Bedlington Terrier Dog Breed

The Bedlington Terrier has been described as resembling a lamb.At the same time, Frank Barton said that "the Bedlington can hardly be regarded as a handsome dog."It has also been compared to a miniature version of the Scottish Deerhound.George Shields stated that exceedingly well-bred dogs possess the spirit of a thoroughbred racehorse.

The dogs have blue, liver or sandy colouration, all three of which may have tan points.Bedlingtons carry what is known as the greying gene, a dominant trait carried on the G locus.This gene causes puppies born with black or dark brown fur to lighten to grey or liver with age.The fur of the Bedlington creates a shape on the top of the dog's head known as a topknot. Although most modern breed standards call for the dog's topknot to be lighter than its body, when the breed was first being formed there was at least one prominent breeder, Mr. Pickett, who believed that the topknot should be darker, not lighter.

The dog's coat has been described as shaggy, hard, and rugged in style and it has also been described as linty in texture, giving the breed the nickname of "linty-haired terrier".Frank Barton refers to the Bedlington Terrier as a "broken-coated terrier".Its coat is made up of a combination of hard and soft hairs.It is extremely difficult to maintain the shape of their coats, even for professionals, and grooming can be quite expensive.Dogs in what is referred to as show clip, or groomed for the show ring, cannot have fur that stands out more than 1 inch (2.5 centimetres) from their body, and the coat must have a "crisp" texture.If grooming is not performed regularly, the coat's condition rapidly deteriorates.Before the rise of professional grooming, Bedlingtons were frequently plucked, or had undesirable or loose fur simply pulled from their body.Bedlington Terriers have been referred to as a nonshedding hypoallergenic breed.

The head of the dog must be rounded in shape with no stop.Their eyes are almond-shaped and small, and the lips are close-fitting and lack flews.The back must be arched, and the body should be slightly longer in length than in height.Although 16.5 inches (42 cm) is the preferred height for male dogs, a range from 16 to 17.5 inches (41 to 44 cm) is allowed; for females, the preferred height is 15.5 inches (39 cm) and the acceptable range is from 15 to 16.5 inches (38 to 42 cm).Both genders must weigh between 17 and 23 pounds (7.7 and 10 kg).They possess a light, springy gait.
Data refer : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedlington_Terrier