Martha and Murdoch puppies at 5 weeks

Black girl - Novaforesta New  Horizon

Black girl- Novaforesta New Horizon

Boy with 2 white feet - Novaforesta New Moon

Boy with 2 white feet -Novaforesta New Moon

girl with one white foot - Novaforesta New Dawn

Gloves - Novaforesta New Day

Gloves - Novaforesta New Day

Green boy- Novaforesta New Life

Green boy - Novaforesta New Life

Orange boy- Novaforesta New Start

orange boy - Novaforesta New Start

Red boy - Novaforesta New World

Red boy - Novaforesta New World

So the pups now have official names which hopefully will be accepted by the French Kennel Club. They have changed so much in a week, and everyday they are having new experiences which will benefit them later in life. Everyday also sees old and new visitors which is wonderful for me as it means constant entertainment of puppies although Snoop and the cat are also doing their bit to keep them occupied! The pups are already in a routine over meals and tucking into their breakfast,lunch and dinner like a plague of locusts, I am less organised about milk as Martha is still feeding them and competing with any milk I put down in a bowl, having said that sometimes the goats milk wins. As for the characters of the pups, they are developing nicely and all are confident at the moment and play rough although that is encouraged by Snoop, who does sometimes have to be forcibly removed as they wind her up into a frenzy which for their own safety becomes a time out session. This week they have all enjoyed late night trips into the garden as the weather has been so hot, they have all been raring to explore at about 10pm, they have also experienced being showered as one day I just left the hose running to keep them cool ( you can see Gloves playing in the water in the photo above).
As for the pups, Gloves is the most vocal for attention and normally the last one to sleep, Red boy loves Snoop and is very chilled, and nearly always eats by standing in the bowl but easy to handle, Orange boy is one of the most playful and very cuddly, Black girl likes all the new toys and blankets and generally moves everything from a to b, so reckon she might be a bit of a thief in later life, Green boy is one of the braver pups and likes to run everywhere at high speed, little girl with the white foot is very sweet and tends to steer clear of any bundles as does the white boy with 2 white feet, I easily muddle them up as they behave in the same manner, but both are pretty easy going. Anyway I am blessed with such a lovely litter, and really looking forward to another week of new experiences.    

Novaforesta James Brown at 7 weeks

Novaforesta James Brown soon to be called Boris, today he discovered a new room in the house so he stayed still for a couple of seconds but as I was standing behind him you have a rear end view :).
Biggest problem today was having 11 pups who never stop wagging their tails, they are a very happy litter so Hallie has done a grand job.

Happy Birthday to Novaforesta 'E' litter 5 years old

Time flies and these beautiful puppies are 5 years old today, proud parents being Betsy and Bachus.
November is a busy time for puppies born, as Bepops pups were 6 years old yesterday.
We still miss Betsy, so seeing her pups reach the milestone of 5 years is lovely, and of course her first litter will be 7 years old next March.
Lets hope all the Birthday boys and girls are spoilt today.

Pi the Barbet

She is still looking for birds, one day she might get lucky

Barbet puppy training

I seem to be stuck in the world of puppy training, but before you feel sorry for me it is of course by choice. Every puppy is different, so I always try to get to know the puppy and settle the puppy before I do any training of any sorts. The very first thing I noticed about Pi was that with any toys that trailed she would fold them if possible to carry, this impressed me as I like dogs that think.
Pi is just coming up to 4 months old and is a bit of a tearaway, if she finds anything that she can pick up then she is off like a rocket, and by the look in her eyes it is most definitely planned. She will be a quick learner, a good hunter and I am hope a good retriever. The hunting skills are already showing, most nights without fail she finds our resident toad,and  by her tail wagging it is easy to spot what bushes contain birds, and then we have the goldfish situation ( a blessing really as it does occupy her time) and being rather positive we have a very fit toad in the garden and very fit goldfish.

Anyway, as you may have seen she has taken to swimming like a duck to water, and learnt the sit and down with hand signals and words and I have just started working at her retrieving the dummy to hand.
Pi is still a young puppy, I only do 5 minutes a day training with her, but that 5 minutes I expect her to listen and to work out what I expect of her, that way training is fun as she always looks a little disappointed when it is over.  
 

New Barbet puppy

Look who has joined the Novaforesta gang, at the moment she is called Pi but that may still change as we do not make decisions very quickly. She is the daughter of Ebene and Ooli, so the Grandaughter of Bepop. She is 8 weeks today and has settled in very well, and all my dogs love her except Bobby who is having a little bit of a crisis. Enjoy the white bits as they will not last long once she has been in the forest.
House training is going very nicely as she is really clean indoors and with the warmer weather the back door can remain open, I am however waking with the dawn chorus for the first wee of the day, she is going to have to learn that I like tea before I get up in the mornings.  

Bobby the Barbet at 11 months

Another lively boy from Bepop and Jedi at 11 months old, this was blue collar boy now known as Bobby.
Be lovely one day to see this boy in the show ring in France, but perhaps a different show to Rugby as 2 excitable boys could be a handful. Actually by the time they have their 1st Birthday they will be calm :)

Obi at 11 months

Obi, otherwise known as red collar for several weeks is another boy from Bepop and Jedi. He has turned into a gentle chap probably because he lives with young children. His beard is like his Mum, who is coming up to 8 years old and has never had her beard trimmed.

Rugby the Barbet

If you look carefully you will see a hand holding Rugby, he is a rather lively boy and my camera just doesn't have a good shutter speed!. So a good photo of his nose to start, taking him to get confirmed could be quite a weekend as one can imagine how fast he will go round a ring.....He is a lovely charactor which is what is important.

Shoot No.2 for Martha the Barbet

Well, Martha survived her 2nd Shoot yesterday and she definitely proved that she is not gun-shy and she is not a chaser. Once again we had a lot of deer yesterday on the drives, it is quite scary to see a deer heading straight at you.
Martha was more distracted yesterday as often Julian and I were in different places, quite sweet really that finding one of us was more important than a pheasant, and what was even more interesting is that she air scented every time.

Afternoon Barbet boys, Eton and Rugby

The boys are good friends, even though Rugby is rather a wild child :) anyway, first groom for Rugby last week and it was rather exhausting as he was not really very impressed but I think he will be better next time. Eton is well behaved for grooming so hopefully Rugby will pay more attention next time as to what to do when up on a grooming table and he will remember to keep 4 paws still. Rugby is already showing his natural ability to flush, so these two boys could become quite a team :)

Countdown has started for Barbet Bepop

Well we have 7 days to wait (ish) and we are 2/3 through decorating but 2/3s is better than 1/3 so I am hopeful we may still get it done!. Bepop is sporting a rather short trim as when I got her on the table to trim her short she was in fairness as good as gold but I could see her discomfort, I did allow her to lie down but she still looked uncomfortable so out came the clippers. She is such a lovely shape that if I may say so myself I quite like her short, and should she have lots of puppies there will be advantages, at least she will be less likely to crush one as she will now feel it. She went to the vets yesterday for a check, and she has put on 6.5kg, although you wouldn't know it watching her running around the garden and still trying to leap the gate. As the countdown starts, she is definately getting more soppy, she wants more cuddles and her life is food, food and more food.   The whelping box is still in pieces on the dining room table, tomorrow hopefully it will be ready. I will try and get some more photos tomorrow,

Novaforesta Duplo

I had a lovely visit today, from Duplo and family.Duplo met Martha and  I would say he was rather bemused by her, she desperately wanted a mad run around the garden and he was enjoying the smells in the garden (remember Betsy and Bepop in season!). Duplo is a very calm boy, wonderful to groom and bath and it was great to catch up with his owners. Duplo also has a crochet hook at the end of his tail, similar to a Briard, not many Barbets have this.  

Eye test results for Barbets

Yesterday Bepop went to our vets and had her vaccinations, she is normally rather quiet and a bit subdued at the vets. Well, this time we met a new vet and she loved him and he fell in love with the breed as he used to own a Hungarian Puli, it is always good when you can show off a new breed and they like what they see. Anyway Bepop passed her MOT with flying colours, she is the perfect weight and heart and lungs etc.....all good. As you may have realised, I am always looking at why dogs do certain things and I was trying to work out why she loved the vet so much, as all the vets make a fuss of her. Then it dawned on me that when we entered the vets, there were 2 cats in  baskets who were coming out of the examination room.....BINGO......the vet smelt of cats, so it just goes to show that there is always a reason why dogs behave as they do. I suspect the next time we go to the vets Bepop will be desperate to go into the examination room, she never forgets so i just hope she will not be disappointed and at least for me, I have a very willing dog at the vets.
Today we have been to the eye specialist to update her eye certificate, and as expected she has passed with flying colours. I am very pleased as we had made an appointment with Mr Mason, who is the Chief Panellist of the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye scheme, although he was very busy he still had time to offer us advice over how often we should eye test the breed and what we should be doing as the dogs get older.      

Water tap for Barbets

All my dogs except the poodle have learnt very quickly about the water tap, often even visiting dogs copy one of my gang and soon learn that the water is colder and fresher from the tap. I often wonder why Jazz has never even attempted to drink from the tap, he has the brains, and he has watched the others do it now for over 5 years and he has been encouraged to try by us.  

2013

Happy New Year to you all.
Our beautiful new pup has settled well, and training has started.
She is fearless near water at the moment, although in Barbet style she is sensible about those entry points.

Remember Hope that little pup

Well folks,the photo is of  Hope  doing what a Barbet enjoys.
Hope was one of the pups I hand reared for 3 weeks and what a fantastic dog she is turning into, we spent a lovely morning together in the forest with her owners and there is no better way to enjoy a Sunday morning than a bit of waterwork.. Hope is only 7.5 months old and already learning the role of a gundog.

grandma Bepop

 

Bepop does not take this role of Grandma very seriously, we are waiting to hear whether she will have more grandchildren, only a couple more days to go.

Hallie the Barbet puppy swims

She is 12 weeks old and took the plunge yesterday evening, she is a brave puppy or daft, as she doesn't pick good entry points to water but hey she loves it as we have made water fun.I will post a short video later as it shows 'doggy paddle' at its best.