Wurroit Bedlingtons

Bedlingtons in Colour

We are often surprised by people coming up to us and telling us they thought Bedlingtons only came in white. As a consequence we have put this page together to describe the various colours of Bedlington Terriers. It should be noted that "white" is not a colour described in the Bedlington Terrier standard. The Bedlington Terrier may be blue, liver or sandy with or without tan markings. The standard also states "Darker pigmentation to be encouraged".

When born Bedlington puppies will be black (blue), dark purple brown (liver) or dark yellow brown (sandy).Blue & tan pup with starting to change coat If the pup has tan markings and is a blue pup the "tan" marking will only be evident as a light patch under the pups tail at birth, the tan markings emerge on the legs and face over the next couple of days becoming well defined within seven days of birth. On liver and sandy pups the tan markings are evident at birth on the legs and face.

At four to five weeks of age pups will start to take on a "grizzled" appearance with lighter coat coming through the puppy coat. Often this lightening of the coat will continue throughout the pups first year and many pups do take on a white appearance. As the adult coat comes in definite colour should re-emerge in the coat with blues going from a light grey to dark slate grey. Many bitches, when coming into season will become very dark. Liver and sandy dogs will follow a similar pattern.

From: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/nutrit2.html

Copper is necessary in production of melanin, the pigment that colors coat and skin, and is linked with iron metabolism. Deficiencies can cause bone disorders and anemia even if iron intake is normal. Bedlington Terriers can store toxic amounts of copper in the liver, causing hepatitis and cirrhosis. A genetic link to copper toxicosis in the breed has been discovered.

From: http://www.auntjeni.com/copper.htm 

A lengthy article explaining possible causes and consequences of Copper Toxicosis and Chronic Active Hepatitis in dogs

Deficiency of copper causes multiple symptoms in animals including loss of pigmentation, bone problems, spinal cord paralysis and ataxia, cardiac failure, conective tissue abnormailities and anemia. Deficiencies are more commonly seen than toxicities, however, toxicity of copper also has serious implication for the affected animal.

Blue, Liver and Blue & Tan girls taking it easy.As you will notice on the pages Conditions and Diseases, Copper & Copper Toxicosis and Beasley and C.T., copper is a significant concern for breeders and owners of Bedlington Terriers. On the one hand we are concerned that our Bedlingtons are going to be affected by Copper Toxicosis and we are also worried that there will not be enough copper in the diet for optimal health.

At Wurroit we believe that much of the reason for the emergence of apparently "white" Bedlingtons is the lack of copper in the diet of these dogs over many generations. Consequently we provide our dogs with a diet that is high in bone and protein which are good sources of a balanced intake of minerals required by dogs.

We feel that by ensuring that our dogs have a balanced intake of essential vitamins and minerals, including copper, that we will, over time, produce Bedlingtons that are obviously blue, liver or sandy.

As all Bedlingtons used in the Wurroit breeding program are DNA tested for Copper Toxicosis and have returned 1,1 or clear results we are very confident that none of the pups we breed will suffer from this disease. It should also be noted that our dogs are on a natural diet which contains normal levels of dietary copper and we would expect them to be showing symptoms of C.T. if they were in fact affected by this disease.



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Contact Details
Bob & Erica Whitehead
Alice Springs, NT, Australia
Phone : 0407 713 026
Email : [email protected]

 

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