This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, April 2019 issue.
Judging the Airedale Terrier
The Airedale Terrier is an elegant but sturdy dog. So begins the opening sentence under the general characteristics section in “The Airedale Terrier: the Official Standard Discussed and Clarified” first published many years ago by the ATCA. I open with that sentence because it has guided my thought processes in regards to what I look for in both my breeding program and while judging the breed. An Airedale has to have the size and substance to do his original job as a hunter of small game but he should be striking to look at, too. Sturdiness is, I think, the easier of the two terms to visualize and describe.
The right amount of bone and muscle for the dog’s size and enough of it for him to do his job. He was bred to hunt on land and in the water so in my opinion, the Airedale should be strong, solid, hard muscled, with “skin tight, not loose” in order to more safely tangle with prey. The Airedale standard addresses what I consider to be sturdiness in several other places: he should have “strong and muscular hindquarters”, “muscular loins”, a “foreface that is powerful, strong, and muscular”, “strong teeth”, forelegs “with plenty of bone and muscle”, “thighs long and powerful, muscular second thighs”. The Airedale is indeed a lot of dog in a medium sized package. Elegance is a little more difficult to describe and apply to that sturdy dog we just talked about! To me, the Airedale should fill your eye, make you look at him! I believe what makes the Airedale structurally elegant comes about from properly placed graceful curves and straight lines on his body – and if those curves are where the straight lines should be and vice versa he quickly becomes common and cloddy looking. So, where on the Airedale’s body should there structural straight lines be and where should there be structural curves that conform to the breed standard? First the straight lines.
The straight lines that are a MUST in this breed start on the head. His head and expression are a hallmark of breed type. When looking at the Airedale’s head, from the side or directly down from above, you should see straight lines. From the side look for a level skull, one that is “long and flat”, a head that has a “hardly visible stop”, a muzzle that follows the planes of the skull and that has “little apparent difference in length” from the skull. Often aptly described as a brick. Looking down from above, his skull and flat cheeks flow evenly into his muzzle – a brick from on top, too! If the Airedale is “down faced” with his nose pointing more at an angle to the ground or is “cheeky” with prominent cheek muscles, curves have replaced straight lines and the hallmark head disappears. It should be noted that the Airedale’s teeth should be large – he is a predator. When you cup his jaw in your hand it should feel solid and strong and should easily fill your hand. His bite has to be crushing to the prey he hunts. There should be no lightness in his jaw, small canines or missing teeth. We do not have a disqualification in our standard for any reason but obviously a dog that hunts for a living should ideally have full dentition and those teeth should be large enough to mean business! A bit about expression.
The Airedale has a “small dark eye full of Terrier expression” and his ears should be “carried rather to the side of the head, not pointing to the eyes, small but not out of proportion to the head…the topline of the folded ear should be above the level of the skull”. These ears should not look like Fox Terrier ears which are set higher on the head with tips pointing more to the center of the eye. Ear sets of this type make for a very foreign and incorrect expression on an Airedale. His ears shouldn’t be large and houndy either. The next straight line, seen in profile, is on the front of the dog. Starting where the underside of his jaw meets the front of the neck and runs down to his toes. You should not see a prominent keel or fore chest on the Airedale. If you do, once again a curve has replaced a straight line and is incorrect, ruining the classic silhouette. On to the topline and to straight lines that are very crucial. The Airedale’s back should be “short, strong and level”! No dips in the back. His croup should be level! Never should there be a rounding or curving of the croup. This results in a low tailset when the “root of the tail should be set well up on the back”.
An Airedale with a curvy topline is particularly offensive as that topline indicates a plethora of serious structural faults. He shouldn’t be confused with the Loch Ness Sea Monster! The Airedale’s underline should be a straight line running from the elbow up slightly to where the loin joins the hip. This straight line should be gradual and continuous—no acute angles or curves. And lastly, when looking at the Airedale when standing in front of the dog, his flat shoulder muscles should blend into his “perfectly straight forelegs”. The shoulder muscles should not curve noticeably out from the body and back into the elbow area – this results in a cloddy, heavy, loaded appearance in the front. On to the properly placed structural curves. The Airedale’s shoulder blades should be “long and sloping well into the back”. The well laid back shoulder allowing for a slightly arched neck “of moderate length” – a curve starting where the head meets the neck and flowing smoothly into the shoulders. Shoulder blades that don’t slope well into the back and have little layback cause the neck to end in an abrupt sharp angle as it meets the shoulder blade – resulting in a straight line where there should be gentle curve. Again, an important aspect of the Airedale’s signature silhouette is ruined when the shoulder blades are steep and don’t allow for the arched neck’s smooth transition into the back. There are two more very important places we should see curves on an Airedale and those occur on the back end of the dog. The Airedale’s tail “should be set well up on the back” and behind that tail there should be plenty of junk in the trunk! In other words, nice buns out behind that tail. The point of his buttock should extend well beyond his tail which creates a good rounded rear end when viewed from the side. If the angle of the pelvis is too steep the point of the buttock is lowered resulting in a low tailset and flat butt with no shelf behind the tail – a straight line when viewed from the side. Additionally, the Airedale’s “stifles should be well bent” which contributes greatly to his ability to drive off his rear. So you should see the curve of the butt flow into the curve of the stifles. Straight stifles impair his ability to move effortlessly and cover ground.
But neither should the Airedale be “overdone” in the rear with his thigh and second thigh too long and his stifles too well bent. This results in a dog that moves high in the rear when viewed from the side. And one that can’t move himself in a straight line coming at you – a sidewinder. Try a simple exercise by closing your eyes and reversing the important straight lines into curves and vice versa. Not a pretty picture! Certainly not the picture of a well put together elegant Airedale. The exclamation mark to his structural elegance is his Terrier attitude and presence – the panache that makes a beautifully put together dog one you can’t take your eyes off of! The Airedale is described as the “King of Terriers” primarily due to his attitude and poise. He should present a commanding presence in the ring and be willing to stand his ground when facing a competitor. Please spar this breed! It is the best way to see the “King of Terriers” temperament tested and no amount of stacking, baiting and cajoling can make an Airedale look his best – he can only do that on his own. He should never back down from another dog, nor should he be overly aggressive toward them either. He should appear comfortable and confident in his surroundings. Regarding his tail, “it should be of good strength and substance and of fair length”. I believe that the standard is trying to describe a docked tail that is long enough to provide balance and an overall square appearance to the dog.
The breed has always been shown in this country with a docked tail, it is our custom. Please preserve it. An undocked tail on the Airedale is very unsightly and ruins the overall appearance of the dog. What about size? The standard states that “dogs should measure approximately 23 inches at the shoulder and bitches slightly less”. But that “being much over or under the size limit is a fault which should be severely penalized.” You will likely never encounter an adult Airedale that is much under the standard height (especially in the Specials ring) but you will likely see exhibits from time to time that are simply too large. We don’t have a disqualification for height so feel free to use dogs that are somewhat taller than 23 inches if all else suits your eye. Just don’t penalize a 23 inch dog for “being too small” when in the ring Everyone knew Shirley was a gourmet cook and I could tend bar quite well. It was always a great opportunity to talk dogs and often to see new youngsters. I’ve been living in rural central Massachusetts for 35 years. When you’ve been “in dogs” all your life it’s difficult to imagine anything else. But I do enjoy painting, reading, traveling and dining out with friends. I have been involved with Airedales all my life and am the third generation with the breed. In 1957 I began exhibiting in obedience at age 14, breeding my first litter in 1965. I have competed in confirmation for 50 years and judged many sweeps including Montgomery which was quite an honor.
With my partner Shirley, we bred over 70 champions in the US, Canada and Europe. Limiting the Airedale to only three words is impossible but intelligent, mischievous and independent will have to do. No single trait describes the Airedale as it must be square and balanced without any exaggerations. However when I evaluate youngsters I hope to keep, the tail must be set well up on the back with a good amount of butt behind. The shoulders must we well laid back sloping into the withers and the neck must blend into the shoulders smoothly, never abruptly. My family were my original mentors and then i met people especially handlers at shows who helped with grooming and showing. There were few mentors and no clinics run by the breed club back then. We were pretty much on our own. Without doubt the Airedale commands the ring as the largest in the group, the leader of the line, bright of color especially outdoors, sharp of eye, and attitude. The Airedale is a relatively healthy breed and always has been. While some problems are present such as hip dysplasia. most are found to be environmental rather than inherited. Much information is available to help prevent or limit health problems. And todays breeders are willing to share such information with others. I have always especially valued a breed win at a specialty and particularly one at Montgomery. Isn’t it really all about competing against your own breed? Over time traits change in importance and there are of course many reasons for this. Winners, especially at Montgomery will tend to influence stud selection for the following year especially if there is an exaggerated trait deemed to be correct.
This trait such as straight shoulders and long necks will slowly predominate among the winners causing movement problems, dipped top lines and shoulder damage in dogs competing in events. These dogs move poorly and pass structural problems on to their progeny. Stove pipe necks are incorrect. Airedales are a square breed of moderation and judges need to avail themselves of every opportunity to watch these dogs perform activities for which they were bred. Breeders, handlers and judges are all equally responsible for structural changes in all breeds. We have to remember that winning isn’t everything. While there have been many humorous incidents in the dog sport, an early one is often remembered. I kept a male from my first litter in 1965 and was persuaded to show him at the Terrier Specialty that preceded Westminster. I remember following Tom Gately into the ring and was watching him set up his dog. Meanwhile, my fellow lifted his leg on Judge Percy Robert’s pearl grey suit! Percy then said “he’s a nice pet and would be best kept at home”! The dog had a short career with ones that are 24 inches or taller if everything else about that dog makes you say “yes”. And don’t reward a bigger dog simply because he is larger. Ideally, the coat “should be hard, dense, and wiry”, the jacket should be “black or a dark grizzle” with the rest of the dog a “tan” color. Conditioning and presentation are an important part of the Airedale’s appearance and presenting an Airedale in a properly stripped coat is a must. You should not reward scissoring or clippering on any part of the body with the exception of the underbelly which is usually clippered. Remember, the Airedale was bred to hunt over ground and in the water so he should move effortlessly, with good reach and drive.
His front paw should easily extend beyond his nose when in full stride with good extension behind. Look for the front and back feet to meet in the middle of the dog while in stride. I saw a number of long backed dogs this past Montgomery and their feet placement while in stride made this all the more evident. You will see bouncy toplines on the long backed dogs, too. Going away from you his hocks should move parallel to each other and not close together. Coming at you “the forelegs should swing perpendicular from the body, free from the sides, the feet the same distance apart as the elbows”. In summary, he should move around the ring in a powerful purposeful way with no excess movement anywhere on the dog. He should be a tight efficient package in motion.
