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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.
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