House training a puppy

Not all my blog visitors will appreciate this photo but those with new pups will. Hallie went to bed at about 10pm and woke me at 6am by barking and so after a big welcome I let her outside and voila, the photo is the result and her pen was completely dry. So at 8 weeks she can hold her bladder. During the day, we still have a few accidents by my french doors when they are shut even when my other back door is open. The french doors show the garden, the back door doesn't. Strangely enough even my adult dogs ofton ask to go out via the French doors when the back door is open and they get short change and called 'thick' but for dogs noted for their intelligence this is ofton a stumbling point in our household. 

Charamese Hope

Charamese Hope by Graham Peacock.
Remember this little beauty, she lived with us for 3 weeks and look at how she has developed. I am proud to say she has joined  her new family who are experienced barbet owners. 

Hallie again

Hallie at 8 weeks

Eton at 8 weeks

Bonnie at 8 weeks

Hallie 8 weeks old

Charamese Hermione aka Hallie

Hallie is 8 weeks old today, and will be having her first visit to the vets.

Puppy chaos

The big dogs are safer in pairs!
Hallie has changed life in the Preston household, human and dog wise.Bepop has retired to the front of the house, only appearing for food. Betsy peers around corners to see if the coast is clear before embarking anywhere, but is at the moment the most tolerant with Hallie. Jazz just growls if she enters his personal space, but Hallie seems to get pleasure in that, so follows him everywhere! and Bobby I am watching like a hawk as he is very jealous, we are at the stage that he doesn't want to share his toys, but is happy to dangle them in front of Hallie and then leg it. Hallie is a confident puppy, nothing yet has scared her so she needs to be disciplined by the other dogs, which I hate and I have to be careful about as Betsy is a very protective dog over puppies. Any growling and Betsy appears from nowhere and puts herself between the puppy and the other dog. A wonderful situation if this was a pack of dogs living wild, but in my kitchen its  a tad stressful.    

The dog world

So much to share:
Teamwork
http://www.rvc.ac.uk/VetCOMPASS/

http://www.skk.se/in-english/dog-health-workshop-2012/

Representatives from 13 kennel clubs in attendance for the Swedish workshop.

Welcome Hally

The good news is that Bobby has relaxed a little about our new puppy Hally. Bobby breakdancing was another new experience for her today, but although she was unsure she thought it best to join in and play. Hally has a new friend in less than 24 hours.

Novaforesta Darcy

This is Novaforesta Darcy, she lives with a family and is a much loved little girl. Darcy has spent alot of time at the vets over the last couple of months, and at one point it was touch and go whether she would ever have another birthday. But, she is still with us as you can see and a fighter for life. I hope her future now will be brighter, and full of rabbits to chase and ducks to terrify.

Its Daddy Eton

Lovely photo taken of Eton, he really is a handsome chap. Becoming a sire of 14 pups has not changed his outlook on life which is based around fun.Certainly one of the best things about breeding a litter, is  remaining in contact with the new owners of puppies. I have seen Eton shown in France, achieve his working test, I even witnessed his first marriage to Bonnie, and to beat all that I saw him being born.  Eton is a well loved dog and beautifully groomed if I say so myself. 

Helllloooo Hallie

We have a new resident at the Preston household, meet Hallie the grandaughter of Betsy and Bepop.Her registered name is  Charamese Hermione, she is the daughter of Bonnie and Eton.
What do my gang think of her?, well the kids are very happy as we as a family have never experienced owning a barbet puppy so yesterday she was in someones arms most of the evening and slept like a log all night! My dogs are as follows:
Bobby: He is probably still in shock over his haircut, and is with Hallies' arrival behaving a little like a toddler having a tandrum, his life has turned upside down as someone else wants his toy store, but he will get over it.
Betsy: Hallie has already realised that this hearth rug is comfy, Betsy loves this age of puppy so she is very happy and is being a good Grandma and tells off Bobby if he plays ( I am calling it playing, because Bobby is my perfect dog!) rough.
Bepop: I could write an essay, but so far so good although I did threaten the naughty room this morning. Bepop likes her space, and being greeted by a black jumping bean at 5.30am was not what she wanted. In my dreams she will like Hallie, but as she doesn't really like Betsy who knows.
Jazz: A quick kiss from Hallie and he fell in love, he only gets grumpy if pups run under him or trip him up,

I will keep you posted, but on her first day Betsy and Jazz get the awards for the best welcome.    .

Barbet Puppies 7 weeks

I definately don't have all 14 in the photo, but I can say they are lovely puppies and an amazing achievement to have raised them and see them all together. Bonnie is looking great, and Julie and Richard who are coping with these 14 rascals are also looking remarkably normal. They are all sold, so all will soon be joining their new owners and starting new lives. 

Extreme grooming

Well, what can I say other than whoops!
Saturday was a busy day, seeing the Queen in Windsor  and then a wonderful evening meal with some French visitors. So Sunday morning I wasn't really wanting to groom and poor  Bobby was first on the table as he dogs my heels and followed me into the grooming room.I started some serious brushing which lasted all of 10 minutes and then I reached for the clippers, the sun was streaming through the window so I went for the complete removal of coat, so Bobby is now nude.  The girls were not as bad as I had thought, so maybe I lied about not grooming them for 7 weeks, I will never know but neither girl took that long to throughly groom. Jazz was easy too, as he had been shaved 7 weeks ago, so only needed his face trimming. Dear Jazz has a small lump over his eye which I found when he was on the table, so that may need closer inspection by an expert. If you look closely at the photo, the black blob (in line with washing basket) by the trampoline is Bepop. Now I thought Bepop was clever but hiding behind a pole on a trampoline was not good, I spotted her immediately, bear in mind that she had been lying at my feet during Bobbys' grooming experience. She must have thought she was to be the next grooming victim. For now my girls are safe, neither have the short back and sides....  

Kennel Club update

The  Breed Standards Sub-Committee will be meeting again on the 27th June 2012, and the recognition of the Barbet as a breed in the UK will be on their agenda.
The information requested by the Committee will be submitted in time for this meeting.

Having been the receiver of two rejections by the Breed Standards Sub Committee Kennel Club in the past, its far too early to get excited. My world crashed when we had our first rejection, by the second rejection I was getting more used to the idea!,and on a very positive note with the help of the French Club allowing us to take the Tan in England and in Wales and the wonderful assistance of The French Kennel Club the breed in the UK has achieved so much in the last three years. So my theory in life that something positive always comes from something negative remains true. Anyway, crossed fingers, crossed toes and crossed paws and think good thoughts  about the breed and its future on the 27th June.

Rustic barbets

I have had an awful thought, I last groomed my 4 dogs before Ooli and Alba mated, and today I have read that she is on week 7 of pregnancy which means I should have my wrists slapped. My dogs probably think they have died and gone to heavon as 7 weeks + and no grooming is almost as good as being a short haired dog!. Tomorrow is already planned as we will be in Windsor to see the Queen (I hope) and so Sunday if its raining I will be doing 'extreme dog grooming', if its sunny I need to plant seeds at my allotment or we will have no veg this summer. I have to say my  very rustic barbets,( its a better way of saying neglected!) look rather good, but I also know that between the 4 of them I have an entire city garden lurking in their coats.   

    

Bobby and Eton

Dear Bobby my pseudo barbet has issues with Eton as he really likes him BUT he also wants to be the Man about the house and protect Bepop and Betsy from the invading male visitor. I know its wrong to laugh, but he is so sweet as he encourages Eton to play which Eton accepts with open arms and then remembers his status as being 'the Man' to continually watch the body language of Bobby as he goes from a  male strut to play is amusing. I have not yet witnessed a male strut from Eton, he just looks a tad confused as to why the play stops. So when Bobby struts, Eton goes to see if the girls will play, which of course produces a bit more nervous energy from poor Bobby. Watching dogs together is pure bliss.
As for my girls, Bepop didn't like the scene and looked rather depressed, and Betsy watched the boys the whole time and made a strange  noise like a real yip if Bobby tried to be dominant with Eton, Betsy is a well mannered dog, she sees things with dog behaviour and reacts, as most my puppy owners know, she does not tolerate puppies (grown up pups really as most are 2-3 years old) jumping up at us, and in the dog world launching yourself at a human is bad manners, so Betsy and I disagree on that behaviour as I like to be floored by my puppies when I see them as it makes breeding these dogs worthwhile.

A barbet weekend and grooming

On Saturday I had the pleasure of Eton and his owner, I am pleased to say we have experimented with a new brush on his coat. We must have removed nearly a black bag of hair, and he still looked like a barbet when he left, so now we sit and wait to see how the coat grows back. Learning about the breed and their coats will take time, in some breeds coat colour makes a difference, and whether the dog has been castrated or spayed can make a difference.So far I do think that shaving black dogs makes the coat curlier and thicker, but thats not 100% accurate. The future for a perfect coat will be the ratio of undercoat to the top coat, and the length of undercoat. If you look back at the old barbet, it would have been shaved with the sheep or as a peasants dog would have got so matted that as the hair grew the dog would scratch the matts out or they would get caught on something and get pulled out, not a nice thought as some areas would always remained uncomfortable for the dog, as some old books describe, the barbet was a smelly flea infested dog.

Barbet puppies 5.5 weeks old

A beautiful girl

 Yesterday we saw the litter of 14 pups from Bonnie and Eton, although Julie the breeder knew each and every pup I found it very hard to keep track of my two little babies,Hope and Half pint.  

A beautiful boy

Hope is being very well behaved, Halfpint didn't want to pose!

Halfpint  who just wanted to play and not pose

Lovely to see them all outside enjoying the sunny weather, and  so amazing to see Bonnie with her pups .

Another Muddy Grandma

As promised this is 'Grandma Betsy, taking the old French expression ''., Être crotté comme un barbet'' in hand. Did she smell bad? absolutely those who were there will remember well. This was the day of the Barbet Club photo shoot with Nick Ridley and before they were required to pose in front of the camera we thought they should have a run in a field, it was a dry day and we had a DRY field. Anyway a quick dip inbetween posing dogs and she was as good as new, and some of the resulting photos  are being sold as 'stock' photos for the breed so it turned out to be a wonderful day. 

Être crotté comme un barbet

Être crotté comme un barbet- As muddy or dirty as a barbet
This well known saying in France, Bepop has welcomed with open arms!.
 The earliest date for this saying is 1835, I may yet find earlier references.
So all you new puppy owners in the UK, you have been warned that this is 'Grandma'
She is not a city dog, she is not a dog that ever needs to wear a coat, she is a just a sweetheart that loves the great outdoors and that includes dirt, mud,bog, and anything dead. Now those puppy owners who are feeling smug because Betsy is their Grandma, more photos to follow as you haven't escaped.  

Best Barbet puppy award

Wasn't she sweet and she still is.

The wonderful Railway Station dogs

Wimbledon Nell 1912 (photo David Flett)

London Jack 1923-1931

Laddie  at Wimbledon Station 1948 ?

London Jack 1894-1900 Waterloo Station

Jack at Reigate Railway Station

Station Jim Slough Station 1894-1896

British Barbet History

Auntie Bepop with three pups from Betsy and Boree

All this puppy talk has made me start looking back through my photos. The first litter of Barbet puppies born in the UK, was between Betsy and Boree. I have so many movie clips and photos that I must start sorting them out and getting things more organised. Having spent time looking at the history of the breed, at least  for the future the start of the Barbet can be recorded in the UK and unlike some of the rubbish you read about the breed on some websites at least in the UK with DNA recorded for all the pups born since 2008 there will never be fanciful stories about the British Barbet and its ancestry!.

The Barbet Club of Great Britain will soon be publishing International show results for Barbets that reside in the UK and also the History of the British Barbet.  

 

Cenzo the tolerant Spinone

I forgot this photo yesterday, the puppies just adore him and as he walked around he was rather like the pied piper.
Will he miss them? probably not, but the puppies will have very happy memories of this gentle spinone.

Barbet puppies 6 weeks and 6 days old

 How beautiful are they? and all reserved so all that is left to say is '' good luck in your new homes, behave yourselves and be proud to be a Barbet.

To the left is Annette feeding her 10 Spinone pups and the 5 Barbet pups, it was a calm affair which was almost surreal when I think back to feeding Bepops 12 pups and the chaos!I will post more photos as its great to see the Barbets and Spinone pups together.

Eye test results

Whoops I am a bit late with our updates, my excuse being two little black herberts that have been staying at our house for 3 weeks. So now they are back with their doggy family I can start catching up with news.
As expected Ebene and Novaforesta Dudley (Ooli) both have had clear eye certificates issued by the one and only Ian Mason ( BVA Eye Scheme Chief Panellist).
If you see a eye certificate for a barbet it will be normal to read under descriptive comments, the words no ocular disease or similar wording. This is due to the fact that as the breed is not known in the UK, the BVA specialists normally just check the eyes, but as a breed club we request from breeders just that little bit more and ask for checks on the eyelids and eyelashes.
Next on the list will be Betsy and Bepop, another job to add to my growing list of things to do.

Photographs of barbets

Just type in Barbet and enjoy....nice to see so many UK barbets

http://www.animal-photography.com/dogs

Barbets on Amazon

So who owns this barbet?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photographic-Print-Dog-Barbet-Griffon/dp/B0041Q4X7K

A photo of a barbet being sold on Amazon, this breed is beginning to get recognised in the UK

Poodle trimmed like a terrier

A wonderful photo taken in 1944 and shows a poodle with a terrier trim.

If you like old photos, this blog is worth a visit :
http://annakrentz.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/dogs-of-new-york-city.html

Barbet puppies another update

My house is quiet, and this morning I had a lie in before work. Hope and Halfpint left yesterday to rejoin their litter brothers and sisters. I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be, maybe as I knew it was the best thing for them and of course I will see them again soon.I am so lucky to have learnt so much with these two pups, every stage of development is so easy to follow when as a human you are their provider. I mustn't forget the input from mainly Bepop as she was so good at keeping them clean. Strangely enough in the last couple of days, Bepop was less interested in them and Betsy was starting to be calmer around the pups, so I do believe that the roles of my dogs were just starting to change, as Betsy was wonderful at lying in with her own pups and playing.
When I look back it all seems a bit of a dream, but as 14 pups are now over 4 weeks and all taking solids it just seems quite amazing.  

Barbet Puppy time at nearly 6 weeks

Two girls and a boy all reserved

 A lovely visit yesterday at Annettes to see the puppies who will be 6 weeks on Thursday.

I know he is having a scratch but he remained still for a second! This chunky boy is reserved.

This boy is still available, he is very sweet and just loves the big dogs.