130 THE BEDLINGTON 



and makes him look very untidy. It would be pre- 

 sumptuous on my part to offer an opinion, but perhaps 

 I may be pardoned for. suggesting that if Bedlington 

 men put their heads together it should not be im- 

 possible, in the course of a few years, to wholly 

 eradicate bad -coated specimens. It seems a thousand 

 pities that such a beautiful dog should languish in 

 more or less obscurity, and only be seen by the 

 public, with rare exceptions, at some of the leading 

 dog shows. 



The early history of the Bedlington, although I 

 suppose it does not go back much beyond a century 

 and a half, is not very clear. A Northumbrian piper 

 named Allan is said to have kept terriers of this 

 description for hunting the otter, but they were then 

 known under the name of Rodberry or Rothburry. 

 The weight of evidence seems to suggest that Dandies 

 and Bedlingtons had a common origin, and the first 

 Bedlington known as such belonged to a man named 

 Ainsley in 1825. The present -day dog, we are told, 

 has not changed much in character, except possibly 

 that he is somewhat taller and heavier, but he is 

 still lathy and flat -ribbed. The usual colour is dark 

 blue, liver, or sandy, or either of these colours with 

 tan markings, and a well-known breeder tells me 

 that to get a satisfactory colour it is best to breed 

 a blue bitch and a liver dog together, or the other 

 way about. 



The standard of the Bedlington Terrier is as 

 follows : 



SKULL. Narrow, but deep and rounded ; high at 

 occiput, and covered with a nice silky tuft or top- 

 knot. 



JAW. Long, tapering, sharp, and muscular ; as 

 little stop as possible between the eyes, so as to 



