Blue and sandy newborn puppies. Note that they can have white on them -
white toes and chest spots are common.
This photo shows the shaved faces of a liver & tan and a liver puppy.
The skin color change is remarkable on the cheek of the liver & tan pup. You can also see tan points above the eye and on the lower legs.
Here you see a blue puppy after her first haircut - the
hair is turning grey under the original black puppy coat.
This is a sandy pup several weeks old, getting lighter,
then older and lighter still.
Here
you can see the contrast between a sandy and a blue pup. Now they are
starting to get lighter on the head and legs than on the body. The standard only requires that the topknot on adults be lighter than
the body - but we often find the legs lighten as well. These
youngsters are around 5 - 6 months old and both carry lovely color as
adults. 
This 8 month old sandy bitch is losing her
color - you can see a little on her neck, loin and rear. On her
shoulders, where her coat has been cut shorter, it's lighter underneath.
Many Bedlingtons go through a stage where they appear white, from around
9 months to a year and a half - it will vary with the individual. Then,
they should get color back on their bodies as they mature. How dark or
light that is will vary from individual to individual, and I, for one,
cannot predict as a puppy
who will be darker or lighter as an adult. Some bloodlines carry darker
color consistently, others very little.
This is an adult blue bitch, she is 2 years old and
carries a light blue color on her body.
This 13 year old veteran has outstanding natural color.
This is an 18 month old sandy bitch. I have found that
intact bitches get darker immediately before their heat cycle. This
bitch came into season just a few weeks after this photo was taken. She
was a very dark taupe on her body.
This young blue bitch is also due in season, and is dark on her sides
and rear.
This adult sandy bitch was not due in season. Does she
look white to you? Compare the color of her leading shoulder with her
legs. She is a light taupe, with lighter head and legs.
Sandy Miles and Foley Harper (Sandon N'Oakhill
Bedlingtons) get blue
and tan regularly in their line. As adults, the tan points will
lighten up such that you can seldom tell the original markings were blue
and tan. Liver & tan puppies like the one below are similarly marked.
When the skin is cut or bruised, traumatized in some way,
the coat will grow in dark and wiry - as if the area is all guard hairs.
Over time, the coat will change again to it's proper color and texture.
This usually takes 6 months or longer.
Interestingly enough, surgical incisions do not leave a dark line -
probably because the surgical blade is so very sharp.
Additional photos of my dogs can be seen in the Photo Gallery.
Am I ready for a dog?
So you want to buy a Bedlington Terrier?
Questions a breeder should ask
ME!
Should I breed my Bedlington Terrier?
Places to get additional information about the breed are:
Bedlington Terrier Club of America
VetGen DNA typing for
CT markers
Read
the Breed Standard
Grooming the
Bedlington Terrier
