AIREDALES

[mancterrierman 1]

do airedales make good ratters or are they too slow? does anyone on here work them?

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

Better on tracksuit covered rats

[Simoman 110]

Far too big and slow to make an efficient ratter IMO.........

[mancterrierman 1]

fair enuf just wandered, cheers.

[skycat 6,172]

I had a 22" lurcher, no Airedale in her: out ratting she beat EVERY terrier (and they were seasoned ratting terriers too,) to the bolting rats without fail: as she was taller she covered the ground quicker and could see the rats from further off. I've never seen anything else to compare with her: OK, so she was lightly built, lurcher to lurcher for years and there was Beddy'Whippet in her too. I can't see why a smallish Airedale bitch couldn't do as well.

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

you where ratting against SHIT terriers if they got bested by a lurcher.

[jonathan 0]

lol my two lurchers are good at ratting i would say they are as good as most other dogs

[skycat 6,172]

you where ratting against SHIT terriers if they got bested by a lurcher.

 

I should say that this was on a farm where the farmer was digging up the fenceline round his barns: rats were in open ground and bolting in all directions: the lurcher could see further than the shorter legged terriers. Similarly at the edges of a small spinney by a cover crop cut down. I can't say who would have been better around pig pens piles of rubbish etc.

[jrearthdog 8]

airedales or any larger dog would take rats but will not be as good as a small terrier ,i hunt airedales but keep my dogs for other things i would not waste the power of the airedale on such small things

[targa 5]

I think a working Airdale can be very usefull in and out the water on Nutria hunt's.