Airedale Terrier breed guide

Airedale Terriers are bold, determined and stubborn like their smaller terrier cousins, yet docile and patient with children. They will not back down when protecting hearth and home.

AKC says the breed's intelligence and close bond with family can make training easy, though obedience training is highly recommended given its size, strength and rambunctiousness.

The Airedale's life expectancy is 11 to 14 years. AKC says breeders test for hip dysplasia, a malformation of the hip joint and owners should check the ears regularly for foreign matter and wax and brush the teeth regularly.

The short wiry coat needs relatively little maintenance. Weekly brushing keeps it looking good and removes dead hair that would otherwise be shed around the house.

Terriers are known for high energy and as the largest of them the Airedale Terrier needs that energy channeled. A daily play session of moderate length plus walks or backyard time several times a day should satisfy it.

Factory hands and mill workers in England's Aire Valley first bred Airedale Terriers in the mid-1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, in their own tough, devil-may-care image. AKC notes the irony that the King of Terriers was developed by workingmen and not by royals.

Created as large fearless hunters of ducks and rats, Airedale Terriers were a manufactured breed: the Otterhound and the extinct English Black and Tan Terrier went into the mix.