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'enchaĆ®nent 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