Dog
Group:
Terrier 
Airedale Terrier Champions
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Pronunciation:
ˈer-ˌdāl ˈter-ē-ər
Breed Description:
The head of the Airedale Terrier breed of dog should be well balanced, with little apparent difference between the length of skull and foreface. The skull should be long and flat, not too broad between the ears and narrowing very slightly to the eyes. Scalp should be free from wrinkles, stop hardly visible and cheeks level and free from fullness. Airedale Terriers' ears should be V-shaped with carriage rather to the side of the head, not pointing to the eyes, small but not out of proportion to the size of the dog. The top-line of the folded ear should be above the level of the skull. The foreface should be deep, powerful, strong and muscular; it should be well filled up before the eyes. The eyes should be deep, powerful, strong and muscular. The lips of the Airedale Terrier breed of dog should be tight. The nose should be black and not too small. The teeth should be strong and white, free from discoloration or defect. Bite should be either level or vise-like. A slightly overlapping or scissors bite is permissible without preference. The neck should be of moderate length and thickness gradually widening towards the shoulders. Skin should be tight; not loose. The shoulders should be long and sloping well into the back. Shoulder blades should be flat. Looking at the animal from the front, the chest appears deep but not broad. The depth of the chest should be approximately on a level with the elbows. The body back should be short, strong and level. Ribs well sprung. Loins are muscular and of good width. There should be but little space between the last rib and the hip joint. The hindquarters should be strong and muscular with no droop. The tail should be short, strong and level. Forelegs of the Airedale Terrier breed of dog should be perfectly straight, with plenty of muscle and bone. Elbows should be perpendicular to the body, working free of sides. Thighs should be long and powerful with muscular second thigh, stifles well bent, not turned either in or out, hocks well let down parallel with each other when viewed from behind. Feet should be small, round, and compact with a good depth of pad, well cushioned; the toes moderately arched, not turned either in or out. The coat of the Airedale Terrier breed of dog should be hard, dense, and wiry, lying straight and close, covering the dog well over the body and legs. Some of the hardest coats are crinkling or just slightly waved. At the base of the hard very stiff hair should be a shorter growth of softer hair termed the undercoat. Airedale Terriers should have tan heads and ears, with the ears a darker shade than the rest. Dark markings on either side of the skull are permissible. The legs up to the thighs and elbows and the under-part of the body and chest are also tan and the tan frequently runs into the shoulder. The sides and upper parts of the body should be black or dark grizzle. A red mixture is often found in the black and is not to be considered objectionable. A small white blaze on the chest is a characteristic of certain strains of the Airedale Terrier breed of dog.
Temperament:
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog will usually do okay with children if they have early exposure and socialization; however, they may play too rough for very small ones. Airedale Terriers are courageous and protective, but are fairly friendly with strangers. Intelligent, pleasant and loyal. Sensitive and responsive, they can be obedience trained at a high level.
Airedale Terriers are fun-loving and playful when they are puppies. The Airedale Terrier breed of dog will be happy to please you, if there is nothing more pressing in the environment (e.g., chipmunk, other dog, food). An Airedale is extremely loyal, but as an avid hunter you would have to be an ace trainer to get him to come away from a chipmunk even for raw steak! They are naturally lively and can be very rowdy if they do not receive enough daily mental and physical exercise.
Train this dog not to jump on humans. The Airedale Terrier breed of dog needs proper obedience training and an owner who knows how to be "Top Dog". The Airedale Terrier may have dominance challenges toward family members he sees as submissive. This can lead to willfulness and disobedience. They are not difficult to train, but they do not respond to harsh overbearing training methods. The Airedale Terrier is intelligent enough to perceive quickly what is required of it, but if you ask it to do the same thing over and over again, it may refuse. Try to give it some variety to its training, making the exercise a challenge. They need a calm, but firm, confident and consistent handler. With the right handler, the Airedale Terrier breed of dog can do well in various dog sports including defense dog trials. This breed generally gets along well with household cats and other animals, but they sometimes try to dominate other dogs. This depends upon the way the humans around the dog treat him, their training, and the individual dog.
Height:
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog stands 22-24 inches.
Weight:
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog weighs 50-60 pounds. Bitches 40-45 pounds.
Health Problems:
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog is very hardy. Possible health problems include eye problems, hip dysplasia, and skin infections. If your Airedale Terrier has dry skin, he should be fed an adjusted omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in the diet.
Exercise:
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog was bred for active work, and therefore needs plenty of exercise. They need to be taken for long daily walks. Most of them love to play with a ball, swim, or retrieve objects and once fully grown will happily run alongside a bicycle. Without enough attention and exercise, the Airedale Terrier will become restless and bored and will usually get itself into trouble. The exercise requirement can go down somewhat after the first two years (as with many dogs), but the first two years with an Airedale are very strenuous on the human. Then they start to get much more mellow.
Grooming:
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog has a hard, short-haired, double coat. The hair should be plucked about twice a year, but for dogs that are to be shown, much more intensive grooming is needed. Trim excessive hair between the pads of the feet when necessary.
If you keep the coat stripped, an Airedale Terrier breed of dog will shed little to no hair. However, if you do not strip the coat, you will most likely find fur piles around your baseboards, even with trimming, and brushing almost every day. Airedale Terriers actually require a good bit of grooming. Burrs stick in the coat and beard. The beard should be washed daily because of food residue.
Origin:
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog was developed about a hundred years ago in the country of York from the ancient Working Terrier. "The King of Terriers," the Airedale was named for the Valley of the Aire in England, where lots of small game flourished. Originally known as the Waterside Terrier and used as a vermin hunter, the breed was later crossed with the Otterhound to make him a better swimmer. It is also said to have Manchester Terrier in its blood.
In addition to his role as a small game hunter, the Airedale Terrier breed of dog has been used to hunt big game in Africa, India, and Canada, and as a police dog and army sentry dog in World War II. Today, the Airedale is primarily a companion dog, but there are still working lines out there. Some of the Airedale's talents are guarding, watchdog, hunting, tracking, military work, police work, and competitive obedience. Comments
The standards for all the breeds accepted to the AKC are used here for breed information, and those not part of the AKC are resourced from FCI standard information, where it is written and coded into the club rules for those breeds.
