American Airedale

No. 1, 2012 January –March

Official Newsletter of the

Airedale Terrier Cub of America, Inc.

www.airedale.org

(L-R Bill & Airee, Dee, Kaleigh & Payton, and Judy & Cedric)

Eukanuba Invitational 2011 By Dee Corboy-Lulik

The A-Team (“A” as in Airedales, that is), took Orlando by storm

at the AKC Eukanuba Agility Invitational! The event was held

indoors on sod at the Orange County Convention Center in down-

town Orlando. The top 5 Airedales in AKC agility competition

during the qualifying period of July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011 were

invited to participate in this prestigious event. The following 4

Master Agility Champion Airedales represented our breed, and all

did so with terrific success: #1 ranked Payton, MACH Connema-

ra's Competitive Edge MH MXF RE TQX CD (B) and #2 ranked

Kaleigh, CH MACH8 Connemara's Tuff Act To Follow FTC1

MH VER CDX TQX JHV SHFur SHF RE MXF TDI CGC (B),

owned by D. Corboy-Lulik; #5 ranked Airee, MACH Connema-

ra's Nothin But Aire (D), owned by W. Fridrych; and #6 ranked

Cedric, CH MACH Caleb Acres Call Me Cedric UD RE MXF

(D).

The facility was huge. Seating was plentiful. The footing did

present some challenges at times and the courses provided teams

with plenty of challenges. Our dogs competed in the 24” & the

bitches in the 20” jump height divisions. Each day a Standard & a

Jumpers With Weaves course was run. A perfect score is 100.

Each and every one of our Airedales earned perfect scores during

the 4 rounds of competition! After the completion of the four

rounds, over two days, the top dogs in each height moved to the

finals.

Only 11 dogs were in the 20” finals & for the first time in the his-

tory of the event, an Airedale (Payton) earned perfect scores in all

4 rounds and made it into the finals! Payton was the 5th seed. It

was great fun! Payton did everything she was supposed to do and

ended up in 9th place! This year’s Highest Scoring Airedale Terri-

er Medallion was awarded to Payton for her 490 score & she fin-

ished the Invitational as the 4th highest scoring obedience titled

dog & the 2nd highest scoring dog with a Rally Obedience title in

the entire event. A memorable weekend for sure. Thank you to all

who supported our breed & cheered our Airedales on. Photos &

videos of these agile Airedales competing at the Invitational can be

found on the ATCA Agility Committee Facebook page.

Check ‘em out and “Like” the page!

American Airedale 2

ATCA OFFICERS

President: Linda Baake-Jarvis

Vice Presidents: April Clyde, Scott Boeving,

Phil Weinberger

Secretary: Sue Oury

Asst. Secretary: Shirley Vanover

Treasurer: Pamela Macomber

Asst. Treasurer: Virginia Smith

NEWSLETTER STAFF

Editor-in-Chief: Patricia Gregg

Features Editor: Laura Post, Susan Anderson

Regular Columns Editor: Diane Schlicht

Regional Reports Editor: Alana Duttlinger

Specialty Reviews Editor: Anna Brinker

Asst. Special ty Reviews Editor: Jane Noerenberg

Advertising Manager: Leslie Apple

Meet our members: Joanne Austin

Lisa Berglin

Shirley Vanover

REGIONAL CORRESPONDENTS

New England: Open

New York Area: Anne Curtis

East Coast: Karl Broom

Lower Northeast: Diane Hancock

Southeast: Elizabeth Joseph

Ohio & Vicinity: Ellen Gordon

Midwest: Bob Berkowitz

Northern Lights and West: Scott Lichty

Texas and South Central : Carol Scott

Rocky Mountains: Mary Turner

Pacific Northwest: Open

No. California: Open

So. California: Ralph Prey

Western Canada: Helen Arnold

Eastern Canada: Carole Kane

Europe: Open

Pacific Rim: Dianne Barclay

REGULAR COLUMN CONTRIBUTORS

Agility: Dee Corboy-Lulik

AKC Delegate’s Report: Aletta Moore

ATCA History: Lisa Berglin

Breed Health Concerns: Karen Copley

Breeders’ Education: Susan Rodgers

Hunting & Field: Kenneth Cook

Legislative News: Barbara McNeil

Membership: Richard Schlicht

New Titleholders: Jean Surfus

Obedience: Mary Law

OFA Reports: Phyllis Wayne

Public Information: Caron Jones

Rescue & Adoption: Rebecca Preston

Website: Jacqueline Noel

The American Airedale (ISSN 1059-4477) is the official newsletter of the

Airedale Terrier Club of America, Inc., (ATCA) , and is published four

times annually in March, June, September and December by the ATCA.

The American Airedale is available free to all ATCA members and to

nonmembers by subscription. Annual ATCA membership fee is $25.

Annual subscription rate for nonmembers is $18. Membership and

subscription information can be found on the ATCA website at www.

airedale. org.

Copyright 2011 by Airedale Terrier Club of America, Inc. All rights re-

served in all countries. Contents may not be reproduced in any manner

without written permission of the publisher. The American Airedale

invites responsible, non-anonymous comment to any information ap-

pearing herein. All comments received are subject to subsequent

publication. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not

necessarily reflect those of the club or newsletter staff. Address com-

ments and requests for reproduction rights to the Editor, The American

Airedale, 10 Blue Stone Lane, York, ME 03909-6628. The American

Airedale is published at 10 Blue Stone Lane, York, ME 03909-6628.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The American Airedale,

9762 230th Street E, Lakeville, MN 55044-8292. Regular Periodicals

Rate Postage paid at York, ME, and additional entry office.

Next Deadline of the American Airedale is Saturday April 14,

2012 for editorial and advertising. Please get your news, articles,

story ideas or ads to the appropriate editor by that date.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Greeting and Happy New Year everyone! Hopefully our mild winter will continue and we will be enjoying some great spring weather in no time. Todd and April Clyde andI went to the AKC Meet the Breeds event in New York and had a great time. What a great venue to educate the public about our wonderful breed. Congratulations to the AKC Eukanuba winners in Airedales which include: BOB: GCH CH Brisline's Goforit Energizer Bunny owned by G. McRae, C. Reynolds, HJ Piperis and B. Fakkema. BOS: GCH CH Darbywood's Unstop-pable owned by J. Surfus. BBE and AOM: CH Huntwood Spyglass of Stone Ridge Tobylinn owned by J. Linn and S. Kipp. In the obedience ring the only Airedale Terrier to compete was Lynaire Sam I Am, UDX owned by Joan Florentine. This team did well placing third in the Terrier Group. Also invited was CH OTCH Brisline Plum Perfect Unforgetta-ble, UDX7, OM8 RA owned by Suzanne Tharpe and Georgia McRae and Ch. Plum Perfect’s All That Jazz, UDX, OM1,RN, AXP, OJP owned by Christine Hyde. In Agility four Master Agility Champions represented our breed: #1 ranked Payton, MACH Connemara's Competitive Edge MH MXF RE TQX CD (B) and #2 ranked Kaleigh, CH MACH8 Connemara's Tuff Act To Follow FTC1 MH VER CDX TQX JHV SHFur SHF RE MXF TDI CGC (B), owned by D. Corboy-Lulik; #5 ranked Airee, MACH Connemara's Nothin But Aire (D), owned by W. Fridrych; and #6 ranked Cedric, CH MACH Caleb Acres Call Me Cedric UD RE MXF (D). . Each and every one of the Airedales earned perfect scores during the 4 rounds of competition. This year’s Highest Scoring Airedale Terrier Medallion was awarded to Pay-ton. She finished the Invitational as the 4th highest scoring obedience titled dog & the 2nd highest scoring dog with a Rally Obedience title in the entire event. Be sure to read the Agility and Oedience reports in this newsletter. 2012 Westminster Kennel Club will hold its event on February 13 and 14 Airedales will be judged by Virginia Latham Smith and the Terrier Group judge is William Potter. The ATCA is planning again to hold the Randall Cooley Memorial Hunt Test in May. The dates for the event will be Friday May 18th - Sunday May 20th. The health committee has the health survey posted on the website. If you haven’t already done so, please take a few moments to enter your dogs in the survey. We plan shortly to send a ballot to all the members for bylaw changes.. We need every member to vote, as we must have 60% of the members partici-pating. The changes are housekeeping items that will allow us to conduct our business via the internet, a tremendous time and money savings for our club! Don’t forget to make your reservations for this year’s Montgomery. The ho-tel is taking reservations now. There are more details about rates and loca-tions on the Happenings page on our website. Until next time, enjoy your Airedales and stay warm!

Linda Baake Jarvis

American Airedale 3

Rank Name Sex Points Dbl Qs Score

1 MACH Connemara's Competitive Edge CD

B 1,335 17 1,505

2

CH MACH8 Conne-mara's Tuff Act To Follow CDX VER RE

MH NJP FTC1 TQX

B 738 35 1,088

3 MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE

MXF TQX B 797 29 1,087

4 MACH Connemara's D 771 16 931

5 CH MACH Stirling Blackstone Esprit Du

Coeur RE NF B 669 18 849

6 CH MACH Caleb Acres Call Me Cedric

D 454 25 704

7

Connemara's Cleanin' Up With Reckless Abandon RN SH MX

MXJ MXF

B 377 8 457

8 Icepond Ludvig's Rune Stone MX MXJ

OF D 298 5 348

9 Eclipse Effervescence CD BN RA MX AXJ

XF B 308 0 308

10 CH Liebe's Ray Gun

Onyx AX AXJ B 32 1 42

As we reflect upon 2011, congratulations are in order for the following Airedales

who finished the agility competition year as follows:

AKC Eukanuba Invitational Conformation Ring

American Airedale 4

Agility Medallion Winner Payton with her

finalist ribbon

By Elizabeth Joseph

Eukanuba Invitational Orlando Florida

December 17th & 18 2011

This prestigious invitation-only show made its debut in first in Orlan-do, Florida and then in Tampa, Florida. After five years in California,

the show returned to make a record-breaking combined entry of 4,976 for all events, making it the largest dog show in the country for 2011! Although the Airedale entries were low it was great to see the “cream of the crop” once again in the ring. Congratulations go to the BOB winner, Brisline’s Goforit Energizer Bunny, owned by Georgia McRae, Carol Reynolds, Helen Piperis & Barbara Fakkema.

In the Agility competition, there were five Airedales invited with four competing. (See Dee Corboy-Lulik’s article for more information on the results.) Three Airedales qualified to compete in the Eukanuba obedience com-petition. Lynaire Sam I Am, UDX, OM1, owned by Joan Florentine was the only Airedale that competed. Joan and Sam I Am placed third in the Terrier Group!

The Airedale Terrier Club of Florida hosted the booth that represented the breed and had a variety of well-behaved Airedales from confor-mation, agility, obedience, and a certified therapy Airedale to meet and greet the large crowds that attended each day. Pat Yacso’s Skeeter was serenaded by a young man playing the bagpipes from the Golden Re-triever booth!

A lovely Christmas tree was decorated with ornaments that were all handmade Airedales, making the tree one of a kind! All the poster boards were made and donated by Ross & Amy Marvin who own Buster the certified therapy Airedale. The picture board had action shots of Airedales and their accomplishments, showing how versatile our Airedales are. There were parties and fun for all, and everyone went home tired, but happy. The dates for the next Eukanuba competi-tion is December 15th and 16th, 2012. The Florida club will once again

host the “Meet the Breed” booth.

Back row: Sandy Shaffer, ATCA President Linda Jarvis, Gary Shaffer, James Jarvis

Front row: Myrna Whatmough, Pat Yasco, Elizabeth Joseph

Pat Yacso’s Skeeter was serenaded by a young man playing the bagpipes from the

Golden Retriever Booth!

American Airedale 5

Above: Rhonda & Tony Anderson and "Moonchin" Below left to right: Sandy Shaffer’s agility Airedales, Daisy & Arnie, certified therapy dog Buster in his jacket owned by Ross Marvin

sitting with the laptop, Sandy Shaffer and Carol Black

American Airedale 6

All booth pictures courtesy of Elizabeth Joseph

2011 AKC National Obedience

Invitational By Mary Law

The 2011 AKC National Obedience Invitational

(NOI) was held in Orlando, Florida on December

10th and 11th. The format was changed this year.

AKC did away with the head to head competition

on Sunday. Instead, all dogs entered compete on

Saturday and Sunday. The dog with the highest

total score for the two days of competition is crowned the National Obedience Champion and

wins the NOC title.

The dogs compete in eight rings of two or three

exercises each day. The exercises are a mix of

Open and Utility exercises. Total possible points

would be 1,480. Over the course of two days each

dog ends up showing the equivalent of four Open

runs and four Utility runs. This literally becomes

a two day marathon for both dog and handler

One set of the Open class stays is done each day. All competition stops and every dog competing

goes into the ring in catalog order. The dogs are

arranged side by side with a four foot space al-

lowed for each dog. Leashes are removed and

placed behind the dogs. The handlers all leave

their dogs and go to a designated area where the

dogs cannot see them. A three minute sit stay

then a five minute down stay is performed with

the handlers out of sight. Quite a sight to see!

Basically, AKC invites the top three dogs of each

breed based on OTCH points earned from July 1,

2010 to June 30, 2011. Three Airedales were in-

vited to compete at the 2011 NOI. They were Ch.

OTCH Brisline Plumperfect Unforgettable,

UDX7 OM8, RA owned by Suzanne Tharpe and

Georgia McRae, Ch. Plum Perfect’s All That

Jazz, UDX, OM1, RN, AXP, OJP owned by

Christine Hyde and Lynaire Sam I Am, UDX,

OM1 owned by Joan Florentine. It is an honor to

be invited and competing is an experience you

never forget.

Joan and Sam were the only Airedale team to

compete at the NOI this year. They represented

our Airedales well by placing third in the Terrier

Group. Congratulations to Joan, Sam for doing so

well at the NOI. Joan said she had a great time,

was tired but enjoyed the experience and hopes to

be invited back next year. Congratulations to all

invitees!

American Airedale 7

Puppy Headstart continued on page 10

In 1999, I wrote a short article for the American Airedale on the

Puppy Headstart Program I was in the process of developing. I had begun putting the program together because of my growing

awareness that in spite of all that we expect of our dogs, we give

them precious little preparation for the lives they will lead with

us.

The relationship we have with dogs is a unique one. We have

invited them into our homes to live with us, but our everyday

expectations of them go far beyond mere companionship. We

ask them to do search and rescue work, act as guide dogs for the

blind and service dogs for the disabled. They do police work,

bomb, termite and cancer detection, hunt our food, entertain us

in circuses and movies, and compete with us in the sports of frisbee, agility, obedience, and lure coursing. And yet often they

find themselves in situations for which they are ill equipped,

can’t adapt to, and, unlike humans, can’t alter.

In the wild, all animals go through a natural process of introduc-

tion to the environment in which they will spend their lives. But

domesticated canines are not born into the world in which they

will live. There is no gradual introduction to the sights and

sounds that will eventually proscribe their everyday adult lives.

Even if the area in which they are raised is a busy kitchen with

lots of noise and activity, puppies go into such a variety of homes with different life styles and are expected to do so many

different jobs, that it is impossible to give them the exposure

that would duplicate each of their future lives in a way that the

highly successful wild model does.

Unfortunately, this lack of exposure can cause behavior prob-

lems in many dogs. During my 50 years as a dog trainer, I’ve

seen responses in dogs that range from mild anxiety to a patho-logical fear of anything new in their environment, depending on

how much or how little has been done with them as puppies.

There have been a few cases where I either knew or suspected

that genetics played a role, but the vast majority of behavior

issues are simply the failure to adequately prepare the puppy for

what he will face as an adult.

What I set out to design was an environmental enrichment pro-

gram that could substitute successfully for what canines would

experience in the wild in terms of exploring the world around

them. While we can’t bring the actual world they will live in to

our puppies, we can systematically introduce a variety of stimuli in such a way that puppies learn those “skill sets” that will allow

them to meet each new situation in life with confidence.

The Puppy Headstart Program began with my simply introduc-

ing puppies to as many new things as possible during their first

8 weeks. As I did more research, however, it became clear that

those first 8 weeks were divided into distinct periods of develop-

ment, each with specific requirements. These critical periods

were discovered by Drs. John Paul Scott and John Fuller and

were described in their seminal work Dog Behavior: The Genet-

ic Basis. As I put multiple litters through the Headstart Program, I began adapting it to the needs of 3 of the major developmental

periods.

Puppy Headstart Corally Burmaster

American Airedale 8

American Airedale 9

American Airedale 10

Puppy Headstart continued from page 7

Puppy Headstart continued on page 11

Birth-21 Days There is a reason why puppies are born with their eyes and ears

closed and limited mobility. Nature shields puppies from any

harmful effects of their environment during the first 3 weeks by

secluding them in a deep den. Breeders need to emulate that wild

model as much as possible.

A puppy’s capacity for organization of behavior (learning) is

virtually nonexistent during this time. Except for the trigeminal

nerve, his nerve fibers lack the outer layer of fat-like material, called myelin, associated with speedy transmission of stimuli.

The trigeminal nerve has myelination at birth because it goes to

the mouth and controls taste, the working of the jaw muscles

which control the sucking motion and the non-acoustic part of the

auditory nerve which controls balance, all necessary for survival.

Unfortunately, as I wrote in The Puppy Headstart Program,

“There is a school of thought that believes it is necessary to pro-

vide stress during the neonatal period for puppies to achieve opti-

mal development. Proponents of this course of action, however,

often use the terms “stress” and “stimulation” interchangeably

when, in fact, the results of each can be drastically different. In

medical terms, stress is defined as the disruption of homeostasis

through physical or psychological stimuli. In psychological

terms, stress is defined as “any force that when applied to a sys-

tem causes some significant modification of its form, usually

with the connotation that the modification is a deformation or a

distortion.”

Stimulation, on the other hand, is defined as any event that arous-

es an organism, or more specifically, a particular event that, when

applied to a sensory receptor or receptor cell, causes it to become

active. Think ‘brain developing more neural pathways!’

In short, stimulation need not be stressful, but stress is always

stress. This is an important distinction. While researchers agree

that stress may have value, experiments have not yet identified

the optimal amount of stress needed to make young animals psy-chologically or physiologically superior. Experiments have

shown that what may be acceptable stress in one individual may

be excessive for another and can actually retard development.

And there have been absolutely no published studies on any re-

search proving the efficacy of a early neurological stimulation

program.

The breeder’s job during these 3 weeks is to keep the mom clean,

keep the puppies clean if mom doesn’t, and to keep the whelping

box clean. Good husbandry for the litter provides adequate han-

dling during this period. They’ll be removed from the whelping

box several times a day while it is being cleaned so they will be

held in different orientations and will be placed on different sur-

faces each day. Toenails will need to be cut every few days,

which is usually done with the puppy on its back or side. They

will also be weighed every day, which is additional handling.

And what breeder doesn’t sit in the middle of the whelping box

and hold the little ones, stroking them gently?

American Airedale 11

Puppy Headstart continued from page 10

21-28 Days

This seven day period is one of immense change and rapid de-

velopment in the puppy. There is such a dramatic transfor-mation in behavior during this week that Drs. Scott and Fuller

described it as being almost as spectacular as the metamorphosis

of the tadpole into a frog. It is during this week that what you

don’t do is more important that what you do.

The physical changes in the puppies are profound. All neonatal

behavior disappears and he is now walking rather than crawling,

able to go to the bathroom on his own and to interact in a delib-

erate way with his littermates. But the sensory changes are even

more dramatic. The development of the brain and myelination

will be complete by 28 days. His eyes and ears are open and the

changes in his brain waves signal that the puppy is now able to learn from his experiences and retain what he has learned.

What he stills lacks, however, is experience. While he is capable

of receiving sensory input, the mechanism for processing it

is still not entirely functional and puppies are vulnerable to

traumatic events during this time that will affect them for the

rest of their lives. His world seems filled with scary noises and movements, and he isn’t able to sort out the dangerous from the

benign.

The breeder’s job is to protect the puppies during this most criti-

cal of all periods. Normal household sounds are acceptable, but

avoid loud or sudden noises at this point. No screaming chil-

dren, no dramatic changes in the environment, no taking of pup-

pies outdoors and absolutely do NOT wean during this period.

What you can to toward the end of this period, is to allow the

puppy to begin housebreaking himself. Now that he can orient

himself visually, the front of the whelping box can be removed

to allow the puppy to eliminate outside of his sleeping area with the assurance that he can find his way back to his mom and sib-

lings. Puppy Headstart continued on page 14

American Airedale 12

American Airedale 13

American Airedale 14

29-49 Days At this stage of development, the most important thing to provide

the growing puppies is constant change in their environment, just

as they would receive in the wild when they emerge from the den.

In my book I call it the “prepositional program.” I use anything

that the puppies can go over, under, around, through, in, out, and

on. I have a tippy board, several slides, a teeter totter board, dog walk, all kinds of stairs, an A-frame, different sized tunnels, and a

ladder. Some of the items I had made for me. Other items, such as

2x4s and cinder blocks that make great stairs, can be purchased

from building supply stores. Tiny Tykes slides can be found at

yard sales. I have wading pools to put water in, and summer lit-

ters are treated to a large Tykes swimming pool. Over the years I

have been amazed at the variety of items that people can find for

their puppies to interact with!

However, it isn’t enough, by far, to put out a slide and a teeter

totter and let the puppies play on them for 4 weeks. They quickly

become habituated to a piece of equipment, the novelty wears

off, and their brains are no longer being stimulated.

It is the constant stimulation of the brain that creates the growth

in the number of neural pathways the puppy has. This is the mira-

cle of “neural plasticity,” the ability of the brain to rise to the

occasion, so to speak. Within genetic constraints, the more brain

power is needed, the more is generated.

The ideal Puppy Headstart scenario divides each day into a mini-mum of three separate play sessions that should present either a

single new piece of equipment or a totally new arrangement of

familiar pieces of equipment. Each session is an opportunity to

offer a unique experience to the puppies.

I am not a great advocate of puppies living in the space they use

as their play area, either. I think the impact of being taken from a

relatively quiet x-pen or puppy pen into an area where things are

always different gets them used to ever changing surroundings.

During these 4 weeks, the puppies are also introduced to an im-pressive array of sounds such as whistles, slamming doors, vacu-

um cleaners, pots dropping and balloons popping. They are

placed on a variety of surfaces such as grass, gravel, asphalt, bub-

ble wrap, and plastic tarps. Handling is a daily occurrence and

includes the sound and feel of clippers, checking teeth, holding

each foot until they relax and stacking both on a table and on your

knees. They are given baths and blown dry, brushed and combed,

and nails are ground. And they are introduced to as many differ-

ent types of people and animals as I can muster.

Putting a litter of puppies through The Headstart Program re-

quires dedication, imagination and hard work. Just the basic day

to day management of a good sized litter is normally enough to

keep a breeder busy! But the benefits of the Puppy Headstart pro-

gram make it more than worthwhile. Headstart puppies learn to

interact confidently with anything in their environment. They’ve

“learned to learn,” They approach every new situation as some-

thing to figure out, not fear. They’ve been challenged day after

day and have overcome everything put in their path, and they will

leave home with the attitude that there is nothing they can’t han-

dle. And, as breeders, we owe that Headstart advantage to every

puppy we send out into the world.

Puppy Headstart continued from page 11

American Airedale 15

Mentoring Susan Rodgers

Mentoring in our sport of showing purebred dogs has never been

more of a challenge than it is today. The 20th century saw a

steady increase in those participating in the sport of dogs. Large

kennels grew on estates with ample acreage, employing knowl-

edgeable staff often brought in from the British Isles from estab-

lished successful kennels. With industrialization came wealth and spare time. Dog shows followed horse shows and races as a

way to exhibit the best breeding stock. Large kennels afforded

an excellent opportunity to learn animal husbandry that is not

readily available to most dog breeders today, passing knowledge

and hands on learning to willing apprentices who often lived on

the kennel grounds. Experienced kennel masters were charged

with selecting breeding stock, appropriate studs, grading litters

and of course showing the best against competitors. These

knowledgeable kennel masters became proficient handlers, men-

tors and sometimes judges. They maintained strong contacts

with previous employers in the United Kingdom, importing

many of the best there was. These imports made their debuts at major shows, impressing the audiences and influencing future

breeding activity. By the 21st century most large kennels had

disappeared. Land became more difficult to purchase, and prop-

erty usage more restrictive. Family income dropped, making the

sport a luxury.

As large kennels, maintained by the wealthy slowly disappeared,

kennel employees built their own smaller facilities and empha-

sized showing for clients who owned a few dogs but were keen

to show and to win and with the means to do so. Where does

this leave those hoping to have fun at the shows, enjoy their

dogs and still have a chance at winning? This question is a

complex one for breeders with puppy owners hoping to enter

the sport, and here lies the challenge for the experienced breeder

as the new enthusiasts are the future of our threatened sport. Breeders who have enjoyed success in the ring and the whelping

box with sustained quality and longevity in their dogs are in

place to mentor the breed through adhering to the standard and

placing those puppies in appropriate homes. As we all know,

everything begins with the purchase of a puppy for most new

owners. We of course, assist these new people in selection of a

show quality pup followed by all aspects of care and beginning

show grooming. New enthusiasts are encouraged to accompany

us to shows and help out, watch judging, learn differences in

structure, handling techniques, role of the judge and the steward

etc. etc. We have built a team that has been with us for over 4

years when they too were introduced to the sport and have be-come proficient at grooming and handling and helping newcom-

ers as well. The team encourages members with varied talents

such as photography, advertising and socializing puppies. Re-

sources are shared to make showing a bit less expensive.

Through their efforts the future of the purebred dog and this

sport we all love, looks just a bit brighter.

Breeders now can expand their assistance to those in other

countries through the internet. Photos of puppies can be shared,

pedigrees discussed, photos of dogs sent instantly to those in

need of some clarification. Many countries are new to the sport and seek information from those willing to share. Who of use

expected to be mentoring new breeders thousands of miles away

in countries we have yet to visit?

ATCA Website The ATCA website can now offer multiple categories in our Airedale Showcase.

The club wishes to thank club members for their participation in the Airedale Showcase.

Our members have provided great examples of their Airedales on this site. The ATCA

Board recently approved a new category for the showcase, Airedale Bowl Winners.

This category provides not only our members but the public to see great examples of

our ATCA Bowl winners. We have many categories where members can exhibit their

"special" Airedale in performance, conformation, best buddy, in memoriam, stud dog, or

brood bitch. The website committee is hoping that more performance members partici-

pate in this showcase category and highlight their achievements and successes in the

various performance venues. Remember it is a very simple process, just log in and go

to the button that says "enter dog in Airedale Showcase" and follow the simple instruc-

tions. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to contact Shirley VanO-

ver at svairedale@aol.com. The website committee, again, thanks those members for

their participation and for exhibiting your wonderful Airedales.

Don’t forget to have fun at www.shopping.airedale.org

Submitted by J.J. Noel

American Airedale 16

American Airedale 17

American Airedale 18

Ted and sister Beth, 1938 with Ch Michael Geste of Craigston & Ch Top Sargent of Craigston

Someone We Should Know By Joanne Austin

Meet ATCA Member: Ted Hollander

Member since: 2005

Sponsors: Sybil Kevy and Charlie Foley

WHEN DID YOU GET YOUR FIRST AIREDALE?

My father started raising Airedales in the early 1930s just before

I came along, so I’ve been with them since birth.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE AIREDALE BREED? I was born and raised with Airedales. My Father placed out all

but a couple of the Airedales when he entered the Navy after

Pearl Harbor, but then, after the war, he started up again by buy-

ing me a puppy bitch from Charlie Ryan’s Aireline Kennels.

She didn’t pan out, but the next one, Aireline Academy Award,

did, and, at the age of 12 (me not her!) I showed her to her

Championship, with 5 straight 3 point majors. I did most of the

grooming, but, of course with my father’s tutelage and help.

Looking at the pictures from those days, I must admit my

grooming and that of most of the other amateur handlers left

something to be desired.

DID YOU HAVE A MENTOR? IF SO, HOW WERE YOU

MENTORED?

Dad and I worked together breeding and showing, in a small

way, until Dad turned to judging and I went off to pursue my

own path. We had a great time together, of course with much

support from my mother. She, Dad, and I all served terms as

President of the ATCNE at one time. Those were great years.

Dad, of course, was my main mentor, but much of my early en-

couragement and grooming and handling training came from my

wonderful friend Pete Snodgrass, arguably the top long legged

Terrier handler in New England at the time. I think of him often.

DID YOU MENTOR ANYONE, IF SO, WHO?

I am now trying to give the same type of encouragement and

assistance that I received to John Cantor who lives near us and

introduced himself to me after he bought a nice young dog from

Joy Thompson in Vermont.

DO YOU HAVE A KENNEL NAME? IF YES, HOW DID

YOU CHOOSE IT?

Our kennel name Craigston was registered with the AKC by my

father and mother in 1936, later transferred to me and my father,

and, on his death, to me. I would guess that there are not many older kennel names still in use. The name derives from a castle

in Scotland visited by the first Theodore C. Hollander in the late

1800s and after which he named his estate in Wenham, Massa-

chusetts. He raised Boston Terriers there in the early 1900s, and

in the 1930s Dad raised his Airedales there, subsequently build-

ing another kennel facility on another section of the estate where

we lived, and of course keeping the kennel name.

WHO WAS OR IS OUR FAVORITE AIREDALE?

My favorite would be Ch. Craigston Contessa, “Tessie”, a beau-

tiful bitch although somewhat on the large side, a real handful in

the ring, loves everyone, and at the age of 10 is a great house pet, but isn’t too fond of strange dogs (any of you who may have

seen her in the ring would agree.)

Craigson Contessa going BOW at June 2005 Ladies Kennel Club Dog Show

12 year old Ted and Ch. Aireline Academy Award 1947

American Airedale 19

Ted and Colette showing at Montgomery Specialty 2011

HAVE YOU SHOWN ANY OTHER BREEDS?

I’ve shown Lakelands and Pointers but my heart lies with the

Airedales.

HOW MANY TITLES HAVE YOU PUT ON YOUR

DOGS? (INCLUDES CONFORMATION, PERFOR-

MANCE, HUNTING/WORKING) I have shown 7 Airedales to their conformation championships,

not many compared to many of you who read this column, but

very rewarding nevertheless.

WHAT DO YOU FEEL HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST

CHANGES SINCE YOU FIRST JOINED ATCA?

Over the years in which I’ve been involved, there have been, of

course, many changes, e.g., dog show procedures are much more

formal now, etc. However, the biggest change that I see in the

Airedale ring is the quality of the grooming. When I started out,

there were only a small handful of professionals who were super groomers, for example Tom Gately, George Ward, and Seth

Campbell, and fewer amateurs. Now when you see 100 or more

Airedales at Montgomery, all of them, professionally or amateur

handled, are groomed as well as, and in many case even better

than, the charges of those early masters. A few of the current

handlers have really raised the bar for many of us amateurs.

DO YOU HAVE AN ENDEARING OR INTERESTING

STORY YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

All Airedalers have many amusing stories, for example the time

when we woke up in the middle of the night to the tune of an

Airedale battling a raccoon in our play room, flying out through

the screen door, coon up the tree with dog in hot pursuit. Or, a six year old that I placed in Vermont recently rewarded her new

owner plopping a half dead possum on her living room rug. We

could all go on and on, but I think many of you would agree

with me that some of the greatest joys we have, whether as own-

ers of larger breeding kennels or as an occasional hobby breeder

like us, is following the development of the pups that we sell,

hearing about their exploits, and taking pleasure in the joy they

give to their new families.

17 Year old Ted Hollander and Ch. Craigston Monopoly 1955

Right: Colette with other girls at

2011

Montgomery Day

New Photos courtesy of

Joanne Austin

American Airedale 20

American Airedale 21

American Airedale 22

Stud Dog Management By Dr.Valeria Rickard

The majority of breeders keep at least one male dog at their resi-

dence for breeding purposes. Some of these dogs will become

successful stud dogs, the majority will not. Just because a dog

possesses a strong pedigree or exhibits the most striking traits

does NOT mean they can pass those virtues on to their off-spring. Whether a dog is offered at public stud or simply used

within his own kennel, his owners need to be prepared to deal

with the numerous issues related to stud management. One must

understand that a frequently used Stud dog can have a far great-

er impact on an individual breeding program, as well as the fu-

ture of a breed overall, than any bitch can have. Therefore, a

huge responsibility is borne by a stud dog’s owner in under-

standing the potential impacts of indiscriminate breeding. Every

breeding you do should be thought through in terms of the spe-

cific Sire/Dam pairing and with a realistic expectation of quality

offspring. Litters should never be whelped simply to produce puppies. Just because a male dog is convenient, or is owned by

you, or is in some way related to quality, does NOT mean that it

should be used at stud.

Raising a Potential Stud Dog

Stud dog management begins with raising and training a male

pup to grow into a mentally stable, self-assured dog. Whether to

be stud dog or not, all puppies should be raised in a secure envi-

ronment; allowing their personality to develop correctly. Even

though it is unrelated to breeding activities, young dogs often

exhibit "mounting" behavior. This should not be corrected or it may negatively impact future performance.

Make sure the pup is used to being touched everywhere, so

when it is time to assist in breeding or do a semen collection, he

would not be nervous when "handled".

Young male pups should not be kept together with much older,

dominant females. This is so that they don’t develop an

“insecurity complex” by being constantly dominated. Young

males should be allowed to run with bitches in season (in a su-

pervised fashion) to learn and pick-up from females behavior.

At first, the female will growl at him and will not let him mount,

then as her season progresses, he will become more interested and the bitch will be more accepting. This interaction helps a

young dog understand breeding behavior.

Criteria to be Used at Stud

For a dog to be used at Stud, it is crucial that he is to be structur-

ally correct and able to move well. He should exhibit no major

faults or disqualifications according to the breed standard. He

should also have a superior temperament, with no shyness or

aggression. And I also personally prefer a dog that is a “good &

non-finicky eater.” It is understood that no dog is "perfect", but,

to be used as stud, the number of a dog's positive traits should far outweigh the negatives.

Before a male is used at Stud, he should undergo health testing

for any health disorders, including those with a genetic compo-

nent. Examples of these tests include but are not limited to: Penn

Hip, OFA hips, OFA elbows, OFA cardiac, Thyroid, CERF, etc.

If a dog tests positive for any genetic health disorder or displays

an indication of a structural defect, he should not be used in a

breeding program. Also, prior to each Stud Service offered, the

male dog should be tested for brucellosis (a highly contagious

venereal disease).

The true measure of a stud dog is seen in the quality his off-

spring. In that way, a dog that has produced offspring with any

life-threatening or life-shortening genetic disorders should be

considered a carrier and should not be bred since 50% of the

offspring will also be carriers for the disorder(s).

Sometimes, we use young dogs before everything is known

about their health. Additionally, some conditions only show up

later in life. Not much can be done in retrospect, but it is advisa-

ble to stay abreast of health issues within the breed and also

keep checking and following particular stud dogs you have used.

In this way you can make the most educated breeding decisions possible.

The Stud Contract

Every aspect of the Stud Agreement MUST be in writing, in-

cluding all stud fees owed and any guarantees offered to the

bitch's owner. This is not out of “distrust”, but for clarity so

there is no confusion or miscommunication. Also, to be consid-

ered valid and binding, contracts need to be dated and signed by

all parties involved.

Points to consider for inclusion and definition in the Stud Con-

tract are:

A) Stud Fee amount, method and time of payment: prior to

service, when pregnancy is confirmed, when puppies

are born, when puppies are sold, a puppy back, etc...

B) Number of mating(s) the fee will cover.

C) Conditions and terms of repeat service(s) offered if bitch

doesn’t get pregnant or has a small litter, or refund of

the stud fee. If latter is the case, I recommend looking

at the breeding as a service and if no puppies result

from the breeding, stud dog owner should be compen-

sated for the time involved. D) Extra fees for housing and care of the bitch, if applica-

ble, as well as transportation charges to and from the

airport, etc.

E) Provisions if veterinary assistance is needed to accom-

plish a fresh semen breeding and who will be responsi-

ble for charges incurred at the vet office.

F) Provisions for chilled or frozen semen breeding(s).

G) Health clearances and veterinary tests required of the

bitch prior to the breeding.

The above are just a few specific items offered for your consid-eration. It is certainly not my intention to tell people how to run

their business, but the one suggestion I give is: treat people the

way you want to be treated. If something doesn’t work out the

way it was planned, especially since there are so many factors

involved in breeding and we can’t control “mother nature”, put

yourself into other people shoes, try to see both sides and make

the best and fairest decisions you can. Understand also that be-

sides stud fee, the Bitch’s owners spend a tremendous amount of

money in the attempt to get puppies.

Stud dog continued on page 23

American Airedale 23

Stud dog continued on page 24

Stud dog continued from page 22

Approval of the Bitch

As mentioned in the opening section, those who manage a stud

dog's career bear a huge responsibility in that they must reduce

or eliminate and potential impacts of indiscriminate breeding. This means that allowing a dog to be used at stud is not a deci-

sion to be taken lightly. You should be "selective" and not allow

your Stud dog to be bred to just any bitch, as this is truly a dis-

service to the breed.

The more "Popular" a stud dog is, the more solicitations for

breeding his owner will receive. Some points to consider before

"approving" a female for breeding:

A) Health Testing - you should request copies of all her

health clearances as well as some pre-breeding

tests, as you must not risk disease to your male. B) Consider the overall quality of the female.

C) Consider compatibility with your male - request a 3

or 4 generation pedigree and evaluate based on

genetic lineage and the phenotype.

D) Other Breeding Requirements - champion vs non-

champion; establish a minimum standard and try to

not compromise.

E) Requesting Progesterone or LH tests - to optimize

breeding timing and find out exact date when ovu-

lation occurs.

Many stud owners have bred to bitches because they were

owned by friends or as a favor. Remember, the stud dog gets

blamed for anything that goes wrong, so choose carefully - even

with friends, and consider what impact your decision might have

on the breed in general.

First Time Breeding Recommendations

The age when a dog is first used for breeding varies from breed-

er to breeder. Under normal circumstances it is a good idea to let

the male mature and "fill out". Also, he should be old enough to

have passed his health clearances and screenings.

It is very important to have a positive first experience. Although

not always possible, for the dog's first mating, it is preferred to

use a female that has been previously bred and has a nice,

"patient" disposition. Try to avoid maiden bitches or aggressive

bitches, at least until the male has become more experienced and

will not develop any hesitation or fear.

Care of the Bitch

If the bitch is being shipped to you, you need to make sure that you can accommodate and keep her in a safe environment, away

from any other males in the house. You will need to travel to

the airport to pick her up and drop her off. Hopefully the bitch is

of sound temperament, but you will need to keep her happy and

healthy. Stress contributes negatively to conception and preg-

nancy.

When to Breed:

Once the stud dog gets more experienced, you can probably rely

on the signs that he will be giving you with regards to when the

bitch is ready to be bred. But, although nature has its own meth-

ods, it is best to rely more on science instead. Laboratory tests,

like progesterone and LH, will provide you with a more accurate

idea on when ovulation happens and when the breeding needs to

be done and ultimately when she will be due to deliver.

Good quality, “fresh” semen can stay alive in the reproductive

tract for 3-5 days, and sometimes even longer. General practices

include breeding every other day for a total of 2 or 3 times.

Breeding every day depletes the stud dog’s semen reservoirs and

is not recommended.

If progesterone timing is performed, with fresh or chilled semen

it is recommended to have the bitch covered twice over the 72 hr

window post ovulation. Slightly different rules apply to frozen

semen breedings and it is best to rely on your veterinarian’s ad-

vice for exact timing. I do not want to go into graphic detail on how to accomplish a natural breeding, but I would recommend

that if a stud dog owner is new to this process, they work with

an experienced friend or a mentor, or reproductive veterinarian,

who can assist in explaining and showing on how this process

can be accomplished properly. Those same people might be able

to help teach you how to properly perform artificial insemina-

tion techniques if assistance is needed; although, my recommen-

dation would be to seek professional veterinary help, as to max-

imize the chances of a successful pregnancy.

Other Breeding options:

Nowadays, because of safety and economic reasons, more and

more people prefer not to ship their bitches across the country.

Thankfully, other breeding options are now available through

semen shipment. And, depending on the immediate availability

of the sire, either “fresh chilled” or frozen semen can be shipped

and used.

As a stud dog owner, you need to establish a relationship with a

reproductive veterinarian who can assist in performing semen

collections and facilitating the preparation in whichever form is

required for the breeding. Also, if your sire is away being shown or unavailable, you should make sure you have frozen semen

stored and available for those occasions.

When looking or considering a sire.

Be most critical of your own female, and don’t allow yourself to

fall into the trap of becoming “kennel-blind”; meaning you too

readily dismiss those faults which recur in your breeding pro-

gram but need to be corrected or improved upon. Therefore and

simply put, you should choose the stud dog that would best

“compliment” her in type, but does not carry the same faults.

Trying to improve some traits does not require a complete de-

parture from those other correct traits you have been striving to

achieve through generations of breeding. The Stud dog you ulti-

mately choose needs to fall into the same “general” framework of your breeding plan as you are simply trying to improve parts

of your bitch, not rebuild her altogether. Without this careful

consideration, evaluation, and comparison, you lose the con-

sistency which should exist within your breeding program and

essentially start over with the roll of the dice.

American Airedale 24

Stud dog continued from page 23

Choosing THE Stud Dog for Specific Use:

Performing this time after time, you realize that it is a mixture

of art and science, but only after lots of research and work. Per-sonally, and in my opinion, you have to start with a minimum

baseline and go from there. As stated earlier, you must realize

that no dog is perfect, so there MUST be a balance.

The “initial” phase of the selection is more of the “art” and is

subjective in nature. You must see the dog as exhibiting a good

breed type, having an even, outgoing temperament, and being

able to envision how these traits of his would mesh with that of

your breeding program. If you can’t envision how the two will

merge into one, then you should continue your search.

The next phase is where your art melds with the “Science”. Candidates need to have good health clearances so to best en-

sure healthy offspring as well as pretty ones. With nature there

are no guarantees, but you try to do all you can in maximizing

the chances for success. You want to also evaluate the dog’s

pedigree with that same goal in mind, and for me, the ultimate

stud that I would be looking for is a dog that comes from a tight-

ly linebred pedigree that is prepotent - meaning that the dog is

reproducing himself consistently time after time. That being

said, a prepotent sire can result from an outcrossed pedigree as

well. This is a dog that is reproducing specific desirable traits

with bitches of different pedigrees and in the right circumstanc-es may also be useful within a breeding program.

It is common belief among breeders that offspring from an out-

crossed mating are not as “dominant” in their ability to transmit

their traits as would be a linebred dog. But, you should also con-

sider that an outcrossed breeding is also more likely to infuse a

characteristic that may have been missing in a breeder’s own

program.

While studying pedigrees of perspective stud dogs (yes I did say

studying… just like being back in school) pay special attention

to the dam of the Stud dog of interest (and female tail line of his pedigree) as she plays an important role as well and carries

much of the weight of what that dog is able to produce.

Lastly, evaluate as many puppies that the stud dog has produced

as you are able; and study their pedigrees as well. If you see that

a male has consistently produced his desirable traits from both

line breedings and outcrosses, then you have found a “nearly

perfect” stud dog.

Popular Sire Syndrome and genetic diversity:

Not to ruffle any feathers with this next section, but… you

should avoid the common fault of using the “number one” dog

in the country simply based on that title, and be aware of the

ramifications of this trend called popular sire syndrome.

A dog’s show record or his list of titles is no indication of that

dog’s ability to produce. A stellar record proves the dog is of

necessary quality to win, that is all. The ability to produce high-

quality offspring is the only measure of a sire's abilities and

their worth at stud. The two roles are not interdependent as a top

-winning dog may never sire a champion while a dog that hates

the ring and may not even become a champion can be a truly

outstanding stud dog.

It is also a common occurrence where one or two quality off-

spring are produced by a particular stud dog. They are flashy,

eye catching and do excellent winning in the show ring. All eyes

then look to the sire; everybody tries to breed to him with the

hopes of getting something as nice. But people are doing so

without a detailed evaluation of parents’ type and pedigrees and

without understanding why they’ve clicked together.

When the spotlight shines on a male due to his own success or

that of his offspring, all of a sudden everybody in the country is

interested in that male and nearly every bitch in season is lined

up to breed to him. “Popular” dogs will receive requests from the entire range of breed-able bitches across the country. Re-

member, it takes two to tango…and some dogs can only sire

quality litters with a specific “type” of bitch. Stud dog owners/

managers need to research and learn what type of bitches and

what pedigrees go best with their male. If all breeding requests

are granted "blindly", the percentage of quality that dog can

throw will be far less than if the stud’s owner/manager under-

stands what works and what does not. They should thank the

well-intentioned but not-so-well researched solicitor(s) who

own “incompatible” bitches for their interest, then, ultimately

decline. To not take this perhaps “harsh” stance does a disser-vice to the breed. Be polite, discuss your reasoning so all is un-

derstood and stand firm in your resolve. Do not think about

money if you truly care about your Breed’s future.

The “Breeder Community” needs to also be aware of the prob-

lems associated with using one or a small few popular stud dogs

excessively within a breed population. Every “Pure Breed” pop-ulation needs to maintain a certain genetic diversity to stay

healthy and functional into the future. Genetic diversity is de-

creased when a select few males are over-used. This practice

poses a huge risk in the event they are found to have a genetic

disease later in life. In this horrible scenario, the overuse would

have "polluted" the gene pool of the breed population to the

extent that it will negatively influence the breed long into the

future. Even without considering that unseemly possibility, the

reality is that by following that "popularity-driven" model, with-

in a couple of generations, the majority of our dogs will be very

closely related and our breeding choices severely limited.

A few final words… The stud dog usually gets all the credit

when a nice winning get is produced, and the stud dog WILL be

blamed for all the problems. So, please be wise, responsible, and

selective in your breeding. Whether you are offering a dog at

Stud or selecting a dog to use as a stud, think about what impact

your decisions might have not only on your own breeding pro-

gram, but on the breed as a whole.

As breeders, we hold the future of our breed in our hands. With

that responsibility, we must ensure that the breeding decisions

we make today carry our breed into a healthier and more mag-nificent tomorrow.

American Airedale 25

Breeding continued on page 35

All dogs carry defective genes. These defective genes are usual-ly "recessive" - that is, their expression can be covered up by

the presence of a normal gene for that function. It is estimated

that the average dog carries 4 to 7 defective genes in it's DNA.

( the human estimate is 10 to 12). Since genes are always car-

ried in pairs, most of these abnormal genes are carried in a

single dose only, so that their presence is completely concealed

by the other, normal gene.

What is a gene? A useful analogy is that a gene is like a set of

instructions given to a particular workman doing a small job on

a very big construction site. Each workman gets two sets of

plans. If one set is damaged, he still has one good set, and the job can proceed. But if both sets are damaged, the job will not

be finished, or it will be done wrong. A gene is a large mole-

cule, a long double strand of DNA, composed of a backbone of

two long sugar molecules linked by pairs of smaller molecules

called "bases" or "nucleotides". It is the sequence of these nu-

cleotides that encodes the information contained in the gene.

How does a gene become defective? During normal cell divi-

sion, an exact copy is made of each and every gene in the cell,

The cell then divides into two daughter cells, each containing

an exact copy of the all of the original cell's genes. If something happens to disrupt the exact replication of the DNA during cell

division, a defective gene results. This process is called

"mutation". Only a few key changes in the base sequence can

render the information in that gene useless. The process of ag-

ing is undoubtedly the effect of accumulated random defects of

this sort, as are most types of cancer.

In the formation of egg and sperm, a special type of division

takes place. Instead replicating the genetic material, so that both

the daughter cells have a full complement of genes (two genes

of each type), the genetic material is divided, so that each repro-

ductive cell has only one gene of each type. When sperm and egg finally meet, the full complement of genes is restored, and a

new individual, carrying half of all its mother's genes and half

of all its father's genes is created.

Selective breeding. Nearly all breeding of domestic animals is

selective as opposed to random. Years ago, before the era of

scientific genetics, breeding was done more by phenotype than

by pedigree. Race horses tended to be bred by the stopwatch.

That was where the money was. Dairy cattle were bred by the

volume and quality of their milk, meat animals, by the speed of

maturation and ratio of feed to meat, and so on. Later, it was recognized that breeding together closely related animals tend-

ed to speed up the process of "fixing" the desired traits within a

few generations.

Breeding by pedigree is the type of selective breeding most

often practiced today. It nearly always involves some degree of

inbreeding. The logic is simple. We know that an animal's traits

are genetically controlled. We can even calculate the percentage

of a particular animal's genes residing in the cells of one of its

descendants. When we mate closely related animals whose fam-

ily shows (has the phenotype of) the desired trait, we are rea-

sonably sure it will appear in the offspring. Some breeders have

carried this practice to remarkable extremes, failing to realize

there is a "catch" to the pedigree method.

What about those defective genes? The ones you can't see because they are "covered up" by intact ones. When we breed

closely related animals, (let us say because they have super

rears), we can see the desired trait. This trait is genetically con-

trolled, like all traits. These two closely related animals share

the genes for their super rears as a result of their close genetic

relationship. What we can't see is the PRA gene or the kidney

disease gene that these two animals also share as a result of

their close genetic relationship. When we double up on the

good rears we are also doubling up on the particular set of hid-

den defects they share.

We can see the results of this type of concentration of mutations in some human populations which have been relatively inbred

by reason of isolation due to status, geography, or religion.

Some examples that come to mind are Tay-Sachs disease in

eastern European Jews, and hemophilia in some royal families.

Another catch to doubling up on "good" genes is one that is

almost always overlooked. Most animals are "heterozygous"

for each gene they carry. Unescapably, if you "double up" on a

gene you have to throw out the opposite member of the

pair. When the breeder, willy-nilly begins inbreeding in a ef-

fort to double all the "good" genes, he is inevitably losing other genes. All dogs have some 'bad' genes, which are controlled by

suppression, the number of overlapping suppressive factors

having been developed over the eons of a species existence.

Exclusionary selection just succeeds in eliminating more and

more of the suppressive factors, and there is nothing left to stop

the 'bad' trait from appearing.

Think of the gene pool as an alphabet. You have to keep all the

letters, even those that you don't think may be needed for words

you plan to spell later. Because with every letter you lose, you

can spell fewer things, and with the exclusionary method of

dealing with all breed problems, the time comes when all you can spell is EXTINCT.

Phenotype breeding has been largely neglected in recent years.

It has fallen into undeserved disrepute as the more popular in-

breeding has produced faster and more dramatic changes. I say

undeservedly, because it has much to recommend it, and avoids

some of the serious pitfalls of inbreeding.

This time we look at the phenotype of two relatively unrelated

animals. They both have good rears, which we want. Why do

they share this trait? For the same reason that the two related ones did - they both have the set of genes which produce good

rears. But what about hidden, bad genes? Since these animals

could not have been selected for unseen characteristics, (after

all, if you can't see it you can't consciously select for it), they

probably do not share many of these defective genes. To be

sure, they still carry their load of defects in their own private

collections, but they most likely each carry a different set. This

being the case, it is very unlikely that any one offspring will

inherit two copies of the same defective gene. It is very likely,

however, that they will all have good rears.

Breeding - Dogs or Pedigrees by Catherine Marley MD

American Airedale 26

American Airedale 27

American Airedale 28

Ownership versus Guardianship

Approved by the AVMA Executive Board, June 2005

Some animal owners may like to refer to themselves as "pet

guardians," however "guardian" is a legal term that has signifi-

cant legal implications and repercussions. Its use to describe the

relationship between animals and their owners is inappropriate. Under well-developed principles of guardianship law, guardian-

ship is a fiduciary relationship (the highest legal civil duty owed

by one person to another). The ward's interests are always to

prevail over those of the guardian. Some conflicts that arise

from application of human guardianship law to animals are de-

scribed in the text that follows. On the basis of these conflicts,

the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recom-

mends that "guardian" not be adopted, even to semantically

describe the relationship between humans and their animals. The AVMA recognizes that American society has evolved from

an agrarian one in which the animals most of us owned primari-ly had economic utility, to an urban one in which most of us

derive some emotional value from our animals. Use of guardian,

however, does not clarify the responsibilities of owners to their

animals that are important for forming good human-animal

bonds. Instead, use of guardian may create legal questions and

consequences that have the potential to adversely affect both the

animals and humans involved in these relationships. Such legal

questions and consequences apply to animal owners, service

providers, society and animals, and include, but are not limited

to:

Animal Owners · Reductions in the rights of owners and imposition of additional

legal obligations—With respect to veterinary care, animal own-

ers will have less authority and fewer treatment options. Re-

quired treatment may exceed the financial capacity of the owner

to pay, yet guardianship will require that owners accept such

financial burdens. Financial inability to provide treatment could

easily result in increased animal abandonment.

· Entailment of wards—Use of guardian gives rise to its counter-

part "ward." The ward is defined as the person for whose benefit

the guardianship has been established. Wards have legal rights.

Applying human guardianship law to animals would mean that

animals have legal rights that can be recognized in court (i.e., animals would have legal standing). This may subject owners to

civil lawsuits filed by third parties on behalf of the animal.

· Inability to select procedures such as euthanasia or spay/

neuter—Owners wishing to relieve animal suffering by euthana-

sia may no longer have that option. Non-health justifications for

euthanasia, including population control, may no longer be ac-

ceptable under guardianship. Spaying and neutering may also

not be possible, if such procedures were not deemed to be in the

best interest of the animal.

· Confidentiality of veterinary information and control of medi-

cal records—Where confidentiality of veterinary medical rec-ords is governed by state statutes or regulations, conditions are

defined under which and to whom medical records may or must

be released. Generally owners have authority over release of

their animals' medical records. Under guardianship, a veterinari-

an, contrary to the owner's wishes, may be able to release infor-

mation to third parties because he/she believes it is in the best

interest of the animal. Conversely, the veterinarian may choose

not to release medical records to the owner or others because he/

she believes it is not in the animal's best interest to do so.

· Ability to transfer an animal to another party—Background

checks may be required to ensure that transfer of an animal from one guardian to another is in the best interest of the animal.

Transfer of guardianship from one guardian to another, for prof-

it, may not be legal. Third parties may have the opportunity to

impede transfer proceedings if they deem such action to be in

the best interest of the animal.

· Coverage of animal-related claims by homeowners' insur-

ance—Homeowners' property loss insurance may no longer cov-

er animal-related claims should animals be no longer defined as

property under the law. Under guardianship, animals would no

longer be considered property.

· Required registration as guardian—In states having guardian

registries, animal guardians may be required to register and to comply with all laws and regulations pertaining to that registra-

tion. Requirements for registration could include background

checks, bonding, and conflict-of-interest evaluations. Registra-

tion processes are time-consuming and potentially costly.

· Annual guardianship reports—Animal guardians may be re-

quired to file annual guardianship reports, including associated

financial reports.

Service Providers · Loss of protection under animal abandonment laws—Animal

abandonment laws are predicated on the basis that animals are

property. Guardianship removes the status of animals as proper-ty.

· Veterinarians' responsibilities unclear—The veterinarian's

responsibilities become unclear when a guardian's direction is

contrary to the best interests of the animal. Veterinarians may be

required to go to court to obtain a judicial determination as to

whether or not theirs or the guardian's direction is the appropri-

ate course of action. Inability to provide timely treatment to an

ill or injured animal during the course of court proceedings cre-

ates the potential for unnecessary animal suffering. For example,

debate as to whether to treat a compound fracture versus select-

ing euthanasia for the animal could create the potential for con-

tinued pain, infection and other complications while awaiting a judicial decision. Cases involving animal issues are likely to

have lower priority than those involving human issues.

· Prohibitions on prescribing and dispensing controlled sub-

stances—Veterinarians may not be able to lawfully prescribe or

dispense controlled substances or legend drugs to a guardian

who no longer has legal status as the owner of an animal (i.e.,

current law assumes animals are owned and that owners receive

drugs and administer them, as prescribed, to the animal).

· Payment for services—Guardianship may create questions as

to whom (guardian) or what (guardianship) is responsible for

payment of associated animal services. Personal payment guar-antees may need to be obtained.

· Interstate transport—Service providers may have an obligation

to prevent the physical transfer of an animal from a guardianship

state to an ownership state.

Society · Unconstitutional taking of private property—A complete shift

to guardianship could result in claims of a state having unconsti-

tutionally taken private property (animals) without just compen-

sation.

Ownership vs Guardianship continued on page 35

American Airedale 29

by John Armstrong

Dr. John B. Armstrong, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology and Genetics (32 years)

Canine Health Researcher, University of Ottawa

Though it is not practical to eliminate all deleterious mutation,

the incidence of affected individuals may be significantly re-

duced through a combination of intelligent breeding practice

and the development of DNA tests.

Why do we have mutations?

Mutations are changes in an organism's DNA that potentially

affect the correct functioning of genes. They occur naturally due

to replication errors, mispairing of homologous chromosomes,

or through unavoidable exposure to natural radiation (e.g., cos-

mic rays). Mutations can occur anywhere in the DNA and in any

cell. They are heritable only when they occur in the germ cells

(eggs and sperm), but mutations in the DNA of other (somatic)

cells may lead to cancer. Even though the DNA replication en-

zymes are very accurate, and there are also supplementary sys-

tems for detecting and correcting damage, no system is perfect.

We should, therefore, recognize that some level of mutation is inevitable. However, the mutation rate is increased by radiation,

including ultraviolet light, and exposure to certain toxic chemi-

cals. We can, therefore, take some precautions to minimize the

risk..

The mutation rate for dogs cannot be determined readily, but

from indirect evidence and extrapolation from other species,

geneticists believe that mutation rates are normally on the order

of 1 in 100,000 or less. For a sexually reproducing mammal,

that would mean a new mutation in a particular gene would like-

ly not occur more often than once in every 100,000 gametes.

That may not seem like a high probability, but consider that most mammals are estimated to carry 80-100,000 genes. This

suggests that every individual born has a good chance of carry-

ing one new mutation in some gene.

What happens to new mutations?

Identical mutations are unlikely to occur simultaneously in the

same gene from both parents (probability: < 1 in 10 billion), so

any progeny will be heterozygous. (The exception being sex-

linked genes, as the X and Y chromosomes are not homolo-

gous.) Dominant mutations will be expressed and any that are deleterious will be eliminated almost immediately from the pop-

ulation. If the mutation is advantageous, and this advantage is

noticed by breeder or "nature", the mutation may survive and its

frequency gradually increase. If a mutation neutral, which is to

say, neither good nor bad (just different), its survival will be

determined by "genetic drift". New recessive mutations remain

hidden from selection until they reach a frequency where some

homozygous individuals begin to appear. However, this does

not prevent drift loss, which doesn't depend on phenotype.

Drift is a consequence of the random nature of genetic events.

For example, if you breed a brown bitch to a black dog carrying

brown, you would expect ½ the progeny to be black and ½

brown, but probably wouldn't be too surprised if you got 7

blacks and 3 browns in a litter of 10. It works the same way for any gene that has two or more alleles. Suppose that we have

only one black dog (Bb), all the rest being bb. The one Bb dog

may pass the B allele to none or all of his progeny, or to any

number in between. If he has more than 5 black progeny, the

frequency of black will go up providing all contribute equally to

the next generation. In subsequent generations the frequency

may drift even higher, or back down.

In a large population, the frequency will tend to fluctuate by

only a small amount. However, small populations are inherently

unstable and, if other factors don't intervene, one allele will

eventually take over. This is called fixation. How long this takes

depends on population size. With a rare breed, fixation may easily occur within 25 generations (~ 100 yrs.)

Many recessive mutations persist for a few generations at low

levels before being lost again. Only very rarely do they reach a

significant level in the population (> 1 in 1000). In terms of esti-

mates of genetic diversity based on average heterozygosity, the-

se genes are effectively monomorphic, as a screen of 50 or 100

individuals from the population would generally fail to reveal

any differences for the majority of the these loci. When two

individuals appear to carry the same mutation, it may well be

due to independent mutations. However, unless there is some common ancestry, the chance of producing affected progeny

should be no more than 1 in a million. [Notably, in the first

study of an "inborn error of metabolism", Garrod (1902) ob-

served that "among the families of parents who do not them-

selves exhibit the anomaly a proportion corresponding to 60 per

cent are the offspring of marriages of first cousins." He esti-

mates that only about 3% of all marriages are between first

cousins.]

These estimates assume equal use of all individuals in the popu-

lation, and we all know how common that is. If a particularly

popular sire produces 10 times his "share" of sons and daugh-ters, whatever deleterious allele(s) he carried will get a substan-

tial boost in the next generation. A new mutation may be pro-

moted from one-of-a-kind to moderately frequent in this way.

As long as we insist on making mate choice a popularity con-

test, we risk introducing new problems as fast as we can develop

tests for the old ones.

Genetic "load" and the founder effect

The human population carries at least 2500 deleterious mutant

genes (or, more correctly, alleles of genes) causing significant health problems. For the most part they are fairly evenly distrib-

uted in the population. For the entire Canis familiaris popula-

tion, the situation is likely fairly similar. Each individual is esti-

mated to carry a "genetic load" of three or four "lethal equiva-

lents", which implies recessive alleles that would kill of the

bearer if they were homozygous. As long as they are recessive,

they should not cause problems.

ELIMINATING MUTATION

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM

Eliminating Mutation continued on page 34

American Airedale 30

American Airedale 31

American Airedale 32

American Airedale 33

American Airedale 34

Eliminating Mutation continued from page 29

Eliminating Mutation continued on page 35

However, consider what happens if we form a subpopulation by

choosing 10 individuals from a much larger population. Though

these individuals will not carry the vast majority of the unwant-ed deleterious recessive alleles found in the wider population,

the few they do carry will be promoted instantly from rare al-

leles (0.1% or less) to at least 5% in our example (or more gen-

erally, 1/2N, where N is the number of founders).

Because random drift has a greater impact on a small popula-

tion, the population needs to grow rapidly, to at least several

hundred breeding individuals, so as to minimize the loss of val-

uable alleles. During this time, we should select cautiously.

While it is true that fixing "type" is one of the prime objectives

of purebred dog breeders, too rigorous selection during the early

generations increases the possibility of accidental loss of a valu-able gene closely linked to one of the genes under selection.

Dalmatians, for example, are all deficient in an enzyme required

for correct uric acid metabolism. The mutant gene appears to be

closely linked to one of the genes for the characteristic spotted

pattern and was likely inadvertently fixed when early breeders

selected for that pattern (Nash, 1990).

Recognizing mutation

Though, at an allele frequency of 5%, affected individuals

should only make up about 0.25% of the population, this would be a good time to stop it from increasing further. However,

would a mutation occurring at that frequency be recognized as

such? If we are talking about breed with average litter size of

four, then we are only looking at about one litter in 100 with

one affected puppy. If there have been no other reports, the

breeder may simply write it off as "one of those things". In a

breed with larger litters, the probability of two or more affected

pups occurring in the same litter is greater, but even in these

cases, lack of exchange of information between breeders and

lack of education in genetics may result in a failure to identify

the problem as genetic.

Selection

Selection is only effective if we are dealing with easily recog-

nized phenotypes. However, undesirable mutations are not al-

ways that accommodating. There is a full range of possibilities

from silent mutations, that have no noticeable effect on proteins

coded for, to mutations that fail to make any functional product.

There is even a small possibility of improvement. Those, and

the silent class, are no threat to us. However, those that prevent

normal function but do not eliminate it completely are likely to

present a substantial problem. One example is the vWD muta-tion in Dobermans. This mutation eliminates 85-90% of the

active clotting factor, but this low level is still sufficient to pro-

tect a homozygous affected individual from excessive bleeding

in most situations. A dog that is "lucky" enough to avoid a ma-

jor injury or surgery may not be recognized and may even be

bred. Consequently, the frequency of the mutant allele rose to

slightly over 50% in the population (Brewer, 1999).

This should not be regarded as an exception. Fewer than one in

three mutations appear to be fully lethal, and that the others cov-

er the full spectrum from the 0-100% activity. In addition to

dealing with a handful of easily-recognized genetic diseases in a

breed, we are also likely to be dealing with scores of others that

reduce fitness but present no obvious phenotype that can be used to identify them. If we can miss a gene that is only 10-15%

functional, how well are we likely to do with those that retain 80

or 90% of their normal function?

Why should this be a problem?

In a small population, drift inevitably leads to fixation for one

allele. Computer simulations show that if we start with a neutral

allele with a frequency of 5% in the population, as would be the

case if it was originally carried by 1 of 10 founders, it will be

fixed 5% of the time (surprise, surprise!). As the fitness of the

homozygous phenotype decreases, its chances of being the win-ning allele decline. At a 5% reduction in fitness, 3.5-4% will

still be fixed, most within 25 generations. At 15% the computer

says the other allele will almost always win - if our slightly del-

eterious allele gets no boost from being linked to a selected gene

or spread by a popular sire. However, one or both these condi-

tions are usually violated, as discussed above. Furthermore,

there is no guarantee that our selection will discriminate as fine-

ly as the computer.

If each such gene reduced fitness by only 5%, and the effects

are additive, we could easily be facing a population with signifi-cantly lower litter sizes, shortened lifespans and greater suscep-

tibility to non-genetic problems. Yet we would have no easily

identifiable gene to pin it on.

Conclusions

Longevity and fertility, commonly regarded as indicators of

"inbreeding depression", are reduced in canine populations

which ave been inbred over a relatively short time period

(Laikre and Ryman, 1991; Nordrum, 1994). However, most of

the inbreeding in domestic dog populations does not appear to

be due to breeders intentionally mating close relatives1 (though there are certainly exceptions), but to the loss of diversity due to

drift and selection. The resultant loss of choices makes every

individual a close relative, no matter what breeding strategy is

employed.

The outcome for any breed will depend on both luck and on the

breed's history. What is the effective population size? How

many founders were there? Over how long a period prior to the

closure of the stud books had the breed been refined? How in-

tensive was the selection used to define type? Have there been

any bottlenecks? How strong an influence have popular sires had?

What can we do?

1. We can control many of the obvious genetic diseases by sup-

porting research aimed at locating the genes and developing

direct DNA tests for the mutant alleles. Test results should be employed to make certain that carriers are only mated to clear

individuals, rather than for wholesale elimination of carriers,

which would further impoverish the gene pool.

American Airedale 35

Breeding continued from page 25

2. We can explain to breeders that mutations will always be

with us, and are not an indication of failure or bad breeding

practice, and that an open exchange of information will produce

the greatest rewards. We can also show them ways to achieve

their personal goals without making choices that are detrimental

to their breed.

3. We can attempt to educate breed clubs on the importance of

maximizing diversity in the gene pool. As the keynote speaker

at the recent AKC/CHF conference, Dr. Malcolm Willis, point-

ed out, few breeds even have a good idea of what their major

genetic problems are, how many pups are in an average litter, or

how long their dogs live. Fewer still have any idea of how to

retain existing diversity or reduce the average inbreeding.

Notes:

1. Based on a study of 3 and 5-generation pedigrees of Australi-

an Shepherds, Clumber Spaniels, Standard Poodles and Mala-

mutes.

References

Brewer, G.M. (1999) DNA Studies in Doberman von Wil-

lebrand's Disease. Available online at: http://www.VetGen.com/

vwdrpt.html

Garrod, A.E. (1902) The incidence of alkaptonuria: a study in

chemical individuality. Lancet 2: 1616-1620. Available online

at: http://www.esp.org/foundations/genetics/classical/ag-02.pdf

Laikre, L. and N. Ryman (1991) Inbreeding depression in a cap-tive wolf (Canis lupus) population. Conservation Biology 5: 33-

40.

Nash, J. (1990) "The Backcross Project" in The Dalmatian

Quarterly, Fall 1990, Hoflin Publishing Ltd.

Nordrum, NMV (1994) Effect of inbreeding on reproductive

performance in blue fox (Alopex lagopus). Acta Agriculturae

Scandinavica, Sect. A, Animal Sci. 44: 214-221.

© John B. Armstrong, University of Ottawa, Oct. 1999

Phenotype breeding is still selective breeding. We are select-ing those animals which show the desired traits, while minimiz-

ing the probability of doubling up on hidden, undesired ones.

Inbreeding and linebreeding, on the other hand, selects for both

the phenotypic and genotypic traits, and dramatically increases

the probability of producing animals homozygous for defects. The lesson in all of this is that we should pay less attention to ped-

igrees, particularly in terms of looking for similarities on paper when we breed, and more attention to the dogs themselves. All too

many breeders make their breeding decisions on paper, and not in the flesh. We need to consider the pedigrees as they relate to the

qualities of the parent animal - did his mom and dad have good rears - rather than to insist he be related to our prospective brood

bitch. We can get the results we want by breeding unrelated "like to like", without the tragic by-products of inbreeding.

This article reprinted with permission. Written by Catherine Marley

MD for Lhasa Apso Club or America and can be found at:: http://www.lhasa-apso.org/articles/breeding/breeding.html

Eliminating Mutation continued from page 34

· Impacts on existing statutes and regulations—Numerous stat-

utes, regulations and policies would have to be reviewed and

language altered to replace owner with guardian. These in-

clude, but not limited to, pharmacy laws, controlled substance laws, tax laws, veterinary practice laws, and other laws, regula-

tions and policies related to animal use and services.

· Impacts on ability to responsibly use animals—Guardianship

may preclude the responsible use of animals for agricultural

production (food and fiber), research, exhibition and entertain-

ment (e.g., racing, circuses, rodeo), and companionship. Use of

animals and animal products for such purposes may no longer

be legal.

· Ability to control, quarantine and vaccinate animals—

Guardianship may affect the ability of governmental agencies

to control and quarantine animals and require vaccination. En-

suring animal and public health requires the ability to effective-ly control and eradicate disease. Quarantine, vaccination, and

sometimes depopulation, are necessary components of effective

disease control and eradication.

· Conflicts between federal and state statutes, regulations and

policies—Potential conflicts may arise between states' laws,

regulations and policies that are predicated on the basis of

guardianship and federal laws, regulations and policies that are

predicated on the basis of animals as property.

· Homeless/unwanted animals—Financial burdens and inability

to control burgeoning populations (e.g., problems associated

with euthanasia and spay/neuter choices) may both contribute to the problem of unwanted animals.

· Use of assistance animals—The concept of assistance animals

(e.g., guide dogs, hearing dogs) may be objectionable under

guardianship; therefore, there may be fewer animals available

to provide such services. The use of animals for search and

rescue may also not be acceptable.

· Burdens of ownership—Owning or keeping animals may be-

come burdensome with consequent negative impacts on animal

-related industries, including loss of jobs.

Animals · Bidirectional benefits of human-animal bonds lost—Under

guardianship, people may be less willing to possess animals because of concerns about increased liability. Some responsible

individuals and animals would thereby be deprived of the bene-

fits of the human-animal bond.

· Reduction in animals' receipt of needed services—

Guardianship may reduce a person's willingness to seek appro-

priate services for animals in a timely fashion.

· Animals left in limbo—Guardianship may leave the welfare of

animals in limbo during associated legal proceedings. A delay

in the veterinarian's ability to provide medical care is one ex-

ample.

· Adverse effects on health and welfare—Guardianship may adversely affect the health and welfare of individual animals

and animal populations.

Source: AVMA Task Force on Legal Status of Animals

Contact: Dr. Gail Golab, Asst. Dir., Prof. and Public Affairs,

AVMA, 847-285-6618

Reprinted with permission from AVMA

Ownership vs Guardianship continued from page 28

American Airedale 36

ATCA Health Committee Report ATCA Health Survey 2011/2012

Karen Copley RNC BSN

I would like to thank all who have participated in the ATCA

health survey!!! We have 890 dogs collected so far and I

thought you might like to have the preliminary results. Review-

ing only the significant categories for this report, numbers have

been rounded up. The number of affected dogs is in parenthesis,

and if numbers do not add up exactly there were some people

that didn’t complete the survey. This survey will remain active until the end of March, with the follow up survey starting the

first part of April. The link will be on the ATCA web site.

Participants have been about 50/50 male and female, 70% liv-

ing, 30% deceased. Average age of the dogs in the study is 6 ½

years. United States dogs made up 83% of the study, with 9%

from Europe and 5% from Canada. Most were purchased dogs,

(63%) with 20% being dogs whose information was reported by

the breeder and 13% were rescue dogs. Most dogs (77%) were neutered, and most 63%, were fed a commercial dry food, with

20% being fed a mix of kibble and canned. The balance of the

diets fed were evenly divided between owner cooked/raw diets

(3%/3%). Dietary supplements were given to 45%. Items

marked with *** will be explored in much more detail in the

next survey. Report is formatted with health issues reported in

the highest frequency to least frequent.

Average age of death is 10 yrs 2

months

Cause of death: Cancer : 41 % (100)

Other (old age) 22.% (55) Kidney Failure 11% (30)

Euthanized for mobility issues 9% (23)

Skin Problems 72% No 28% Yes

(225)

Hot spots 50% (112)

Other skin problems 34 % (76) ***

Orthopedic problems: 80% No 20%

Yes (175)

Hip Dysplasia 28% (48)

Old age arthritis 23% (41) Degenerative Disc Disease 15 % (26)

Knee Problems 13% (22)

Spondylosis 10% (17)

Ear Problems 81% No 19% Yes

(155)

Chronic or intermittent ear infection

62.% (100)

Other ear problem 16% (25) ***

Hematoma (blood pocket collected on

flap of ear)11% (17) Hearing problem 11% (17)

Allergies 82% No 18% Yes (149) ***

Inhaled allergens (seasonal) 54 (81)

Food 32% (48)

Other/Don’t know 23% (37)

Flea bites 22 (33)

Cancer 84% No, 16 % Yes- break-

down of types (139) ***

Hemangioscaroma 23% (31)

Unknown 19% (25)

Adenocarcinoma 17% (23)

Lymphoma/Lymphoscaroma 15% (20)

Osteoscaroma 7% (9)

Melanoma 7% (9)

Digestive Problems 86% No 14 %

Yes (116)

Chronic diarrhea 52% (58) *** Gastritis (vomiting) 32% (35)

Pancreatitis 12 % (13)

Foreign Body 12% (13)

Heart Problems 87% No 13% Yes

(106)

Heart murmur 73% (77)

Heart valve problem 10.% (11)

Cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart) 10%

(11)

Urinary System Problems 88% No

12% Yes (101)

Bladder or kidney infection 43% (43)

Kidney failure 25% (25)

Urinary incontinence 26% (26)

Eye Problems 90% No 10% Yes (86)

Cataracts 34% (26) Conjunctivitis 21% (16)

Blindness 11% (8)

Corneal ulcer 8% (6)

Autoimmune Disease 95% no, 5% Yes

(45)

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia 37%

(13)

Addison's disease 20% (7)

Thrombocytopenia 17% (6)

Lupus 11% (4)

Autoimmune Thyroiditis 9% (3)

Neurologic problems 95% No 5%

Yes (43)

Seizures (epilepsy) 30% (13)

Degenerative myelopathy 26% (11)

Tremors 21% (9)

Vestibular disease 19% (8)

Endocrine Problems 97% No 3%

Yes (28)

Low thyroid 91.% (21) Cushing's disease 13% (3)

Surprises??? I didn’t think that the breed had a problem with skin problems/ear problems and allergies. All three areas will be ex-

plored in more detail in the next survey. I was also surprised that 9 % of the dogs were euthanized for mobility issues and would

there be an opportunity to look at medical support for those dogs.

Thank you ALL for participating and giving us the opportunity to learn and improve the overall health of the Airedale Terrier!! If you haven’t participated PLEASE take 5 minutes and take the survey, the more information we have the better we can apply the

information to our breed. The link is on the ATCA website or can be accessed directly at:

https://www.research.net/s/ATCAUSA1

American Airedale 37

KEEPER OF THE CLOUD Lisa Berglin

It has come to my attention that the club's newsletter will no

longer be sent in its printed form to the membership, starting in

2013. It will however still be sent to members who choose to

pay an extra fee. This will ensure that those members, who

wish to receive it, will still have it come in its current form.

With the club's membership falling and printing prices continu-

ally escalating it was the board's decision to discontinue the automatic printing of the newsletter. An online version will be

sent out to all members and it will be their option to download

the PDF file and print it if they would like to read it in that

form. Otherwise members can just read it online and have noth-

ing that needs to go into their recycle bin after they are finished.

While one of the benefits of this format is that you will receive

your newsletter sooner and the photos will be in color, I must

say that it is with sad regret that I have to accept the inevitable,

that someday, I will be only ” the keeper of the cloud.”

Being the ATCA historian involves not only knowing a good general knowledge of the breed but also the storage and preser-

vation of the archives of our national club. One of the reasons I

became historian was my great love of all things historical, I

love to collect books, photos, stud cards, pamphlets, and any-

thing else with information about the breed I love from years

gone by. One of the nice things about owning a book, is if it is

well taken care of, that book can be utilized many years no cost

to the reader. It can then be passed on to the next generation,

and if taken care of properly, continue to be passed on and on

for many hundreds of years. The ATCA archive contains many

written pieces of information dating back from the turn-of-the-

century to modern day. These archives have proved invaluable

when the club has had a question that needed to be answered. It is my hope someday to modernize the archives and include

them "in the cloud" for all to be able to access, enjoy, and learn

from. As you can see, I am not against modern technology, in

fact just the opposite; I know that the technology of today can

spread the information faster and further than it has ever been

able to go before. It is the speed of change that the club, and the

rest of the world for that matter, is changing from printed to

digital format that have many historians concerned.

Change is always hard to accept, the world seems to be going

faster and faster with each passing year. Modern technology has

allowed for a book to be condensed into a small downloadable file, easily accessible to all who have the technology to open it.

While the technology to do this is relatively cheap and inexpen-

sive today, what's to say that it will remain so in the future? Will

the knowledge downloaded today be accessible with tomorrow's

technology? Will dwindling worldwide energy resources make

access to "the cloud" only for the very wealthy? I feel that these

are the questions that we need to ask before as a breed club we

go to digital only archives. However, for those members who

choose to pay for the printed newsletter, as I will, these issues

will become the only durable copies that will last into the future,

for Airedale lovers who enjoy the ability to not only read histo-ry, but to touch it.

American Airedale 38

American Airedale 39

American Airedale 40

AKC DELEGATE REPORT Aletta Moore

In January, the American Kennel Club launched a new event

that will take place at select dog shows around the country - the AKC Owner-Handler Series. The Series will take place after

Best of Breed judging in each breed ring. This competition will

be open to all non-professional owner-handlers, whether experi-

enced or novice. All dogs' eligibility must be indicated by

checking the Owner-Handler box on the entry form at the time

of entry and will be marked as Owner-Handler eligible with an

asterisk (*) in the steward's book and catalog. Owner-Handler

Best of Breed will be selected from the dogs that are eligible to

compete in the Best of Breed competition including Winners

Dog and Winners Bitch.

Based on points from Breed, Group and Best in Show wins ac-

crued throughout the year, the AKC will rank the dogs and in-

vite the top owner-handled exhibits to a special year-end event

to compete for a Best Owner-Handler Award. The first events in

the AKC Owner-Handler Series will take place at the Dog Fan-

ciers Association of Oregon and Oakland County Kennel Club -

January 21st. More details can be found on the AKC website at

www.akc.org/ohs/index.cfm

Realignment of Point Schedule Divisions: The divisions

have been realigned by the AKC Board. The goal was to mini-

mize the differences in average entries among the states in the

current Divisions. The schedule of points is based on the previ-

ous year's entry in each division. Because of this, the schedule

of points lags behind what's actually happening. Previously,

your schedule of points was based on the previous three-year

average. So it was always a little higher than it should've been

since the entries were decreasing. In 2010, the Board changed

to a one-year consideration period. That makes the entries of the

requirements spike up and down more quickly. But at a time of

decreasing entries, it makes it a better opportunity to gain those

majors.

Previous computations excluded only national specialties. This

was changed to exclude all parent club specialties. Even desig-

nated specialties by the parent club won't be included in that

computation. And, finally, local all-breed shows held three days

prior the AKC National Champion Show, are also excluded be-

cause it provides undue entry in that particular division. Finally,

the divisions were realigned based on the data collected in order to minimize the difference between entries in the states within

each division. This is believed to allow for a more equitable

opportunity for majors within each division.

Two new divisions have been created; several states have been

moved around and this will be effective with the May 2012

point schedule. I have also included the current schedule for

comparison.

Divisions in effect with May 2012 point schedule Divisions currently in effect

CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT DE, NJ, PA, NY

DC, MD, NC, TN, VA, WV

FL, GA, SC

IN, OH, KY IA, KS, MO, NE

OK, TX, CO

OR, WA CA, AZ

AK

HI PR

ID, MT, ND, NV, SD, UT, WY, NM

AL, AR, LA, MS

IL, MI, MN, WI

CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT DE, NJ, PA

DC, KY, MD, NC, TN, VA, WV

AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, SC

IL, IN, MI, OH CO, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, WI

AZ, NM, OK, TX

OR, WA CA

AK

HI PR

ID, MT, ND, NV, SD, UT, WY

Scramblaire IV By Linda Botts-Brennan

This word puzzle is similar to the “Jumbles” found in many news-papers. You unscramble the words/phrases; then using the high-lighted letters, you solve the puzzle. The theme is “things that have

to do with the Westminster Kennel Club and its annual show.” Unscramble each clue, then using the highlighted letters, solve the puzzle.

Clue 1. Westminster Kennel Club’s official colors are gold and ? U P L R P E ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Clue 2.

First Airedale show winner after 1900 – Denare ? S R S C O S E S R S E ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Clue 3. Type of dog on WKC logo is a ?

T I R O P N E ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Clue 4. Judges’ attire for the group judging is definitely ? L F M O A R ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Clue 5. Dept. store that features show-related windows is Saks ? Avenue I T F H F ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Scramblaire answers on page 44

American Airedale 41

American Airedale 42

American Airedale 43

Titleholders continued on page 44

Titleholders Jean Surfus

December 2011

Champion

CH Avalonaire Blackjack's Fandango(D) CH Avalonaire

Blackjack's Noble Gesture x CH Avalonaire's Soiree Owner:

Patricia K Gregg & Thomas Pesota & Sandra Pesota Breeder: Patricia K Gregg

CH Coventree Got To Believe I Am Magic (B) CH CovenTree

Witchhunters' Salem x CH Coventree Bewitching Sabrina Own-

er: Margaret Anne Sinex Breeder: Kathleen Ullom

CH Dupont's Chic Lady (B) CH Liebe Dupont's Mac Terri x

CH Reydaleterrydale Gothica Owner: Breeder: Henry M

DuPont & Dorothy DuPont

CH Joval Angel's Curtain Call (B) CH Evermay's High Per-

formance x CH Joval Angel Fire Owner: Dr. Valeria Rickard &

John Rickard Breeder: Kim Evans & Dr. Valeria Rickard & Karl

Evans

CH Joval Angel's Whisper (B) CH Tierra De Churubusco Y Chubasco x GCH CH Joval Angel's Kiss Owner: Breeder: Dr.

Valeria Rickard & John Rickard

CH Penaire's Chip Leader At Longvue (D) CH Longvue

Jackpot x CH Penaire Regalridge Copperpenny Owner: Joan M

Clarke & Todd Clyde & William Clarke & April A Clyde

Breeder: Joan M Clarke & Ken Curren & Lee Steeves & Wil-

liam Clarke

CH Tartan Scottshire Avondales Lil Dickens (B) CH Walnut

Ridge Sir Charles x Tartan Scottshire Nabi Vaneli Owner:

Melinda F Loshak & Joel Loshak Breeder: Carol L Scott & E

Forbes Gordon CH Victorianne Seaboard (D) CH Vict'anne Jalynaire Fastrak

x Victorianne Phoebe Snow Owner: Lisa Carson-Black & Anne

V Curtis Breeder:Phyllis Woodford & Anne V Curtis

Grand Champion

GCH CH Darbywood's Unstoppable (D) Darbywood's Jolee

Aire Jordan x Darbywood's Watchful Eyes Owner: Jean Surfus

Breeder: Jean Surfus & Jody J Friedrich

GCH CH Joval On Angel's Wings (D) CH Tierra De Chu-

rubusco Y Chubasco x GCH CH Joval Angel's Kiss Owner:

Breeder: Dr. Valeria Rickard & John Rickard

GCH CH Penaire Cash Game At Longvue (B) CH Longvue Jackpot x CH Penaire Regalridge Copperpenny Owner: Todd

Clyde & Joan M Clarke & William Clarke & April Clyde

Breeder: Joan M Clarke & Ken Curren & Lee Steeves & Wil-

liam Clarke

Companion Dog

CH Coverdale Hardknott Master Of Thyme CD OAP OJP

(D)CH Evermay's High Performance x CH Hardknott Sweet

Thyme CD RA NJP Owner: Breeder: Nancy Bougher & Ste-

phen J Lehrer

Companion Dog Excellent Brisline's X-Static For Kimerik CDX GN RN (B) CH Ever-

may's High Performance x CH Brisline Plumperfect Uptown

Girl Owner: Kimber Smith & Georgia I McRae Breeder: Su-

zanne Tharpe & Georgia I McRae

Versatility

CH MACH3 Stirling Blackstone Spitfire UD VER RE MXP MJP (B) CH Greenfield's Captain Jack x CH Spindletop Cross-

fire Owner: Susan M Levasseur Breeder: Susan S Rodgers &

Dr. Shirley R Good

Rally Novice Eclipse Big Hit BN RN NA NAJ(D) Arthus Von Bella Donna x

MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE MXF Owner:Martha

Touchstone Breeder:Christie Williams

Eclipse It's About Time RN TD (D) Arthus Von Bella Donna

x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE MXF Owner: Alice

Peterson Breeder: Christie Williams

Stone Ridge Cozmo's Jack RN (D) CH Reydaleterrydale Stone Ridge Star Wars x Stone Ridge Gracie To Owner: Greg Melroy

& Dana Melroy Breeder: Mr. Christopher S Burke

Tracking Dog Eclipse It's About Time TD (D) Arthus Von Bella Donna x

MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE MXF Owner: Alice

Peterson Breeder: Christie Williams

Tracking Dog Excellent Caleb Acres Final Answer RA TDX AX OAJ (B) CH Tim-

berwyck Maximum Overdrive x CH Caleb Acres Terra Nova RAE Owner: Judith Brown Breeder: PHIL KLEIN & Judith G

Brown & Robin Klein

Novice Agility

Eclipse Light My Fire CD BN RE NA NAJ NF (D) Arthus

Von Bella Donna x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE

MXF Owner: Mrs. Linda M. Sorak Breeder: Christie Williams

Waterside Mccoreydale CD RE NA NAJ(D) CH Stirling Bat-

tle Hymn x CH Waterside Joy Of Bristol Aires Owner: Amy

McDermott & James McDermott Breeder: Susan F Metcalf

Novice Agility Preferred Caleb Acres Luna Rossa CD RE NAP NJP (B) CH Tim-

berwyck Maximum Overdrive x CH Caleb Acres Terra Nova

RAE Owner: Amy McDermott & James McDermott Breeder:

Phil Klein & Judith G Brown & Robin Klein

Open Agility A Matter Of Trust OA AXJ (B) Owner: Sharon Franson &

Sara Franson

Caleb Acres Defying Gravity CDX OA OAJ (B) CH Tim-

berwyck Maximum Overdrive x CH Caleb Acres Terra Nova

RAE Owner:Marilyn Wigley Breeder: Phil Klein & Judith G Brown & Robin Klein

Eclipse Elysian Supernova RN OA NAJ NF (D) Arthus Von

Bella Donna x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE MXF

Owner: Dr. Anne E Martindale Breeder: Christie Williams

Eclipse Nozone Enforcer OA OAJ NF (D) Arthus Von Bella

Donna x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE MXF Owner:

Carrie LaCombe Breeder:Christie Williams

American Airedale 44

Scrambleaire continued from page 40

Solution:

A breed/group/show win at WKC show is definitely a

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Solution: Triumph

Words: purple, Sorceress, pointer, formal, Fifth

Titleholders continued from page 43

Open Agility Preferred

CH Coverdale Hardknott Master Of Thyme OAP OJP (D)

CH Evermay's High Performance x CH Hardknott Sweet

Thyme CD RA NJP Owner:Breeder: Nancy Bougher & Stephen J Lehrer

Master Agility Excellent Preferred 2

CH MACH3 Stirling Blackstone Spitfire UD VER RE

MXP2 MJP (B) CH Greenfield's Captain Jack x CH

Spindletop Crossfire Owner: Susan M Levasseur Breeder: Su-

san S Rodgers & Dr. Shirley R Good

Novice Agility Jumper Eclipse Light My Fire CD BN RE NA NAJ NF (D) Arthus

Von Bella Donna x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE

MXF Owner: Mrs. Linda M. Sorak Breeder: Christie Williams

Traymar Flying Gabriella NAJ CA (B) CH M.J. Traymar's Auspicious Occasion x Traymar A League Of Their Own Own-

er: Tim Geib & Ann Geib Breeder: Margo Dupre & Daniel

Dupre

Novice Agility Jumper Preferred

Caleb Acres Luna Rossa CD RE NAP NJP (B) CH Tim-

berwyck Maximum Overdrive x CH Caleb Acres Terra Nova

RAE Owner: Amy McDermott & James McDermott Breeder:

Phil Klein & Judith G Brown & Robin Klein

Open Agility Jumper Eclipse Nozone Enforcer OA OAJ NF (D) Arthus Von Bella

Donna x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE MXF Owner:

Carrie LaCombe Breeder: Christie Williams

Open Agility Jumper Preferred

CH Coverdale Hardknott Master Of Thyme OAP OJP (D)

CH Evermay's High Performance x CH Hardknott Sweet

Thyme CD RA NJP Owner: Breeder: Nancy Bougher & Ste-

phen J Lehrer

Excellent Agility Jumper Connemara's Hunt For The Party OA AXJ NF (D) CH Key-stone's Diamond Rio x CH MACH8 Connemara's Tuff Act To

Follow CDX RE MH NJP FTC1 TQX Owner: Rhonda Walker

& John Walker Breeder: Deanna Corboy-Lulik

Eclipse Journey Ripples Thru Time NA AXJ (B) Arthus Von

Bella Donna x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE MXF

Owner: Rhonda Walker & John Walker Breeder: Christie Wil-

liams

CH Redbeard My Soul Is A Circus OA AXJ (B) CH Regal-

ridge Leader Of The Pack x CH Redbeard Fox Trot Owner:

Breeder: Marilyn D Martin

Agility FAST Novice Eclipse Light My Fire CD BN RE NA NAJ NF (D) Arthus

Von Bella Donna x MACH2 Bessy Vom Hassgau CDX RE

MXF Owner: Mrs. Linda M. Sorak Breeder: Christie Williams

Master Agility Champion

CH MACH Stirling Blackstone Esprit Du Coeur RE NF (B)

CH Stirling Skeandhu x CH Stirling Legend Of Glory Owner:

Susan LeVasseur Breeder: Dr. Shirley R Good & Susan S

Rodgers

Master Agility Champion 8

CH MACH8 Connemara's Tuff Act To Follow CDX RE

MH NJP FTC1 TQX(B) CH Brisline Keystone's Mr Cool x

CH MACH PACH Seneca Darby Life O'Th'party UD RA MXP7 MJP9 PAX2 Owner: Deanna Corboy-Lulik

In January, the American Kennel Club launched a new event that will take place at select dog shows around the country - the AKC Owner-Handler Series. The Series will take place after Best of Breed judging in each breed ring. This competi-

tion will be open to all non-professional owner-handlers, whether experienced or novice. All dogs' eligibility must be indicated by checking the Owner-Handler box on the entry form at the time of entry and will be marked as Owner-Handler eligible with an asterisk (*) in the steward's book and catalog. Owner-Handler Best of Breed will be selected from the dogs that are eligible to compete in the Best of Breed competition including Winners Dog and Winners

Bitch.

Based on points from Breed, Group and Best in Show wins accrued throughout the year, the AKC will rank the dogs and invite the top owner-handled exhibits to a special year-end

event to compete for a Best Owner-Handler Award. The first events in the AKC Owner-Handler Series will take place at the Dog Fanciers Association of Oregon and Oakland County Kennel Club - January 21st. More details can be found on the AKC website at www.akc.org/ohs/index.cfm

What is Zygosity?

Zygosity refers to the similarities of

alleles for a trait in an organism. If

both alleles are the same, the organism

is homozygous for the trait. If both al-

leles are different, the organism is

heterozygous for that trait. If one al-

lele is missing, it is hemizygous, and, if both alleles are missing, it is

nullizygous.

American Airedale 45

Regional Specialties Wisconsin Airedale Terrier Club Specialty July 29, 2011

Regular Classes

Judge: Michael D Buckley Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed /Winner’s Bitch: CASSIOPEIA’S

ROYAL TRUTINA. By Ch Timberwyck Maximum Overdrive – Ch

Royalcrest Cassiopeia. Breeder/Owner: Alana Duttlinger.

Twin Cities Airedale Terrier Club Specialty

Obedience/Rally Trial Results Friday, August 26 2011 By Anita Smits

The TCATC Club has a number of members who train their

Airedales in Obedience and Rally and support the Club Special-ty and each other year after year. This year we had a slightly

smaller entry, but no less enthused about being at our Annual

event. The trophies were wonderful, so please consider coming

next year!

Judge: Mrs Sharon Hodgens-Wood

Obedience High in Trial: Montgomery of Valleyview Place UD

VER Handler: Alice Leighton

Novice B - 1st Place: Arelsh Mulberry Sunkissed Summer Sol-

stice CD

Handler: Ed Basham

Open B – 1st Place: Montgomery of Valleyview Place UD VER

Handler: Alice Leighton

Graduate Novice - 1st Place: Fyebrick’s Kensington Foxtrot

CD RA AX OAJ

Handler: Deb Pearthree

Rally Novice B - 1st Place: Pameiyut Flash Fire of Pay

Handler: Barb Hosking

Twin Cities Obedience High in Trial: Montgomery of Valleyview Place UD VER Handler: Alice Leighton

Twin Cities Obedinece Trophy Table

American Airedale 46

Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed /Winner’s Bitch:

CASSIOPEIA’S ROYAL TRUTINA Breeder/Owner: Alana Duttlinger

Steel Valley Airedale Terrier Association Specialty

August 6, 2011

BIW Airecraft Keep Her Flying, Breeder/Owner Kimberly

& Dale Burrier

Airedale Terrier Club of Northern OhioSpecialty

August 7, 2011

BIW Airecraft Keep Her Flying, Breeder/Owner Kimberly

& Dale Burrier

American Airedale 47

Regional Reports TEXAS & SOUTH CENTRAL Carol Scott

Joan Clarke had a fabulous Montgomery County weekend with

littermates Jessie (Penaire Cash Game at Longvue), and Jaxson

(Penaire Chip Leader at Longvue) that she co-owns with April

and Todd Clyde. The third littermate, Maggie (Million Dollar

Baby) went on to win a third major and Best-of-Breed over the

specials to finish her championship. Maggie's owner, Grand-daughter Jacquelyn is very happy to have her first champion

and her best friend back home. In early January, the Clarkes and

Clydes went to Palm Springs, CA. for the launch of Jaxson's

Specials career. It was another thrilling week-end for everyone.

Jaxson went Best-of-Breed at all four shows and made the cut

in the group.

Calling all Airedale and Welsh Terrier Folk...listen up ... Susan

and Bob Lucas sent information about "Fiesta Follies," the

ATCA National Floating Specialty combined with the Welsh

Terrier Club scheduled for the week of Feb. 28th thru Mar. 4th,

2013. This "Fiesta Follies" begins with the Sun Country Terrier Show which will include Sweepstakes, Best Puppy and Best-

Bred-By followed by the Fiesta All-Breed Cluster Shows. The

red carpet will be out the entire weekend, which will include a

Saturday evening banquet. Susan says that she and Bridget

would greatly appreciate any help they can get, as they are do-

ing this by themselves. Let's mark our calendars and come out

and celebrate our dogs with them. So far, some of our regional

clubs are offering to help with hospitality and some great origi-

nal art work has been donated for the auction. Robert Malano

will be judging the Sweepstakes. For additional information,

please contact: Susan Lucas rlucas10@cox.net 480-443-8116 or Bridget Gierahn - gierahn@hotmail.com 480-986-2325.

Pamela Macomber and Kenneth Cook report that they are ex-

pecting puppies during the last week of January. Ten showed up

on the ultra-sound. Northstar is going to be busy!

Jan Vernie, President of the Lone Star Airedale Terrier Club

(LSATC) and Show Chairman Anna Brinker report that plans

are going well for the Regional Specialty in Ft. Worth the week-

end of March 24th. The new AKC Owner-Handler event will

also take place this year.

Dave and Laura Post travelled to Greece over the holidays. Dr.

Post also reminds us to complete the Airedale Health Survey

found at www.offa.org/surveys/survey airedale.html. He says

that some highly esteemed scientists in the genetic field have

joined the effort, which could ultimately help us in directing our

breeding programs.

Lorene Hunt (Majestyk) continues her recovery from a stroke

with physical therapy. Her experience with “Take the Lead” has

been so positive that one of her friends, an estate planning attor-

ney in Dallas, put that organization at the top of his list of rec-ommended charities for year-end tax deductible gifts for his

clients. Jamie Rogers, Anna Brinker and Pam Macomber said

they took Lorene out for a good time at the Airedale Ladies

Lunch. Lorene sounds very good and she reports that her hus-

band Jim has really been amazing during this time.

Scott and Lisa Bryan report that Bowl winner Ch. Sherwood

King Arthur sired a litter in Germany. Arthur is now home re-

tired from his life as the 2010 No. 1 Airedale after finishing his

career by winning the ATCA Bowl.

Congratulations to Kim Ward and her new litter of puppies

whelped on December 18 (Kim’s Birthday). They were sired by

Ch. Cornerstone's Squire O'Briggsdale, aka Rebel out of Kyna's

Kiss And Tell At Cornerstone, aka Rumor.

The Lone Star Airedale Terrier Club (LSATC) President, Jan

Vernie, and Marge Bradshow and Suzanne Kubin, co-chairs of

LSATC’s October Versatility Day, are now chairing the LSATC grooming seminar in Houston on February 26. The

seminar will be put on by Chris Williams, a handler and groom-

er of all types of terriers.

Carolyn Campbell is giving us all something to consider, possi-

bly for an ATCA Specialty. Any time is a good time to think

about great sites for future shows. The first weekend of March

will bring a 3-day show consisting of Gateway Terrier and two

all-breed shows hosted by Belle-City Kennel Club. These

shows will be held in Gray Summit, Missouri just west of St.

Louis and the site of the 2003 Week of the Airedale at Purina Farms. For some 15 years Purina has continually improved this

outdoor location which has hosted many breed club specialty

shows. In September, 2010, Purina Farms completed and

opened the Purina Event Center. This facility is a state of the art

indoor complex with the Great Hall having a square footage of

approximately 45,000 square feet and an adjacent room called

the Gateway Hall, which is 13,500 square feet. In addition to

the spacious bright rooms for competitors, the Founder's Room

is a spacious banquet facility which easily accommodates 300

guests. Google “Purina Event Center” and see photos and a vid-

eo of the complex. Given the central location of St. Louis it

seems a reasonable venue for thoughts of future floaters.

Carolyn also reports her Ch. TartanScottshire OP, OFA E, has

been bred to Ch. Styles Hit the Road Jack.

DOWN UNDER Di Barclay

Report of November, 2011

The Airedale Terrier Club of Victoria Inc. is the largest Aire-

dale breed club in Australia. In June the club will hold their 75th

Annual Championship Show to be judged by Susan Kealy from

Ireland. Visitors from abroad will be made most welcome and

further information is available on the club Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/airedaleclub.vic.australia or Web Page

Regional Reports continued on page 50

American Airedale 48

American Airedale 49

American Airedale 50

Regional Reports continued from page 47

Down Under continued

In June, 2011 the club championship show, judged by Di Bar-

clay, awarded Best-In-Show to Lovell’s Ch. Tjuringa Razzle

Dazzle (AI). The runner- up in the show was Lovell’s Ch.

Tjuringa Rich List (AI). Best puppy in show was Carroll’s Inga-

lou Dream Catcher. The open show judge, Amy Jonas, awarded

Best-In-Show to Carroll’s Ingalou Dream Catcher and runner-

up in show to Lovell’s Ch. Tjuringa Knickers. The club provid-ed a wonderful atmosphere with a buffet luncheon and fun clas-

ses for new exhibitors.

A “Night at The Museum” in Melbourne, arranged by Keith

Lovell, was an eye opener with members viewing a collection of

prized Airedale memorabilia. Museum curator Keith Prior eval-

uated Airedale items bought along by members.

Another social evening was spent viewing the “Dogs Victoria

Library Collection.” The building is bursting at the seams with

the volumes of books of all breeds including some very rare Airedale and Terrier books. Many old Airedale club show cata-

logues, club magazines and photos were viewed with great in-

terest, some bringing riotous laughter. The ATC of Vic Inc.

book collection was also made available for viewing.

Bush Day was held at the property of Anne & Ron Sorraghan. A

good attendance of owners and their dogs enjoyed the 3.5km

walk. The new home of Anne and Ron was well under way after

spending two years in a renovated shed.

The Adelaide Royal Show, judged by Ferelith Somerfield of the UK awarded Best-of-Breed and a Group-3 to Ch. Oldiron

Flamethrower owned by Gemcourt Kennels and Ron and Anne

Sorraghan. Runner-up to Best-of-Breed went to J & E Jacobs’

Ch. Cottingley Mr Lincoln.

The Melbourne Royal Show Best-of-Breed was awarded to Ch.

Oldiron Flamethrower. CC Hatton’s, Ch. Bushveldt Bonnie

Maid was best puppy and Runner-up to Best-Of-Breed Ron and

Anne Sorraghan’s Oldiron Jungle Juice.

In recent months, several club members have been travelling

abroad. Sue Wilson visited the UK and Greece, Maree & Geoff Carroll, Canada, Anne Shellard, South America, Anne & Ron

Sorraghan, USA & Europe, Di Barclay, New Zealand, David

Barclay, USA and Keith & Trish Lovell, Asia, Europe and the

USA. Keith Lovell judged Best-In-Show at Montgomery Coun-

ty Kennel Club in the United States. Australians Wayne Lewis,

Sue Jolly & Sonya Cornick were also able to take in the Nation-

al Specialty at Montgomery County in the United States.

In concluding my notes for 2011 may I extend a hearty thank

you to the ATCA for their efforts this year and for the great sup-

port during the Montgomery weekend social events. The club is on track and in great shape. Congratulations to the committee.

In December, The Airedale Terrier Club of Vic Inc. held their

annual Christmas party in the Yarra Valley at the home of Sue

Forrester and Bill Molyneaux. A great line up of Airedales and

their owners enjoyed a glorious day with some extraordinary

“Fancy Dress” outfits for the Christmas theme. Airedale breeder

Peter Hatton had the honour of judging the fun day parade.

The Airedale Terrier Club of NSW also held their Christmas fun

day and I am reliably informed the day was well attended, but

the inclement weather was not so welcome.

The show ring has been quiet with one or two exhibitors at most

shows. Top winning Airedale for 2011 was awarded to Ch. Old

Iron Flamethrower who is now residing back in Victoria after a

successful 2011 in South Australia with Wendy Baker.

Plans are well under way for the Airedale Terrier Club of Victo-

ria, Inc. (ATCV) 75th anniversary championship show on Satur-

day, June 9 in Melbourne. The club has secured a welcome

sponsorship from a dog food company and expects several ex-

hibitors from other states.

Annual elections for ATCV Inc. will be held in February. We

expect a full committee including many long serving club mem-

bers. Membership is steady and the committee is encouraging

new puppy owners to join the social and show activities com-

mittees.

In the coming months travelling abroad will be Di Barclay,

Trish Lovell and Keith Lovell, whom I hear has another prestig-

ious appointment in Europe.

Until next time.

LOWER NORTHEAST Diane Hancock

Wishing all of you a warm, happy, and healthy New Year with

many memorable successes with your Airedale(s) in 2012!

Airedales from Karen Coffey's breeding (Crescent Airedales),

comprising 20 entries over Hatboro, Devon, and Montgomery

shows, placed no lower than 4th in either sweeps or regular clas-

ses, and included seven first placements. Raynaire V Crescent's

Secret Storm went Reserve Winners at the Devon Show. She is

owned by Charlene Johnson and Karen Coffey. Other owners of

these Airedales are: Nancy Surphen's Jake's Schaired Legend

Draig TKS Crescent, Karen Coffey's and Charlene Johnson's

Crescent's Best of Both Worlds and Raynaire V Crescent’s Gone With The Wind who was nicely shown by Karen's daugh-

ter Collette, Brenda McCann's Crescent's V Raynaire Eye of the

Storm, Rosemarie Rowe Leichter's Crescent's Still After the

Storm and Diane & Joe Hancock's Jo-Dee's Take Five V Cres-

cent's.

My husband Joe and I are very pleased to report that our young

dog "Bru," Jo-Dee's Take Five V Crescent, finished his champi-

onship on November 12 at the Framingham District Kennel

Club under Judge Dr. Andrew A. Kramer. Bru won a total of 10

Best-of-Breeds and one Best-of-Opposite-Sex during his show career. It sure was great having him home for the holidays.

Regional Reports continued on page 51

American Airedale 51

Regional Reports continued on page 50

Regional Reports continued on page 52

Holiday parties for the Airedale Terrier Club of Greater Phila-

delphia and Mid-Jersey ATC provided a lot of good food, fun

and friendly Airedale chatter. The Philly Club's was held at Ad-

ele Abe's Birchrun on December 11 and included their "Chinese

Auction,” netting some money for their Club. The Jersey Club held theirs on December 17 at Lambertville Station and included

their traditional gift exchange, and installation of officers and

board members for 2012.

Last December Bill Kochler took a bit of a spill but thankfully,

x-rays showed no broken bones! After a little bit of therapy,

and Anne's TLC, he's in good shape again.

The Philly Club will once again participate in the Lehigh Valley

Kennel Clubs Canine Learning Experience on January 28. The

theme for this year is "Grooming and Taking Care of your

Breed." The Club will have a booth with literature on the Aire-dale. There will be three Airedales present: one groomed, one

stripped and one clipped.

Both Clubs are now involved with plans for their own Special-

ties for 2012. Mid-Jersey's 22nd Specialty will be held with the

Trenton KC show on May 6. Valeria Rickard (Joval Airedales)

will judge regular classes with Susan Metcalf judging Sweep-

stakes. The Philadelphia club will hold a supported entry on

Friday, May 11. Clay Coady will judge the Airedales. On Satur-

day, May 12 at their 26th Specialty show, Roberta Campbell

will judge regular classes with Liz Mattison doing Sweeps. The-se shows will be held at Ludwig's Corner in conjunction with

the Chester Valley KC. Please take note of each club's flyers for

all the particulars on these shows as found elsewhere in this

newsletter.

In closing, on behalf of Airedalers here in the Lower Northeast,

I'd like to express our deep sorrow to Samantha Curran and Dick

Berg on the loss of their "Max" (Ch. Evermay's High Perfor-

mance) in November. We know you will take comfort in seeing

all the wonderful dogs he has produced. What a tremendous

legacy Max has given to the Airedale world.

MID-ATLANTIC Karl Broom

The Airedale Terrier Club of Metropolitan Washington, DC,

(ATCMW) is changing. To celebrate the versatility of our Aire-

dales and to take advantage of the many talents of our members,

we are moving away from quarterly restaurant luncheons with

informational speakers to activity-oriented outdoor events with

our Airedales. Conformation will continue to be a primary event

for those who enjoy showing and benefit from it for breeding programs. As always, we will sponsor our Specialty in the

spring and Airedale Square in the fall. At other times we will

introduce our members and their dogs to a full range of partici-

patory activities that are fun for the owners and especially for

their eager furry companions.

Under the leadership of our President, Corally Burmaster, and at

the suggestion of several members, we will hold some meetings

at regional parks where we can have informative speakers and

demonstrations, and enjoy member-provided picnic lunches.

Many Airedalers are aware of Corally’s involvement with eve-

rything from conformation and obedience to rally and hunting

and working. She encourages members to try different interac-

tive events, regardless of their skill levels, which is good for

both dogs and people. These events also provide a great oppor-tunity for socializing puppies and young Airedales.

Last fall, we had a presentation on T-Touch, a gentle massage

and body wrap method that helps calm, improve body aware-

ness, and self-control of dogs. Had we been at a restaurant we

could have heard about T-Touch, but seeing it demonstrated and

then trying it on our own Airedales helped us develop a better

understanding of it. At another function, one of our members

demonstrated nose-work that she has been involved with. Her

Airedale was keen on finding the identified scent hidden in one

of several boxes. A couple of others tried – and failed – giving

us an appreciation for the effort and practice needed to become proficient at nose-work. When we are outside, we are able to

practice handling for the conformation ring or obedience in a

non-competitive environment. We might try rally or a few agili-

ty obstacles to allow the inexperienced Airedale and handler to

get a feeling for those events. We also can hold Canine Good

Citizen evaluations and educate people on what is involved in

earning titles in the various canine sports.

This report would be incomplete without mention of a remarka-

ble team. One doesn’t usually think of Airedales as service dogs,

but with proper training they become willing and able aides. Jessica Rabin, who is hearing impaired, trained her Airedale,

Willa, to be a hearing service dog. Willa was fully functioning

in that role by the time she was a year old – earlier than service

dogs typically begin task-specific training. (See Jessica’s article

in the American Airedale No.3, 2010.) At a picnic, a bystander

was impressed with Willa’s attention to Jessica – to which Jessi-

ca remarked, “They don’t come this way!” Since we are trying

to train a puppy at the moment, I can only add AMEN!

We also have members who have trained therapy dogs to visit

nursing homes and hospitals – a great morale boost, especially

to the elderly who remember when Airedales were among the most popular breeds in the country.

OHIO & VICINITY Ellen Gorden

Hello everyone. Hoping all had a good holiday and are well on

their way to keeping their New Year’s resolutions.

So far this year I think people around our area are wondering if

they should start building an ark or get the snow skis out. It's

rain for a few days and then comes the snow.

Currently plans are being made for the Steel Valley Cluster held

in Canfield, Ohio. The dates this year are August 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The Airedale Terrier Club of Northern Ohio (ATCNO) and the Steel Valley Airedale Terrier Assoc. met in late October with

the show committee to pick judges for the weekend. Don’t for-

get to mark your calendar for this event, which will also include

hospitality and dinner.

American Airedale 52

Regional Reports continued from page 51 Rescue Becky Preston

This year the ATCA Rescue and Adoption Committee will cele-

brate its 20th Anniversary!

From our humble beginnings in 1992, we have grown into a na-tionwide network of Rescue organizations and volunteers who

follow the ATCA R/A policies and procedures.

In honor of our anniversary, we will be raffling off an Airedale

Collectable at each Specialty show this year! The money raised

will go towards helping Airedales in need over the country.

Another special fund raiser this year is “Rolling for Rescue”. Two

of our intrepid volunteers, Debbie Butler and her Husband, will

bicycle from the Colorado state line, not stopping until they can

put their toes in the Missouri river! The actual ride will be June 9

-16, 2012. Pledges you make for every mile completed will go to

Airedale rescue!

More information can be found at http://www.alldogssite.com/

rolling4rescuepledge11_12.html

Of course the annual Quilting Bee Quilt is our main fund raiser.

This year’s quilt is absolutely fabulous. The women who work on

this spend many, many hours working on a theme, then designing

the pattern and actually sewing each block, many done by hand.

Then they are joined together and quilted before arriving at Mont-gomery.

How is the money spent? Most often, the money is distributed on

a case by case basis to Rescue groups who that are small or who

have exhausted their own funds. The money is used to help cover

basic vet care, vaccinations, spay/neuter, heartworm and fecal

tests etc. Since many of our rescues come in with ear and skin

infections, they are also covered. Generally, this is all that is

needed to get the Airedale ready for a new home. Currently, the

average cost for the “basics” is about $450.00 per dog. In some

areas it is lower, in others higher.

Dogs with special needs such as heartworm treatment or orthope-

dic surgery are most frequently paid for by fund drives for that

particular dog. Airedale people are generous when an Airedale is

in need! In some instances, donations are received from around

the world. These special fund raising drives are initiated and run

by the Rescue group who has the dog, and in most cases, the

needed care is completely covered by donations. Any money not

used for that particular Airedale is used towards the care of the

next dog.

Recently one of the Yahoo lists for Airedale people celebrated

their 10th anniversary. In honor of this, the members of that list

decided to each send in $10.00 to Rescue. What a wonderful idea

for Rescue! If every ATCA member were to pledge $5-10 per

month via Pay Pal, we would have a lot of the bills covered.

I want to thank those of you who have supported Rescue through

the years by purchasing quilt tickets, making donations with your

annual ATCA dues and simply sending a check or going through

Pay Pal. Without your help Rescue’s job would be so much hard-

er.

Also the ATCNO held their Christmas party and meeting on

December 11 with 25 members present. The gift exchange is

done by number with each succeeding person having the option

of taking a new gift or anything from those who picked earlier. It’s great fun with lots of laughs.

If anyone in this area has any news, please do not hesitate to

pass it onto me.

SOUTHEAST Elizabeth Joseph

Diane & John Turba, Brookhaven, MS., breeder/owners of JET

Aire’s West Coast Discovery, aka Desi, are proud to announce

that she completed her championship at the Kennel Club of Palm

Springs with a string of wins including Winners-Bitch, Best-of-

Winners, and Best-of-Opposite-Sex. She is out of Ch. Brisline's

West Coast Offense, owned by Georgia McCrae and their Ch.

JET Aire's Royalcrest. Desi also went Winners-Bitch at Mont-

gomery County.

The Florida Winter Classic had chilly but nice weather. The

Airedale entries were down from previous years but it was nice

to see some familiar faces in the ring. Oxana Kyritz of Holiday,

FL. had a good weekend in both obedience and rally with her

Xena of Black Opal achieving her RN and CD titles. Her first

day in rally she had a high score of 99! Xena was the only Aire

dale and there were 17 entries in her class.

The Airedale Terrier Club of Florida (ATCF) has had a busy

season thus far. They participated in the AKC Responsible Dog Owner's Day in Tampa and had a couple thousand visitors stop

by. Next there was a seminar with Dr. Mary McDaniel who pre-

sented the newest information on vaccine protocols. This was

followed by answering a variety of breeding questions. The club

hosted the Airedale booth at the Eukanuba Invitational Show

and had many compliments on both the booth and their wonder-

ful good will ambassadors of the breed. The two days were long

and the crowds large, but all the Airedales were on their best

behavior. Friends in the Welsh Terrier Club had the honor of

placing second in the Terrier Group Booth Judging. We will try

harder next year. The club held its fourth CGC testing with club

member and AKC/CGC judge Nancy Dunleavy doing the test-ing. Thus far the club has had over forty Airedales achieve their

CGC titles! Coming up in March members will once again be

competing in the Sarasota Polo Club’s tailgating contest. For the

past two years the club, along with all the Dales have won first

prize!

Sunshine State Airedale Rescue, a new FL rescue group that

collaborates with ATCA's Rescue & Adoption Committee, and

serves to aid Airedales nationwide, will hold an online auction in

March offering very rare Airedale collectibles.

Please remember to check the newsletter deadline for submitting

information to share in the column. I do try and remind members

but I do not have everyone's email. If you would like to have an

email reminder, please just email me and I will add you to the

list. Thanks. Elizabeth Joseph at jjoseph5@tampabay.rr.com

American Airedale 53

American Airedale 54

PERIODICAL

CATC 8-9

ATCMNY 12

MJATC 13

ATCGP 16

SCAA 17

MCRAE 20-21

AIREDALE HEALTH FOUNDATION 26-27

BARLOW 30-32

DRIMMER 33

EMMA’S JOURNEY 37

SCOTT 38

SURFUS 39

SOLID GOLD 41

SSAR 42

GREGG 48

ATCA YEARBOOK 49

IN THIS ISSUE

FEATURE ARTICLES EUKANUBA 1

PUPPY HEADSTART 7

MENTORING 15

STUD DOG MANAGEMENT 22

BREEDING DOGS OR PEDIGREES 25

OWNERSHIP VS GUARDIANSHIP 28

ELIMINATING MUTATION THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM 29

REGULAR DEPARTMENTS SOMEONE WE SHOULD KNOW 18

AKC DELEGATE REPORT 40

HISTORIAN 37

SCRAMBLAIRE 40

NEW TITLE HOLDERS 43

HEALTH COMMITTEE 36

RESCUE 52

SPECIALTY REPORTS WISCONSIN 45

TWIN CITIES 4532

REGIONAL REPORTS TEXAS & SOUTH CENTRAL 47

DOWN UNDER 47

LOWER NORTHWEST 50

MID-ATLANTIC 51

OHIO & VICINITY 51

SOUTHEASE 52

ADVERTISERS