I know that Airedale terriers are a specialty breed, so I did some research into how expensive they are.
So, how much does an Airedale terrier cost? To buy an Airedale puppy, you should budget anywhere from $800-$1600. Additionally, you should expect to sped $2,500-$4000 per year for food, medical bills, and other expenses.
While that seems like a lot of money, it’s not actually an insane amount compared to how much you have to pay for most breeds of dogs. A golden retriever will cost from $500-$2000, while a German shepherd can be as much as $1,000. When you’re considering how expensive puppies are, you need to consider all of the breeding, care, and upkeep costs that your breeder must go through to look after that puppy’s parents and all of their siblings. These expenses are the reason for the high price tag on some dogs.
Airedale Terrier Costs
As you can see in the graphic above, Airedale’s cost a lot over their lifetime (note: this is based on an average 10-year lifespan). For a more in-detailed look, let’s breakdown the two categories outline above: Upfront and Annual expenses.
Buying an Airedale
As mentioned above, an Airedale puppy will cost somewhere around $1200, although this cost varies significantly
The cost of an Airedale caries depending on a few factors. You can expect to pay:
- $800 for an Airedale without papers
- $1000 for an Airedale with papers that is less well bred
- $1500 for an Airedale with papers that is well bred
- $3500 for an Airedale with papers and breeding rights
- $2000-$7000 for a show dog
The variance in these costs can be a little confusing, so I’ve broken them all down in the next section.
‘Well Bred’ Dogs
A ‘well bred’ dog is one that comes from a lineage generally free of any chronic illnesses or other health problems.
Breeders only have access to so many dogs, so they often need to keep crossbreeding within their own pack. This can increase the likelihood of recurring genetic defects, which lead to health problems.
Because of this, breeders need to incur extra costs — such as buying new dogs to keep their litter healthy — if they want to maintain their reputation for having well-bred dogs. Doing so drives up their costs, which means that they have to charge you more for your puppy.
I would definitely recommend getting a well-bred dog. It’ll cost you less in the long run, and it’s also more humane to not breed an animal whose life will be impacted negatively by chronic health problems.
Papered vs Non-Papered Dogs
A dog that ‘has its papers’ is one that has its lineage tracked by a reputable organization such as the American Kennel Club (AKC), which then verifies that the dog is purebred.
When you breed two registered dogs together, they give birth to a litter of purebreds who can then, in turn, be registered. Theoretically, this means that if your dog has papers, you can trace its parents, and their parents, and their parents, all the way back as far as the registration goes.
In regard to an Airedale, this means there will be a paper trail ensuring that it has only Airedale genes. This is important to some people, who want to know that their dog is purebred. It also ensures that your dog will have all of the traits that you expect of it, so you won’t be too surprised by your dog’s personality.
For a breeder, keeping up this pure lineage is expensive, which is why a papered dog costs more than one without its papers.
Breeding Rights
There’s also the breeding rights of your dog to consider. Now, obviously, anyone can breed two dogs together (it’s not like the dogs are going to check if you have the paperwork), but doing so legally and ethically is another matter.
Breeding rights are the rights given to you to breed two dogs together and register the subsequent puppies with the AKC, or any other organization. Breeders use these rights as a tool to control the direction that their bloodline is taken after they give a dog to a third party.
If you breed a dog without breeding rights, you won’t be able to subsequently register them, and you may face fines if you try to do so.
For most people, purchasing breeding rights isn’t something that is commonly done. The most you might want is to have limited registration breeding rights, which means that you can’t breed your dog but you at least have say over when they get neutered/spayed.
Breeding rights for Airedales can be fairly expensive, because of all the work that your breeder puts in to building their lineage.
Show Dogs
Finally, another thing that will cost you is if you plan to buy a dog that you can take to shows. Show Airedales can cost up to 7x more than a normal Airedale will.
When you’re buying a show Airedale, you essentially and trying to find a dog that has the ‘perfect’ traits for its specific breed. In terms of an Airedale, this usually includes:
- The features: Judges look for a relatively narrow face and classic ‘Airedale’ ears
- The stance: Show dogs stand leaning forwards with their hind legs slightly extended
- Grooming: Airedales must be groomed in the proper way, with their legs and beard left long
- Movement: The dogs are judged on their gate and obedience when they walk and trot
To breed Airedales to be shown, breeders try to combine their dogs based on who they think will give them the most classic features. Once again, having to do so drive up the cost for the breeders, so if you want to buy a show dog, you can expect to spend more than you would for just a house dog.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend getting an Airedale bred for shows unless you take that sort of thing very seriously. With that being said, a fully groomed and show-read Airedale is pretty cute; check out the video below to see what I mean.
Owning an Airedale
Now that we know how much it costs to get an Airedale, let’s look at some of the recurring expenses that you’ll need to contend with. On average, Airedales live about 10-12 years, so take all of the expenses below and multiply them by 10 if you’re trying to figure out total lifetime costs.
Food
Obviously, your dog needs to eat. Airedales are classified as a medium-sized dog, but they eat their fair share of food. Depending on the quality of the food you buy for your dog, you can expect to have to spend $50-$150 every month to feed your Airedale. On an annualized basis, that comes out to about $1200, which isn’t a negligible expense.
Vet Bills
As a breed, Airedales tend to be mostly healthy, although you’ll still need to budget a fair amount of money for vet bills. A routine Airedale will cost $700-$2000 per year for their shots and annual checkups.
When it comes to Airedales, it never hurts to budget a little bit extra, especially when they’re puppies. These guys are hyper and destructive when they’re young, and they have a tendency to get into stuff that they shouldn’t (when he was a puppy, my Airedale Theo almost chewed his way into a bottle of anti-freeze).
Like most larger dogs, you also need to worry about Airedales as they start to get older. Hip issues are common in the breed, so you can expect to have to pay a little bit extra as they start making it past 7 years old.
Extraneous Expenses
There are some other things you need to consider as well that you’ll likely have to spend money on:
- Toys: I have yet to find a toy that Theo won’t chew his way through within 2 hours. If you want to keep your dog occupied, you might have to spend around $30 a month on new toys.
- Grooming: Airedales have thick, wiry coats that need to be looked after. Depending on where you live (warmer areas will require more frequent haircuts), budget $100-$400 per year for grooming.
- Training: Airedale puppies can be a handful, especially for first-time owners. It wouldn’t be unusual to have to spend $200 on training classes in each of the first two years you own your Airedale.