Juleann and I became the property of our first Airedale, Kaely, in the mid-eighties. We did everything wrong: no breeder, no registration, no training. Despite our neglect, we had a wonderful companion for thirteen years. While he adapted to the city, he really came to life in the outdoors: whether hiking the coolies along the river, swimming in a mountain lake or camping in the bush. He could be a clown but he was quick to learn. I asked an acquaintance of mine, a professional obedience and field trial dog trainer, if an Airedale could do obedience work. His reply: “Save your money and buy a Lab.” I knew he was wrong.
When it was time to find a new Airedale pup, I looked for a breeder who was thinking along the same lines, breeding for trainability and ruggedness while staying close to the breed standard.
Fortunately for us, we found a breeder close by who was all of the above and more. Yvan and Louise at Nightsun Airedales have a long track record of breeding intelligent, trainable, outdoors loving Airedales that have also competed with the best in the conformation ring. They’ve had excellent results in obedience trials and field work. They believe in a solid breeding program, then testing their puppies for temperament and aptitude. Their litters are few and they are extremely selective about the homes into which these pups go. I am grateful that they choose us to provide a home for a puppy we named Pippin or Pip.
Like many new puppy owners I was filled with big plans for training and like most others, life and work and “stuff” quickly began to crowd those plans out. Here the value of an excellent breeder took hold. By encouraging, training, hand holding and sacrificing many hours, Yvan and Louise helped us first, to win Pip’s conformation championship and second to stick to a program of training with a local obedience school. Often they would come by to watch, encourage and advise. The training was fun and both Pip and I enjoyed it. We even practiced a little at home... sometimes. They introduced us to other Airedale owners who were competing in obedience and they were generous with encouragement. Without this network of support, I doubt if I would have seen it through. This fall, with Pip nearing three, we entered a couple of fun matches. What did I learn?
1. Airedales can excel in the obedience ring.
2. Airedales can choose not to excel at unexpected moments.
3. Keep your sense of humor handy.
4. Keep your intact, male Airedale away from anything ...intriguing.
Brimming with confidence, I made plans to enter our first set of four obedience trials in the Novice A class. We redoubled our training and Yvan and Louise came over a couple of Saturdays for extra coaching sessions. I examined the statistics and realized that there is about a 50% pass rate in these trials and so set the lofty goal of passing at least two of the four. I failed to let Pip in on my calculations.
The morning of the first trial I kept forgetting my name. I was very anxious that Pip would get over- excited and not perform well. I’m glad to report that he had more confidence that day in me than I had in him.
The first trial went unbelievably well. All the practice paid off as Pip was glued to my side in the heeling and but for a couple of minor faults we passed. When the judge read out the scores, I was in shock as she gave us a 195 ½ and High in Class. Wow! Way off the chart! In the afternoon we passed again with a 189 ½ and another High in Class. I was over the moon and Pip just looked at me with a kind of “...ye of little faith...” look. He was right. At the end of the day as the two trials were coming to a close a ring steward whispered in my ear that I might want to start warming up my dog. Why? “There might be a run off.” “What’s a run off?” It seems we were tied for High in Trial with one of the top obedience teams in Canada. Panic! Yvan and Louise just smiled, encouraged me and pushed me towards the ring. We did our healing pattern well but the other dog was slightly better and took the High in Trial. I was not disappointed. Pip and I had exceeded anything I had hoped for and I was really glad that I had not bought a Lab.
The next day we completed the other two trials and got High in Class both times with scores of 191 and 189, missing another High in Trial by ½ a point. The last trial was right at the end of the day and after the ribbons were awarded and I was leaving the ring, the steward said, “Don’t go too far.” Why? What did we do? Were we in trouble? It turns out they have this thing at obedience trials called “High Aggregate Score” and Pip had just won it! I couldn’t believe it, I was so surprised but I shouldn’t have been. Great breeding, lots of training and support, a terrific Airedale and a handler who didn’t mess up
too bad.. This was a wonderful weekend that Pip and I will remember for a long time but it was not a first for an Airedale.
I am aware of several great Airedale teams currently excelling in obedience in Western Canada as well as other teams in the recent past. I have proven to myself what I always suspected and others have known for a long time: with conscientious breeding, proper testing, and purposeful training an Airedale
can compete and excel in the obedience ring.
