GROOMING

Your Airedale will need professional grooming at least three times a year, (each Airedale seems to have different coat growth rates) He does not shed his coat and it will need to be clippered or hand stripped. I do recommend owners to attempt to do some of this themselves, it creates a good relationship between dog and owner and grooming done over a period of days rather than hours must be easier for the dog.

Maintenance grooming (brushing and combing) should be done as often as you can, ideally daily. He must be groomed at least once a week to stop the build up of knots and debris in his coat. The Airedales coat is harsh and dirt brushes out.

Use a terrier pad to brush the dog thoroughly making sure you brush under the armpits and between the back legs brisket and belly arrears thoroughly, if the dog is badly snagged gently tease out or cut out the knots. Brush the longer hair on the legs upwards. Gently but firmly take the brush through the beard taking out all residual food (Airedales do like to save dinner in here). Take the wide end of you comb and comb upwards through the leg hair and then comb it downwards into place, comb the beard in sections making sure to go right through (use the brush again if you find a problem). Use the narrow end of your comb to comb through the rest of your dog (this should be shorter hair) If his hair is getting long you will find you will need to go through with the wide teeth and then the narrow teeth. This should remove a lot of dead hair and undercoat.

When you walk your dog through a field, particularly sheep or deer pasture, check when you arrive home that he hasn’t picked up any ticks, these show as large red spots about an hour after being picked up. They are often found around the ears, the armpits and on soft flesh. Don’t pull them off as you will leave the head embedded in the dog’s flesh and this can infect. Spray with a good flea/tick killer and also spray any carpets and furniture the dog has been on. There are some very good products available from your vet and prevention is always better than cure.

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