Hi I’m Fiona and I would like to tell you about the breed Airedale Terrier and my boy Spartan. He was born on 9 September 2017 and currently is just 8 months weighing in at 24kg. The 8 month young picture below shows him with his winter coat, not stripped and very scruffy, the wild teddy bear look.
Exhausted after the dog park – 8 months
This dog is just amazing, he never sheds, never smells, laughs at his own antics and looks like he is dancing when he gets excited. Because of this he is low maintenance in the home but certainly needs a lot of exercise.
The breed origins are around the River Aire in Yorkshire, England. He was bred to be an otterhound but ended up being the King of the Terriers. In WW1, they were messenger dogs, and the breed received the Victoria Cross war medal for saving an entire battalion. In Australia, the Victorian Police Force used the Airedale as their preferred type of dog through the 1990’s.
These dogs are fun loving, highly excitable, loving and protective and yet have a very, very strong and dominant personality – he will be the boss if you allow it. They are also very intelligent, he learns tricks and commands very quickly. My boy can open the screen doors from the inside to get out and more importantly, from the outside to get in. He has taught himself to push the handle down and then pull it toward himself! Therefore getting in and out is all his choice.
What I love about the Airedale Terrier breed is the fact that they just do not shed. In saying this, to ensure he has a perfect coloured, wiry and non-shedding coat, it is recommended that they be hand stripped twice a year. Obviously, this is time consuming and parts of the body are more sensitive than others and it often isn’t liked, but the finished look is worthy of his personality and good looks.
My boy dives into a muddy dam, runs through a stagnant creek bed and then smells just normal once he has dried off and had a brush. Nothing seems to stick to his coat (his beard is a different problem). My breeder recommends only shampooing twice a year so he actually hasn’t had a bath yet. He loves the river where he picks up rocks, blowing bubbles from his nose as he goes under. Then drops it again and dives again to get another rock, turning it into his own game.
Spartan, our Airedale Terrier Puppy at 8 weeks
Because they have a large square shaped mouth and are groomed that way, they seem to grin all the time. When they get busted doing something they shouldn’t have – the smile you get from him just melts the butter in the fridge and you can’t rouse at him.
Airedale Terriers have long legs – they almost look like they are walking on their toes. When he gets excited he is all legs, they march up and down and he uses them to trip my kids in running games in the garden. They used to smack bugs flat on the ground (cockroaches are great fun at night!). He kicks the soccer ball around and back to you.
I love the Airedales personality and mateship. We can’t wait to get a second one. Twice as much fun and games.
Credit: Thank you Fiona for sending in this beautiful article about Spartan, your wonderful and non-shedding Airedale Terrier!
Read more about Airedale Terriers
If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy reading about a day in the life of Mick and Kassa, the Aussie farm dogs.
