Friday 30 December 2011

Early Barbet stud

Marquis 1934
So why wasn't this stud ever used? or maybe he was and there are no records for him.
I like him, but that is because at the moment I am working Bepop more as a land dog than a waterdog so I am attracted to dogs that look like they can do a days work on the land (with no grooming!).
Marquis would struggle swimming all day, he is a classic barbet griffon, a time in our barbet history of transition.

Saturday 24 December 2011

Finally an old favorite..its Xmas.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM NOVAFORESTA  BARBETS

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Falcons and a poodle

Nice painting  from the 1800s' now available as reproductions by the Kennel Club.
The poodle was known as a dog that worked with falcons, which is why today the Barbet is still linked.
http://www.sotarltd.co.uk/#!__kc1/mr-fleming-and-his-falconer-james-an



A day to remember, Ooli leading the way I think

A barbet on a Xmas card

This just sums up Xmas, Betsys' daughter Daisy and her two friends beautifully drawn by Suzzie Vignoles.

Well done Daisy for standing still and being so co-operative!

Monday 19 December 2011

The working barbet

Spot the barbet working on her own.
Three shoots in a week, tough on a working dog and owner! On the second, a Wednesday shoot  Bepop had an interesting day, she flushed well but generally about a mile from the beaters, and she found more puddles to lie in than birds, yes we had fun and luckily no one really noticed that she was enjoying herself in a solitary sort of way. When we did find each other, she had that look of defiance, a look I know well from bringing up three children. I tried a few tactics, the Clint Eastwood hard stare, lifting up the ear flap and bellowing 'bad', I even resorted to the word 'treat' but when the opportunity for some picking up work came our way on one drive, I accepted with a wry grin. She was given permission to `run in` as it`s a drive that can result in lost birds if they are not picked up quickly enough. A free thinking dog given a freehand was in hindsight a bit of a risk, but hey, she did enjoy the experience when it started raining pheasants and she retrieved at high speed with a very silly expression. After that, calming down a turbo charged barbet was yet another challenge.

The third shoot was the following Saturday, I went with an open mind after the previous Wednesday, and with 3 spaniels picking up (all trained) we were in the mindset of a day beating with Bepop flushing the birds. All went well, she flushed within my sight at all times, only one incident with 5 deer which could have become front page news had I not launched myself and flattened her in her stride but on at least once the moment had passed, she resumed flushing. We had three lost birds on one drive which was holding things up, so I went to help. Two birds were found and the last one had been seen going into a hedge. This was no ordinary hedge, it was thick bramble with no real breaks for the dogs to enter, an impossible retrieve even if the bird was in there. I walked along looking for a gap, just as a bit of training for Bepop, a retrieving Jack Russell with attitude was what was needed, not my hearth rug. We found a gap which surprisingly enough she wriggled into on her tummy and disappeared. The noise of breaking twigs was deafening and you couldn't help but grin, and after some time she appeared out of a gap at the top of the field. As we walked up to meet her she was definately showing some interest, so I casually sent her back in to the awful hedge. There was a lot more crashing around, which is all we had to locate where she was, then it went quiet. So now we are not only looking for a lost bird, but also a big black dog. We stooped down looking to see a glimpse of black curly hair and bingo there she was and I was pretty sure she had a bird. Bepop takes her time to pick up a pricked bird, hopefully one day I will be near enough to see how she does it, she is careful and quiet, certainly no excitement. She found her way out of the hedge and presented the bird, and I heard from behind me the words '' that has to be the best retrieve of the season'';  am I proud....yes!...it was an amazing feat for a big dog. She is fearless of bramble, and her strength means she can get through the toughest cover if she wants. She certainly made amends for being free spirited on Wednesday and my conclusion is that every shoot needs a barbet; when all else fails send in the barbet.....
      
Bepop still wearing part of a hedge.
  

Thursday 15 December 2011

Barbets and eyes

A French breeder wanted a close up of Bepops' eyes..

Why?

To prove she didn't have entropia is the answer.

Well firstly Bepop has two eye certificates, the second one issued after she produced entropia in her first litter with Caya, so the specialist was informed of this.

It seems acceptable by some to breed  dogs with this condition, lets be honest  if the dogs have surgery who will ever know!!!., it can also be justified by correctly saying that the mode of inheritance has not been established. However its not something I would do or want to do, unless it was hugely beneficial to the breed (you should never say never!) .
So, Bepop does not have entropia, and she has perfect vision.She has big eyes or big sockets, can't remember what the expert said, it makes no difference to me as her owner, she has never had an eye infection and I never have to clean her eyes for bogies,and most days  I think she is beautiful and that is all that matters to me.    

What are they waiting for?

As Bepop was out all day yesterday, it was Betsys' turn out in the forest.
Are they all ball obsessed?
Absolutely other than the terrier who was busy sniffing somewhere.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

A dog is for life

DIARY OF A DOG 

First week 
Today I completed a week of life. What a joy to have arrived in this world. 
First month 
My mom takes care of me very well. This is an exemplary mother! 2 months 
Today I am separated from my mom. 
It is very turbulent, with her ​​eyes, she said "goodbye". 
I hope that my new "human family" will also take good care of me it did. 
4 months 
I grew up quickly, called my attention. There are different children at home and for me, 
they are like "little brothers". We are pranksters, they'll pull the tail and I bite a joke. 
5 months 
Today, they gave me a scolding. My mistress is inconvenienced because I peed inside 
the house but no one told me I had to. So I sleep in the lobby. It is not given to support it. 
8 months 
I am a happy dog! I heat a home, I also feel safe, protected. 
I think my human family loves me and gives me a lot. 
The court is everything to me and sometimes I exaggerate, I dig the land as my ancestors, the wolves, 
when they hide food. No one educate me ... All I'm doing must be right. 
12 months 
Today I have a full year. I am an adult dog. 
My teachers say I grow more than they hoped. They should be proud of me! ! ! ! 
13 months 
Today they m'enchaînent and I can hardly move, even where there is a ray of sunshine 
or when I ask a little shade. They say they will watch me and that I am ungrateful. 
I do not understand what is happening. 15 months 
Nothing is more like ... I live on the balcony. I feel very alone. 
My family wants me already! Sometimes they forget that I am hungry and thirsty. 
When it rains, I have no ceiling to shelter ... 
16 months 
Today they remove me from the balcony. I'm sure my family had lost. 
I'm so glad I jumped for joy. My tail like a fan. 
In addition, they will take me to walk! ! We head to the street and suddenly they stop the car. 
They open the door and down happily, thinking that we will spend our day in the country. 
I do not understand why they close the door and they leave. "You hear, wait!" 
I bark ...... They forget me ..... I ran behind the car with all my strength. 
My anxiety grew when I realized that I almost lost my breath and they did not stop. 
They forgot me! 
17 months 
I try in vain to find their way back home. I am alone and I feel lost! 
On my way, they are people of good heart who look at me with sadness and 
give me some food. I thank them with my gaze from the depths of my soul. I wish they m'adoptent: I was faithful as a person! 
But they just say "poor little dog, it must be lost." 
18 months 
One day, I passed near a school and saw many children and young people like my little brothers. 
I approached a group and, laughing, threw me a shower of stones "to see who was the best sight." 
One of these stones hurt me the eye and since then I can not see with it. 
19 months 
That's incredible. When I was beautiful, they had compassion for me. 
Now I'm weak, my appearance changes. I lost my eye and people show me the broom 
when I intend to lie where there is little shade. 
20 months 
I can almost move me more! 
Today I will try to cross the street where the cars pass, is just one! 
I was safe in a place called "cobblestone street", but I will never forget the look of satisfaction 
the driver who even boasted to have hit the mark. It killed me! ... But he only removed the back legs! 
The pain is terrible! My back legs did not obey me, and I dragged myself with difficulty to grass by the roadside. 
It has been ten days since I'm on the ground, rain, cold, without food. Now I can not move! 
The pain is unbearable! I feel very bad, I can not find a dry place and it seems that even my hair is falling ... 
Some people go by and nobody sees me, while others say "do not go near close." 
Now I'm almost unconscious, but a strange force me to open my eyes. 
The sweetness of voice made ​​me react. 
"Poor little dog, looks like they left you", she said ... with her ​​was a man in a white apron. 
He started touching me and said, "I know ma'am, but there is no cure for this dog, 
Better to suffer him to stop. 
The nice lady, with tears rolling on her face, nodded. 
As I could, I moved the tail and I looked, thanking me they provide relief to rest. 
But I felt the sting of a breakthrough that made ​​me sleep forever, 
Thinking about why I was born so no one wanted me ... 
The solution is not to abandon a dog in the street but to educate them. 
Do not turn into a problem a company so grateful. 
Help to open the minds ignorant, and so put an end to the abuse of animals, 
especially with the problem of street dogs.


This was found on http://www.barbet.org/aventure_%20barbet.htm and has been translated with google translate but at least you get the drift!

Monday 12 December 2011

Kennel Club Application

Lets hope that 2012 will be a historical year for the breed in the UK.

The application has been sent to the Kennel Club for breed recognition.

I have good vibes about 2012 as  Betsy and Bepop will both become Grandmas' I hope.

Darcy on the road to recovery

Darcy,daughter of Bepop is back in the land of the living after being very seriously ill.
A real credit to her owner as she kept me informed throughout, all I could do was to offer Bepops' blood if it helped (I didn't tell Bepop!) but she was strong enough not to need it.
So Darcy is back chasing ducks on her pond, and scenting deer......a happy barbet again.

Sunday 11 December 2011

Peas in a pod

Tired barbets are happy barbets. The girls are very quiet   as they have been out walking for 3 hours (in the rain) . They didn't even move when they heard the scraping of plates after dinner.

Do barbets point?

 Remy, son of Betsy joined us yesterday on the shoot. He behaved perfectly, a credit to the flushing abilities of the barbet. As a breed in the UK, the dogs that we have do not flush like spaniels, they are bigger which makes a difference and they have inbuilt survival that tells them small holes in bramble are best left to other dogs! I was lucky yesterday as I witnessed Remy being over keen and leaving the cover during a drive, thinking the worse (commen when you own a barbet!) I watched and thankfully he flushed a rather large cock bird and returned at the same speed back into the cover. Free thinking barbets, they give you anxiety attacks, but time and time again they prove their worth.

Spot the barbet?  Remy in cover

Wednesday 30 November 2011

Happy Birthday to Betsys' beautiful pups

Betsys' 'E' litter are 2 years old today.

One of these pups  just has to be Eton , he was a record breaker as he weighed 530 at birth, so I believe thats the heaviest barbet ever born.



Left to right.
Enid (Ellie) Effie and Evie










The whole gang with Betsy watching over them. Eating is a pups pleasure, eating outside in the snow is survival training or is it socialisation with the elements.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Happy Birthday to Bepops beautiful pups

Three years old today.

A lovely litter and I am proud of Bepop and Caya for giving the barbet world such wonderful dogs.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Thank you Bepop

Well done Bepop, an excellent morning with fine British weather.
A varied day for her, a bit of flushing, two marked retrieves, three lost birds and most importantly two pricked birds.
Was she tired? yes
Was she happy? yes
Is she wonderful? most of the time....whoops! yes

Betsy and her boys

Its not everyday that 2 of Betsys' sons are together, in fact its been nearly 2 years since they last met. Luckily both boys are very good natured, and were pleased to see each other. Betsy took it all in her stride, and Bobby thought it was his birthday as he loved Remy (a possible playmate in his eyes as the girls now are a tad boring unless they are on heat) and he knows Mr Bentley and they normally tear around the garden together.
A lovely day with good company, thank you to my visitors and see you soon.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Back to normal.

Its lovely to be back in the forest walking with my friend although its often quite a full car!. The dogs are all so different in charactor, we have a rescued border collie who is ball obsessed and hates anyone shouting, a black lab who failed at 6 months to make the grade of a working lab and by coincidence (of course!) has suffered terrible joint problems, a very sweet border/jack Russell terrier who manages to wind Bepop into a frenzy during playtime, I think its the only dog that has ever dared to stop Bepop in her tracks by hanging off her ears!. The last couple of walks, we have taken a tennis ball to encourage the border collie to run rather than walk at heel. A tennis ball has been life changing to Bobby as every toy we own is his, in our household. He has been exhausted after the forest, a couple of hours of constant running after a ball, didn't matter if you threw it for any of the others, he always found a way and he never gave up, surprising for me is that even Bepop joined in at the end, she has never ever shown any interest in getting a ball, but it does make a lovely walk....5 dogs and 1 tennis ball.      

Monday 7 November 2011

Bepop my star.

 Fantastic day for Bepop on Saturday, she did a fantastic retrieve on a pricked bird . When you see your dog working so perfectly it makes you very proud. I am pleased to say that I shared the experience with (I think) the entire shoot, and they appreciated Bepop as much as I did.
Why am I so proud? firstly Bepop had to find the bird that had gone to ground, secondly it was a runner,and it went a long way from me, finally it must have been a struggle picking up the bird as her head was out of sight for ages. But suddenly there she was in the distance, standing proud, bird in mouth almost one would think posing for a photo, at that point I whistled and Bepop being Bepop surprised me by  proceeding to go to the nearest gun to deliver the bird. In hindsite, the nearest gun was on a  flat run, I was at the top of a valley a long way away...this dog thinks and she was tired!!! anyway after a bit of jumping around on the spot and arm waving, she   changed direction and delivered the bird. Bepop certainly enjoyed the praise from the guns and beaters, she had her 'grin' face and her tail was wagging, in fact people remarked that she was a happy dog, and her real treat was the muddy puddle we found on the way to the next drive.
No one likes to see a wounded bird, so for me its an important role of a retriever to find and pick up these birds so that they can be despached.  

Thursday 27 October 2011

Dog shows in France and confirmation

This was Douai 2010, three barbets confirmed. Novaforesta Dudly (Ooli),Betsy and Novaforesta Dora (Bonnie). The dog show was the reason for being in Douai, but my memories are the fun we had, picnics in the carpark and this photo was on Sunday morning after coffee and a stroll round town.







This was Douai 2011, three barbets confirmed. Novaforesta Duplo,Novaforesta Eton and Ebene. I have been looking for the photo of us all in the evening with more bottles of wine than people or dogs, but I can't find it!!. Once again, the fun was back at the hotel or food establishments rather than the dog showing. A very good weekend with good company. Will we be back in Douai in 2012, I hope so......

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Barbets and puppy news

Ebene and her friends
A busy weekend,  we had a small get together of those owners who plan to breed or list their barbets as stud dogs. Its important to pass on information about the breed and share knowledge. We are lucky in the UK, our next two litters will be by responsible and experienced people, both of which are Accredited breeders with the English Kennel Club.
  The thought that Betsy and Bepop will both be grandmothers in 2012 is very exciting. Ebene is to be mated with Novaforesta Dudley and Novaforesta Dora with Novaforesta Eton.


More news will be on the GB site shortly once Julian has finished painting my dog  grooming room!. 


Eton and Bonnie (Dora) have always got on well whenever we have a get together, so hopefully a mating will be a natural progression to their relationship. I know I am lucky as I can speak with knowledge about all the dogs that are breeding, the owners have supported the start of the barbet in the UK, they have been to France showing the dogs, the outcome being that not only did they get confirmation but also awarded excellent examples of the breed. There is nothing quite like going away to France with barbets and their owners, you see the dogs tired,hungry and out of their comfort zone and when they behave perfectly all weekend you know they are something special...so roll on 2012. Novaforesta Duplo, a beautiful boy always very relaxed in France and took to the showring as though it was just another day!, I am hope that 2012 will be a good year for him as he has passed all his health tests for being a stud dog.

Monday 17 October 2011

Novaforesta Eton deserves a pat on the back.

This boy has done so well, he is a real credit to the breed.  

Thursday 6 October 2011

Bobby and dog beds

As mentioned before, our only dog bed is in the middle of our kitchen floor. This was the scene earlier, perhaps there is hope as there are toys amongst the shoes, but a coat hanger and a curtain tie back. Bobby is definately getting more adventurous with his thieving.
Bless him, its hard to get cross, returning all his treasures is just another job to do at the end of the day, at least none of my dogs chew, or I think we would have a real crisis  

Standard poodle versus barbet


A question I am asked frequently, what are some of the differences between a barbet and a poodle, having owned both I can say that I have never seen my barbets manipulate toys like a poodle.
Bobby and Jazz both use their paws to hold a toy during play, its always a solitary game and  can be hard to capture as distraction will mean they involve you in the game, then they don't need to use their paws as its us humans that will throw it or play tug of war. Bobby and Jazz do this style of playing alot, the paws are used to throw the toy, gather it back up and then wrestle with it.
Note to self: hoover more ofton!

Meet Archie the poodle

Sadly the late Archie, but this is a purebred standard poodle and its totally his fault that I ever heard the name 'barbet'.

Archie was  small for a standard poodle, he had zero elegance, a very oily coat, and was certainly one of the cleverest dogs I have ever met. He didn't have poodle eyes, he ran like a spaniel,and his nostrils well they certainly worked well and they were huge,even in remote parts of the forest he always found tennis balls, some that had been rotting for years.Archie was never castrated, he was never bothered by other dogs, his loyalty was always to his owners.In the summer Archie coat became brown, something that never has happened with my black standard poodle even though both had greying coats and both lived in the same area.

It was a dog historian that spotted Archie and made the comment that he was a throwback to a barbet, and after a few days of research I was hooked by this new discovery.
I was involved in buying Archie, so I did meet his Father and Mother, and also his 10 brothers and sisters (I think it was 10 maybe more). He wasn't perfect, no dog is, but he was an amazing charactor.                                                                        

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Novaforesta Drew at Sunset

Beautiful photo for a beautiful dog.Where have the years gone, his pet name is Remy and he will be 4 years old in March 2012. This boy sums up the barbet charactor, he is kind, gentle, happy and one of his favorite days out is the local shoot.

Monday 3 October 2011

Bobby maybe a cockerpoo

This is Takoda a male cockerpoo.



My Bobby is the boy in the front.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Bepop and a Sunday training day

I mustn't be too hard on Bepop, but we had a training day on Sunday, the company was good, the weather was ok, my gundog was not in the mood!. I can explain why. An early start in the morning, wellys in the van, flask of coffee, and a solitary dog sets the scene for a shoot day in Bepops head, strengthed by the fact we started training by a ride in a trailer with the normal mix of labs and spaniels.Its getting better in Bepops mind, a line of beaters, and  gunfire. On a positive note, I did some brilliant blind retrieves, whilst Bepop hoovered the forest looking for birds. The trainers on the day, were fantastic and all offered advice, and the standard of the spaniels and retrievers, I was  impressed.After a hearty lunch, the sun came out and a stubble field saved the day. Whether it was the fact that she could hear me saying how good the other dogs were, she certainly watched the others doing beautiful retrieves, she had an open field and thankfully clear vision, no need to put her nose to the ground, she was marking the dummies....phew, after 5 hours Bepop was back as a gundog, and the day ended on a good note. I wish I had more time for Bepop and training, but you make the best of what you have.      

Monday 26 September 2011

Bepop and a training day

I will write more later but my allotment needs me. A picture paints 1000 words, so if you take note of the way the welly boots are pointing, then take note where the dog is lying and which direction she is looking in, that sums up 75% of the training day. I think Bepop is smiling in this photo, if she were a poodle then I would be seeing the V sign!!!

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Another working barbet Novaforesta Delyssa

Wonderful news, Novaforesta Delyssa aka Nenu a pup from Betsys' first litter is now going to be picking up on a shoot this season.
The barbet may be small in numbers, but that now means 3 barbets on regular shoots, possibly 4 if you count Hector in Yorkshire.

Monday 19 September 2011

Novaforesta Eton

A beautiful dog on a beautiful day.

Saturday 17 September 2011

Do barbets like camping?

This is Bepop enjoying the outdoor life, we took her on our European tour, nothing like touring with a family, a barbet and the old vw camper, we even managed the hills in the Black Forest, Germany.
It took weeks to get the sand out of our van, and Bepop has to be controlled on a beach as it sends her quite mad, a combination of the water being so vast, the heat, and then seaweed to roll in, she gets a manic look and she runs like a greyhound and shows other beach users zero respect.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

A compliment from Madame Fichter

A dog of  yesterday, today and tomorrow.
I liked the statement when I thought of it, and its always good when someone else borrows your idea or statement (well nearly always!)





We are used to our barbet history or bits of our written history cropping up on websites around the world, some people ask politely others just take, but thats something you get used to working with the internet..

Wednesday 31 August 2011

Which dog is the cleverest?

A quick challenge to test my dogs.

I put spaghetti in their full water bowl to see what each dog would do:

The results

Jazz initially tried to pick out the spaghetti, then drank all the water so only the spaghetti was left.
Bobby looked at it for several minutes, then tipped up the bowl (small flood in kitchen!) he ate the stranded spaghetti.
Bepop made alot of mess but just stuck her nose in and ate it with gurgling noises.
Betsy looked at it, then at me and decided against the whole experiment and went back to snoozing.

I am not sure it shows intelligence, but it does show their characters.
Jazz typically would be quiet and not attract attention over food, so that the other dogs are not alerted.
Bepop and Bobby wouldn't give a damm about mess/noise/attracting attention
Betsy normally seeks guidence, if none is given she feigns sleep.

Hide and seek in our house is boring with Bepop,Betsy and Jazz as all scent far too easily. Bobby just gets very over excited, and it takes him ages to find you, although as Bobby is normally at your heels its hard to lose him to hide, but when I do....its a great game, and the hysteria when he finds you is so endearing that it makes dog ownership priceless

Monday 29 August 2011

STOLEN PUPPIES

Please cross post.

Puppies stolen from:

 http://www.willcluleegundogs.co.uk/

There is a poster to print, if we all tell our vets etc and all help find these pups.


Please note:
http://www.briarquest.co.uk/ will have his own bred  black/tan pups available, these are NOT stolen.  

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Beautiful Daria


One day I hope to see this rather beautiful girl, she lives in Finland with a wonderful family, she is the daughter of Bepop and Caya. Nice to see her doing agility.
Very fond memories of her owner and the delight of her 4 day visit when she picked up Daria, it was chaos here with 12 pups in the kitchen!
She will be 3 years in November, and her height is 55/56 so smaller than her Mum.
Success stories and puppies so makes me want more, luckily time flies and maybe 2012 will be my lucky year, my puppy has already been named 'Hattie', so there is hope as 2012 will be an 'H' year for pups.
I am keeping everything crossed for Ebene x Ooli, and Bonnie x Eton. 

Potatoes and barbet hair

A big thank you to all the barbets that contributed, nothing is ever wasted in my house, so all it takes is a little compost to cover the seed potato, then dog hair.
Result, clean, unblemished, no worms or slugs, just fab potatoes.

A modern barbet griffon

Known as the caniche griffon, these types of dogs are still very much alive today, historically street dogs, but the two photos are of dogs kept as pets.Acts of nature, rather than a designed breed such as the caniche/poodle crosses of today and in the past.

Sunday 14 August 2011

Results of the first dog show in Paris 1863- Barbets and Griffons

  24th CLASSE. — Barbets et Griffons  d'arrêt.

1st  SOUS-CLASSE. — Chiens barbets.
Barbet de grande race. — Grand Barbet russe, etc.

1st PRIX Médaille d'or de 100 fr. — M. Hubert, Caniche (Mouton).
2nd  PRIX Médaille d'argent de 75 fr. — M. Dei;zÊ (Rustique).
3rd PRIX Médaille d'argent de 50 fr. — M. JÉrÔme, Caniche (Mouton).

2nd SOUS-CLASSE. — Chien griffons.
Griffon français ou Bouffe. — Griffon autrichien, etc.

1er PRIX : Médaille d'or de 100 fr. — M. Gasnier, Chien d'arrêt griffon français (Minos).
2  PRIX : Médaille .l'argent de 75 fr. — M. Masson , Chien d'arret griffon (Broussaille).
3  PRIX : Médaille d'argent de 50 fr. — M. le baron Roger De Brinont, Chien français (Marius).
4  PRIX : Médaille d'argent. — M. Mii.leret D'omirecourt, Chienne griffonne d'arrêt (lamiche).
5  PRIX : Médaille de bronze. — M. BORDEAUX, Griffon d'arrêt (Sultan

Barbets and duck hunting 1863

WINNERS OF PRIZES AT THE INTERNATIONAL DOG SHOW, PARIS 1863

1& 2] BARON DE RUBLES PURE FRENCH HOUNDS OF GASCONY

3] FRENCH BARBETS, FOR DUCK HUNTING

4] JAPANESE DOG

5] KURDISH HARRIER

6 & 7] MR RILEYS RETRIEVERS

8] FRENCH GRIFFON
2010 the barbet  still duck hunting

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Novaforesta Eton and bees

This will make you smile, he really is a sweetie.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Bepop back to training.

I have borrowed a video camera for a few days, and so am determined to get some footage.
Bepop is not so keen, but this is the first time since April that we have done any reminder dummy retrieves. Bepop is primarily a pet dog.

http://youtu.be/AkuL0BmAwrs

Hopefully later after work, we will try and do more.

Saturday 6 August 2011

Decorating and dogs

The thought of no puppies means filling our spare summer with jobs around the house.Three dogs know to curl up somewhere else and keep out the way, Bobby just thinks its fun to be involved.So far, only Bobby has had white strips and a white ear, but there is time for more, as lots of wet paint.
Hunting for a new sofa, having taken ours to the tip to clear the puppy room, the dogs are missing them more than us!

Thursday 4 August 2011

Bobby my boy


Note to self: Must buy proper dog beds!