Starting to look for a pooch

Quick

So my wife and I have decided to start looking for a dog. We have been together for 9 years and have a 4 bedroom house with plenty of room inside and a small garden that is fully fenced in with 6 foot high fences. There is a park in our estate, we are 5 mins drive to several beaches and Malahide castle. We have no Children but that is most likely in the next two years.

I work in IT support and deployment from my house and maximun I would be out of the house for a few hours once a week. My wife works 10 mins from the house locally.

I have been looking at Airedale Terrier breeds as their are a decent size dog, but not too big. Also their do not tend to shed too much hair as my wife has asthma. They are energetic, loyal and good family pets, well according to what I have been reading.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airedale_Terrier#Temperament

" They are also very loving, always in the middle of the family activities. Airedales are also known for expressing exactly what they are thinking, unlike more aloof breeds. The Airedale is also a reliable and protective family pet. Airedales are exceedingly loyal and strong dogs; there is one story of an Airedale taking down a bear to protect its master[citation needed]. They are very energetic, and need plenty of exercise."

I believe they are hard to train but one you put in the time and effort they are hugely rewarding animals. We are heading away for 3 weeks at Chritmas (A honeymoon and last big holiday) so we will be looking to hopefully get a puppy after we get back so we have a bit of time yet.

Any advice on Airedales would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

jap gt

we have one, give tehm plenty of excercise and they are great to manage, lovely dog, i would advise anyone iterested in them to get one, hard to find the well bred ones nowadays though, not many people breeding them

mymo

Try a search on here, there was a thread about them recently.
There's a few breeds that would fit the bill, re the asthma and low shedding, Schnauzer is one, poodle another, both can be got in standard size, as well as small and toy.
Water spaniels are low shed too, as are soft coated wheaten terriers.
Worth going to meet some as every person is different and the dogs could affect your wife.
When I was looking for a dog I met a breeder who had asthma and lived with 8 dogs (Tibetan terriers), they didn't affect her at all, but other dogs did.
Best of luck.

Quick

Thanks guys.

Jap where did you get him\her from?

jap gt

a man in bantry she is 6 going on 7 now, not sure if he still breeds or not


pm sent

Cherry Blossom

Just one thing to bare in mind a lot of the most reputable breeders tend not to have litters from now on into Feb/March as spring puppies will get a better start in life. Maybe waiting just a few months longer would leave you in a position where you'd find it easier to source a decent breeder. They wouldn't be the most popular of breeds so it may take you a while to find one, by all means start looking though.

Just a sidenote as well Wikipaedea wouldn't be the best source for reliable information. As you've specifically asked about Airedales I assume that you have your heart set on this breed so why not invest in a few breed specific books in the meantime and see if you can find someone who breeds, shows or works them and ask for a bit of first-hand insight into the breed and if you (and especially your wife) could meet their dogs. I'm sure most would be delighted to oblige.

Quick

Cheers AJ.

I know wiki aint the best, but it was the first link that popped up when I was wrinting the post.

Was in contact with another board member and She was quoted about 800 for an Airedale. I have seen a few ads for puppys going for 250 in Derry. Maybe 800 gets you all the certs, health checks and family history.

jap gt

seems dear to me, we paid 350 registered and breed history for that, but that was a few years ago, but 800 seems a lot to me

Cherry Blossom

Quick wrote: »

Cheers AJ.

Was in contact with another board member and She was quoted about 800 for an Airedale. I have seen a few ads for puppys going for 250 in Derry. Maybe 800 gets you all the certs, health checks and family history.

jap gt wrote: »

seems dear to me, we paid 350 registered and breed history for that

Could be £250 stg which wouldn't be a million miles away from €350 Don't assume you get more or less for your money though! I'd speak to both and ask what certs etc they have and if you'd be able to see all the documents, it could be that €800 gets you champion bloodlines but not necessarily, research the names if they claim this before handing over cash. If you'd be interested in showing the dog or think you might be at some stage the dog has to be left entire so a male would be a little bit easier to manage if this was the case. If your sure it's a pet only you want and it will be neutered anyway research the differance between the sexes also.

I went for a female Westie as she is just a pet, I don't like the clipped look and as their hair can get a bit long males have a tendancy to urinatite a bit on the hair on their bellies which stains. Not sure with Airedales, they don't look like they'd have this problem but there may be other quirks!

jap gt

i looked at the dogs on donedeal, for 350, they look like nice dogs, maybe worth a look as both parents can be seen and they could turn out very well