Every so often, a dog comes along that will set an example of what all breeders hope to achieve in their breeding programs. These dogs create an example to show that quality occurs not randomly but by careful planning and a high degree of individual work.

A panel of Bedlington experts from England and America discussed for over two months which dogs should have the special moniker of “Notable”; that panel consisted of Ian Phillips and Ken Bounden from Great Britain and Ray Herman from the United States. The dogs that were considered were only those who predated 1977. If today’s dogs were included in the discussions, this endeavor would never reach fruition as today’s breeders would challenge the decisions with “why not my dog”?

The criteria used were a combination of many factors. First, the physical structure of the dogs, the amount of winning over quality competition, the assessment by others, the get that were produced, the lack of genetic problems, and overall, that they truly represented the breed standard.

Utilizing those major criteria, the following are twenty pre-1977 notable Bedlingtons.