Jan. 4, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
29 
Aireddle Field Trials. 
Toronto, Canada, Dec. 26. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: I have read with considerable in¬ 
terest E. M. Post’s letter in the issue of Forest 
AND Stream of Dec. 14. 
I do not altogether agree with Mr. Post’s 
contention that a dog with a gray coat and a 
light eye should win in the show ring, even 
though he should have the other points of the 
ideal Airedale terrier. 
It appears to me that the great pleasure in 
breeding Airedale terriers is to produce them as 
near the standard laid down as possible. If we 
begin to get away from the black saddle and the 
well placed dark eye, we might just as logically 
drift away from important points such as good 
bone, long clean skull, rough texture of coat, 
etc. My contention is that we have an Airedale 
terrier standard, and should all breed as close 
to it as we possibly can. There is only one 
point in the standard that I do not agree with— 
that is the limit of weight for dogs of 40 to 43 
pounds. Of late years we have seen very few 
40-pound Airedales coming anywhere near the 
money in our leading shows. On the other hand 
the Airedale terriers that have gone right to the 
top during recent years in England, United 
States and Canada have been dogs weighing, I 
venture to say, nearer 50 pounds than 45. 
As to the trimming and' stripping to which 
Airedale terriers are subjected before being 
shown, I don’t believe this practice is altogether 
objectionable. 
The Airedale terriers I keep and never in¬ 
tend to show are stripped twice each year in 
order to keep their coat in what I believe to 
be a proper condition. I am inclined to think 
that the Airedale two months after he has been 
stripped is in better shape as an ideal hunting 
dog than if his coat was allowed to grow in¬ 
definitely. I do not believe that the coat of the 
average winning Airedale at the time he is shown 
is in an artificial condition, as is claimed by Mr. 
Post. In my humble opinion, the condition of 
coat of the average winning Airedale at the 
time of the show is in good condition for bench 
show purposes, and also for practical work such 
as Airedales are used for in the Western States. 
Mr. Post' appears to me to have slightly 
mixed the conditions of bench shows with those 
of field trials. I quite agree with Mr. Post that 
Airedales should be properly trained as gun 
dogs, but the points required for such work 
could only be brought out at properly consti¬ 
tuted field trials, and in this connection I think 
it a great pity that we do not see more of the 
latter on this side of the water. 
J. F. H. USSHER. 
The Airedale’s Coal. 
Pitcairn, Pa., Dec. 2 i.~Editor Forest and 
Stream: You ask for an expression of opinion 
about the coat of the Airedale, and as a breeder 
and admirer of the breed I would say that E. 
M. Post has expressed my sentiments exactly. 
The coat should consist of the long wire 
hair and the soft under coat. All agree on that 
point. Then why in reason should we pick them 
for showing? 
Breeding for color and dark eyes is all 
right, but I do not think it should be considered 
in judging. The bench is a poor place to judge 
a dog, especially an Airedale. Why, I have had 
them with more sense and reasoning powers 
than some people, and that leads me to com¬ 
ment on your editorial, ‘‘Reason and Instinct.” 
You have the correct idea. The learned scien¬ 
tist may tell us that man alone of all created 
life is gifted with the faculty of reason, but 
we whO' love the outdoor life and the animals 
know that many animals are able to reason. 
R. K. Boyer. 
Psychology of the Dog. 
Professor Petrunkevitch, Cameron and 
Woodruff, of Yale University, gave tests re¬ 
cently to Jasper, an English brindle terrier, two 
years and three months old, born in Richmond, 
Va., and owned by Dixie Taylor, who is visit¬ 
ing different colleges to let the professors of 
psychology test the animal’s mental qualities. 
Prof. Petrunkevitch gave a two hours’ test 
to Jasper and then said he was the most won¬ 
derful dog he had ever seen. The professor 
ordered the dog to walk up the stairs, stop in 
the middle, and stand on his hind feet. Jasper 
started at once up the stairs and directly in the 
middle of the staircase he stopped and placed 
his fore paws on the bannister rail. Professor 
Woodruff went into a dark room, while Jasper’s 
owner sat in the parlor, a few doors away, with 
the dog. Taylor then told the dog to go into 
the room in which Professor Woodruff was and 
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