Let's hear it for all the original Airedale owners who let us use their images/clips in the video. Check out more of their content on their respective Instagram profiles. What do you like the most about Airedale Terriers? Let us know in the comments below!
If you are going to do something like this, get your facts right first. Not centuries but mid-19th century first established as a recognised breed in 1886. The breed mix is Otter Hound and the (extinct) English Black & Tan Terrier (similar to Welsh Terrier and Fell Terriers, a fox rather than ratting terrier), with some English Bull Terrier (a fighting dog then). The main ingredient being the Otter Hound, one of the larger hounds. There are no Irish Terrier or herding dogs or retrievers in the mix. The result has the distinctive belling hunting cry of the hound. The result is highly intelligent with a good temperament and the most powerful jaws of any dog breed. We met a chap on Dove Crag who said he kept Irish Terrier and had expected an Airedale to be bigger, with that our Airedale stood on his hind legs, licked the chap's face and knocked him over; dog humour. Whilst an Airedale can drive the bull out of a herd of cows (a farmer will usually use his toughest top collie and a big wooden club), they do not make good herding dogs. Cattle will stampede and sheep are terrified of them. They have something of the wolf that puts the wind up animals.
Livestock are terrified of Airedales. Their hunting instinct is very strong, they are known to kill sheep. They can take down moose so they can probably take down cattle too. Great rat killers but too big to get in to the runs. An Airedale would have to be trained to livestock but they are no collie. They do herd but as a prelude to killing. Very easily trained but they get bored, too intelligent and not obedient, they always question orders. They do herd children but that is to protect them like puppies, they're pack.
Wow! I didn’t know that, is that true?… what I knew is that they were very healthy in comparison to most of big dog breeds… at what age you consider they star having health issues? And what kind of problems they have?
Someone asked us when an Airedale would act grown up - they don't. They're like a 2yo child the size of a 10yo and the strength to lift a grown man. Expect 15 years of that.
