This does not mean, however, that the breed does not have quirks that need to be taken into consideration when training. "You can't cut corners when you are training an Airedale," said Faulkner. "They keep you honest and you must be sure of what you want from them.

Heather Faulkner's Chaser shows he's equally interested in hunting upland birds.

They are thinkers, no doubt about it. They won't do something just because you said so. They want to know the reason. They can be stubborn, but then so am I."

Mongeon concurred. "You have to have a great sense of humor with this breed and you have to be both patient and consistent in your training," he said. "They will get in trouble if you leave the door to temptation open. They have a very strong need to check everything out. Because they are so curious, keeping them focused on the task at hand can sometimes be challenging."

The development of the ATCA's hunt test program along with opportunities provided by the HRC and now the CKC has had a definite positive impact on the breed. According to Gilbert, more than half of the current crop of Airedales has been bred for performance and a goodly portion of those bred for hunting.

"If you take all the performance Airedales into consideration, the ratio of performance/hunting Airedales to show Airedales would be about five to one," Gilbert said. "A specific example would be this year's ATCA floating specialty. There were 191 entries for the hunt tests and another 121 for agility, obedience and rally for a total of 312 performance entries. There were 57 entries for the dog show portion of the specialty.

"What this means is that it is not difficult to find an Airedale pup with hunting ability.

Even before the ATCA and HRC hunt test programs came into existence, there were Airedale breeders who bred strictly for hunting ability and nothing else. So there has always been a strong base of hunting Airedales.

"For years now we have seen serious buyers at the Field Nationals or regional hunt tests coming to see the parents of their prospective pup work. If that is not possible, most breeders will make arrangements to take the prospective gun dog purchaser hunting with their Airedales."

Mongeon added that the number of participants in the ATCA's hunt tests has been steadily increasing. "More Airedales are doing a good job in these tests and getting good scores so it is getting much easier to find an Airedale pup with the ability to not only hunt for you but also do the job very well. Looking back 20 years to the humble beginning of this program with a handful of participants, as compared to today's highly successful test program, is a real pleasure for those of us who were there at the start.

"In practical terms for the breed what this means is that there are greater numbers of pups being bred with the right stuff for hunting. The field-tested parents and grandparents are leaving a wonderful legacy in the breed. I'm sure that the CKC's WCIX program will also have an impact although it may be small at first.

"Most of the interest in Canada at the moment seems to be in the western provinces.

However, I'm sure many of our Airedale friends in the U.S. will be heading north to be among the first to get official CKC titles. Besides, the Canadian Prairies are a beautiful place to visit with millions of ducks and geese passing through here every fall.

"What better way to enjoy them than with a shotgun in your hand and a hunting Airedale at your side?"