About Airedales

Our Guide to Airedales

The Airedale Terriers are an all-round breed, happiest when they have a job to do and thriving on new adventures and experiences. They can be trained as family dogs, hunting , working, sporting, police, companion & hearing dogs.

 

The largest of the Terriers, the Airedale is muscular ,active and can be fairly cobby. With a keen expression, quick movement, ready for action at any moment. Their character is shown by the expression in the eyes, the carriage of their ears and the erect tail. Outgoing, confident, friendly, courageous and very intelligent. Alert at all times. Their coat is hard ,dense and wiry, but not too long that it appears ragged. It can either lie straight and close with an outer hard coat and a softer and shorter undercoat. Or can be wavy or curly. The coat requires trimming from 3 months depending on personal preferences on the look of your Airedale. The Airedale has a body saddle that is black or grizzle, as is the top of the neck and the top of the tail. All other parts are tan, the ears often darker. Sometimes there can be shading round the neck and the side of the skull. It is acceptable to have some white hairs between the front legs. As a pup, they are born mainly black, their coat changes as they get older. Adult coat, furnishings can be seen from 9-12 months.

In The Car

Cars
Travelling is never usually a problem. From the start take on as many journeys as possible, settling down with a chew or toys to play with.To reduce any damage that the puppy may do to your car, use a crate or something similar.

In The Car

When in the car keep a rear window open to allow a breeze in all the time. NEVER leave a dog in the car unattended especially during spring /summer months. A dog can cook / die in a car in less than 20 minutes.

Car Travel
It is advised that when travelling in a car , the dog should be harnessed on tha back seat or placed behind secure bars in the rear of vehicle. Another option is to use a crate in the boot of a car.

Using Crates

Travelling is never usually a problem. From the start take on as many journeys as possible, settling down with a chew or toys to play with.To reduce any damage that the puppy may do to your car, use a crate or something similar.

Keeping Cool When It's Hot

If it is hot an ideal way of keeping the dog cool is:

  • Wet a couple of towels ,the dog can lie on one and wrap over body with the other . The towels then become a source of evaporation of the dogs’ heat. If you have an old towel you can make a loose jacket which can also be worn when walking.
  • At the garden centres you can purchase granules that retain water. Using an old pillow slip or similar, stitch slim rows width ways. As rows are being stitched put in a small amount of granules. When completed soak in water and let the granules expand fully. This remains cool as a bed to lie on for hours and keeps the dog cool too either in their bed or in the car. Eventually ( few days ) the granules dry up again. This can be used over and over again.
  • If you are by water / near a hosepipe, get them wet especially the dogs jacket and stand in the shade when possible.