Airedale terrier

“ That as it is the unanimous opinion of the Airedale Terrier Club that the size of the Airedale Terrier as given in the above Standard is one of if not the most important characteristics of the breed, all Judges who shall henceforth adjudicate on the merits of the Airedale Terrier shall consider undersized specimens of the breed severely handicapped when competing with dogs of the standard weight. ”

“ The Airedale, however, has always been known and appreciated as a sporting terrier. His owners have fortunately never lost sight of the reason he was manufactured, and they remember that to-day he is intended to be a rough-and-ready dog, willing and able to do all terrier work just a little better than the other members of the family, and because of his greater weight enabled to do things his smaller cousins could not even attempt. ”

“ All big dogs with properly placed shoulders and sound formation are better terriers for work of any sort than dogs half their size, short on the leg, but bad in these points. It is in reality impossible to make an inexorable rule about this question of size; each class must be judged on its own merits.
CHAPTER XXXIV THE AIREDALE TERRIER There is perhaps no breed of dog that in so short a time has been improved so much as the Airedale. ”

“ Accordingly, the American-bred Airedale is noted the world over as a show dog, and in no other country has the breed's sporting possibilities been so fully tested as here in the United States.
By birth and breeding the Airedale is a sporting terrier. A dog bred originally to do the work of a vermin destroyer, he has taken naturally to all kinds of game. In the Rockies, he is used on bear, and he has won a name as a dog of exceptional brains, unfailing courage, and remarkable stamina at work from which no fool, coward, or weakling comes home to supper. ”

“ If I have been rightly informed regarding the Airedale's history it is a crossbreed between the otter-hound and the bull-terrier, this strain having been originally obtained by the factory hands of Airedale in the North of England, who thus sought to obtain a hardy dog—one not afraid of water, and that would prove a useful assistant when out poaching either water-fowl, hares or rabbits, occasions on which it is of importance to carry out the work with as little noise as possible. ”

“ The fact remains the dog is a terrier—a sort of glorified edition of what we understand by the word, it is true, but in points, looks, and character, a terrier nevertheless, and it is impossible otherwise to classify him.
People will ask: "How can he be a terrier? Why he is an outrage on the very word, which can only mean a dog to go to ground; and to what animal in the country of his birth can an Airedale go to ground?" Above ground and in water, however, an Airedale can, and does, perform in a very excellent manner everything that any other terrier can do. ”

“ The dog owner does not as a rule think it worth while to post himself on the history and points of the breed. He has heard the praises sung of "the biggest and best terrier," and has decided that he is the dog he wants. If that is all he wants let him get some friend to give him an Airedale puppy or let him buy one as cheaply as he can, but he is going to lose half the pleasure of owning a good dog of a good breed. ”

“ Lola is an Airedale terrier, born at Mannheim on 27 January, 1914, a daughter of Rolf, and of the equally thorough-bred Jela. Both these dogs were owned by the family of a barrister, Dr. Moekel. The Airedale terrier resembles the dog we call a "Schnauzer"; it is wire-haired and of medium growth; generally with a greyish-black coat and yellow feet. Its head is covered with silky curls beneath which two bright eyes are seen. These dogs are distinguished for their alert and attentive bearing, while their excellent constitution renders them specially suitable for being trained to useful pursuits ”

“ COMMON AILMENTS
The terrier owner is a "lucky devil," for his dogs do not, as a rule, spend a great deal of time in the hospital. All members of the terrier family, from the giant of the race, the Airedale, way down to little Scottie, owe a big debt to nature for having blessed them with remarkably robust constitutions. They do not catch cold from every draft; they throw off the various contagious diseases; even when really sick, they make wonderfully rapid recoveries.
All dog flesh, however, is heir to certain diseases, and even the most healthy and strong are not exceptions to this rule. ”

“ It is almost a joke to keep such a naturally healthy dog as a terrier in the pink of condition. All he needs is dry, clean kennels, with decent bedding; good, nourishing food at regular hours; all the fresh water he wants to drink; plenty of exercise, and a little grooming. Given these few things and a terrier will be "disgustingly well," full of high spirits, and happy as a clam at high tide. It is really so easy to keep a terrier "fit," and it means so much to the dog and his owner, whether he be a dog owner for pleasure or profit, that it is nothing less than criminal not to do so. ”

“ The sigh for "the good old days" is common in all things, and we often hear it from dog fanciers. It is good food for talk, but that is all, for the old-timers of any breed could not win in the ring against the cracks of to-day. Among the very early Airedale winners were: Tanner, Young Tanner, Rustic Twig, Rustic Kitty, Rustic Lad, Newbold Fritz, Vixen, and Venom, none of whom would be one, two, three in a good show to-day. Clip and Ch. Cholmondeley Briar were the two first really good dogs. Clip was a sound, honest dog who showed real modern type, and gave black, real terrier eyes to his pups ”

“ Pointers and setters are much used by sportsmen in the field, and are possessed of keen scent and cunning. The retriever, which is useful for domestic as well as sporting purposes, is sagacious, good-tempered, and intelligent. An English retriever, whether smooth or curly coated, should be black or black and tan, or black with tabby or brindled legs. Among the terriers, or vermin killers, the best-known varieties are the fox terrier, the Skye terrier, and the Irish and Airedale terriers. ”

“ Even to those who love dogs it is often disagreeably bothersome. It is bad enough in a toy dog, but in an Airedale it is worse in the ratio of five pounds to fifty.
I am not personally in favor of teaching a dog tricks. A trick dog soon learns to "love the limelight," and will be continually begging to be allowed to show off. Besides, I have an inborn dislike to seeing a dog doing stunts, and I know the feeling is shared by others who are fond of a good dog. It seems a silly thing to see a big, strong terrier begging or walking on his hind legs. ”

“ Three breeds, all more or less hard in coat-texture, and grizzled in colour on heads and bodies, while tanned on other parts, are Airedale, Old English, and Welsh Terriers, which may be divided into large, medium, and small. The first-named make very good all-round dogs; the Old English, less in number, make useful dogs, and are hardy and companionable; while Welsh terriers are much the size of a small wire-haired fox-terrier, but usually shorter and somewhat thicker in the head. ”

“ The Irish terrier answers in many respects the call for an all-purpose dog, except that he is not so large as the Airedale and therefore could not hold his own in fighting big game, though for his inches, no better dog ever lived, and I have, on one or two occasions, seen Irish terriers in bear packs which proved to be just as valuable as some of the larger breeds ”

“ That's one of the boys who used to beg for a dog, but his father wouldn't let him have one. So all our strays wait for just such little fellows to come along. Every boy gets a dog, and every dog gets a master."
"I expect the boy's father would like to know that now," commented the Airedale. "No doubt he thinks quite often, 'I wish I'd let him have a dog.'"
The bull-terrier laughed. ”

“ On one such morning early that June, Stephen drove her car into Upton. She was meaning to cash a cheque at the bank, she was meaning to call at the local saddler’s, she was meaning to buy a new pair of gloves—in the end, however, she did none of these things.
It was outside the butcher’s that the dog fight started. The butcher owned an old rip of an Airedale, and the Airedale had taken up his post in the doorway of the shop, as had long been his custom. Down the street, on trim but belligerent tiptoes, came a very small, snow-white West Highland terrier ”

“ The Doberman Pinscher, which is really a terrier possessing characteristics of the Airedale, is another dog which, when he once becomes fully known and appreciated for his sterling qualities, will become a more general home favorite. He is smooth coated, prick-eared and black and tan in color, weighing in the neighborhood of thirty-five to forty pounds. He is very intelligent and is as easily taught to perform the duties of an allround “varmint dog” as any breed in existence. ”

“ To do justice to the Master and the Mistress, they had no idea—then—of this torture. Otherwise all the blue ribbons ever woven would not have tempted them to subject their beloved chum to it.
In some kennels Airedales were "plucked," by hand, to rid them of the last vestige of the soft gray outer coat which is an Airedale's chief natural beauty—and no hair of which must be seen in a show. "Plucking" a dog is like pulling live hairs from a human head, so far as the sensation goes. But show-traditions demand the anguish. ”

“ It is not the wisest policy to chain up a dog at night, for he will be much more apt to sound false alarms, and in any case of real need he is powerless to give active defense of himself or his friends. The watch-dog ought not to have his big, heavy meal at night, or he will go to sleep and snore peacefully till cock crow, while if fed but lightly, he will rest in a series of cat naps, if a dog can do that.
The Airedale is more practically useful than any other breed of dog. He can do more things better than any other variety. ”

“ In the Rockies, where Airedales are used on grizzly and mountain lion, the dogs hunt in packs, and the old dogs train the youngsters. Example and experience make an excellent pair of tutors, and the work is such that unless the lessons are grasped pretty quickly, there will be a dead dog.
The gradual system of breaking applies to water. The veins of the Airedale are filled with the blood of the otter-hound, and from this ancestor he has inherited a love for the water. ”

“ The wise dog owner then will learn all he can about his breed. "Book larnin'" is good, but better still are talks with all sorts and conditions of Airedale owners and a visit to an Airedale kennel or the ringside at a dog show when the breed is being judged. No men ride their hobbies harder than dog fanciers, and all will talk and from all can something be learned.
When one has learned something about Airedales let him then buy his dog. It is best to buy a dog about six months old—old enough to be over puppy ills and not too old to learn new tricks. ”

“ Very often the man wanting a dog for hunting, for a guard, for a pal turns up his nose at all the finely enumerated details in which the standard describes the fanciers' ideal of Airedale perfection. He is wrong, for, as the advertisements say, "There's a reason." Take the double coat for example. The Airedale was originally bred to be a water dog. The wiry coat sheds water like a duck's back, and the undercoat keeps him warm in all weather. With the kind of a jacket for which the standard calls an Airedale can swim the river, scramble out, shake himself, roll over, and be dry. ”

“ The Airedale is such a beautiful specimen of the canine race, and is, in reality, in such healthy state, that every one of his admirers—and they are legion—is naturally jealous for his welfare, and is wishful that all shall go well with him. ”

“ What more can man ask of a dog? By inheritance he is a thorough sportsman and by instinct a perfect gentleman.
Training, education, and specialization are all familiar terms these days. It is acknowledged that the skilled dwarf is more powerful than the ignorant giant: that the efficiency of the genius is increased many times by proper schooling. So it is with dogs. By nature and by the art of breeding the Airedale has been endowed with gifts fitting him to do whatever a dog may be called upon to do, but proper training will enable him to do it more easily and better. ”

“ On the farms of New England, he is cherished as an exterminator of wood-chucks, moles, rats, and vermin of this class. He hunts all the way down the scale from the giant "silver tip" to the mouse in the pantry—mountain lions, wolves, panthers, lynx, wild cats, foxes, coons, skunks, rabbits, mink, what not, each and all he hunts with equal gusto and success. Is it any wonder that though the Airedale is only a little over half a century old his fame has spread from pole to pole? ”

“ We should name the Airedale as a promising bear dog. His grit, courage, staying Quality and strength are all points of advantage in a dog that is expected to try conclusions with the hard-swatting bruin.
Also we frequently hear of noteworthy success of the Airedale in hunting and dispatching coyotes, coons, badger and bay-lynx, any one of which is capable of putting up a good fight. Also he is a hunter, retriever, trailer of coon, 'possum, bear, wildcat, mink, coyote, deer, lynx, fox or small game. ”

“ The Airedale is a dog that no one can know well without becoming his friend, but all his friends do not know him well. For this reason, and because so much depends upon one's first dog, it seems particularly necessary to give some advice to intending Airedale purchasers, whom we may divide into dog owners and kennel owners. By a dog owner I mean one who wants an Airedale or two as a companion, guard, and all-round dog. Kennel owners are those who intend keeping, breeding, and showing or hunting several dogs. ”