The Airedale Terrier is a beautiful large breed dog with a lot of great characteristics. If you love the ‘up for anything’ attitude of terriers, and prefer a larger dog, the Airedale might be perfect for you!
Airedales were originally bred to be a sporting dog, hunting rats and otters for their masters. Because of their incredibility stamina and determination, they were later used as working dogs in World War I. They were trained since birth to assist the soldiers in military tasks such as carrying & delivering messages and locating any injured men.
Today’s Airedale Terriers are still being used as sporting and hunting dogs. Anything from agility competitions to helping retrieve birds for their hunting masters.
When considering adding a Airedale to your family, it is important to keep in mind that they are very intelligent and confident. They need a job to focus on and love to work alongside their owners (and have the stamina to be working all day!). Some say the Airedale can be difficult or stubborn when it comes to training. For this reason, it is extremely important to have patience and stay consistent when training this breed. As an intelligent breed, they will often wonder ‘what’s in it for me?’ when being asked to perform a task (such as ‘sit’ or ‘lie down’).
The Airedale is a hypo-allergenic breed, so someone with allergies is more likely to be able to tolerate being around this dog (although allergy symptoms may not completely disappear). Although they don’t typically shed very much, they do require regular brushing to keep tangles out of their coat, as well as hair trimming once every couple of months.
Airedale Terriers are naturally very protective of their family. For this reason, it is imperative that these dogs are well socialized at an early age with strangers and other dogs.
Airedale Terriers are wonderful dogs that simply love life. They are intelligent, high energy, courageous dogs that will do anything it takes to finish their task at hand. This would be a great dog for someone with a very active lifestyle. And as hard-working as they are known to be, you will still find these dogs to be sweet-natured and lovable. A great companion to an active family.
