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  1. The Bedlington Terrier has changed dramatically since its first appearance in Bedlington in 1825.It was once considered the hardest,meanest,toughest terrier around.It was often used in dog fights,and crossed with Bull Terriers (which Stafford nailmakers had brought to Bedlington) to produce small/medium sized gladiators. Sir Mathew Ridley of Blagdon Hall and Edward Donkin of Great Tosson used Bedlingtons with their foxhounds.The Carlisle Otter Hunt used Bedlingtons with the Otterhounds.The modern Bedlington does not look anything like the original dog,especially in regards to coat. The original dogs had rough,waterproof coats that did not need trimming.The drawing below shows what the early Bedlingtons were like.William Clark,who farmed the Wind Mill Farm in Bedlington,was an enthusiastic early breeder of Bedlington Terriers,and he considered the dog in the drawing below to be remarkably similar to Ainsley's 'Piper',the first dog to be called a Bedlington Terrier,bred in St. Cuthbert's Vicarage in 1825. This is the earliest known representation of a Bedlington Terrier,a drawing of Mr. Taprell-Holland's Peachem,which was published in The Field in November 1869.The dog is very different to the modern Bedlington,with a business-like appearance and a rough coat. In January 1870,a letter by "A" (actually Mr.W.J.Donkin,the secretary of the first Bedlington Club) appeared in The Field,and he mentioned this dog. "Let me assure Senex that where pains have been taken to preserve the breed pure,there has been no degeneration in head,shape,or courage.Of this I had a striking proof at the last Darlington Show. In the Bedlington class were two light liver-coloured dogs in adjoining pens,so much alike as to pass for brothers,or sire and son. They had many admirers,one of whom was William Clark,an old and enthusiastic breeder. From him I learned that Ainsley's Piper was faithfully represented in the specimens before him. Neither of them were known to him,but I may here state Peachem was one,and William Weldon's Billy the other." So,in this drawing of Peachem,we find a "faithful representation" of Ainsley's Piper,the original Bedlington Terrier.
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