enthusiasts, with Mrs. Oliver founding the North of England Airedale Terrier Club in 1923. This of course continues, with significant numbers of women in the UK and all over the world breeding Airedales as well as grooming them and handling them in the show ring.
MOVIE STAR
Ch. Jokyl Bengal Figaro was a Hollywood film star, appearing in Walt Disney’s film The Ballad of Hector, followed by a dog-show career on the Continent before returning to England.
By the early 1920s, the breed had become too popular for its own good. Would-be breeders, who knew nothing about dogs, the breeding of them or the Airedale Terrier’s temperament or needs, took to producing them en masse. Their only goal was to profit from selling puppies. Their lack of integrity created a glut on the market and in shelters. Poorly bred and poorly raised, many of these dogs were aggressive, with atypical coats and ears (of course) and with a variety of health problems. This situation was particularly bad in the US. To this day, many uninformed people still consider the Airedale to be an aggressive guardian of his turf. So be it. No doubt that the misconception has deterred many an intruder!
By the end of the 1920s, the demand had dried up and the profiteers retreated. A number of concerned breeders assumed the task of eliminating the problems caused by uninformed over-breeding, as well as putting right the Airedale’s deteriorating public image. The comeback was slow but steady, and extremely gratifying. By the end of the 1930s, the Airedale Terrier once again stood as the undoubted “King of Terriers”—a sensible protector, willing worker, playful prankster and faithful friend.
During World War I, British troops used Airedales to carry messenger pigeons to a given point. Then the birds were released in order to communicate with troops under siege.
THE MODERN AIREDALE IN ITS HOMELAND AND ABROAD
There were no Championship Shows in England during the two World Wars, from 1914 to 1918 and again from 1939 to 1945. Breeding also slowed down, but the clubs remained active and overseas sales of dogs from the UK picked up quickly, especially after 1945.
Mollie Harmsworth’s Bengal affix lives on in numerous pedigrees throughout the world. Ch. Bengal Sabu was not shown in England, but his outstanding success as a show dog and sire in the US in the 1960s brought him to the attention of breeders. However, it was his silly side that endeared him to all who knew him. One such moment is captured in Barbara Strebeigh’s amusing snapshots of the great Sabu sporting a full Native American feather headdress while riding a child’s tricycle. His temperament did much to popularize the breed.
George and Olive Jackson (Jokyl) bred or owned 50 champions from 1958 to 1992, and a Jokyl dog or bitch was sire or dam of an additional 30! And the list goes on. Given that only eight to ten champions are made up in the breed each year, this is truly a great record. One dog, bred by Mrs. Harmsworth and owned by the Jacksons, Jokyl Bengal Figaro, was a film star in America, then (based in Germany) toured the Continent and became the first truly international champion Airedale before returning to the UK. Ch. Jokyl Gallipants was a particular standout in Airedale history, earning Top Dog All-Breeds in 1983, Top Airedale in 1984, Top Airedale Sire in 1985 and Top Terrier Sire in 1986!
ATCA
The breed’s parent club in the US, the Airedale Terrier Club of America (ATCA), is a dedicated organization over a century old. Since its inception in 1900, the club has worked to promote and protect the breed in the US through its shows, educational programs, record-keeping, careful breeding and much more on behalf of the Airedale. The ATCA can be found online at www.airedale.org and is a wonderful source of breed information for fanciers and prospective owners.
The breed remains popular in the UK and in the US, ranking in the top 50 most popular breeds registered by the American Kennel Club (AKC). America has had a long love affair with the Airedale where, as mentioned, he has been prized as a show dog, as a hunter of all types of game, large and small, on land and water, and as a companion. Many pet owners go from childhood to retirement with one Airedale after another. The fact that the Airedale Terrier Club of America was founded in 1900, rather shortly after the breed’s arrival to the US, resulted from the enthusiasm of early importers of this “new” terrier breed.
The Airedale is presently popular throughout the world, with all his related activities strongly supported by club members. In Italy, Airedales are classified as guard dogs, not terriers, perhaps only by definition limiting their other capabilities. Since 1945, Airedales have twice taken the Supreme Champion title at Crufts Dog Show. The millennium celebration of the Airedale Terrier, from June 23–25, 2000 in Bingley, surely marked one of the great milestones of the breed.
Strict rules in Germany govern all breeding of pure-bred dogs. The three- to five-day-old litter is inspected by a breed “specialist” from the national kennel club who checks each puppy, and the breeder is allowed to keep only the best; the others are destroyed. Despite this, Germany boasts the Airedale as one of the country’s most popular terrier breeds with members of Klub für Terrier active in all aspects of breeding, showing and guard-dog training. Dogs in Germany and Finland must prove their working ability before making up champions. Dr. Hannibal-Friedrich’s multiple-title-holder, Headhunter von der Locher Muhle, not only is siring winning puppies on the Continent but also has sired promising litters in the US via frozen semen.
In 1894, the first (English) Airedale appeared in a Swedish dog show in Stockholm. The breed was slow to catch on, but with imports from England and Germany, the Airedale population rose steadily. Stig Ahlberg (Ragtime), the “father of Swedish Airedales,” owned the bitch Ch. Drakehall Dinah, who was Best in Show at the Centenary Show in 1976. Ahlberg is a highly sought-after judge in the US and Europe. Among today’s breeders, Pia and Stefan Lundberg (Pinto) are as successful at home as are their exports to Australia. Tail docking is currently banned in Sweden, but as in other countries where the ban has been in effect, there is a strong movement gaining ground to once again allow tail docking.
Prized for their vigilant guarding ability, Airedales have been used to protect exclusive stores for decades. This Airedale guarded a famous jewelry boutique in London.
A vital venture in Norway is the snow rescue service by the Red Cross and police in which Airedales have proven their diverse capabilities. An Airedale fortuitously named Doctor Lavin was whelped in 1979. After years of training, he passed his Avalanche Rescue Tests in 1984 and was made a champion the next year. He also competed in agility and continued with rescues, living his full life until the age of 13.
One Airedale in Denmark stood out, not only as Top Dog in 1995 and 1996, but for the number of titles he won for his owner, Mrs. Rita Ahle Erichsen. He is Am./Int. Ch. Darbywood’s Preferred Stock, bred by Jean Surfus in Wisconsin. After finishing his American championship, “Stockton” went to live in Denmark, where he became an International Champion and Best in Show winner in Europe. Stockton also won the Best Terrier Progeny Class at the European Dog Show in Copenhagen in 1997. Among his offspring are many European champions and a daughter who went BIS at the Airedale Terrier Club of America’s national specialty. His extraordinary type lives on in his top-quality offspring in Europe and the US.
In Finland, the breed is known as keen hunters of every type of prey from mice to elk. They are also active in agility, obedience and working trials (and must pass working tests before being granted a championship), proving them
