We have an Airedale named Jack. He is about 10 1/2 years old now. We got him when he was five and have had him 5 1/2 years. He can definitely be very stubborn and ABSOLUTELY hates having his legs and feet shaved or trimmed or brushed. He is the biggest baby about his toenails and will turn and snap at you but not bite -sometimes his mouth goes around my arm but he has never clamped down and really bit. (But then again, a few months ago he had 12 teeth pulled so he doesn't have much to bite down with). He loves to dig but a lot of the time it is so he can lay in the cooler dirt.

When we first got him, he played with the other dogs some - mostly Snoopy but now that he is older he doesn't play anymore. He gets real excited if he thinks he is going for a walk or in the car and hops around like crazy. We found out not too long ago that he has a cancerous tumor on his kidney and he has really slowed down now - sleeps alot.

No one is a stranger to Jack. He will go up to anyone and rub against them so they will pet him. He loves to have his ears rubbed and will rub against you until you rub them for him. He used to chase balls all the time - never got tired but now he might go after one ball. Sometimes he would just carry a tennis ball around in his mouth.

When I first mentioned to Carl that I wanted to go look at Jack, he was not happy. He thought an Airedale was a fru-fru dog because of their trimming. When the people brought us Jack, he rubbed against Carl right away and Carl was sold - Jack was filthy, stunk, and I might have refused to take him but there was no way Carl was leaving him. Jack is his dog now and he says we will always have an airedale. Now I think we need to downsize the number of dogs we have so after Jack dies I think it may be awhile before we get another one. And I don't think we will get a puppy - I think we will look for another rescue one. Most people don't research the breed and as puppies they are very exuberant and love to chew and dig. And then as the dogs get older they get tired of them and give them up.

We no longer take Jack for his trims. As I said he hates the brushing and it seems silly to pay a lot for a trim, have him come home pouting for a day or two and then fight you every time you brush him. So I trim him now and it is not an airdale cut. Just short so he is comfortable. As for shedding, a lot of hair comes out of Jack but usually just when you brush him. The rest just hangs there making him look kind of messy. He seems to be need to be bathed more often than the other dogs - his hair tends to get greasy after a couple of weeks.

As long as you are up to training a hyper pup who loves to chew and dig, an airedale is a great choice of dog. I am so glad that we have Jack.