Airedale Terrier

Airedales were bred for active work, and therefore need 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 mellower.

The Airedale terrier is a neat, upstanding, long-legged terrier, not exaggerated in any way. It has strong round bone and combines strength and agility, enabling it to hunt tough game. Its jaws are strong and punishing. Its gait is free. The coat is hard, dense and wiry; it lies straight and close, with some hair crinkling or waving.

Among the most versatile of terriers, the Airedale is bold, playful and adventurous; it is a lively yet protective companion. It is intelligent, but often stubborn and headstrong. Some can be domineering, but most are biddable, reliable and responsive to their owner's wishes. It makes a good house dog as long as it gets daily mental and physical exercise. It likes to be the head dog and may not do well when another dog challenges that position, although they usually get along well with smaller dogs.

The Airedale Terrier (also known as the ‘Waterside Terrier’, ‘Bingley Terrier’, or slightly less modestly the ‘King of Terriers’, for its height) comes from the Airedale valley in West Yorkshire, England. It was bred by crossing the Otterhound with the Black and Tan Terrier for increased ability in Water Rat hunting competitions on the Aire River. The result was a breed with great scenting and Otter hunting skills which could pursue and retrieve game from its den. It was later crossed with the Irish Terrier and Bull Terrier. The Airedale Terrier was first brought to North America in the 1880’s. Champion Master Briar, born in 1897, is considered to be the patriarch of the breed. Airedale Terriers became renowned as messengers and search animals in World War I. President Roosevelt is quoted as saying ‘An Airedale can do anything any other dog can do and then lick the other dog, if he has to.’ John Wayne’s nickname, ‘The Duke’, was the name of his childhood Airedale Terrier, who accompanied him everywhere he went.