I met a lovely dog today a Bedlington terrier never met one before and I loved her she was a beauty her name was pixie. I would love to know more about the breed can anyone recommend any books on the breed please. I think I'm smitten.

I think Dill is the one to ask on this. from the Avatar it's their breed.

I love this breed! My friend has one, who is probably not very typical of the breed, as he lives happily alongside their pet house rabbit, and a lurcher x staff!!!

Lovely dogs and from what I've heard a lot more robust than people realise. I was speaking to a breeder on the Discover Dogs stand at Crufts who said his often gets barrel-rolled by his adult labrador and is very sturdy!

Yes Dill is the expert with this breed.  I'm sure that she won't miss your topic.  She is the one that will guide you through the maze.  :-)

I once lived with several of them, owned by my landlady. They're typical terriers, prey driven, and active, and if not in show clip they look nothing like the photos you see of the breed. It's extremely hard to find photos of Bedlingtons "au naturel" but they are very attractive in a roughy scruffy way.

One of these breeds split into working/show as so many others and the working ones look totally different, especially in colour. I used to have a friend who bred working Bedlingtons. She had blues, livers , liver and tan and blue and tan and they were a lot LOT darker than the show lines that although not white, are as pale as to look  off white.

My former next door neighbour had a working beddy that lived to 23 years old.

>23 years old.

WOW!  That is amazing.  :-)

Hi puggy,

Sorry I didn't reply earlier, I've been offline a few days.

I have and breed (occasionally) Bedlington Terriers.    They are a lovely breed, very affectionate with both humans and each other.  They recognise other Bedlingtons and never forget a friend :-)

They can be friends with cats, rabbits etc if they've been brought up with them, but any not in the family will be seen as prey.  But it does depend on temperament.   I had one who was soft as butter until she smelled rats or fox, then would be very determined to find and kill!   Her daughter is a proper 'princess' and rarely breaks into a sweat LOL  but she was still veryb'switched on' when a fledgling Jackdaw was in our garden.   Her daughter will hunt if she gets the chance and can be deaf if she smells rabbit, rat or fox.  Yet all three were fine (under supervision)  when my daughter brought her gerbils to stay one Christmas.   We didn't leave the gerbil cage unattended though - we're not daft ;-)

Pups are born black, dark brown, and liver.  With or without tan markings.  They also have shiny straight coats.  The twisty coat develops over time, and the black changes to blue with lighter topknot/legs,  brown to liver with lighter topknots/legs, and the liver to sandy and pale topknot/legs.   If a dog gets an injury, the hair will grow in like the newborn coat and change later.   The coat also changes with a bitches seasons and with the weather!   Even normally very dark dogs can go very pale after a season or pups.  Males also change colour over the year.

They do need grooming and clipping regularly to keep the coat in good condition.   Some of those scruffy looking working Bedlingtons will have dreadful mats, and this can affect the skin too.   Clipping needs to be done every 6-8 weeks, but can easily be learned.

Despite being one of the least terrier-like of the terriers,  eg much less shouty than most, they can change in an instant if prey is around.   It's as if they have a switch in their heads!   Even the show bred dogs are like this.

Many Show bred Bedlingtons will still have pedigree/pure-bred working in their background, and some breeders work their dogs regularly.

Some of the working (not show) breeders have been mixing Lakeland, Border, Patterdale and other terriers in with Bedlingtons 'to make them more game' and this often leads to the darker colours, with a much harsher (incorrect) coat and different body/head shape.   It also means a much sharper dog to live with.

Very intelligent, Bedlingtons will run rings around their owners if not trained and given something to do.  A firm hand is needed, or they'll train you, but not a harsh hand, they're quite sensitive and don't take being shouted at, or even an angry sound to your voice, very well.  An upset Bedlington is a piteous sight as they're very expressive.

To me, they are quite Whippet-like in some ways, but also very much a terrier.   They don't look for a fight, but will finish it.   Bite inhibition training is a must, as their jaws are very strong, and their teeth much larger than you'd expect in a dog of their size.à

For more information and for info on health matters,    The Bedlington Terrier by Ken Bounden - contact the breed clubs to buy a copy   a superb book by 'Mr Bedlington' himself, most of the other books aren't worth the money and tell you nothing about Bedlingtons  ;-)

Bedlington Terrier Association

Midland Bedlington Terrier Association

Well,  I'm baaaack!!!!!!!

Sorry,

No idea what happened, won't let me delete posts !   Please delete if you're able - please !

hahaha you certainly make a dramatic come back. thank you Dill for all the informative info they sound a wonderful breed im going to read trough the breed association get the book and try to attend a few shows. im not in a possition to have another dog for a couple of years yet so i got pleanty of time to do lots of research. i would like to meet a lot more bedlingtons as i have only met the one. i will always have a pug or two and i have a few foster ones in and out all the time so a pup would be best for me when the time comes. Thanks again for all the info.

You're welcome :-)

You'll find at the shows, that the breeders usually reflect the nature of these dogs too, they're very friendly and welcoming to newcomers :-)

One thing you should be warned about,  it's impossible to walk far down the street with a Bedlington before someone stops you for a cuddle and a chat :-D

As you have Pugs, you'll have no trouble with their liveliness too and they should get on fine together   :-)    But don't worry,  the adults are like Whippets and love to cuddle up in the house - they make great hot water bottles :-)

I've only had real contact with just one and all I can say is he was an absolute delight. Lovely character and my terrier and he got on from the word go. To be honest I didn't know what breed he was to start with because he was, as another poster put, 'au naturel !. I loved the look of him like that, such a fab face.

I have a friend who has one and works her in rally and a little HTM, when she can be switched on to pay attention she works beautifully!

They are very bright dogs and learn most things quickly.    I know Bedlingtons who do Dancing with Dogs,  Agility,  Terrier racing etc.   However,  this doesn't mean that they will want to do what you ask.   They may just as easily ignore you if they can't see the point  LOL    you can be half way round an agility course, on excellent points and times and the Bedlington will suddenly realise he hasn't greeted the judge!   That can't be allowed, so off he'll go to give the full Bedlington welcome, leaving his poor owner in the middle of the course.

They think for themselves, which can make for interesting times.

Bedlington Terriers