Here’s a few tips on how to groom an Airedale Terrier from the comfort of your home. This breed has a double coat that is waterproof. It is hard, dense and wiry. It should not be so long as to appear ragged, and should lie straight and close, covering the body and legs. The outer coat is hard, wiry and stiff, and the undercoat is shorter and softer.

Maintenance

A daily brush keeps this dog looking smart, but it needs professional stripping about three or four times a year. Being a breed that loves nothing more than to participate in family games and to go for long walks, the coat will need regular attention.

It is always a joy for any groomer to achieve perfection when it comes to Airedale Terrier. Many groomers clip the coat rather than strip it and, professionally done, Airedales still look very smart whichever procedure is undertaken. Care should be taken with regards to the coat when showing, as hand stripping only is acceptable.

Pet dogs are usually clipped, as are those that are retired from the show ring, as this is less time consuming and stressful for the dog, especially older dogs. With regular clipping, the undercoat tends to take over and the coat becomes softer and loses color, which is not a problem to the pet dog, but will not be tolerated in the show ring.

Equipment needed: Terrier pin-pad brush, wide-toothed comb and narrow-toothed comb, clippers or stripping tools, scissors, rounded ones for the ears and around the face, and pointed ones for the rest of the body. It is hard work to keep this charming breed stripped. Most pets and retired show dogs are clipped.

• Brush the entire coat with the terrier pin-pad brush
• Trim closely and evenly from the back of the head and down into the back.
• Trim the level of the back, but not as closely as the neck area.
• The front parts of the neck and brisket are trimmed very closely, with just a shade more hair left on, as you work down to where the front legs join the body.
• The shoulders are trimmed evenly and closely.
• The front legs should be merely trimmed to straightness. This can be done carefully with scissors, taking off only the hair that stands out. Trim from the rear line. Take out a few hairs from the front and outside the front legs where they join the shoulder to give a straight line from the top of the shoulder to the feet, and from the brisket to the tips of the toes.
• Shape the ribs to follow the body conformation, working hair evenly from a closely trimmed back to a fairly heavy coat on the underpart of the ribs and chest. On the underpart of the chest, only remove those hairs necessary to prevent shagginess.  Trim under the line of the chest to follow the body line.
• Take the hair in the loin area closer than the chest, but do not make it too fine. The underline is trimmed closely to emphasize the tuck-up.
• Do not take all the hair off the belly, but only those hairs that are snarled or shaggy.
• For the hind leg areas, trim to achieve a fine back to a fairly heavy coated thigh.
• From the middle of the thigh to the hock, trim only those hairs that are shaggy.
• The back line of the hock should be trimmed straight. Superfluous hairs should be trimmed from the edges of the feet and between the toes. Shape to create a round outline.
• Trim the insides of the back legs toa clean finish, taking care to give a straight, even line to the hind legs.
• Trim the tail closely to the tip, toward the head. Trim very fine in the rear, where it joins the stern.
• Trim the stern very closely where it joins the tail, working it heavier toward the hind legs.
• Trim the skull very closely. Trim the eyebrows evenly and closely at the outside corner of the eye, with plenty of length over the inside corner.
• Trim the cheeks closely from the outside corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth.
• Trim very slightly from the inside corner of the eye, downward to the corner of the mouth, to achieve the characteristic breed facial expression.
• Trim the hairs on top of the muzzle from slightly between the eyebrows to the nose to give a straight line from the top of the skull.
• Leave the chin whiskers, but brush them forwards. Clean under the jaw from the corner of the mouth to the back of the neck.
• Clean off the ears closely inside and out, giving particular attention to the edges of the ears, which should have a clean finish.
• Remember to check the Airedale’s nails, ears and teeth.
• Avoid bathing unless absolutely necessary. Regular brushing should keep the coat clean. If a bath cannot be avoided, wet the coat thoroughly, apply a mild shampoo and rinse thoroughly. Brush the coat through with a hound glove to remove loose hairs, and towel off excess moisture. Leave to dry naturally in a warm room.
• Pet dogs are often clipped rather than stripped and trimmed.