Some keep dogs, some keep terriers
I've wanted a dog since I was a little kid, and my dream came true when I was ten years old with my first pet, Patricia, a lovely Shih Tzu girl. Unfortunately, she was only with us for ten years, and her successor is Lulu, the almost 16-year-old shih-tzu. However, as an adult I wanted a more serious "hiking" dog, so I soon turned my attention to terriers that were neither too big nor too small, but are huge in temperament, zest for life and heart - more specifically I laid my eyes on the Irish terrier and the Airedale terrier.
My first terrier was an Irish Terrier, Jumping Wallaby Eoghan 'Pitkin' from Anikó Szabó's kennel, who came to me in the autumn of 2010 and I can say that he sealed my destiny for life, together with his companion, the Airedale female Azorina Von Saerdna 'Tréfi', who joined our pack in the summer of 2011 from Andrea Soós' kennel. Sadly, neither of them are with me anymore, but my love for these two breeds seems to be eternal. With Pitkin I was keen to go to shows and to blood tracking, the latter hobby we enjoyed together with Tréfi.
I started breeding with Airedale terriers, my foundation bitch is Ideal Dale Enigma (born in 2014, bred by Goran Karanovic). She has produced wonderful puppies, my first litter was born in summer 2017. Enigma retired this year after her 3rd and last litter and is now neutered and will hopefully be with us for a very long time. Over the years we have had other Airedale Terriers join our family, who you can read about in our Dogs section.
In both breeds, temperament and health are of paramount importance to me, as well as looks of type. All of my Airedale Terriers in breeding have hip and elbow and occasionally shoulder x-rays, but on the website I have included the results that have been sent in and received for official judging.
I am crossing several bloodlines to breed the ideal Airedale Terrier, combining show and working lines - the Irish Terrier fortunately has not yet split into these two.
I am currently happy with three Irish terriers, Penta, Bibi and the little macho Svejk. I expect my first Irish terrier puppies in 2023.
To me, the Airedale is one of the easiest to live with, one of the easiest to handle, the "golden retriever" of terriers if you will. However, socializing and shcool for them are a must but under these conditions, I dare to recommend the breed to novice dog owners. It is important to choose the right puppy for the right owner, and vice versa.
If I had to make a comparison between the two breeds, I would say that with the Airedale terrier you pepper the soup, with the Irish terrier you cover it with the whole bag :D Nevertheless, Irish terriers are wonderful dogs, they have huge personalities, but I would not necessarily recommend them for beginners (especially males). The Irish are less hyperactive than a fox- or other smaller terrier, but they are very lively as well.
Me and my husband, who's been breeding short-haired Hungarian Vizslas for almost 22 years, live in a farm-like village house in Heves County, an hour from Budapest, where our dogs live happily as dogs in a huge area with us and around us, under constant care and supervision.
Vera Czekes-Pokol
+3620-278-8030