GENERAL APPEARANCE
A graceful, lithe, well
balanced dog with no sign of coarseness, weakness or
shelliness. In repose the expression is mild and gentle, not
shy or nervous. Aroused, the dog is particularly alert and
full of immense energy and courage. Noteworthy for endurance,
Bedlingtons, also gallop at great speed, as their body
outline clearly shows.
HEAD
Narrow but deep and
rounded. Shorter in skull and longer in jaw. Covered with a
profuse topknot which is lighter than the color of the body,
highest at the crown, and tapering gradually to just back off
the nose. There must be no stop and the unbroken line from
crown to nose end reveals a slender head without cheekiness
or snipeyness. Lips are black in the blue and tans and brown
in all other solid and bi-colors.
EYES
Almond shaped, small,
bright and well sunk with no tendency to tear or water. Set
is oblique and fairly high on the head. Blues have dark eyes;
blues and tans less dark with amber lights; sandies, sandies
and tans light hazel; liver, liver and tans slightly darker.
Eye rims are black in the blue, blue and tans, and brown in
all other solid and bi-colors.
EARS
Triangular with rounded
tips. Set low and hanging flat to the cheek in front with a
slight projection at the base. Point of greatest width
approximately three inches. Ear tips reach the corners of the
mouth. Thin and velvety in texture, covered with fine hair
forming a small silky tassel at the tip.
NOSE
Nostrils large and well
defined. Blues, blues and tans have black noses. Livers,
livers and tans, sandies and tans have brown noses.
JAWS
Long and tapering. Strong
muzzle well filled up with bone beneath the eye. Close
fitting lips, no flews.
TEETH
Large, strong and white.
Level or scissors bite. Lower canines clasp the outer surface
of the upper gum just in front of the upper canines. Upper
premolars and molars lie just outside those of the lower jaw.
NECK & SHOULDERS
Long Tapering neck with no
throatiness, deep at the base rising well up from the
shoulders which are flat and sloping with no excessive
musculature. The head is carried high.
BODY
Muscular and markedly
flexible. Chest deep. Flat ribbed and deep through the
brisket, which reaches to the elbows. Back has a good natural
arch over the loin creating a definite tuck-up of the
underline. Body slightly greater in length than height. Well
muscled quarters are also fine and graceful.
LEGS & FEET
Lithe and muscular. The
hind legs are longer than the forelegs, which are straight
and wider apart at the chest than at the feet. Slight bend to
the pasterns which are long and sloping without weakness.
Stifles are well angulated. Hocks strong and well let down,
turning neither in nor out. Long hare feet with thick, well
closed up, smooth pads. Dewclaws should be removed.
TAIL
Set low, scimitar shaped,
thick at the root and tapering to a point which reaches the
hock. Not carried over the back nor tight to the underbody.
COATS
A very distinctive mixture
of hard and soft hair standing well out from the skin. Crisp
to the touch but not wiry, having a tendency to curl,
especially on the head and face. When in show trim must not
exceed one inch on body; hair on legs is slightly longer.
COLOR
Blue, sandy, liver, blue
and tan, sandy and tan, liver and tan. In bi-colors the tan
markings are found on the legs, chest, under the tail, inside
the hindquarters and over each eye. The topknots of all
adults should be lighter than the body color. Patches of
darker hair from an injury are not objectionable as it is
only temporary. Darker body pigmentation of all colors to be
encouraged.
HEIGHT
The perfect Bedlington
Terrier dog measures 16-1/2 inches at the withers, the bitch
15-1/2 inches. Under 16 inches or over 17-1/2 inches for dogs
and under 15 inches and over 16-1/2 inches for bitches are
serious faults. Only where comparative superiority of a
specimen outside these ranges clearly justifies it, should
greater latitude be taken.
WEIGHT
To be proportional to
height with in the range of 17 to 23 pounds.
GAIT
Unique lightness of
movement. Springy in the slower paces, not stilted or
hackneyed. Must not cross, weave or paddle.
This information from the AKC
Bedlington Terrier Club of America
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