hard to find trainers that will take us seriously or will welcome Airedales to their classes. Most trainers do not understand the breed and this puts a novice competitor who is training an Airedale at a disadvantage. One important thing I have learned Continued FROM page 99 over the years is that you don’t have to do everything that everyone else in your training class is doing. If the trainer can’t accept this, find another. sent force training or repetitive training and You have to do whatever is necessary to keep your no two Airedales are alike in training.” Airedale interested. Stop and acknowledge your dog Elizabeth Hanssard, whose dogs include as well as yourself when you have a success, big or Kountrydales Elszie Ernestine CD TD OA and tiny. One thing you always need to keep in mind is Ch Kountrydales Lafin Lavandula AX, said that Airedales are very smart and they learn quickly. that the fact that there are not large numThis can make for a great challenge and sometimes bers of Airedales competing in performance is a disadvantage to training and competing with events has created some difficulties. “I’ve them. Unfortunately, too many trainers do not take found it hard to work with a lot of trainers as the time to understand this. You have to keep an well as people who have other breeds. Too Airedale happy and keep yourself happy. Don’t keep many have preconceived ideas that Airedrilling the same exercise for an extended period of dales are unruly and dog aggressive. It is time. Change it and stay upbeat. It’s important to keep reminding Natalie ((Ch yourself that you have chosen an OTCH Brisline’s Plum Perfect Airedale for its personality, so enOGM UDX9 RA), joy their independence, their free Suzanne Tharpe’s thinking and their clownish anAiredale, was the second Airedale to tics.” earn an obedience Liz Mattison, whose dog trial championship Dreamer (Ch Bristol Aires Dreams and not only the first Airedale but Come True BN CD RN CGC) enthe first terrier to countered a problem that often earn an obedience grand master title. occurs in breeds where the owners are just beginning to start with field work and may not be working Ch Kountrydales Lafin Lavandula with the best trainers as a numAX, another of ber of sporting dog trainers are Hanssard’s Airedales, reminds reluctant to work with Airedales. her owner and One drawback in not being able everyone else to work with experienced sportdoing performance work ing dog trainers is that the dog with the breed may get an improper introducthat it is important to rememtion to gunfire which can create ber that you a difficult-to-fix problem called have chosen an “gunshyness.” This is an entirely Airedale for its personality, so man-made problem and it is a enjoy their inde“fatal” flaw that will eliminate pendence, their a dog from competition in hunt free thinking and their clowntests as well as render them useish antics. less as a hunting dog. “One of my dogs was being trained for field Carrera (Caleb Acres Final Answer TDX MX MXJ work and suddenly became fearful NF RE BN), another of Brown’s Airedales, needs to pass a variable surface tracking test in order to of gun shots. We have not been become the breed’s first champion tracker. able to solve this problem and as a consequence, I have had to stop field work with this dog,” Mattison said. Cooley said she had been very lucky to find several excellent sporting dog trainers in Wisconsin that were willing to work with an Airedale. As a consequence, beginning with her foundation sire, Winston, many years before the breed was permitted to participate in AKC hunt tests, her dogs have always been good field dogs.
The Airedale:
JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES
“I have had to tell trainers that they needed to advance the dogs’ training so they could get the job done at whatever hunt test level we were competing without breaking their wonderful Airedale spirit. One problem with the breed is that they are easily distracted and they are keenly aware of anything and everything that goes on around them. They also have a very high prey drive and this can cause some problems when they are off leash. The absolute truth is that they can also be just plain stubborn at times. We had issues with the sit-toflush at the master level and steadiness at the line in senior. Most times, these issues can be overcome with persistent hard work, lots of training, treats and bait and on occasion, the blessed electronic collar. But, sometimes there is no overcoming these obstacles and that is part of an Airedale’s make up. They can be very headstrong and independent. They tackle life with spontaneity and exuberance. Because of this, they’re not commonly someone’s first choice for performance activities but they’re fully capable of doing those things.”
T
harpe noted that one of the great issues facing the breed are breeders that are one dimensional. “Their goal is winning in the show ring. Although their dogs may be great as show dogs, they have little or no understanding of their dogs’ working abilities. Intelligence, temperament and trainability are inconsequential to many breeders and owners who show only in the conformation ring. Sadly these folks consider ‘performance homes’ to be second choices and often only offer lesser quality puppies to these homes. As a result, many of the Airedales competing in performance activities are not great physical specimens of the breed. Fortunately, the Airedale Terrier Club of America does have some excellent breeders that value training in multiple activities.” Fielder agreed. She said, “In the show ring, we are not paying attention to our standard and we are breeding dogs that are pretty when they are standing still but things start to fall apart when they are asked to move. We are forgetting that this breed needs to be able to cover ground. I worry also that the ability to hunt is being lost among a lot of Airedales.” O’Malley noted that a significant issue lies with people whose job is to protect the breed. “I think the greatest challenge Airedale people, or for that matter any breed, face are the deficiencies of those who are charged with protecting the breed. By this I mean judges who judge the wrong end of the lead or do not sufficiently understand the standard. Breeders who fail to mentor and share their knowledge also hurt the breed. Failing to be completely candid about health, temperament and conformation of the dogs in our breeding population has a negative impact on the breed.” Dog News 141