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On January 12th I drove from Margo Dupre's Traymar Kennels in Buffalo to my home on Manhattan's Upper West Side with three 9 1/2 week old Airedale puppies destined for life in the big city. My favorite, Holly Golightly, now lives here at the Morgan's with my wife, Kirsten, and me, my two daughters, Honor and Gillian, and my constant companion, Lancelot Lead on MacDuff, CD. Rupert joined a child psychologist, and Twinkie, a family with small children. These are but three examples of the many Airedales, and thousands of other breeds, who begin life in the world's major metropolises each year.

Why would you want an Airedale in a big city? For the same reason that people everywhere keep Airedales: loyalty, companionship, humor, intelligence and love. The versatility of the Airedale makes it perfectly suited to city life. In fact, six fellow members of the Airedale Terrier Club of Metropolitan New York live within a few minutes walk from our house. We walk...and walk, and walk.

In fact new Yorkers walk almost everywhere, and so do their Airedales. Our dogs get more regular exercise, and better leash training, than all but the most active country dogs. We jog with our dogs. We play ball with our dogs. We interact constantly with them for one huge reason: we have no back yards. I have seen Airedales in city department stores, sitting at sidewalk cafes, and walking through the Pennsylvania and New Yorker Hotels. For play and socialization local dogs frequent the city's dog runs.

Riverside Park boasts three dog runs; Carl Schutz Park at Gracie Mansion, one; Washington Square and the Museum of Natural History, one each. Dogs are also tacitly permitted off leash in Central and Riverside Park from 9pm until 9am each day. The dog runs offer an opportunity for the well civilized New York Airedale to play ball, run with other dogs, lie in the sun, and get a quick drink. Actually, the outdoor cafe next my local 105th Street dog run offers humans a chance for a quick drink too, but that's another article.

Two training and temperament issues are essential for the city dog. Leash training and house breaking begin at an early age, in public. New York Airedales are trained from their earliest excursions to walk politely on a leash and to relieve themselves promptly, and on command. They also learn to wait patiently in their crate or bed until their human has dressed for the outdoors. Most are taught a "potty" command before play, training or long walks begin. Airedales learn all of these things easily through routine and pattern training. Humans appear to learn them the same way. Of course the second issue is socialization.

The first thing city dogs are graded in is "gets along well with others." Airedales usually do. In fact, the stability of the Airedale temperament is ideal for a city dog, whose life is "over stimulated" at the calmest of times. Although easily distracted, most Airedales I've encountered are very low on the Fear/Flight drive, and can withstand the loudest siren with a little experience. The ability to get along with many other dogs of various ages and breeds is an outstanding characteristic of these dogs. Fear is the greatest hindrance to effective socialization, and the Airedale, given calm support and reliable routines, is secure enough in his/her own dogness to "play nice" in most situations. Conversely, the Airedales protective nature makes for a safe and secure walk at any hour, at least anywhere you'd care to walk.

Another fabulous factor in the city life equation is the dogwalker. Professional dog walkers and daycare facilities abound in New York for dogs whose humans are unable to make it home in time for them. Although I don't use these services myself, many, many do. Most dogs in these circumstances are walked at noon for about an hour by their walker. This saves owners the anxiety an emergency at work or a 12 hour shift would otherwise produce.

If you're thinking, "I still wouldn't want an Airedale of mine to have to live in a city," it may be that you're not suited to city life. Many people aren't, but dogs are adaptable. Airedales want most to be with their people. In Jodi Andersen's new book, The Latchkey Dog, she stresses the need for training and boundaries as a recipe for a dog's well being. Life in America's cities requires interaction with others on an hourly, not a daily basis. I couldn't agree more. When you come home from work, or wake up, or finish dinner you can't let the dogs out, you need to take them out. This makes dog ownership one of the great social opportunities. A society of dog owners exists that the merely human household never imagines.

Airedales in the city provide an essential service to their owners; they get them out of the house. This is vital in an environment where the houses are usually ten or more stories high. The community of dog owners in New York city is close knit and interdependent. We have email lists, lobbies, and local organizations like FIDO, Riverside DOG and FLORAL. Although the constituency of these groups, and more informal neighborhood groups, is varied in their outlook on dog ownership, each member shares certain values. These include protecting and caring for dogs, offering free advice (a New York tradition) and cleaning up after our dogs. We regularly coordinate with, and do battle with, the Parks Department and other park users.

I'll never forget the day I walked out of my front door on Riverside Drive and met Kanako OHara and her Airedale, Teddy walking up my street. Kanako and I knew each other via the internet, but she and her husband had only just permanently settled in Manhattan. She had walked up Riverside on her afternoon walk on the chance that she'd meet MacDuff and I on the same errand.

When Peter Jenning and his wife were looking for an Airedale, which they subsequently found at Corally Burmaster's, they asked me to walk MacDuff and Mary Luke's [Mary Lukaszewski] Reba to Central Park during their lunch hour for a trial walk. That was a day I was glad I'd "proofed" MacDuff against the tremendously stimulating Central Park Carriage Horse. I'd actually begun this process last year when the ATCMNY marched through Central Park in the Tartan Day Parade. Certainly, Airedales attract attention wherever they go, and even more so in the city where they can encounter so many folks in a single hour.

It may surprise you to hear that the city dog owners believe that their dogs have a better life, with more human and canine interaction, than their suburban counterparts. But what would you expect a New Yorker to say?

A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the Jan-Mar, 2001, issue The American Airedale. Copyright 2001 by Dave Morgan Article reprinted with permission of the author. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the author is prohibited.

Editor's Note:

Dave Morgan is the current (2001) president of the Airedale Terrier Club of Metropolitan New York. Despite living in New York City, Dave has a serious interest in the hunting Airedale. At the 2001 Hunting/Working Nationals in Ohio, Dave's Airedale, Lancelot Lead on MacDuff, CD, out of Ch Lancelot Jason Of Kimberton (Lucia and Jorge Carballo in Pa) and Fairyland Adorable Goldina (Julio CeChristo in Argentina) earned the following titles:
Jr Fur
Jr Flushing
Jr Retrieving
Jr Versatile
Sr Flushing
and
a place on the Joan Shea Gordon Memorial Trophy for versatile in one weekend.
and
The Sandhill Brown Bess Memorial (Henry Johnson) cup for high score flushing.
and
The Australian Sash (Jan and Peter Hatton) for outstanding achievement
Pretty good for a couple of city boys.