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THE AIREDALE

by

WILLIAMS HAYNES

Author of "Beagles and Beagling," "Toy Dogs," etc.







Outing Handbooks

New York
Outing Publishing Company
MCMXI

Copyright, 1911, by
Outing Publishing Company.

Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, England.
All rights reserved




CONTENTS

   CHAPTER                                                    PAGE

     I. THE BIGGEST AND BEST TERRIER                             9

    II. THE AIREDALE'S HISTORY                                  21

   III. THE CARE OF A TERRIER                                   35

    IV. BREEDING TERRIERS                                       49

     V. DOG SHOWS AND SHOWING                                   65

    VI. THE USEFUL AIREDALE                                     79

   VII. COMMON AILMENTS                                         91




CHAPTER I

THE BIGGEST AND BEST TERRIER


It was in the Merchants' Hotel, Manchester--a famous gathering place
for the dog fanciers of the English Midlands, the most thickly dog
populated district in the whole world--that one autumn evening I heard
the best definition of an Airedale that I ever knew. A party of us,
fresh from some bench show, were seated round a table waiting for
dinner, and naturally we were talking dog, telling dog stories,
anecdotes, and jokes. I gave the American definition of a dachshund;
"half a dog high and a dog and a half long," and Theodore Marples,
editor of _Our Dogs_, turning to a quiet little man, noted as a wild
fanatic on the subject of Airedales, asked him his definition of his
favorite breed. Quick as a spark he answered, "The biggest and best
terrier!"

There are thousands of people, all sorts of people from bankers to
beggars, scattered all over this earth from Dawson City to Capetown,
from Moscow to Manila, who will echo the statement that the Airedale is
indeed the biggest and the best of all the terriers. Moreover, their
votes would not be bribed by mere sentiment, but based upon good, sound
reasons, for it is certain that he is the biggest, and he is "best" at
doing more things than any other dog in the stud book.

An Airedale will drive sheep or cattle; he will help drag a sled; he
will tend the baby; he will hunt anything from a bear to a field mouse.
He can run like a wolf and will take to water like an otter. He does
not "butt in" looking for trouble with each dog that he passes on the
street, but once he is "in" he will stick, for he is game as a pebble.
He is kind, obedient, thoroughly trustworthy as a companion for
children, or a watchman for your property. He has the disposition of a
lamb combined with the courage of a lion. He is certainly the most
all-round dog that there is and, unlike many Jacks-of-all-trades, he is
apparently quite able to master all tasks a dog is called upon to
perform.

Over and above his talents and his character, the Airedale has a
constitution made of steel and stone. He is equally at home in the snow
wastes of the Arctic Circle and on the alkali deserts of Arizona. The
dry, bracing air of Colorado and the fever-soaked atmosphere of
Florida's Everglades both seem to agree with him perfectly. A sick
Airedale is just about as common as a dodo.

"The biggest and best terrier" indeed fits him to a T, but it does not
convey any very definite idea as to what he should look like. Even his
most enthusiastic admirers never claimed beauty for the Airedale. He is
not pretty, unless we acknowledge that "handsome is that handsome
does," and can see the beauty of perfect symmetry under wiry coat and
odd coloring.

A good Airedale is about as big as a pointer; somewhere in the
neighborhood of forty-five pounds, a little more for a dog and a little
less for a bitch. His head should be long; the skull flat and broad;
the cheeks smooth; the muzzle strong with tight lips over big, white,
even teeth. His eyes should be small, dark, and full of fire and his
ears little, carried high, and shaped like a V, for nothing can so
detract from the correct terrier expression as large, light eyes and
houndy ears. His front legs ought to be a pair of gun barrels, straight
and strong and about the same thickness all the way down. His shoulders
are like those of a race horse, long and sloping; while his pads should
be firm and hard, not those loose, sprawly feet sometimes seen.

The only kind of a back for him to have is short, and his ribs must
be well sprung. A long backed dog lacks staying