Bedlington Terrier dog

The Bedlington terrier dog breed can be back traced to the eighteenth century. Around the middle of the nineteenth century, the breed was crossed with the whippet (a small hound).

The terrier was specialized in the hunting of rats and was, therefore, for example, often used in mining. Above all, he traveled with tinkers, scissors grinders, and dealers across the country, and while the owners went about their work, the Bedlington rid the village of rats and other rodents.
The British passion for betting abused this dog, like many of the other terrier breeds that were used as an attack dog against rats.

Description

It is not by accident that he is also called a “wolf in sheep’s clothing;” it fur usually resembles that of a sheep. His cropped, curly hair gives it a lamb-like appearance, and is typically various shades of gray-blue. The Bedlington terrier is a dog of medium size (up to 43.5 cm, 11 kg). The pear-shaped head is falling long, fringed at the ends of his ears. The tail should not be worn on the back. The Bedlington is a hardy breed and can live for fifteen years or more, a high age for dogs.

Diseases

The Bedlington terrier is susceptible to eye diseases (in rare cases) and Kupfertoxikose, or copper toxicosis (excessive retention of copper) in the liver. The FCI Terrier Club requires testing for Kupfertoxikose through, for example, blood, genetic, and DNA tests. Thanks to this and careful breeding and selection by the breeder association, Kupfertoxikose is now rare in this breed.

Bedlington terriers are a rare breed, and so a dog that is a carrier for Kupfertoxikose (DNA 1:2) may continue to be bred when the other dog it is mating with is not a carrier (1:1 DNA, meaning hereditarily fit).

In Finland, for example, the German blood DNA test is not accepted because it is too vague. Here, as in other countries, the Kupfertoxikose-DNA test is carried out with the hair roots and involves two markers.