JUDGING THE AIREDALE Edited By Scott Boeving Part 1 balanced, square with height at the withers being about the same as the length A Tool for Judges: Newly from shoulder point to buttock – appear- Revised ing neither short in the front legs nor high Illustrated Standard in the rear. None of the dog’s features is By ATCA Illustrated Committee exaggerated-the general impression is one with April Clyde, President of moderation blending sturdiness and elegance (neither nor Wire

Fox Terrier in appearance). The male has The Airedale Terrier Club of America a masculine appearance without being (ATCA) has long recognized that that “common” and the female has a feminine conformation judges can benefit from appearance without being fine-boned or spar should be a mandatory component breed specific information that expands on looking the least bit fragile. “Bitchiness” of judging at specialties and when entries the content contained in the official breed in and “dogginess” in bitches is most are sufficient. standard. To help judges acquire this addi- undesirable. As the largest terrier, the Aire- tional information, ATCA offers several dale should reflect the “King of the Ter- Head options. Formal Judges Education Semi- rier” status with an alert and self-confident Should be well balanced with little nars are provided regularly throughout demeanor. His head and tail are held high apparent difference between the length of the country and informal ringside men- and he is interested in and inquisitive of all skull and foreface. toring opportunities are readily available situations. He is intelligent and steady and at regional and national Airedale Terrier is unafraid of strangers and self-assured in Skull specialty shows . Information about these the presence of other dogs. Should be long and flat, not too broad sessions can be obtained from the club sec- Structure and attitude can be best eval- between the ears and narrowing very retary whose contact information is found uated by a controlled “spar” of two or three slightly to the eyes. Scalp should be free on the ATCA website at Airedale.org. dogs at a time with enough space between from wrinkles, stop hardly visible and Another excellent source of breed spe- them so they remain on four feet with cheeks level and free from fullness. cific information is provided by the ATCA their necks arched and ears alert. The spar publication “The Illustrated Standard of affords the judge the opportunity to evalu- Ears the Airedale Terrier 2012” This recently ate the topline, tailset, ear carriage and Should be V-shaped with carriage rath- released booklet replaces the original Illus- attitude. This impression is only revealed er to the side of the head, not pointing to trated Standard and contains information during the spar and cannot be duplicated the eyes, small but not out of proportion about desired and undesired breed charac- by stacking or baiting the Airedale. The to the size of the dog. The topline of the teristics; pictures and illustrations of Aire- folded ear should be above the level of the dale . Within the next few months, skull. Hound ears are a fault that should be copies will be mailed to all approved and severely penalized. See Figure 1. provisional Airedale Terrier judges. This article offers a preview of the Illustrated Desired Characteristics Standard and contains pages from the When viewing the head, the eye should publication on key breed points includ- be used as the mid-point and the skull ing overall breed description; information behind the stop should be the same length about head, skull and ear; and information as the muzzle in front of the stop. The head about size and movement. should be long, but in proportion to the The Airedale is a medium-sized, well- rest of the dog—typically a short backed, boned dog, and at all times a terrier in cobby dog will have a shorter head than a appearance and attitude. He is a well- dog of the same height possessing a longer Fig. 1.

ShowSight Magazine, November 2012 • 217

Airdale J4.indd 1 11/2/12 10:52 AM