We recently shared what we thought was a surprising bit of information about Boris Karloff, and now we want to expand a bit more about the Bedlington Terrier. With a head like a lamb, a tail like a rat, paws like a jack rabbit, and a gentle arch over its loin, one might ask why Bedlington Terriers are groomed as they are (and make no mistake, grooming these dogs for a show ring isn’t for sissies).

Bedlingtons, for all their lamb-like appearance, are all terrier. And like most terriers, Bedlingtons were bred to rid farms of aggressive vermin like badgers, weasels, polecats, rats and martens. The “fall” on the dog’s head served to protect the dogs’ eyes and ears from the sharp teeth of its prey. It’s believed that the ear tassels acted as decoys because to grab one was to get a mouthful of linty fuzz.

This next part is conjecture on our part, and we heartily welcome the expert wisdom of Bedlington owners: Men who wanted to improve upon their dogs’ gameness and function bred their dogs with the most desirable attributes of the dogs they admired. As it happened, those dogs had long muscular jaws on narrow pointed heads with flat cheeks, ears that hung close to their head, and flat, deep ribs. The Otterhound, Poodle, and Bull Terrier are mentioned as possibly contributing to the development of the Bedlington; crosses with the Whippet produced the Bedlington’s lovely curved lines. Early groomers may have kept the dog’s coat “in line” with the dog’s silhouette, and over time, the grooming style was stylized by we humans who so often like to embellished hair.

This photo, found on Pinterest, is believed to have been shot by Jean-Pierre Collin who extraordinary work can be found and purchased on his website, and also discovered on Pinterest.