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Airedale Terrier

The breeds · terrier

AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 7

Airedale Terrier.

UKC: bred as a hunting and working dog; hunted fox, badger, weasel, otter and river rats; now used for many purposes from police work to family pet, and all characteristics related to the breed's versatility are to be maintained. FCI 7: largest of the terriers; remarkable scenting powers, used in Africa, India and Canada for tracking, and for the Red Cross, police and armed forces; classified Group 3 Section 1, working trial optional. RKC: known as the Waterside Terrier for working the riverbanks to keep down vermin; scenting powers used for tracking. AKC Airedale Terrier Facts: originally used to hunt large rats, chased into the river after ferrets flushed them; has expanded to hunting large game and many other jobs. Wikipedia: originally a versatile hunting and all-round working farm dog..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

12YRMedian lifespan11.8 to 12.3, measured on real dogs.
23INHeightdogs 23, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
50–80LBWeight, all linesbreed 50 to 80 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 1 hour per day.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

bitches 22 to 23.2 in

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 7, 2026

Only FCI prints a female range.

dogs 23 in (22.8 to 24)

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC standard prints about 23; UKC 23 to 24; FCI 22.8 to 24.0.

Weight

50 to 80 lb

Breed clubAKC

AKC page and Wikipedia span; no standard prints a weight. Oorang-type dogs sit outside the standard and are not included in the range.

Coat

AKC: hard, dense, wiry, lying straight and close, some of the hardest crinkling or slightly waved; softer undercoat; head and legs tan, body black or dark grizzle. FCI 7: hard, dense, wiry, curly or soft coat highly undesirable. RKC: medium coat; does not shed; groom every day. AKC page shedding 1 of 5 (AKC band).

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 1 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · AKC standard: hard, dense and wiry coat lying straight and close, with a shorter softer undercoat. FCI 7: hard, dense, wiry, not so long as to appear ragged.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard's coat (dense wire double coat, medium length = 3). No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

12 years (11.8 to 12.3)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population; median across dogs that had died plus censored dogs per the paper's method.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · RKC: grooming every day; medium coat length; does not shed. AKC page coat grooming frequency 3 (AKC band, not mapped). UKC disqualifies artificial coloring and artificial stiffening of the coat.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule. Mapped 4 (daily or regular clipping).

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

UKC: bred as a hunting and working dog; hunted fox, badger, weasel, otter and river rats; now used for many purposes from police work to family pet, and all characteristics related to the breed's versatility are to be maintained. FCI 7: largest of the terriers; remarkable scenting powers, used in Africa, India and Canada for tracking, and for the Red Cross, police and armed forces; classified Group 3 Section 1, working trial optional. RKC: known as the Waterside Terrier for working the riverbanks to keep down vermin; scenting powers used for tracking. AKC Airedale Terrier Facts: originally used to hunt large rats, chased into the river after ferrets flushed them; has expanded to hunting large game and many other jobs. Wikipedia: originally a versatile hunting and all-round working farm dog.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC, FCI, RKC and AKC article agree.

Primary game

UKC: fox, badger, weasel, otter and river rats, plus other small game. RKC: riverbank vermin. AKC Airedale Terrier Facts: large rats, then large game. Wikipedia: in the United States, big game, upland birds and waterfowl.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC lists the quarry; the large-game and US lines are the AKC article's and Wikipedia's (editorial).

Also used on

AKC Airedale Terrier Facts: large game; police work; sentries and couriers in World War I and Red Cross rescue work. Wikipedia: in the United States hunted big game, upland birds and water fowl; larger 'Oorang' type used for big-game hunting. FCI 7 and RKC: tracking by scent.

Breed clubAKC

AKC article and Wikipedia are editorial; no species of big game is named by any source read.

Search pattern

FCI 7: remarkable scenting powers, used for tracking. UKC: bred as a hunting and working dog, alert, quick and always ready for action. Wikipedia: bred to hunt independently, which makes the dog intelligent, independent and strong-minded.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 7, 2026

Single-dog independent work; no source prints a voice or cry statement.

Field trial standard

AKC Earthdog eligibility page lists 29 AKC breeds and three FSS breeds; the Airedale Terrier is not among them. FCI 7: Group 3 Section 1, working trial optional. No hunting-test or retriever-test rule read.

Breed clubAKC

Absence from the AKC list is by reading the page, which names the eligible breeds.

Water work

RKC: the Waterside Terrier worked the riverbanks. UKC: Otterhound cross, hunted otter and river rats; early crosses called Working, Waterside or Bingley Terriers. AKC article: rats chased into the river. Wikipedia: used in the US for waterfowl.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC, UKC and AKC article describe river work; the waterfowl claim is Wikipedia's alone.

Cold water

4 of 5 · UKC: developed as the Working, Waterside or Bingley Terrier on the River Aire from an Otterhound and Black and Tan Terrier cross; hunted otter and river rats. Coat is hard, dense and wiry with an undercoat (AKC).

DerivedUnited Kennel Club

Derived from a dense wiry double coat plus waterside and otter work in the history; a large terrier. No measured data.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

11.5% · 7,352 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026; 11.5% dysplastic (mild 7.7, moderate 3.3, severe 0.5), 87.3% normal

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, with normal results over-represented.

Elbow dysplasia

8.7% · 952 OFA elbow evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026; 8.7% abnormal (grade 1 7.9, grade 2 0.8, grade 3 0.0), 91.3% normal

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, with normal results over-represented. Hips rank 120, elbows rank 57.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 9 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Airedale, King of Terriers, Waterside Terrier

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

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