Читать книгу Airedale Terrier - Bardi McLennan - Страница 15

If you’ve never met an adult Airedale, the time to do so is before you’ve decided on this breed. For good measure, meet more than one. Attend dog shows and chat with breeders. Visit breeders where you can spend time in the house or outdoors, interacting with the dogs. It’s not enough to view them through a kennel fence.

Not every good dog owner is necessarily the right person to own an Airedale Terrier. For starters, he’s a medium-to-large dog, about 23 inches tall at the shoulder and usually weighing between 45 and 65 pounds. Therefore the owner must be physically able to handle a dog of this size and strength. Then add the ability to cope with—and thoroughly enjoy—the Airedale’s playful, exuberant personality. Finally, there is the need to accept a dog as a lifetime commitment. If you start off with a puppy, he will remain a puppy for 18 months, he will be a young adult for another 18 months and he will continue to share your life for about another 10 years.

The Airedale is confident, playful and exuberant. He is a great dog for the right owner who loves an active dog and has the room for a rather large companion.

The Airedale is a protector of property, but will not necessarily stay on his own property. Solo expeditions by these hunters generally have sad endings with the traffic on our roadways, so the suburban or country Airedale needs a safe fenced area. While the breed is not at its best in the city, there are exceptions. If the owner has no yard, a strong lead and plenty of walks will have to suffice.

If you admire almost everything about the Airedale, you will still need to go the extra mile to meet character changes as they occur. One that comes to mind is the transition that takes place when the puppy enters adolescence. Perhaps you have known, or raised, teenagers? There are many similarities, but rest assured, it’s easier to go through this youthful stage with an Airedale, and it passes more quickly! Just keep your sense of humor and continue to be consistently firm in keeping to the house rules—it will be over in a few months. Airedales are said to reach adulthood at about three years of age. To be truthful, some never really do! Again, it’s part of their charm.