Airedale's

[Cleo]

I think my neighbour has an airedale and it's absolutely beautiful!! Does anyone know much about the breed?

[Sugar]

I love them! I spotted one years ago...my Dad's boss had one...so cute!
Funny you should mention it as I was only showing N yesterday when we were looking at the dog calendars at the newsagent...unfortunately he didn't find them as cute as i do!

[Lunar]

Yes... we used to breed them

They're really hard to get in SA, we got our female from VIC, then took her back there for her 1st litter mating & were lucky to find a nice male here for 2nd mating.

I love love love the breed. They can look completely different depending if you clip their fur (grows more curly), or hand strip it (grows more straight and wirey).

Do you have any questions in particular? Happy to help if I can.

[Cleo]

I've noticed there aren't many breeders in SA, they are such a gorgeous dog!

How much room do you think they need? We have an average size yard and we would walk the dog regularly but I still worry that we don't have enough room

How are they with Kids? The neighbour has small children and the dog seems fine, it was very friendly when it tried to squeeze through our fence

Any downsides? Are they easy to train or destructive, I've read they can be if they get bored

I don't know anything about Airedales personally Brooke (never really noticed them in my dog obedience/agility trial days.

On dog forum I am member of, they have a section about different breeds of dogs, and they have just started one for Airedales, no one has responded just yet. Maybe book mark it to come back to look at later , or ask a question in there?

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=188259

[Cleo]

Thanks Jules that will be very useful!

[Lunar]

Just a quickie before DS's bath....

How much room do you think they need? We have an average size yard and we would walk the dog regularly but I still worry that we don't have enough room
An average yard would be okay - you will 100% need to walk them once, if not twice a day though as they are quite active.

How are they with Kids? The neighbour has small children and the dog seems fine, it was very friendly when it tried to squeeze through our fence
Really good! (well, ours are). DS is a terror to them and they won't snap at him or anything. They're very friendly to people and other dogs.

Any downsides? Are they easy to train or destructive, I've read they can be if they get bored
True, but doesn't every pet? LOL We've found them quite easy to train - you just need to be persistant and consitant with the training (as you would with any breed). THe worst 'destruction' we've had is digging a hole in the grass on a hot day to lie in.

[Cleo]

Thanks Sels very good information, do you know of any breeders here, I think I saw one from Magill, I did get some information from a vic breeder as well

I assume you still have them?

[Lunar]

Yeah, well, my parents have them. I'm seeing them this weekend, so will ask if they know of anyone breeding in SA. I know in the past there was one down near West Beach that was breeding with a puppy from our 1st litter, I doubt they're still doing it - that'd be too many litters for the poor Mum.

I'll see what I can find out for you and let you know.

BTW - when we got our female (1998!) she was about $800, so I'm not sure what they prices are like now. Just make sure you get all the proper papers and that both the parents have had their checks for hip dysplacia etc.

Brooke, I can't vouch for these breeders personally. You would still need to ask them all the important questions eg as Sel talked about in her last comment.

I asked about SA breeders in that thread I gave u the link too

http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/...e=BELAIREDALES

http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/...name=AIRERIDGE

I don't know if they get shown much here in SA, but I always suggest to people to go to a couple of dog breed shows to get an idea about the breed/s they are interested in. Thats how we ended up with one of our Cavs 'Joey'

[Lunar]

Hi Brooke,

okay - I spoke to Mum and she pretty much supported what I said earlier. VIC seems to be the only place to really get an Airedale and she doesn't know of anyone that has had recent litters in Adelaide.

She did say to look into tail docking as even though it is illegal, some people still do it. If you really want one un-docked, you need to specify that when you put your "order" in for a puppy.

PLEASE be careful and pedantic about the parents' papers. We found a male to breed with in SA and when we went to meet them, he snapped at us. No way were we putting our girl with a male with that temperment! As a buyer you have every right to ask for photos, reviews, paperwork etc etc etc.

I'm not sure if I've helped you at all, but let me know if you have any other questions.

(I did get your PM too, just thought it was easier to reply in here)

[Cleo]

Thanks Sels, you have most definetely been helpful! I think I will research the vic breeders a bit more, one keeps coming up quite a bit so I will suss them out and see.

Thanks for that info Jules, will keep having a look at that forum