Anne Barlow | Spindletop Airedale Terriers

Interview with Anne Barlow, Breeder of Spindletop Airedale Terriers

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder? What is your kennel name?
2. What are the hallmarks of your breed and why are they important for maintaining breed type?
3. In your opinion, are there enough puppy homes to support breeding a litter this year?
4. How have you implemented new technologies in science and communications as a breeder?
5. In your community, have you noticed a change in the public’s perception of purebred dogs?
6. Have you noticed any trends in the sport? Anything to be concerned about?
7. What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen in the sport in recent years?

Anne Barlow

1. I live in the Austin, Texas, area and have had Airedale Terriers since 1980. I bred my first litter in 1984 and use Spindletop as my kennel name.

2. The silhouette, head-ears-expression are the hallmarks. The Airedale is a square breed (not a rectangle, which we see far too much of these days). They should have a brick-shaped head (from the side or looking down at the head), not a clunky cinder block head! He has a high tail set and an almond-shaped eye. The ears in this breed are getting too big, and we see so many low-set ears. The inside edge of the ear should lie along the skull (not the cheek), and the tip should point to the outside edge of the eye—not the ground, not the middle or the inside corner of the eye. The silhouette, ears, head, and expression are fundamental pieces of breed type—for any breed. Additional elements of breed type for the Airedale are, of course, coat and attitude. He is supposed to be the King of Terriers, and that speaks to his presence and attitude in the ring.

3. Yes, there are plenty of people looking for Airedales.

4. I was lucky enough to have a veterinarian back in 1982 who embraced all the new progesterone testing and the shipping of chilled semen. They were all in from the beginning of this modern technology. We now use AKC (American Kennel Club) Marketplace and Facebook as our main avenues for advertising litters.

5. Unfortunately, the doodle craze is a real thing for whatever reason. We see lots of these mutts in our kennel, but we have a lot of purebred dogs as clients, too.

6. There is a real division now between the professional handlers and the owner-handled group. It is a shame because those professional handlers have much knowledge and advice that they could offer the owner handler. The other unfortunate thing that affects the sport is Facebook and the vitriol that is spewed on many of the pages, things written that would never be said to people’s faces. It is a shame and reflects poorly on both the sport and the petty people writing it.

7. That’s a tough one; the AKC Canine College has been greatly improved and is becoming (or should be) a resource for breeders and owners as well as the judges.