Airedale Terrier Facts
Airedale Terrier facts and opinion. Is the Airedale Terrier the ideal dog?
The Airedale Terrier gets its name from the Aire River valley, or dale, in Yorkshire where it was first bred. It was developed by crossing the Welsh terrier with the Otterhound in the mid-19th century to hunt otters and other rodents. Hounds and terriers were the dogs of choice on hunting trips in those days in England. Hounds would smell and pursue the animals, while terriers would burrow into the holes and make the final kill. Demand arose for a dog that combined the best of both the breeds, and the Airedale was born. Its talents at hunting are reflected in its strength, cleverness and boldness. It is also known as Bingley Terrier or Waterside Terrier, the latter because of its strong hunting skills across water bodies.
Airedale Terrier Facts
The first import to North America was in the 1880s, and the American Kennel Club officially recognized the breed in 1888. Apart from hunting small animals, it has also been used on hunts for larger game and as police dogs, war dogs and family guardians. It played a particularly important role during World War I, carrying messages to soldiers behind enemy lines and finding injured soldiers. However, its popularity has declined in the following years.
Oorang airedales come from Walter Lingo’s Oorang Airedale Company. … Oorang though was originally used to describe any dog from the Oorang Airedale Company, the dogs ranging from 35–100 pounds. Lingo called the larger size King Oorang.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Lingo simply wasn’t satisfied with the average strain of Airedale, and after an incredible series of breedings, for which he brought in great Airedales from all over the world, he created the “King Oorang.” At the time, Field and Stream magazine called it, “the greatest utility dog in the history of the world.” The Oorang Kennel Company continued until Walter Lingo’s death in 1969. To help promote the King Oorang, as well as his kennels, Lingo created the Oorang Indians football team headed up by Jim Thorpe. The team played in National Football League from 1922–1923. Jerry Siebert, an Airedale breeder in Buckeye Lake, Ohio, followed in Lingo’s footsteps, and bred “Jerang Airedales.” There is a kennel in Tennessee that claims to have original Oorang Airedales.
After the First World War, the Airedales’ popularity rapidly increased thanks to stories of their bravery on the battlefield and also because Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Warren Harding owned Airedales. President Harding’s Airedale, Laddie Boy, was the “first celebrity White House pet”. President Harding had a special chair hand carved for him to sit on at very important Cabinet meetings. In the 1920s, the Airedale became the most popular breed in the USA.
President Roosevelt claimed that “An Airedale can do anything any other dog can do and then lick the other dog, if he has to.”
1949 marked the peak of the Airedales’ popularity in the USA, ranked 20th out of 110 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club.
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He is swift, formidable, graceful, big of brain, an ideal chum and guard. …. To his master he is an adoring pal. To marauders he is a destructive lightning bolt.”
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