Airedale Terriers
Thursday, November 14, 2019
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There once was a time when it was said "The Airedale can do anything any other dog can do—and then lick, the other dog." That's far fetched, of course, but his uses are manifold. He has been employed as a hunter, as a message carrier and as a policeman. He makes a good guard dog, yet has a mild disposition, attributed to hound blood, that endears him as a pet. He is the largest of the Terriers.
Despite widespread popularity, investigators never have uncovered his real. background. The black and tan Broken-haired or Old English Terrier, now extinct, is said to be a progenitor, as it was for either Terrier breeds. The Otter-hound was added for keenness of nose. It is written that the result was a larger, stronger and better Terrier that, from about 1864, was called the Working, Waterside and Bingley Terrier. Classes were provided in the Bingley, Yorkshire, Airedale Agricultural Society Show of 1879 and the breed, well represented there, later became known as the Airedale.
The breed has undergone various evolutions, but the color has remained black and tan. The ideal male is about 23 inches at the shoulder, the female slightly smaller. The coat is hard and dense, the head long and flat, the ears V-shaped and folded down to the side of the head. The forelegs of the perfect dog are very straight, with lots of muscle and bone.
Popularity in the United States, as in Germany and Holland, gained real impetus be ginning in 1894. It has been one of America's best known for years since. Size has been an important factor since 1902, with similarity to the smaller Irish and Welsh Terriers considered objectionable.