaries on the front steps of the White House. The press had great fun pretending to interview the dog on political questions. When President Harding died in 1923, thousands of newsboys donated pennies that were melted down and cast into a statue of Laddie Boy, which stands today in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY. |
The Airedale Terrier is a good-sized dog with a large personality. Two traits common to the breed go hand in hand: self-confidence and the desire to dominate. He’s also fearless to a fault, stoic, loyal, tenacious, intensely curious, intelligent and with a lively sense of mischief. These traits spell out a dog that is not for the faint of heart or the weak of resolve. The Airedale must be persuaded, not coerced, into following the rules firmly, consistently and nicely. Anyone with similar characteristics or who admires and can cope with such strong traits will make a good owner.
The Airedale is not a go-to-ground terrier for obvious reasons. He is too big to enter the den of a hedgehog or polecat, but he can and will dispatch any prey immediately if it bolts. As any owner is quick to cite, the Airedale’s true terrier fondness for the earth is deep. Sometimes it goes very deep—excavating huge holes in the back yard in pursuit of real or imaginary prey!
Unlike many of his smaller terrier cousins, he is not hyperactive and matures at about three years of age into a calm house dog. Affable and amusing as a companion, he’s also sensitive to raised voices or harsh corrections.
Some of these terrier attributes will stand in the way of anyone who mistakenly thinks that an Airedale will be a pushover as a pet. His tenacious spirit may be mistaken for stubbornness and thus mishandled. His intelligence allows the dog to outwit you, and it is not so easy to maintain discipline over a dog whose feelings you’ve hurt. Just when you’re about to clamp down for some misbehavior, he turns on the charm. Oh well, maybe you’ll catch him to make the correction next time. It can be difficult to keep one step ahead of an Airedale.
ARE YOU AN AIREDALE PERSON?
If you’ve never met an adult Airedale, the time to do so is before you’ve decided on this breed. For good measure, meet more than one. Attend dog shows and chat with breeders. Visit breeders where you can spend time in the house or outdoors, interacting with the dogs. It’s not enough to view them through a kennel fence.
Not every good dog owner is necessarily the right person to own an Airedale Terrier. For starters, he’s a medium-to-large dog, about 23 inches tall at the shoulder and usually weighing between 45 and 65 pounds. Therefore the owner must be physically able to handle a dog of this size and strength. Then add the ability to cope with—and thoroughly enjoy—the Airedale’s playful, exuberant personality. Finally, there is the need to accept a dog as a lifetime commitment. If you start off with a puppy, he will remain a puppy for 18 months, he will be a young adult for another 18 months and he will continue to share your life for about another 10 years.
The Airedale is confident, playful and exuberant. He is a great dog for the right owner who loves an active dog and has the room for a rather large companion.
The Airedale is a protector of property, but will not necessarily stay on his own property. Solo expeditions by these hunters generally have sad endings with the traffic on our roadways, so the suburban or country Airedale needs a safe fenced area. While the breed is not at its best in the city, there are exceptions. If the owner has no yard, a strong lead and plenty of walks will have to suffice.
If you admire almost everything about the Airedale, you will still need to go the extra mile to meet character changes as they occur. One that comes to mind is the transition that takes place when the puppy enters adolescence. Perhaps you have known, or raised, teenagers? There are many similarities, but rest assured, it’s easier to go through this youthful stage with an Airedale, and it passes more quickly! Just keep your sense of humor and continue to be consistently firm in keeping to the house rules—it will be over in a few months. Airedales are said to reach adulthood at about three years of age. To be truthful, some never really do! Again, it’s part of their charm.
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE KING OF TERRIERS
On the downside, the Airedale Terrier is what is called “mouthy,” that is, given to barking loudly and for long periods if not silenced, which is one reason that he should not be tied up. Any dog tied up outdoors will initiate a barking scenario that goes like this: Dog barks non-stop. Person shouts at dog to stop (in other words, barks back). Dog barks in response; person barks back, and so on and on, infuriating the two of them plus everyone in earshot. Airedales are social animals and need to be with the family, not left alone without anyone to follow about or to curl up beside. The remedy is a fenced area, regular outdoor play or nice (preferably long) walks.
The owner of an Airedale Terrier definitely needs a sense of humor; to be fair, firm and consistent; to reward every well-meaning effort with verbal praise and to be generous with treats for jobs well done. Remember always that if you cannot control your Airedale, he will gladly—and instantly—step in and control you. Terriers are all opportunists, always ready and able to move up in the family hierarchy and the Airedale probably tops the list in this skill. From the canine viewpoint, weak leaders cannot be trusted with the safety and survival of the pack, so when we say the Airedale is capable of taking on any job, that includes becoming “chairman of the board.” After all, he knows he’s the “King of Terriers!”
However, any dog with such innate versatility and intelligence is not one to submit easily to rote training. He is persistently distracted by sight, sound and scent, whereas most other breeds are governed by only one or two of these three drives. The owner needs to understand this diverse mental energy before beginning to train. Instructors used to contend that terriers in general did not make good pupils, going so far as to label them “terrible terriers” or “untrainable terriers.” Lately many enlightened trainers have come to realize it is not the terrier that’s the problem, but rather the method of teaching. Positive reinforcement (praise for the right response to a given command) works, whereas harsh verbal and physical corrections for failure do not. This affirmative reasoning extends also to training equipment, where the head collar has proven to be a far better choice for terriers than the chain choke collar.
HEART-HEALTHY
In this modern age of ever-improving cardio-care, no doctor or scientist can dispute the advantages of owning a dog to lower a person’s risk of heart disease. Studies have proven that petting a dog, walking a dog and grooming a dog all contribute to lowering your blood pressure. The simple routine of exercising your dog—going outside with the dog and walking, jogging or playing catch—is heart-healthy in and of itself. If you are normally less active than your physician thinks you should be, adopting a dog may be a smart option to improve your own quality of life as well as that of another creature.
The Airedale is instinctively a protector of his property and his family. His size and strong bark, which exposes large teeth in powerful jaws, make him a formidable foe to the unwary. Only if he senses the need to do so will he attack. Wherever the Airedale is used as a guard