Kennel Club update......sob,sob,sob

I am very sad to write that I have had confirmation from the Kennel Club that as of July 2012 they have not accepted the Barbet as a recognised breed in the UK.
Why ?  I hear you shout.

Well, read below:

a.     The breed has only had a FCI standard since 2006 and is still classified as a developing breed by the FCI.

b.     Whilst it was acknowledged that the breed is fully recognised in France, there was still a very small UK gene pool. The Sub-Committee noted from the detail submitted on the two latest litters that they were very closely related, with the sire and dam of each being litter mates.

c.     The incidence of hip dysplasia in the breed was noted and the club was advised to monitor scores of UK stock closely.

I have asked the Kennel Club already to explain in more detail why they have classified the Barbet as a developing breed as that statement is incorrect and those details were not in my application, the correct details were given.
 As for the incidence of hip dysplasia in the breed, was my application not read at all........shall I give them to you again.

Betsy 14 -B
Bepop 9-A
Ebene 9-A
Dolly 12-B
Dudley 6-A
Dora 2-A
Diamond Black 5-A
Duplo 6-A
Eton 8-A.

Good results I hear you say.

Hallie at 15 weeks

 Hallie is growing fast, she is such a delight and such an easy puppy, she even asks to go to bed at night, although I think that may be related to the bonio she gets before bed . She has made some good friends at puppy classes, a labradoodle who is a little smaller than her, a chilled golden retriever, and a wonderful spaniel/labrador cross. Its a lovely class, and the puppies have a structured play session rather than a mad romp which is so much better than puppy classes I have attended before. So Hallie is easy, but I had forgotten that owning a pup is hard work and very time consuming as it is vital to socialise them as much as possible especially the more intelligent ones.She has a good run in the forest only twice a week, the rest of the time we are walking the streets or attending an event. Last Saturday she sat outside Sainsburys trying to get votes for Nightstop a local charity, today she will attend a Country fair at our local town.

What Hallie does do with relish is eat horse/cow poo, so she is not perfect and the strange thing is, she is fussy about which pile she eats. I can only think that as its not the texture that attracts her so it must have something to do with what the animal has eaten. Luckily it doesn't seem to upset her stomach, nor  do the unripe greengages that she eats in the garden

Bepop has discovered cats!

It has been a busy few weeks, Bepop has virtually moved out of the house having discovered that our new neighbours either side of us (can't think why both our neighbours have recently moved!) have two cats each.
She goes out early in the morning to catwatch, in two weeks she has been lucky as one cat watched her from the safety of our shed roof, and another cat ran for its life across the garden, this was enough excitement for Bepop to catwatch continually, and she is exhausted with her new duty.Cats are clever, they tinkle their bells and meow, that is all it takes for Bepop to tremble and sit in the rain all day.....just in case!
She is totally obsessed with cats, I first met my new neighbours when they came round to say that they had a hairy dog in their garden, they were not concerned and thought she was lovely, as did their children BUT I then discovered that it was the first day they had let their cats out and Bepop had lifted a fence panel to get into their garden. She is clever, no doubt about that as I could not with help, lift the fence panel to get her back!.Bepop grew up with a cat during her first year in France, as did Betsy but unlike Betsy who mixed with the cat and actually has no interest in them, Bepop was obsessed at an early age and has never forgotten the fun of cat watching. Luckily some of our puppy owners have cats, and they all live together very happily so at least its not genetic!