Airedale Terrier Long Live the King

The swan had only herself to blame. After barging into a yard in Bend, Oregon, last June, she attacked an Airedale named Henry, confined there by an invisible fence. The big, orange-lipped, mute swan -- so named because it can't hit the loud notes -- chased Henry around the yard, smacking him with her wings. Suddenly Henry spun about, sank his teeth into the bellicose bird, and the swan was mute for good

Mix 'n' Match

As the swan discovered, the Airedale isn't known as "The King of the Terriers" for nothing. The largest member of the terrier group, the Airedale stands 23 inches at the shoulder (females are a bit shorter) and weighs 50 to 60 pounds, sometimes more. It cut its teeth on water rat, badger, otter and fox in its native Yorkshire, England, then proved to be an excellent watchdog and retriever, too. Cunningly bright, exceedingly resourceful and nearly impervious to pain, the Airedale was named the official dog of the British Army in World War I for its brilliant performance as sentry and messenger. This outstanding war record made the Airedale one of the first breeds chosen for the American Canine Corps during the next world war.

This versatile and engaging dog -- it excels in the obedience, conformation and agility rings as well as in the field -- was developed during the middle decades of the last century by Yorkshire miners and factory workers who began their quest for an all-around dog by crossing three strains of terriers: the Irish, the white English and the now-extinct black-and-tan. The otter hound -- thought to be a direct descendant of the old southern hound, the ancestor of many English scent hounds -- was added to the mix to improve the developing breed's swimming and scenting abilities and to give it a waterproof undercoating. Finally, some observers report, bull terriers were commissioned to smooth out remnants of the otter hound cross that were considered unpresentable after the 

Airedale had entered the show ring in the 1860s. Others, however, say the bull terrier crosses never occurred, while some people suggest that Border collies or other sheepdogs participated in the Airedale's evolution.

Whatever its ultimate components, as the Airedale was evolving, so was its name. The breed was known variously as the broken-haired terrier (after its appearance) or as the Waterside, Bingley or Wharfedale terrier (after places in the district of Yorkshire where the breed was developed). Not until 1886, when the breed was formally recognized by the Kennel Club of England, did the name Airedale terrier become the pick of the litter.

Airemale to America

The first Airedale exported to America was a Yorkshire lad named Bruce. No record of the exact date of his arrival exists, but he had to have landed by 1881 because he was first in a class for rough-haired terriers at a New York show that year. Although Bruce is not known to have met any Airedales of the opposite sex in this country, he did sire a dog named Brush before leaving home; and Brush, in turn, begat Bess, the dam of Airedale Jerry, the root of the Airedale family tree in the United States. Bruce, whom one writer called the old-fashioned "fighting kind" of Airedale, was sold for $21 at a dog auction at the American Horse Exchange.

The Airedale leaped nimbly from the horse exchange to the White House in a mere four decades. President Warren Harding (1921-1923) owned an Airedale named Laddy Boynot, who had a personal valet while he lived in the White House and a hand-carved chair on which to sit during cabinet meetings. Laddy attracted so much attention that Harding's critics accused the president of using the dog as a decoy, a means of diverting attention from Harding's imperfections in office. Ironically, Harding believed that America needed " ...not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise..." These are strange words coming from the owner of a full-tilt-boogie dog like the Airedale.

No matter Harding's fortunes, the Airedale didn't suffer from its political association. Indeed, in 1949 the Airedale ranked 20th in popularity among the 110 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC). Since then, however, the Airedale has slipped to 50th on the AKC list (out of 146 breeds recognized); and new registrations for the breed last year, 2,891, were not a great deal higher than its 1949 total: 1,963.

Aires Above the Ground

The Airedale's exercise needs and energy level have, perhaps, been party to its rollback in popularity. This is an active dog that blossoms in the mulch of vigorous daily exercise -- a long, fairly brisk walk, an exhilarating game, a chance to romp off lead but under supervision in a safe, preferably enclosed area. Otherwise an Airedale with energy to spare will spare no opportunity for releasing that energy. One Airedale, a 70-pound bitch living in Gold Canyon, Arizona, developed a taste for food groups that included walls, shoes, belts, books and carpets and other nutrients not ordinarily listed on dog food cans. When this munchkin was X-rayed prior to being spayed, one of the vets at the clinic asked the Airedale's owner if the dog was able to change television channels by barking. The dog, it seems, had eaten the remote control.

Airedales have been described as "the sweetest animals on earth one minute and little devils the next." They want to be with their owners all of the time, and they want their owners be doing something interesting at least some of the time. The breed has also been called "a thinking dog, with an independent character perhaps not suited to the faint of heart."

In addition, Airedales can be aggressive toward other dogs and small animals, a trait not unheard of in terriers. One June day in 1998 a man walking his 18-month-old Sheltie in the East York district of Toronto felt the leash jerk backward. When he turned around, he saw his dog in the grasp of an Airedale terrier that "dug its teeth in like it was going to have [the Sheltie] for lunch."

The Sheltie required 60 stitches to close four deep bite wounds, and its owner needed treatment for bites he suffered to his arm and hands while trying to pry his dog away from the Airedale, whose owner was in-line skating when the attack occurred.

For the strong, active, confident individual with lots of patience and both feet on the ground, few breeds are as arresting as the Airedale. Its bold, venturesome nature, complemented by an amusing playfulness, makes it a lively companion, and its loyalty is beyond question. Though not, perhaps, the ideal companion for young children, the Airedale is a sound choice for older children who have some experience around dogs.

Health and Housekeeping

Like many of the larger breeds, the Airedale is subject to hip dysplasia, a malformation of the hip joint resulting in a poor fit between the head of the femur bone and the hip socket, in which the femoral head normally lies. This condition can be alleviated by surgery. Because dysplastic dogs often produce dysplastic puppies, buyers should ask if both the sire and the dam of the puppy in which they are interested have been rated clear of hip dysplasia by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals or by Penn HIP. Do not take yes for an answer without seeing the certificate, and ask for a copy to take to your veterinarian. Hip x-rays should be taken after a dog is 2 years old.

Gastric torsion, also known as bloat, also affects Airedales. When bloat occurs, the stomach can turn and block, causing a buildup of gas. Unless treated very quickly, bloat can be fatal. Signs consist of stomach pain and futile attempts to vomit and to salivate. May lead to cardiovascular collapse. Bloat usually occurs when exercise too closely follows eating. The incidence of bloat may be lessened by feeding adult dogs twice a day and, of course, by allowing a dog time to digest before taking him for a run in the park.

Airedales share the terrier's tendency toward itchy skin, which may be manifest as a number of conditions, including acral lick dermatitis (caused by licking one area excessively) and acute moist dermatitis or "hot spots" (an oppressively itchy, inflamed and oozing patch of skin exacerbated by intense licking and chewing). These skin disorders can be caused by dietary imbalances, hyper- or hypothyroidism or allergies.

Skin disorders should not go unnoticed for long in Airedales, because their hard, dense, wiry, close-lying coats want combing twice weekly and shaping every month or so. Thus, Airedale owners are usually intimately familiar with their dogs' epidermis. Those owners who are not showing their Airedales can clip them or have a groomer do it. Dogs being shown are hand-stripped because this procedure gives the coat a more lively appearance.

Among the eye problems that sometimes trouble Airedales are corneal dystrophy (an abnormality of the cornea often characterized by shallow pits in its surface), progressive retinal atrophy (the slow deterioration of the retina, producing night blindness and, ultimately, total blindness), distichiasis (abnormally growing eyelashes) and entropion (an abnormal rolling in of the eyelid).

Finally, hemolytic anemia (caused by the destruction of the red blood cells by an autoimmune process) and von Willebrand's disease (a bleeding disorder caused by defective blood platelet function) sometimes affect Airedales.

Two If by Sea

Two Airedales were among the handful of dogs lost on the Titanic. One, named Kitty, belonged to Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, a real-estate mogul worth $100 million at the time. Astor, 46, had recently consternated society by marrying 18-year-old Madeleine Force, who was not only younger than his son but also five months pregnant.

The second Airedale lost on the Titanic belonged to William E. Carter of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, who also owned the Renault in which Jack and Rose encamped for their Titanic tryst in the movie. Carter, his wife and two children survived the disaster.

"Arf," He Said.

Little Orphan Annie's dog, Sandy, is often referred to as an Airedale; but, in truth, he was part Airedale, part collie and, perhaps, part something else. He had a black left ear, a black patch on his back and a white tip on his tail. Annie discovered Sandy in 1925, the year after the comic strip bearing her name had first appeared in American newspapers. Sandy was just a pup then, being teased by a gang of boys behind Mrs. Bottle's store. 

Because Annie wasn't allowed to bring the pup into the Bottle house, where Annie was staying, she gave Sandy to Paddy Lynch to look after. Sandy was living with Lynch when Annie fled the Bottle residence and hit the road for the first time. During that adventure Annie was kidnaped by gypsies, who were treating her poorly when Sandy, now full grown, came to her rescue. From then on Annie and her dog were virtually inseparable.