Full Cry Column
April 2004

Kevin G. Kelly (Pacific Coast Working Airedale Terrier Association correspondent)

Greetings!
Just to watch O'Sheen run through the woods is a thing of beauty. He is the dog with the very tight hard coat associated with the extreme fourth quadrant redline Airedale. He has springs in his legs that can propel him high into the air, onto or over downed redwood logs, over gullies running with seasonal springs and up steep embankments with an ease that is enviable.
We went out yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours in a light rain that followed a downpour with high winds. Lots of debris on the ground, with fallen trees whose root systems just gave up the ghost and pulled out of the water soaked ground. I see old trees that look like they will be the next to go and yet they last year after year while smaller heartier looking oaks and madrones fall to the ground.
Life here on the edge of the Big Basin, in the Santa Cruz Mountains has been stormy the last few weeks. The rain and wind has been pelting the earth and the temperatures are colder than usual during the rain. Just last night we got enough hail to put a layer on the decks for a few hours. The earth, dirt and driveways don't cool off enough from the day's temperatures to keep the hail from melting but the decks cool fast and allow the hail to build up.
This by no means is a complaint. I like the cooler temperatures and I know a lot of you folks are experiencing a harshly cold winter. I'll bet the Airedales are glad for their winter coats and the hounds are jealous.
I received a good letter from Ron Erhart up on the Yukon River in Alaska. He wants to breed a hound with intelligence, good game sense and a winter coat that will stand up to the Alaskan winters. Ron wrote,
"I have been hunting hounds here in Alaska for three years now, even though I am a life long Alaskan. I use a treeing Walker, a Black and Tan and a Redbone on Snowshoe hare, Black bear and Lynx. I am looking into breeding a longer haired hound that would be more comfortable in Alaskan conditions. I can only hunt in temperatures down to -10 degrees farenheit. After the temperature drops below minus ten degrees it's too cold to hunt my hounds without causing medical problems like frozen testicle, canine hypothermia, stiffening of muscles and frostbite.
I believe crossing an Airedale with a treeing Walker may possibly get me closer to breeding a hound more suited to Alaska and someday produce the perfect Artic Stalker. The Airedales longer coat and intelligence with the astounding nose of the treeing Walker would truly be a step in the right direction.
The Airedales game sense was another reason the Airedale breed attracted me.
I thank you for taking the time to read my letter Mr. Kelly. I hope I hear from you. Sincerely, Ronald Erhart."
Thank you for taking the time to write the letter and sending it away. When I read it, I remembered reading somewhere about a dog sled team that worked in extreme cold conditions for an emergency medical team. It didn't take tooooo... long before I remembered it was in Bryan Cummins' deeply researched and thorough book "The Working Airedale".

Bryan's book talks about the medical rescue team, by the name of Wheeler, that uses an Airedale in its dog sled team. The people serve as medical technicians at dog sled races. One of the things I remember Bryan saying in the book was that the Airedale burrows in the snow like the Huskies while the Lab cross and Golden Retriever owned by the Wheelers need to get in the tent in sleeping bags!
In a section entitled "Airedales in Alaska", Bryan wrote, "Palmer's 'All About Airedales' provides much information on the breed in Alaska. Most dramatic are the photographs of Airedales in action tackling bears and wolverines, retrieving waterfowl and hauling sleds. Again, the dogs he discusses are all-rounders. Palmer was the owner of Lake-Dell kennels and he undoubtedly took pride in the feats of his dogs in Alaska. Lake-Dell Vic and Lake-Dell Tackler, owned by Charles Emsweiler, hunting guide in Seward, Alaska, are shown in a number of photographs. These two dogs alone hauled between 300 and 400 pounds of moose meat on a sled for miles at a time. Additionally, in the capacity of hunting dogs they trailed and bayed bears. Palmer has a photo of Vic and Tackler sitting behind a dead grizzly which they had brought to bay. While not an action shot, the picture is dramatic because of the ludicrous discrepancy in size between the dogs and the bear. The latter's head is seemingly larger than either of the two dogs. In other shots, the dogs are depicted hauling camp supplies and baying a black bear and a wolverine. The activities, it should be noted, sometimes took place at temperatures close to fifty below zero, suggesting not only the breed's versatility but it's adaptability to environmental extremes." ( Bryan Cummins, The Working Airedale)
Ron, I think you should pursue your plan with great gusto. If I were you I would do it by getting an Airedale or two to mix into your pack. I think you would be quite surprised by the tracking ability of the Airedale as well. Granted the are not the cold trailers your Walker is, they like a hot trail and most of them don't open up until they get a visual on the game but this can save you a lot of time chasing an old trail with no result.
When the temperature drops you would always have the Airedales to hunt with, until your crosses are old enough, then you would have both.
For those of you who are interested, I would recommend getting Bryan's books. I emailed him to find out about availability and contact information and here's what he said, "We have copies of all three Airedale titles (The Working Airedale @$30.00, Airedales - the Oorang Story @$25.00 and Colonel Richardson's Airedales: the making of the British War Dog School, 1900 - 1918 @$31.95). Postage is $5.00 for the first book, $1.00 each additional. They can send cheque, cash or money order to
Bryan Cummins
67 Downey Drive
Bolton, Ontario
L7E 2B8

GATOR

I received a good letter and pictures from Dennis Hescock from up in Wardsboro, Vermont. Dennis wrote, "Here's a short report on the Green Mountain Airedale's. I did not breed Georgia this time. I do plan to try next year.
I hope to get Nick and Gator started on bear, then I hope that will spark some interest with other bear hunters. I have gotten real good reports back on all the pups from the last litter.
The cats are few around here this year, so I guess bear season will be my best shot to see what Nick and Gator can do.
Enclosed are a few photos of Georgia, Nick and Gator.
Sincerely, Dennis Hescock"
Dennis, thanks for the report and the pictures. I have posted the picture of Gator who seems to take after his Dad.
I think if you get a chance to work these pups with Georgia and those hounds you mentioned before, you'll have some pretty good bear dogs in no time. That Nick looks like a fast one. I have no doubt that those old Yorkshiremen bred in some type of Greyhound blood into the foundation of these dogs. Some of them can really move out. The old Scotch Collie might give that slim line appearance as well.
I hope you get a chance to make that Rhino/Georgia cross again and good luck to you on getting them to folks who will work them. I think it's truly in the dog's best interest. The Airedale more than any other dog I know wants to be right there with you doing what you are doing. They are one of the smartest partners you'll ever find.

I have heard from Odon Corr, he sent a photograph of South Dakota Buster Billy that he wanted to share with me so I sent it in with this column to share with all of you. Here's what Odon had to say, "I wanted to share this photo of Billy with you. Ric Sorenson got him as a pup from me in 1997. This is a line bred dog by way of breeding grandfather to granddaughter. Nell, his mother is from Dakota Belle by Buster also. Billy is like looking at another Buster, although a little heavier. Billy is not used for hunting but one can be sure he has it in him. I will breed a bitch to him in the early fall. Sincerely, Odon Corr"
I had, had a phone conversation with Odon, a while back in which we talked about line breeding back to grandparents. South Dakota Buster Billy is sure a good argument in favor of such a cross. He is 22 3/4 inches tall, weighs 60 pounds and I'll bet he is quick on his feet.
I had an accidental brother/sister breeding here awhile back and got two pups out of it. I was optimistic enough about the results that I did it again and got six pups. Out of the eight pups total, three didn't work out, three are good dogs, one is the crème of the crop, his picture should be next to Airedale Terrier in the dictionary and I haven't heard anything about the eighth. I won't make this cross again because I think line breeding a little farther apart will bring a better percentage. I wanted to push the close breeding to see what faults might arise. One is dog aggressive, (no good for a hunting dog) one is pretty skittish, ( But once he gets used to the noise or size of a new thing, it doesn't bother him again. I think he is very smart and cautious and believe he will mature into a fine dog) and one had a slight heart murmur (He is now over a year old and there is no outward appearance of a problem, he runs with the other dogs and shows no weakness. He will not be bred).

SOUTH DAKOTA BUSTER BILLY

None of these faults are 100% conclusive to be a genetic flaw but I would rather not make that cross again. I think about a mother/son breeding and will definitely make the grandparent/grandchild cross.
I know I would breed South Dakota Buster Billy to any of my females if distance weren't a factor and I would still like to breed Brisk to Hank in Colorado.
Henry Johnson sent me the picture of Sophie Summers. She is out of McCain/Lil, from Wayne Waggoner. She is owned by C.J. Summers and he hunts her on pheasant. Airedales have always made good gundogs. I've seen doubting Thomas' be converted by their abilities in the field.
Some of you may have read about the Mountain lion attacks at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, here in California. A male bicyclist was killed in the morning and then a female rider was attacked in the afternoon. She lived.
I came across an article by Mary Ziess Stange in USA Today, February 16, 2004, that I thought was worth repeating in its entirety. It is in response to the increase of wild animal attack on humans.
The title is, "When animals stalk humans, hunters should shoot back."
""It's crazy: When you want to hike public land in California, the Fish and Game folks give you a pamphlet warning you to be on the lookout for poison oak on backcountry trails, as if that's the biggest danger out there. The pamphlet doesn't even mention mountain lions."

So a California acquaintance, and fellow hunter, remarked to me shortly after the January cougar attacks that left one bicyclist dead and another severely injured.
"If we could still hunt those big cats," he added, "we wouldn't have this problem."
He might have a point. Wildlife officials estimate that today there are 4,000 to 6,000 cougars in California, a tenfold increase since hunting them in that state was stopped in the early 1970s. Not only are lion sightings up dramatically, but lion attacks on livestock, pets and humans have risen sharply. An average of one human has been attacked per year since 1990; three have died.
Steve Torres, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Game, told the San Francisco Chronicle that, with "humans and lions interfacing," attacks such as the one that took the life of Mark Reynolds Jan. 8 are bound to continue occurring.
Reynolds, 35, an amateur mountain-bike racer, was attacked while biking alone in Orange County's Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. His partially eaten body was discovered several hours later near the site of a second lion attack that same day. That attack left 30-year-old mountain biker Anne Hjelle severely injured. A young male mountain lion subsequently was shot by wildlife officials, who were able to determine that the animal was responsible for both attacks.
Might an open season on mountain lions help prevent such awful encounters?
A key reason for reintroducing regulated hunting is that it would re-instill in predators a fear of humans. That's a fear they clearly have lost if they've gotten to the point of seeing people as prey, or at least as non-competitors in the food chain. California mountain lions - also called cougars, pumas and panthers - have been off-limits to hunters since 1971, when a plunging cat population led then-governor Ronald Reagan to sign a moratorium. In 1990, after a lengthy media campaign pitting animal-rights activists against hunter-conservationists, California voters passed Proposition 117, the California Wildlife Protection Act, which permanently banned lion hunting.

SOPHIE SUMMERS

Yet, in spite of the growing problem of lions "interfacing" with humans, pets and livestock, any effort to reintroduce the hunting of cougar's touches off friction between animal protectionists and representatives of the hunting community, such as Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association. Those two groups tried to restore hunting in 1996 through another public referendum, following the deaths of two female hikers in separate attacks. That initiative failed. But, with a cougar population that appears increasingly difficult to control, it may be time for another.
Long assumed to be denizens of rugged wilderness areas, cougars, faced with ever-increasing human development encroaching on their habitat, today are likely to be lurking alarmingly close to home. The nearest dwellings were a mere half-mile from the "wilderness" trail where the latest attacks occurred. And Walter Boyce, a professor at the University of California-Davis' Wildlife Health Center, has put radio collars on several mountain lions and tracked them roaming backyards of San Diego's suburbs at night, foraging for food.
New Jersey has had to confront a strikingly similar situation when it comes to black bears. Bear hunting was banned in the Garden State 33 years ago, when the bear population numbered about 100. Today, the population is thought to be as high as 3,000, and the past few years have witnessed a steep upswing in bear-human encounters.
Last year, at least 58 bears broke into houses in New Jersey, and the state Division of Fish and Wildlife received more than 1,300 complaints about problem bears, including one from a hiker who was mugged by a bruin that stole his trail mix, and another from the parents of a two-year-old swatted by a bear that ambled into their yard. While these encounters only resulted in minor injuries, in New York last year a bear knocked a baby out of her stroller and killed her.
As in California, the primary reason for increased bear-human interaction is the encroachment of humans on bear habitat. According to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Director Marty McHugh, "There are no deep-woods bears in the state. These bears in the deeper woods areas are ranging out to feed in the suburbs and on the farms."
Last fall, New Jersey issued more than 5,000 black bear permits to hunters. In December, 328 bears were killed during the six-day hunting season, which New Jersey wildlife officials regarded as a success.
Animal rights activists called the hunt a massacre. Some people objected that hunters did not effectively isolate the "nuisance" bears most in need of being removed. Others promoted a contraception program to reduce numbers "naturally."
What these critics all tended to miss was the fact that, as a strategy for controlling animal-human interaction, hunting ultimately has less to do with killing than with instilling fear in animals that have begun to see humans as prey. Animals that are hunted are much more wary of their human predators and less willing to risk contact with them.
Would a similar strategy work to decrease cougar attacks in California? The current system there allows wildlife officials to exterminate problem animals - but, as the latest attacks demonstrate, this can occur only after animals have become problems, often with tragic outcomes. And experts have suggested that the cougar that carried out those attacks, like most of New Jersey's "nuisance" bears, was probably perfectly normal.

Hunting would not completely offset the behavioral problems caused by human over development, but it is an ancient, efficient, way to restore humans to our place in the natural scheme of things. If, in the process, it reminds our feline co-predators that it is not a good idea to put us on their menu, then it is at least (no pun intended) worth a shot."
Mary Zeiss Stange, author of Woman the Hunter, teaches at Skidmore College. She also is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.
I think that was very well said. I think even hunting cougar and bear with dogs and a camera, would go a long way in re-establishing the fear of humans.

The quote of the month is from the preface of Bryan Cummins' 'The Working Airedale', "I hope this book will furnish a record of the breed's accomplishments in the service of man. It is my fondest wish that it will also serve as a reminder to present day Airedalers that we must never lose sight of the unique capabilities of the breed."
Remember, as, Henry S. Johnson Jr. says: " Let us hear from you Airedale people. And don't forget to put your arms around those furry black and tan dogs with the beards and the moustaches and talk to them. They are people dogs and family members."
Respectfully submitted, Kevin G. Kelly, Pacific Coast Corresponding Secretary for the Working Airedale Terrier Association. No rules, regulations, officers, dues or formal affiliations, its more a state of mind.