Here are some fun and fascinating facts about the Airedale Terriers that will surely surprise a lot of people!
The Airedale Terriers were developed in England, specifically in the Aire river valley. And, to honor their place of birth, these canines were also named after it, as a Valley is often called as “Dale” in England, hence they were dubbed as Airedale Terriers.
Due to their respectable size and well-built body, the Airedale Terriers have been crowned as the King of all Terriers. These pooches are the largest of all terriers and they can easily reach a decent height of about 22-24 inches (at the shoulders) and can weigh up to 30 Kilograms.
As these canines are known to shed in a very limited manner and only on an occasional basis and they also produce a very little amount of dander, they are less likely to cause an allergic reaction than several other canine breeds out there. And, because of this, they are considered to be a hypoallergenic canine breed.
The hard, wiry and dense coat of an Airedale Terriers is mostly found in a single color combination which is Black (or Grizzled) and Tan. The term “Grizzled” refers to their coat being black with a few white or gray colored hairs present in between.
The Airedale Terriers are believed to have come into existence when the Otterhounds were crossed with the now-extinct Old English Black and Tan Terriers. Some other breeds like Bull Terriers are also believed to have played a role in the breeding of these canines, but there is no hard evidence for that.
When Airedale Terriers were born, they began to get heavily used for hunting purposes. These canines primarily hunted the small-sized games such rats and mice and they became so good at this, that within a few years they started to get used by local people to take part in Water Rat hunting competitions.
The Airedale Terriers were employed by the British military during the first world war as search and messenger dogs. They carried important messages from one troop to another and risked their lives during the war, and because of this one heroic Airedale Terrier named Jack even lost his life while he was delivering a message. To honor his bravery and actions, Jack was awarded the Victoria Cross which is one of the highest honors anyone could get in the United Kingdom.
The 28th, 29th and the 30th U.S. President, all were the proud owners of an Airedale Terrier. Woodrow Wilson’s pooch was named “Davie”, Warren G. Harding called his dog “Laddie Boy”, and Calvin Coolidge gave the name “Laddie Buck” to his pet Airedale Terrier.
Although several terrier breeds are not considered to be that friendly and affectionate to small kids, Airedale Terriers are an exception as they remain immensely warm and cordial with the small children and are happy to play a lot of light-hearted games with them too. And, this trait also makes them a wonderful family companion.
The famous American actor John Wayne was a huge Airedale Terriers admirer. He had a pooch named Duke who he loved a lot and he even received his famous nickname “The Duke” because of his pet Airedale Terrier as people used to call his dog Little Duke and him as Big Duke. Other celebrities that can call themselves a proud Airedale owner are James Earl Jones, Tim Reid, Bo Derek, A.J. Cronin, Harry Carey, David Hugh-Kelly and many more.
Because of their fearless character and the bravery that they showed during World War I, these canines were among the first to be used by the government of Great Britain for the Police work. Germany also started using these canines as Police Dogs after seeing their success in several other parts of Europe.