THE BEDLINGTON TERRIER. 
leggy, which, if not checked, will spoil the 
type of the breed. It is, therefore, very 
important that size should be more studied 
by judges than is at present the case. 
The faults referred to are doubtless the 
MR. HAROLD WARNES’ CH. MISS OLIVER 
BY MEG—DICK. 
result of breeding for exceptionally long 
heads, which seem to be the craze just now, 
and, of course, one cannot get extra long 
heads without proportionately long bodies 
and large size. If it were possible to do so, 
then the dog would become a mere carica- 
ture. 
Judges should take into consideration the 
purposes for which the Bedlington is in- 
tended, and ask themselves the question, 
Could such and such a dog draw a badger or 
bolt a fox ? If this were done, the outsized 
dog of 18 to 1g inches high, and of about 
28 to 30 lb. in weight, would be excluded 
from the prize list, and soon disappear from 
the show bench. 
As a sporting terrier the Bedlington holds 
a position in the first rank. He is very 
fast and enduring, and exceedingly pertina- 
cious, and is equally at home on land and 
in water. He will work an otter, draw a 
badger, or bolt a fox, and he has no superior 
at killing rats and all kinds of vermin. 
He has an exceptionally fine nose, and makes 
a very useful dog for rough shooting, being 
easily taught to retrieve. If he has any 
fault at all, it is that he is of too jealous a 
disposition, which renders it almost im- 
possible to work him with other dogs, as 
he wants all. the fun to himself, and if he 
cannot get it he will fight for it. But by 
305 
himself he is perfect. As a companion he 
is peculiarly affectionate and faithful, and 
remarkably intelligent ; he makes a capital 
house-dog, is a good guard and is very safe 
with children. 
With all these good qualities to his credit, 
one naturally asks, How is it that he is not 
more popular ? The answer is that he is 
not sufficiently well known, and the reason 
for this is that at our leading shows there 
have in recent years been so few benched. 
I think that the trimming necessary to put 
him down in the form which is at present the 
fashion amongst Bedlington fanciers is the 
principal cause of his want of popularity as 
an exhibition dog. It is useless to show 
an untrimmed Bedlington with any hope of 
getting into the prize money, and so long 
as that is the case I am afraid we shall not 
make much headway. The breed requires 
to get into more hands than it now is. 
A stand against excessive trimming could 
then be successfully made, and if it became 
the fashion to show the dogs as Nature and 
not as the barber makes them, then, and 
then only, would they take their proper 
and prominent place in the show ring. 
In spite of all these difficulties the Bed- 
lington has held his head up, and a marked 
MR. HAROLD WARNES' CRANLEY BLUE BOY 
BY SILVERSMITH——CH. MISS OLIVER. 
increase in the numbers exhibited has 
recently been apparent. For instance, at 
the National Terrier Show at Westminster 
in 1907 there were eighteen benched, and at 
