No Airedales in Helsinki

My sister and her husband took this photo last October when they were in Helsinki. They said it was at the entrance to a public garden in the city. They know my mum loves us Airedales and they thought she would like the drawing. She likes the drawing but she doesn't like the "X" on the drawing. And neither do I.

Why wouldn't they want Airedales in the garden? Everyone knows that we Airedales love to dig and do excellent digging work. We are very helpful when it comes to turning over the earth and loosening the soil. Those people in Helsinki must not know much about us Airedales.

Have you ever seen a sign like this anywhere else but in Helsinki?!

"The Best Dog of All"

My older friend kept a scrapbook when she was a girl.  A few years ago when she was looking through it she found this article, "Training England's Dogs of War," clipped from some unknown and undated newspaper, probably published nearly 70 years ago.   She was pleased to let me make copies. I retyped the words for legibility.  (If you'd like to read the article or see a larger view of the photos, click on the images to enlarge them, then click again to make them even larger.)

The article describes the work of British Col. Ernest H. Richardson and his work in training Airedales to aid in civil defense and to go to the aid of injured citizens.




Of Airedales he says, "The best dog of all for the purpose of home defense work is the Airedale.   He stands well off the ground and is strong, speedy and immensely keen.  His intelligence makes him easily trained and readily teachable."



He said he has his older dogs help teach the younger dogs.  "My two best teachers are Topsy and Nancy, who have been with me for years.  They teach good manners to the young ones.  And they repress any tendency toward barking.  The younger dogs copy the older ones and learn their tricks quickly."   He details his training method on the page above.

He also trained Airedales for messenger work in conjunction with carrier pigeons, for sentry duty, rescue work, as watch dogs, and as airplane spotters.




Airedales are such noble dogs!   I was pleased to learn this bit of their history in the words of the person who trained the Airedales.

--Nancy.

My Mum's Memory is Mostly Missing

My mum suggested that we go see the bison at the park. She and my pop and my sister and new brother-in-law went in the rain a week and a half ago. So we went. When we got there my mum was surprised at the paths. She remembered that they had a sort of pavey coating on them and looked like this:
But the paths really looked like the picture below. You see what I mean about my mum's missing memory? My pop said we didn't have to go for the walk but my mum said that since we were already there and since it was such a nice day, we should walk. So we walked for about two miles.
And I ended up looking like this!!!
You see that mess of me?! Mum had towels in the car to rub me off and a towel on the seat to keep it clean. She forgot about what the paths at the park looked like but you know what she didn't forget? Yes, a bath! She said I had to have a bath. I don't like baths not at all. She finally relented and washed only the bottom half of me - my legs, belly, and lower sides. Whew! That was a relief. Now I'm half clean and half cleaner.

Maybe you want to know about the rest of the walk? We saw bison but I don't know what the big deal was. They were like rocks in a field.

I refused to look at them more than once. I was more interested in the kids and the strollers.
My mum liked the moon in the afternoon sky
and the silhouette of two trees against blue and some other pictures I don't want to waste time about.
I hope my mum finds her memory soon so I don't have to go places where I get so messy. My motto is "No More Baths" -- even if they are only half baths!

posted by Hannah

Rocket Dog's TuckButtRun

My mum thinks this Rocket Dog is an Airedale doing a tuckbuttrun. Do you think so, too?

I think I look like that when I do tuckbuttruns. My ears go back and my tail sticks out. I go super speedy fast. I go so fast that my mum can't take a picture of me. She tried to take a video of me once when I was tuckbuttrunning but all that showed up was bits of me. I'm fast and she's slow.

Do you do tuckbuttruns?

Posted by me, Hannah.

Do Not Forget Me!

Most mornings my mum and I walk with our friend Janni.
When we first get up my mum makes me go outside
and she goes back inside. Sometimes I'm afraid she'll forget me.
I stand at the breezeway door waiting for it to open.

Then I spot my mum through the window.

If she doesn't let me in immediately
I tell her how important it is for me to come in because
I don't want her to go for a walk without me.

If she still doesn't let me in, I start to grumble,
then I complain, then I bark, then I howl.
My mum's never left without me but sometimes I'm afraid she will.
I love to go for walks because
I get to see and sniff those nice, soft, chewy cats.

Posted by Hannah.

Man of the Hour - Norah Jones

"It's him or me." That's what he said.
But I can't choose between a vegan and a pothead,
So I chose you because you're sweet
And you give me lots of lovin' and you eat meat.
And that's how you became my only man of the hour.

You never lie and you don't cheat,
And you don't have any baggage tied to your four feet.
Do I deserve to be the one who will feed you breakfast, lunch, and dinner
And take you to the park at dawn?
Will you really be my only man of the hour?

I know you'll never bring me flowers.
Flowers they will only die.
And though we'll never take a shower together
I know you'll never make me cry.
You never argue, don't even talk
And I like the way you let me lead you
When we go outside and walk.

Will you really be my only man of the hour?
My only man of the hour, my only man of the hour.

The Gill Brothers Airedale

Isn't he a handsome fellow? I found him in the August 8, 1913, edition of The Bemidji (Minnesota) Pioneer.

















I love finding Airedales in ads, no matter the year. I know they were very popular in the 1920s but I hadn't realized that they were already popular in the 19-teens. These days it's uncommon to see Airedales in ads -- but I know all ADT lovers perk up when we see them.

For the Love of Airedales - Help Some of Them Get Home At Last

Some of you may already know that I participate in the online Airedale Rescue Quilting Bee. Every year we collaborate to create a quilt focused on Airedales. This year's quilt is called "Home at Last" in honor of the rescue process and the help given by hundreds of volunteers in various Airedale rescue groups across the U.S. The proceeds from donations for this quilt will help homeless Airedales find homes at last. I hope you can find it in your heart and pocketbook to make a donation of $5.00 or more. In return, you'll have an opportunity for this beautiful quilt to be yours.

Go to Airedale Quilting Bee to learn more about "Home at Last" and the ladies who made it. The Airedales will be grateful and so will I and the rest of the quilters.

Hannah is not a lover of baths but at least she doesn't fight against them. Into the tub she goes and I pour water, add shampoo, wash, then rinse.

As I was shampooing her today she kept turning her head into my arms. I asked her to please turn her head the other way. She suggested I just move my arms out of her way!

Finally rinsed and slightly dried, she hopped out of the tub and shook.

We got the job done and she looks and feels great!

She's Up to It Again!

When I heard noises outside the window I suspected Hannah was up to it again, but by the time I got to the breezeway to snap some photos, she'd stopped digging and was standing in her hole. She walked away to investigate, returned a few minutes later, and settled very comfortably into her cool spot.

Why is it I can never catch her digging?!

I know some people don't like their dogs to dig but Airedales are diggers and Hannah confines her holes to behind the bushes next to the house. We have no mines in our yard.

Uh oh! What did I just say? I may be in for it now!

Airedales are True Friends

In addition to loving Airedales, I enjoy family history and often search old newspapers for obituaries and other announcements. I was thrilled to find this ad for Velvet tobacco in the January 21, 1920, issue of The Steubenville Herald-Star. Isn't this drawing of an Airedale grand?!

Airedales were popular in the 1920s but they didn't always look like our Airedales of today. This one does!

He's part of an ad for Velvet tobacco. While I don't condone the use of tobacco I certainly appreciate Velvet's choice to use an Airedale to represent a true friend.

If you'd like to see the images larger, you can click on them. They'll open in the same window. When you've finished, click the back arrow on your browser to return you to this blog post.

I hope you're enjoying your Airedale and find that he or she is the truest friend you've ever had!

Airedale Equipment: The Great Big Black Licorice Nose

There are several variations of and uses for the Airedale nose. Sometimes the nose is clean and wet; sometimes clean and dry; and sometimes dirty or muddy. The uses of the nose include sniffing out biscuits (or other delicious bits of food), other animals, or the remains of other animals; pushing objects to invesitgate or move them; nose-poking to get the attention of the Airedale's human; and to assist in the digging process.

How does your Airedale use his or her nose? Do you notice a difference in the noses of the Airedales you've loved?

How to Avoid Airedale Mind Control

Airedale lovers know the persuasive powers of the Airedale mind. This video teaches one way for Airedale owners to protect themselves from those powers - with use of a tin foil hat. This video was originally presented on Electech. Enjoy!

Welcome!

Welcome to My Airedales and Me. This blog is relatively new (even though the first post was over a year ago). I don't know how often I'll be able to post but I hope to add content as often as I can.

Have fun with your Airedale!

When You Foster

When you foster an Airedale your heart gets involved. And when that foster Airedale leaves, even though she's going to what may become her forever home, your eyes and heart cry. Another rescue volunteer (whose probably fostered hundreds of Airedales and sent them on to forever homes) tells me that she still cries.

Little Bit, a girl we fostered for nearly four months, left this morning to try out living at a home that could become her forever home. She's a 9-month-old puppy whose confidence is bigger than she is; whose attitude is bold; and whose style is energetic. She's sweet as all get-out with the uprights -- and wants to be in charge of all the four-leggeds. The home where she's going has a one-year pup of a different terrier breed. They seemed to get along well during the visit. We hope they'll continue to get along.

There were several reasons why it was best for Little Bit to go to a new home but the most important was because she and Hannah didn't develop the best of relationships.

However, Hannah now misses Bit. She asked to go outside a few hours after Bit left. She only wanted to look out the breezeway door to see if a car was bringing Bit back. And she repeated her request to check the driveway several times. Hannah may be hurting a bit at her absence - she had no way of knowing what was coming. I, on the other hand, knew Bit would be leaving and yet I was not able to prevent my heart from being involved.

I'm grateful that we can foster 'dales in need and yet sad when they leave. If it doesn't work out at her new home, she'll come back again. I hope the best for you, Little Bit! I hope you grow into a very well-mannered adult Airedale!