small breed
Bedlington Terrier
A dog that looks like a lamb and hunts like a terrier. Indoors Bedlingtons are affectionate, mild, funny and quiet by terrier standards, and they shed essentially nothing - one of the easier small dogs to share a small home with. Outdoors they are fast, hard and entirely serious about anything small that moves, and they can be sharp with other dogs. The wool needs clipping every six to eight weeks, permanently.
Pup Height
15-17.5 in
The standard calls for 16.5 in in males and 15.5 in in females, with the range above allowing for the usual variation. Blue, liver and sandy are recognized, each with or without tan points, and every puppy is born dark and lightens over the first year or two. The lamb outline is a clip, not the natural coat. Source: AKC breed standard.
Pup Weight
17-23 lb
Pup Lifespan
11-16 years
Your pup, at a glance
What’s Life With This Pup Really Like?
Genuinely affectionate and a committed sofa dog. The contrast between the mild animal indoors and the one that appears when a rabbit moves is the whole character of the breed.
Good with children who have been taught to handle them gently. Bedlingtons are patient rather than boisterous, and they dislike rough handling more than a sturdier terrier would.
The weak point. Real prey drive toward rodents, rabbits and birds, and a sharpness with unfamiliar dogs that shows up at maturity. Cats are possible only if a Bedlington grows up with them.
Moderate. They alert and then settle, which makes them quieter than most terriers and an easy dog to have in an apartment.
Moderate to high. An hour a day covers them, and they are content indoors between walks in a way few terriers manage.
As close to none as this site gets. The coat grows rather than drops, which is why it needs cutting instead of vacuuming.
Playful and quick, with a switch that flips the moment something runs. They stay game well into old age.
None to speak of. A neat, dry-mouthed dog.
Reasonable, and better than most terriers. They are soft-natured and work well for reward; the limit is the prey drive rather than any unwillingness to learn.
Good for the size. Alert, quick to notice and willing to say so, though the whole deterrent is the noise.
High and permanent. Twice-weekly brushing plus a professional clip every six to eight weeks, for the whole of a long life. It is the main running cost of the breed.
Good. Quiet, clean, non-shedding and content in small spaces - they suit city living better than almost any other terrier here.
Lifestyle fit
Could This Be Your Best Breed?
Bedlington Terriers suit an apartment, a cat-free home, and an owner who has asked the breeder for the copper toxicosis DNA test on both parents - that one question settles the breed's worst inherited disease. Costs run $1,500 to $2,500 a year for eleven to sixteen years. If a clip every six to eight weeks for the life of the dog is not in the budget, stop here - and stop here too if there are rabbits or other small pets in the house.
Living Space
An apartment works well. Bedlingtons are quiet by terrier standards, shed essentially nothing, and are content to be a house dog between walks - one of the easier small breeds here for city living, provided the grooming budget is real.
Pup Experience
Fine for a first-time owner who has read the copper section and understood it. Bedlingtons are gentler and more biddable than most terriers indoors; what needs handling is a genuine prey drive, a sharpness with other dogs, and a health condition that is entirely preventable at the point of choosing a puppy.
Daily Pup Time
An hour of exercise daily with something to chase or work out, plus a brush twice a week and a professional clip every six to eight weeks.
Allergies & Coat
The Bedlington Terrier scores 1/10 for shedding and 1/10 for drooling. No dog is truly hypoallergenic. The allergens come from dander and saliva, and a coat like this one holds on to them rather than spreading them around your home - which is what a groomer is clearing out every six to eight weeks.
Quirks & challenges
The Not-So-Easy Stuff
Ask for the Copper Test
One inherited liver disease accounts for most of what goes seriously wrong in this breed, and a DNA test on both parents removes it entirely.
A Terrier Under the Wool
The outline is a haircut. Underneath is a fast, hard, determined working terrier who will not be talked out of a chase.
Clipping Every Six Weeks
The coat does not shed, so it grows continuously and needs cutting. This is a permanent line in the budget, not an occasional one.
Sharp With Other Dogs
Mild until challenged and then completely committed. Same-sex pairings are difficult and dog parks are usually the wrong venue.
Serious Prey Drive
Rabbits, rodents and birds are genuinely not safe. Cats are possible if a Bedlington is raised with them and a gamble otherwise.
Faster Than They Look
There is real speed in them and they will use it the moment something bolts. Recall in open ground is optimistic for most individuals.
The good, the bad & the hairy
Health, Care & Costs
Understanding the health risks and ongoing costs of a Bedlington Terrier helps you plan for a happy, healthy life together.
11-16 years
$70-$110
per groom (bath, hand-scissoring and the lamb trim), every 6-8 weeks ($550-$950/year)
$1,500-$2,500/year
all-in (food, routine vet, grooming, insurance, incidentals)
Health Risks
Conditions this breed is prone to.
The defining disease of the breed and the reason to be careful about breeders. An inherited fault stops the liver clearing copper, so it accumulates until the liver fails - sometimes gradually, sometimes as a sudden crisis in a young adult. There is a DNA test, it is inherited simply, and a puppy from two tested parents is not at risk. A breeder who cannot produce those results is the wrong breeder.
An inherited disease that slowly destroys the retina. Night vision goes first, then daylight vision, usually ending in blindness. There is a DNA test for the form that runs in this breed, so it is avoidable through testing.
The kneecap slips out of its groove, producing a skipping step or a leg held up for a stride or two. Mild cases are managed; severe ones need surgery. Common across small breeds.
Renal problems, including underdeveloped kidneys in young dogs, turn up in the breed. Excessive thirst and urination in a young Bedlington are worth investigating rather than watching.
Extra eyelashes grow from the wrong place on the lid and rub the surface of the eye. Mild cases need lubrication; persistent ones are treated by removing the offending hairs, and left alone they scar the cornea.
The thyroid stops producing enough hormone, causing weight gain, lethargy and a coat that thins or dulls. A daily tablet manages it completely and the medication itself is inexpensive.
Insurance & Health Coverage
This is another breed where the choice of breeder does more than the choice of policy, and it comes down to one condition.
Copper toxicosis is inherited simply and has a reliable DNA test. It is congenital, so no insurer will pay for it, and it is entirely avoidable by choosing a puppy from tested parents. A Bedlington chosen without those certificates is a dog who may develop fatal liver failure in young adulthood, and no product on this site helps with that. The same logic applies to the retinal disease, which also has a test.
What cover is genuinely for is the kidney disease, the knees, and copper toxicosis in a dog already home - all chronic or surgical, all in the low thousands, and all likely to appear early enough that an owner who waits finds the condition already counts as pre-existing. The grooming is the other honest number: at every six to eight weeks for a long-lived breed, it is one of the larger lifetime costs here.
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Care needs
The Daily Routine
Grooming
Brush twice a week with a slicker and a comb - the coat is a crisp mix of hard and soft hair that mats rather than sheds. A professional clip every six to eight weeks keeps the lamb outline and, more practically, keeps the coat manageable. Ears, teeth and nails on the usual schedule.
Exercise
An hour daily, split between walking and something that uses the drive - lure coursing, terrier racing, scent games or a securely fenced sprint. They are faster than the outline suggests and enjoy being allowed to prove it.
Food & Weight
Measure the meals; at around twenty pounds a few extra treats show quickly and weight sits badly on knees prone to slipping. If a copper problem is known or suspected, feeding is part of the treatment and should be planned with a vet rather than guessed at.
Similar breeds
If This Isn’t Quite the One
Miniature Poodle
The closest match on the practical side of ownership - a small, barely-shedding dog on the same six-to-eight-week clipping schedule. The Poodle is far more biddable and far safer around small animals; the Bedlington is the tougher, more single-minded of the two.
Australian Terrier
A similar working terrier in a similar size, with a harsh coat that is stripped rather than clipped. The Australian is more sociable with other dogs and considerably cheaper to keep groomed; the Bedlington is quieter indoors and sheds even less.