Bedlington Terrier
A few words about the breed...
Bedlington Terriers are incredibly intelligent, lively, love to play, it’s hard to tire them out. They can run from morning to evening, but when they are alone at home, they sleep and rest. These are dogs that require taking care of their hair – systematics is necessary – bathing and cutting. When deciding on such a dog, you should bear this in mind. It does not matter how much space is at home – they feel great in all conditions – wherever they have love, but you have to remember about a large dose of exercise and play every day – they must run well.
All our dogs are treated like family members.
I love them as well as my whole family, they are the most important to us.
The name of the breed is related to the place of origin of these terriers – the town of Bedlington in Northumberland County in Great Britain
The Bedlington is believed to be of an ancestry older than all other terriers. It used to be known as the Rothbury Terrier. With time, his fame exceeded the region of origin, and the first breeders’ club was established in 1877. Although the appearance of this dog is gentle, he can be quite brave, but he does not look for aggression. His appearance of a sheep is deceptive, he is a hard and perky dog - a real terrier.
A graceful, agile, well-muscled dog with a build, neither weak nor heavy. The head should have the shape of a pear or a wedge, while at rest, the expression should be gentle and calm, bright, brave and self-confident. An intelligent companion dog with a strong hunting instinct. Gifted with a good character, proud, attached to the owner, neither fearful nor nervous. Gentle at rest, full of courage when aroused.
A dog capable of galloping at great speed, which is reflected in its appearance. The movement is very characteristic when it is slow rather short and high, light and flexible. With some sway when running fast.
Looking through photos of the breed, it’s hard to confuse Bedlington Terriers with any other dogs. The unusual appearance makes both puppies and adult dogs arouse great interest on walks. They get along very well with other animals, dogs, cats …
The bedlington terrier has several coat options: blue, liver and sand with or without flames. Dark pigmentation is desirable.
Puppies are always born dark: black (blue) or dark brown (liver and sand), the color brightens by about a year – it is almost white, but only at the age of about two years, stronger pigmentation is visible – the proper color. Their color is constantly changing, it is never the same. The blue ones have a shade of gray, the liver: brown, and the sandy: pink – light brown. When the skin is injured, it grows a puppy-colored coat that will grow back to an adult color over time.
About health...
CT – Copper Toxicosis in Bedlington Terriers
(COMMD1 – associated copper toxicosis in breeding Bedlington terriers)
Copper toxicosis in Bedlington Terriers is severe metabolism disease – biliary copper excretion is markedly reduced in affected dogs, and as a result copper accumulates in lysosomes of hepatocytes, eventually leading to liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and premature death. CT disease manifestation starts between 2 and 6 years of age. First symptoms are problems with food intake – loss of appetite, sickness and weight loss.
The main methods of diagnosing cooper toxicosis in Bedlington terriers are liver biopsy and quantitative analysis of content copper. Dogs are typically classed as normal if liver copper levels are under 400 µg/g dry weight, and as affected if copper levels exceed 850 µg/g dry weight. If copper levels are between 400 and 1000 µg/g, the second biopsy is recommended at least 6 months after the original biopsy. However, it is technical-intensive and stressful procedure for tested dogs.
Copper toxicosis is an autosomal recessive disorder (Johnson et al. 1980) caused by 39,7 kb deletion in exon 2 of COMMD1 gene (copper metabolism domain containing 1; formerly MURR1). This deletion in dog chromosome 10 affects intron 1, exon 2, and intron 2.
Finding of COMMD1 mutation faciliated development of a diagnostic test, which makes possible to bring down a frequency COMMD1-associated copper toxicosis in breeding Bedlington terriers. DNA test is reliable, predictive and non-stressful for dogs.
The test can be performed from blood sample or cheek swabs. Cheek swabs can be sampled by the owner himself – an easy and non-invasive taking of biological sample. The results of DNA test allows for breeding on healthy animals only.
The disease affects dogs with P/P (positive / positive) genotype only. Dogs with P/N (positive /negative) genotype are clinically without any symptoms. They are genetically considered carriers of the disease (heterozygotes). In offspring of two heterozygous animals following genotype distribution can be expected: 25 % N/N (healthy non-carriers), 25 % P/P (affected), and 50 % N/P (healthy carriers). Because of high risk of producing affected offspring, mating of two N/P animals (carriers) can not be recommended. DNA test is based on multiplex PCR and makes it possible to find out possible deletion and to determine possible carriers.
About grooming...
Bedlington Terrier……
Systematic is very important in Grooming Bedlington Terriers. On average, every 2 weeks, a bath and thorough combing of the coat are obligatory, special attention should be paid to the paws – around the toes, under the armpits, belly, ears. We always comb wet immediately after bathing in a suitable shampoo and after using the conditioner. For easier and faster combing, we can also use a special agent that facilitates it and has an antistatic effect on the hair. After removing all tangles and dreadlocks, proceed to thorough drying, remember not to leave damp places, because it promotes ugly yellow discoloration.
I provide grooming tips to all owners of my puppies.
Every lucky Bedlington owner should be able to do these things.
Let’s entrust the shortening of the hair to a person who knows how to make our bedlington look like a bedlington, even if it is not a show dog. In the case of a show dog, more precise precision is needed, Grooming a dog that we are going to show at dog shows should only be entrusted to an experienced groomer who knows the breed standards and had the pleasure of shearing a bedlington, because almost all of it needs to be cut with scissors, so it requires a lot of experience to make our bedlington looked like a million dollars.
If you are interested in learning how to shear a Bedlington Terrier, please contact me.
A few photos grooming by me - Ewa Bobowska...
