Yesterday at the dog park, I had someone ask me what Airedales are used for. I decided to do a little bit of research to find out more.
So, what are Airedales used for? Nowadays, Airedales are most commonly used for companionship. However, the breed still has some utility as show dogs or hunting dogs.
Like most dogs nowadays, Airedales are most common as house pets, where their energy, good-natured spirit, and loyalty make them excellent companions. Airedales are also good for a whole range of households — single owners, young families, or children. In some areas, Airedales also get used for more demanding tasks; a selection of the breed are still shown in competitions, while hunters in the western use them for all different types of prey.
Companionship
First, let’s talk about Airedales as companions. As with any dog breed, this is where they’re most commonly found — curled up beside you on the couch, or keeping you company when you decide to go for a walk.
In the 1920’s, Airedales were the most popular dogs in America. Since then, their popularity has shrunk a little bit, although there remains a very loyal following around this dog. Many people who buy an Airedale find themselves Airedale owners for life (as has been the case with my family).
Even for non-owners, these dogs tend to leave an impression. More times that I can count, I’ve been stopped while walking my Airedale by someone who recognizes the breed. These people almost always knew an Airedale owner at some point in their life — their friends, neighbours, or parents, perhaps — and will often reminisce about the dog.
Though they aren’t as mainstream as they used to be, Airedales have certainly maintained some of their popularity, and those who do own them are often obsessed with the breed.
What Are Airedales Like?
So, what is it that gives Airedales this uncanny affect to leave a lasting impression on their family? What is it about them that makes them different from every other dog breed?
There are a few things. The main distinguishing factor of an Airedale is how quickly they can flip from a proud, reserved dog into a playful, boundless puppy. They carry themselves with a lot of regard, but that never gets in the way of their playfulness.
Airedales are also incredibly loyal, to the point that they tend to be a little suspicious of strangers. They’ll treat newcomers will politeness, and maybe even a good deal of friendliness, but it takes them a while to warm up to someone the same way that they warm up to their family. If you ask me, this adds a tad of exclusivity to the Airedale — they’re incredibly playful, affectionate, and loyal, but only to the people they trust most. It makes those who experience those traits feel all the more lucky.
However, Airedales are by no means a perfect dog. They’re stubborn, sometimes almost to the point of indolence. I’ve always said that my Airedale is selectively deaf; he listens to commands only if he agrees with them, and if he doesn’t, he’ll simply ignore it. This has earned the breed the name ‘air-heads’.
Airedales are also very high-energy dogs, and they’re not easily entertained. They quickly grow bored of repetitive tasks, and they take this boredom out in destructive ways (like digging massive holes in your back yard).
So, while they’re not for everyone, Airedales make excellent companions for those who appreciate them.
Protection
Another great thing about the Airedale is their protective instinct. Although they’re not touted as guard dogs — those titles usually go to German shepherds, Dobermans, or Pitbulls — I can say from a lifetime of experience that Airedales have the instincts of a protector. These instincts likely came from their roots, where they were raised as hunting dogs on Yorkshire farms.
The best example of this is the first Airedale I ever owned, Sammy. Sammy was five when my sister and I were born, and although he had received no formal training, he quickly understood that we were the ‘pups’ of his pack and, therefore, had to be protected.
Remember when I said that Airedales tended to be reserved around strangers? When I was a toddler, Sammy’s reserved nature turned into suspicion and, sometimes, downright hostility. He didn’t like anyone getting close to me, even if he already knew the person. Once, when a family friend came to visit and tried to hold my newborn sister, Sammy lunged to interpose himself between the two of them; he was so aggressive that my dad had to hold him back.
Again, Sammy had never been trained as a guard dog. My parents hadn’t even tried to instill those tendencies into him. He wasn’t aggressive, either; before my sister and I were born, and once we had grown up, he was a friendly and downright goofy dog. When he senses a threat to his family, though, he took it very seriously.
Show Dogs
Although the majority of them are brought up as family members, some Airedales are bred for shows. In these situations, Airedales compete against one another and are judged on their appearance and behaviour. To see what I mean, check out the video below:
Essentially, the judges are looking for which Airedale is the most ‘Airedale’ like. They judge the features of the dog, its stance, and how it behaves.
To compete like this, you need to train the dogs from a young age. Every single Airedale that I’ve owned has been far too playful to partake in something like this, so it’s not an event you can just chose to enter; you need the right dog for it. If you decide that showing Airedales is what you want to do, however, I’ve heard that it’s a lot of fun.
Hunting
The use of Airedales as a hunting dog, while not being widespread, is still practiced by a few people, particularly old-fashioned big-game hunters. Like everything about this breed, it’s a contentious issue; those who have Airedales swear by them, but you can find a lot of hunters who had a bad experience with a stubborn Airedale and have written the entire breed off as useless.
Whether you love them or hate them, no one can deny that Airedales have hunting blood. They were originally raised for that purpose (more on this later), and the tradition has continued throughout the breed. There are stories of Airedales who have never been trained to hunt working in packs to flush out and chase down prey.
These dogs are most commonly used to hunt big game such as cougars or wolves. For this practice, hunters will bring along a pack of dogs, who are responsible for sniffing out the prey and tracking it down. Once located, the dogs are meant to threaten the prey, nipping at it and scaring it until the animal ‘trees’ itself to get away from the dogs below. Once they prey is treed, the hunter is able to step in.
Many hunters will include a couple of Airedales in their pack simply for their grittiness and determination. Airedales were originally used to ‘go to ground’, burrowing under the surface to flush out bears from their dens. Because of this, the dogs had to learn to think for themselves and never back down from a threat; these traits stay with them today, and it makes them invaluable as part of a hunting pack.
Competitions
Aside from being used by run-of-the-mill hunters, Airedales can also now enter into hunting competitions, where they attempt to show off their skills in front of judges. In this scenario, the dogs rely less on their natural ferocity and more on their intelligence to make sure they’re hunting in the ‘proper’ way so as to receive a good score form the judges.
The road to Airedales being allowed to compete in these competitions was a contentious one. Strangely enough, it was the versatility of the Airedale that actually cost it. In competitions, dogs are judged for three different skillsets:
- Flushing: how well the dog can track down birds that are on the ground and scare them into taking flight
- Retrieving: how well the dog can find a bird that’s been shot down by its owner and bring it back, without damaging the bird
- Fur hunting: how well the dog does hunting small birds.
Nowadays, many breeds have been selected to be a specialist at one off these events (such as a Golden retriever excelling at retrieving, as it’s quite literally in the name). Airedales, however, were more of a jack-of-all-trades type dog; they could do all three tasks, but they didn’t excel at any of them.
Because of this, the American Kennel Club (AKC) refused to allow Airedales to enter into competitions for a long period of time. Those loyal to the breed, however, kept touting their abilities, and finally in 2014 Airedales were allowed to compete in sanctioned AKC events.
Historical Use of Airedales
We’ve just about covered what Airedales are used for nowadays. What about in the past, though? Has this breed always been mainly about companionship, or were they used more for working dogs?
In fact, it’s the latter. Airedales were originally bred to be working dogs, and in the early 1900’s, they had three main purposes:
- Hunters
- War Dogs
- Police Dogs
Hunters
The first use of Airedales was as a hunting dog. They were bred to have the quickness and energy of a terrier while also possessing the nose and instincts of a hound; because of these traits, the dogs were able to fill multiple rolls.
Big Game
As I said above, Airedales were used on bear and other big game. They were small enough to ‘go to ground’, digging into tunnels and forcing prey out into the open. To serve this purpose, Airedales needed to be not only brave, but also had to have the intelligence to operate without human command while they were down underground.
Once the prey had been flushed, the Airedales would then work in packs to intimidate the animal into treeing itself. Here, the dogs needed to be ferocious and cunning enough to harm their larger prey, while also trusting in each other as a pack.
Small Game
While big-game hunters had the luxury of owning large packs of dogs, many farmers in the 1800’s had to be more fiscally responsible. In the Yorkshire valley where Airedales were first bred, most households could only afford one dog, and they needed this dog to be able to serve several roles. The Airedale was the perfect fit.
In terms of hunting small game, the Airedale had two jobs:
- Vermin control: river rats were common pests on farm, who could damage crops and equipment. Airedales were relied upon to keep them away from the farmers’ land. This is actually how Airedales gained a lot of their popularity; the dogs would compete in competitions for chasing down rats, where their speed, intelligence, and comfort in the water distinguished them.
- Hunting: Food was never in abundance for farmers, so anything that the Airedales could bring in would be much appreciated. They would chase down squirrels and other small game, either treeing them so that farmers could shoot them, or simply catching the animals themselves.
Birds
Hunting birds was the other purpose that Airedales had to serve. The practice of doing so, however, wasn’t always legal, because of the laws of the time. Many birds would live on the land of nobles, which common farmers weren’t allowed to access (and certainly weren’t allowed to hunt on).
The Airedale provided a loophole to this issue. Using their speed and intelligence, they could go onto restricted land while their owner waited, safe and sound, on their own property. Then, the Airedale would flush to birds out, forcing them to take flight, where the owner could shoot them down. It was then up to the Airedale to find the bird and bring it back to the farmer. In this way, the farmer never actually had to set foot on noble land.
So, next time you’re struggling to make your Airedale listen to you, remember: it’s not really their fault. These dogs were taught to be poachers from day one, and that rebellious streak has surely stayed with them throughout the years!
Police Dogs
In 1906, a British police officer by the name of Edwin Hautenville Richardson was responsible for training dogs to be used for the aid and protection of police officers. After surveying a variety of breeds, he settled on the Airedale because of their intelligence, grit, and good scenting ability.
In this purpose, Airedales helped to protect their masters and keep watch over relevant areas. They were especially common as dock guards, where their good senses and intelligence helped to fend of poachers and smugglers. The dogs would serve for several years before they were eventually replaced by German Shepherds.
World War 1
After proving themselves on the police forces, Airedales were used to fulfill a variety of tasks during the first World War. Originally, they were meant to be messenger dogs, carrying important documents behind enemy lines. The dogs were selected for the task because of their bravery and intelligence. There are numerous tales of Airedales overcoming grievous injuries to deliver vital messages, despite the toll it took on their own bodies.
Afterward proving themselves under pressure, Airedales were retrained to help medics locate wounded soldiers on the battlefield. They did so well that the Russian Red Army purchased their own selection of Airedales, who were then used for a variety of different tasks: tracking, demolition, search and rescue, and protection.