CHAPTER XLII 

 THE BEDLINGTON TERRIER 



As far back as 1826 Coquetdale was, and had long been, one of 

 the homes of the old rough Terriers from which have sprung the 

 two closely related varieties now famous as the Bedlington and the 

 Dandie Dinmont. This is so well established that the Bedlington 

 might appropriately have been named the Coquetdale Terrier. The 

 sportsmen of what we may for brevity and comprehensiveness call 

 the Border dales appear to have stuck tenaciously to the blood 

 of their ancient race of Terriers, the deviations from the original 

 form being pretty clearly accounted for. 



The Dandie Dinmont would seem to be nearer to the original 

 in shape and size, the higher and lighter build of the Bedlington 

 probably arising, as suggested farther on, by a cross with the Bull- 

 terrier. The famous engraver Bewick, whose first work was 

 published at Newcastle- on-Tyne originally the great home of the 

 Bedlington knew nothing of a Terrier of that name. Bewick's 

 woodcut of a Terrier shows a heavy, coarse, unshapely dog, with 

 rather short and thick legs, the fore ones heavily feathered ; a 

 rough, bearded muzzle, prick ears, and coarse tail, curved over 

 back ; but his description of the Terriers is identical with that of 

 Daniel and other writers. 



From the strong, short-legged, rough Terrier it is probable that 

 we got the Dandies and Bedlingtons, the outcome as we now see it 

 being due to different grafts on to the original, and to modifications 

 natural to selections in breeding since the two varieties became 

 finally recognised as distinct. 



It is the opinion of some of the oldest breeders of Bedlingtons 

 that these Terriers were at one time very much shorter in the leg 

 and stouter in body than they are now ; and this is very probable, 

 for we must remember that even the name Bedlington, like that of 

 Dandie Dinmont, as applied to a race of Terriers, is quite modern, 

 the latter dating, from the time of Sir Walter Scott. Again in the 

 old days the Bedlington was not used for racing purposes as it is 

 now, and therefore the need for a speedy dog did not exist. 



The Bedlington Terrier had a hard struggle to obtain from dog 



