Bedlington Terrier

Often calm indoors, yet alert and quick off the mark.
A Bedlington Terrier
Photo: Mball93
Adult weight
7.7–10 kg
17–23 lb
Lifespan
13.7 yrs
Class · Companion
also Family

What it's like

At home the Bedlington is gentle and affectionate, and is often calm indoors. Its working background still shows: it is alert and quick off the mark, and it can hold its ground if challenged by another dog.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Bonded to its family
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Bedlington Terrier is a small dog, about the weight of a grown Pug.

The breed looks unlike most other terriers. It has a narrow, pear-shaped head crowned with a soft topknot, low-set ears ending in silky tassels, a back arched over the loin and long legs that give it a light, springing gait. The coat is a crisp mixture of hard and soft hair that stands away from the skin and tends to twist into curls, especially on the head and face. Recognised colours are blue, liver and sandy, with or without tan, and puppies are born dark, lightening as they mature.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Bedlington Terrier puppy is already as heavy as a grown Yorkshire Terrier. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
10 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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0510152m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
2.0–2.6 kg 4.4–5.7 lb
2.2–2.9 kg 4.9–6.4 lb
3 months
2.7–3.6 kg 6.0–7.9 lb
2.8–3.8 kg 6.2–8.4 lb
4 months
3.7–5.1 kg 8.2–11.2 lb
3.8–5.1 kg 8.4–11.2 lb
5 months
4.6–6.3 kg 10.1–13.9 lb
4.6–6.2 kg 10.1–13.7 lb
6 months
5.4–7.2 kg 11.9–15.9 lb
5.2–7.0 kg 11.5–15.4 lb
7 months
5.9–8.0 kg 13.0–17.6 lb
5.7–7.7 kg 12.6–17.0 lb
8 months
6.3–8.5 kg 13.9–18.7 lb
6.0–8.2 kg 13.2–18.1 lb
9 months
6.6–8.9 kg 14.6–19.6 lb
6.4–8.6 kg 14.1–19.0 lb
10 months
6.8–9.2 kg 15.0–20.3 lb
6.6–8.9 kg 14.6–19.6 lb
11 months
7.0–9.5 kg 15.4–20.9 lb
6.8–9.2 kg 15.0–20.3 lb
12 months
7.2–9.7 kg 15.9–21.4 lb
7.0–9.4 kg 15.4–20.7 lb
15 months
7.5–10.1 kg 16.5–22.3 lb
7.3–9.9 kg 16.1–21.8 lb
18 months
7.7–10 kg 17–23 lb
7.6–10.3 kg 16.8–22.7 lb

Health and lifespan

In UK vet records, blood blister in the ear flap turns up more often in Bedlington Terriers than in crossbreeds: it is more likely. It is not rated serious. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.
Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name.
  • Blood blister in the ear flap
    More likely
    Impact: moderate

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Bedlington Terrier lived to about 13 and a half years, about average for a small breed.

Where it comes from

The Bedlington Terrier comes from the mining country of Northumberland, where it was first known as the Rothbury Terrier and was kept to catch rabbits for the pot. A breed association followed in 1877, and Victorian show exhibitors developed the grooming that gives it its lamb-like outline10,11.

The Bedlington Terrier takes its present name from the Northumberland town of Bedlington, where local breeders refined it during the nineteenth century. Beyond rabbiting, it was kept by miners, nailmakers and poachers to kill rats and other vermin, and it was valued for being both quick and game. It is often said that whippet blood was added for speed, though this is told rather than firmly recorded.

Breed standard

The Bedlington Terrier is judged against standard no. 9, in group 3, Terriers10.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Bedlington Terrier figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a small breed is most likely at the early end.

Compare with related

Poodle (Standard)
Companion & toy · Medium
American Hairless Terrier
Terrier · Small
Welsh Terrier
Terriers · Small
Scottish Terrier
Terriers · Small
Or compare the Bedlington Terrier with any breed you choose
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Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·