Barbet dog and interesting facts

I have been thinking about how committed some people are to the Barbet,we are lucky as there are now so many websites and so much more information available in the UK as well as overseas. But actually the majority of work involving a rare breed is rarely mentioned as it is rather boring and not really news worthy. Breeders can spend hours looking at pedigrees trying to find a good male for example, and then once decided approach the owner only to find out the male has already been booked for use by others and is not available, or the owners are on holiday when you think you may need to use him.
Although I have a list of jobs to do, today I sat down and worked out how many miles had been driven by the three foreign owners that have now used our three stud dogs in the UK.

In 2012, 4554 miles or 7328km is the combined mileage to use a UK stud dog by the 3 breeders. I am impressed as having travelled now 4 times abroad for matings, I know how difficult and costly it can be, and sometimes you don't even have any puppies :) so folks when you look for a Barbet puppy, and you find that a male has been used from a different Country, those breeders show commitment, they are looking ahead at the future.
It is a nice thought, Eton, Dudley and Duplo are desirable males and I certainly hope that in the future they will be sires that I will be able to use, but obviously not with my little Hallie......