AiredaleTerriers.org Airedale Terrier Information & Referral Resource

CH. J.J.'s the Right Stuff, JHV, SHFur is owned by ATCA President Steve Gilbert and Bonnie Gilbert of Lima, OH Isaac represents the Gilberts' dedication to the dual-titled, versatile Airedale.

Long before the American Kennel Club invented their Hunt Tests, Airedale Terriers were practical and competitive hunters. The Airedale Terrier Club of America (ATCA) is an AKC-member Parent Club which has played an active role in preserving and promoting Airedale hunting abilities through its 17-year development of a Parent Club Hunt Test program. The goal has always been to win wider recognition of the Airedale as a versatile hunting terrier, with a official record of such appearing in a dog’s AKC pedigree. For the past three years the ATCA’s Hunting/Working Committee has been in negotiations with the AKC for admission of Airedales to AKC Hunt Tests and/or the development of an alternative Hunt Test for all multipurpose dogs, including those terriers who don’t fit into the earth dog mold.

These have not been easy negotiations. Although the American Kennel Club stresses the importance of its Performance Events program, Airedalers have found themselves stalemated just when progress was called for. And yet the dogs continue to hunt while the people talk — with much at stake for terriers in the future.

Earliest records in Airedale history suggest the breed was developed in the mid- to late 1800s from a blend of many breeds, but most tellingly, a cross between the old English Black and Tan Terrier and the Otterhound. This created a dog that could win the water rat hunting competitions enjoyed by the Yorkshire farmers who lived along the River Aire. The farmers also found these same dogs useful on barnyard vermin and for poaching birds from wealthy landholdings. And so the original function of the Airedale Terrier was to hunt everything that needed to be hunted.

By the early 1900’s, dog writers characterized the Airedale as the ultimate “three-in-one” gundog.
“On the border between the bird dog and fur dogs,” wrote Field and Stream editor Warren H. Miller in The American Hunting Dog (1926), “stands the Airedale, the one dog who can hunt both….Tackling bear or cougar, routing out woodchucks, jumping rabbits, tree marking squirrels, pointing grouse and quail, running pheasants, and retrieving any and all of them — the Airedale properly trained has done all these things in hundreds and hundreds of individual instances.” The breed’s courage, made even more legendary by its war dog service in World War I, helped make the Airedale the most popular breed in the United States in the 1920s.

But over-popularity took its toll. The nation’s population moved from the country to cities, and hunting became recreational instead of a necessity. Specialized sporting breeds replaced the Airedale in popularity in home and field.

There has always been, however, a group of Airedale fanciers who appreciated their breed’s hunting nature. That group coalesced in 1985 with the formation of the ATCA’s Hunting/Working Committee. The Committee’s petition to the AKC for admission of Airedales to AKC Hunt Tests in 1985 was refused, but hope for future admission was suggested if the ATCA would first develop a Parent Club Hunt Test program.

Steve Gilbert, now serving as ATCA President, was instrumental in starting the first “Hunting Working Weekend” in 1986 and seeing that annual event develop to the current “Nationals” and regional offshoots. From the very start, the H/W Committee was careful to follow every suggestion proposed by the AKC. They brought in sporting dog experts to conduct their workshops. They invited AKC observers. By 1994, they offered an official ATCA Hunt Test program under guidelines approved by the AKC. The three-prong program consists of an Upland Game (flushing) Test, a Retriever Test, and a Fur Test. Each test is offered on the Junior, Senior, and Master level. In addition, a dog that qualifies in all three segments receives the Versatile title, also offered on Junior, Senior and Master level. By 1996, the effort expanded with regional Hunt Tests offered in Michigan, Wisconsin and Kentucky.

And so the groundwork was well-established for the 17th Annual Hunting/Working Nationals weekend, which took place on March 22nd through 24th, 2002, at Buckeye Game Club near Columbus, Ohio. The 60 Airedales entered represented a cross-section of the breed: from champions to obedience and agility competitors, companions, former rescues, and farm dogs.
The importance of this gathering wasn’t lost on the owners, some driving in from as far as Nebraska, New York, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Alberta, BC. Among those attending were six ATCA Board members, including the current and last past president of the Parent Club, reflecting the support the hunting revival effort enjoyed from its inception.
The three-day event involved extensive behind the scenes work by committee members and members of the Ohio River Valley Airedale Terrier Club, which hosts the event. Dorothy Miner, chairman of the Hunting/Working Committee, is a key person in the clockwork operation. She draws upon her experience as a former AKC Tracking judge to develop Fur Tests in accordance with AKC rules. However, she can’t control the weather.
Friday’s Fur Test day dawned COLD, with an even colder wind. The Airedales, noses ready, didn’t seem to mind, even if their owners found it daunting. Before the tests, handlers reviewed the ground rules. All dogs run the course off-leash, one dog at a time. The dog must follow a raccoon-scented track through the woods, with the handler and judge following from a distance. When the dog finds the caged raccoon in the tree, the dog must bark to signal the find. Dogs entered in the Junior Fur Test follow a track of approximately 100 yards and need only give a signal bark. Senior and Master Fur Test entrants follow longer tracks, with distraction cross-scent trails and a caged “off-scent” critter just off the Master track. Advanced dogs must bark loud and long to announce their find.

Left, CH. Stone Ridge Dwy-Aire Annie, JHFur displays proper loud enthusiasm to announce finding the caged raccoon in the Junior Fur Test. Annie is owned and handled by Sheila Mors of Antioch, IL (Click on photo to enlarge)





Right, Warming up before the Fur Test, dogs meet a caged raccoon under controlled conditions. The warm-up site is off test grounds in accordance with AKC regulations. These Airedales are CH. Traymar's Comic Relief (mid-air) and CH. Westchester Traymar's Wild Rose, CD, both owned by Chris, Tom and Angie Halvorson and Margo Dupre. (Click on photo to enlarge)



This year eight Airedales qualified in the Junior Fur Test. There were four Senior Fur qualifiers and three Master Fur qualifiers.

Saturday’s events involved the land segments of the Upland Game (flushing) and Retriever tests. The morning’s Upland Game Test was judged by Bethann Roettger of North Branch, Minnesota, assisted by Jeff Coton. Both are experienced spaniel breeders and professional field trainers. The Junior Upland Test requires a dog to find and flush two pre-planted chukar while running the course, with the judges and gunners following. Senior dogs must flush and retrieve their birds, but more teamwork with the handler is reflected in rules such as no “uncontrolled” chasing of missed birds. The Master level Upland Test requires the dog to work in tune with the handler. This is proofed in the test’s “Sit to Flush” exercise in which the dog flushes a bird; then sits on the handler’s whistle; and only completes the retrieve when so signaled by the handler.

Left, CH. Fyrebrick's Artists Proof is right on her game during the Upland Game test. Sydney is owned by Cary and Rhae Drijber of Lincoln, NE, and handled by Cary. (Click on photo to enlarge)











Right, Lead on MacDuff, CD, JHV, SHF, MHR lives in a Manhattan apartment and regularly trains at New York's finest spaniel and retriever clubs. MacDuff is owned and handled by David Morgan, president of the Airedale Terrier Club of Metropolitan New York (Click on photo to enlarge)



Saturday afternoon was for the land segment of the Retriever Test. AKC Hunt Test judge Peter Kaufman of Westlake, Ohio judged the tests. In the Retriever Test, the dog and handler come to the line to watch for birds being thrown or shot from a distant blind. On the judge’s signal, the handler sends the dog to retrieve the bird. Junior dogs do one single retrieve. Senior dogs must be “steady to wing and shot,” that is, sit-stay without being restrained by the handler even when they do “doubles,” the exercise in which the dog holds steady while two birds are downed; must “mark” (remember) where the birds fell; then is sent to retrieve them both. Seniors must also do an extra “dead bird” retrieve in which they bring in a bird they didn’t see fall by following their nose and handler’s signals. Master dogs do all that, but extra finesse is expected.

The difficulty of these tests reflects an early decision by the H/W Committee to model the Parent Club tests closely on AKC Hunt Tests rules rather than run simplified “instinct tests” for which no special training might be needed. Since terrier owners usually aren’t familiar with sporting dog training techniques, many owners started with the plan of entering an untried dog “just to see what he can do.” The judges soon advised them that the test situation is not the place for preparatory training.

To that end, the Nationals weekend also includes training workshops intended for Airedales and owners with no prior hunting experience. Hal Standish, professional spaniel trainer from Three Rivers, Michigan, conducts a lively course of introduction to game and training techniques. Even owners who have no intention of continuing as recreational hunters enjoy the workshops as a chance to see how their Airedale takes to the field.

On Sunday, Airedales and owners returned for the third and final day of the Nationals. This was the day for the water retrieving segments of the Upland Game and Retriever tests. All the dogs who had passed the requirements of the land portions of the tests were called back to do the water work required for the test qualification.
With the team of judges working together, each dog and handler was called to the line on the bank of a pond. Across the pond, bird handlers behind a blind would release a duck which gunners dropped in the pond. Junior dogs are required to willingly enter the water and bring back the duck. Senior dogs must be steady on the line for the “double,” in which two ducks are downed while the dog “marks” their fall and is then is sent to retrieve both. The Master dogs do the even more difficult triple retrieve. Like the double, two ducks are put in the water and the dog has to bring both in. While the dog is bringing in the second bird, a third shot rings out and another bird drops in the water. The dog must complete the second retrieve, then reenter the water to bring in the third duck.
This year two Airedales qualified for Junior Hunter Flushing [JHF] titles. There were three Senior Hunter Flushing [SHF] qualifiers, and two Master Hunter Flushing [MHF] qualifiers. In the Retriever Test, there were two Junior Hunter Retriever [JHR] qualifiers, one Senior Hunter Retriever [SHR] qualifier, and one Master Hunter Retriever [MHR] qualifier.

Even while participants were congratulating themselves on this year’s success, there was an undercurrent of tension when considering the future of Airedale hunting events. When the AKC admitted Standard Poodles to AKC Retriever Tests in June, 1998, it seemed a precedent was set for Airedales to make a similar request. This was even more obvious when the H/W Committee looked at Poodle statistics. Compared to Airedales participating in ATCA hunting events, there were relatively few accomplished Poodles in the field. Nor was there an extensive involvement by the Poodle Club of America or a wide regional distribution of Poodle hunting events and interest.
So with confidence, the H/W Committee submitted a 167 page “Proposal for the Admission of Airedale Terriers to AKC Spaniel and Retriever Hunt Tests” in April, 1999. It took only three days for William Speck, Vice President of AKC Performance Events Division, to send a letter of refusal, dismissing all the Parent Club’s evidence without due consideration.

In July of 1999, the H/W Committee resubmitted the admission proposal directly to the AKC Board of Directors. That brought about a compromise result, or so it seemed at first. AKC Hunt Tests would not be opened to Airedales, but instead the AKC proposed the development of a new kind of Multi-Purpose Dog Hunt Test, which would be open to breeds which could handle fur, flushing, and retriever work. This should mean that all terriers and any of the continental all-purpose sporting breeds such as German Wirehair Pointers, Vizslas or Weimaraners might participate, as well as any other breed that could do the work.

However, once the AKC Performance Event team was left in charge of working out the details of the tests with ATCA representatives, the concept was shifted through a series of more and more restrictive stipulations. In the most recent round of negotiations, during the sanctioning stage, there would have to be twenty Multi-Purpose Dog Hunt Tests per year with a minimum of 40 dogs entered per test. Considering that each test must have grounds, game, and staff for fur, flushing, and land and water retrieving, these would be difficult to implement. An added caveat was the AKC declaration that any breed that could already participate in AKC Performance Events (not including obedience, agility, or tracking) could not participate in the Multi-Purpose Hunt Test. That eliminated all sporting dogs, herding dogs, lure coursers, and all terriers breeds which are eligible for Earth Dog Tests. As a postscript, the AKC Performance Division reps faxed their list of only 16 breeds they felt should participate in the new Multi-Purpose Dog Hunt Tests. The list included Airedales, Irish Terriers, Kerry Blues and Wheatens. It also included apparent non-hunters, such Portuguese Water Dogs, Akitas, and Chows.

As one H/W Committee member remarked, “First they raised the bar so high we couldn’t get over it, then they cut us off at the knees to boot.”

However, ATCA president Steve Gilbert leads a tough group of terrier people who will not give up.
“It’s clear we won’t get anywhere with these tests as they stand now, but with some modifications, they are worth pursuing,” Steve said. “After all, the traits that have their purpose in hunting – a dog’s prey drive, his gritty determination, a good nose –are things that will fade away if they aren’t preserved and promoted. We’ve seen that in breeds such as Cocker Spaniels and conformation lines of many sporting breeds. If terrier breeders appreciate the original qualities of their dogs and want to maintain them, we suggest its important for them to test for those traits and want to have a permanent record of their dog’s hunting abilities on its AKC record.”

The ATCA will continue working with AKC representatives on suitable tests for multi-purpose breeds.
“If you — or better yet, you and members of your breed club — feel this is important,” adds Steve Gilbert, “let’s work together on it. We’re sure there are lots of terriers out there who can do what our dogs do. And they deserve to be recognized for it.” Steve Gilbert can be contacted at 419/991-7430 or steve1004@aol.com

Copyright 2002 by Chris Halvorson Article and photographs reprinted with permission of the author. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the author is prohibited.