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Dog Articles
Past and Present: Airedale Terrier
By far the
most popular big Terrier, in this country at least, is the Airedale,
and for an all-around dog he would be very hard to beat. He is
afraid of nothing that walks or crawls on land, and his great
fondness for the water betrays the Otterhound blood which is in him.
While not
necessarily quarrelsome, this dog knows his strength, and as a rule
will not walk far out of his way to avoid a scrap. Airedales are
usually intelligent, and hundreds of them have been used for Red
Cross work on the battlefields of Europe.
So well
established and in such favor is this breed today, it is hard to
believe that sixty years ago it was practically unknown outside of
Yorkshire, England, where it existed as an unkempt, shaggy-coated,
long-eared mongrel, in which the blood of the Otterhound and the old
Black and Tan Wire-haired Terrier were easiest to recognize. But
after about thirty years of careful breeding most of the hound blood
was bred out of him, and there was left something very much like
the stylish, well-built, well-marked Airedale, now to be seen
everywhere.
To be a
‘good’ one, he should weigh from 35 to 45 pounds, and be about 22
inches high, and of the color and type shown in the plate. The
distribution of the tan or sandy color is rigorously dictated by
standard; the saddle and neck may be either black, which is
preferable, or grizzled gray. The head, set at an exact right-angle
to the straight, strong neck, should be long, and a straight line
from occiput to nose, or very slightly Roman. This effect is
frequently heightened by the hair on the face between the eyes,
being a little longer than that on the nose and crown. There is
quite a marked tendency for the hair on the lips and chin to be
long, forming a sort of beard.
The back
must be straight and strong, the legs also must be very straight and
well boned and muscled, the feet short and round.
This is
one of the best of Terriers, and of his thousands of owners hardly
one could be found to say an unfavorable word for him. Being a
Terrier, he is playful and rather destructive in his youth, but in a
season he grows up, and becomes a remarkably thoughtful,
companionable, and dependable dog. He can be trained to hunt, but is
rather impetuous for this work.
The hair
should be fairly long, hard, and nearly straight. It would be hard
to win a ribbon with a curly Airedale, however good otherwise.
Cow-hocks, a marked stop, sprung pasterns, and white markings are
all defects.
Source:
National Geographic 1919
Recommended Reading
Dog Training
Mastery - An Owners' Manual
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