Mr Bentley the Barbet

A lovely start to my day as Mr Bentley came for a groom, and he loves being here which always helps.
Mr Bentley is a boy from my very first litter, and he lives nearby so I get to see him about every 12 weeks. He will be 6 years old next March, where does the time go? Mr Bentley has had an exciting life, he survived being run over, he was attacked badly by a flat coat retriever (Hmmm...) and has even had his stomach pumped after eating something he shouldn't! and he also has to tolerate other dogs in his home as his owner fosters dogs for a rescue centre.

A barbet on holiday

Novaforesta Eton has arrived for a 9 day holiday.

Yesterday he met a beautiful young rottweiller called Roxy, Eton rather took a shine to Roxy, taught her a bit about the birds and bees!
They remained friends for the day.

Its been good  chaos at home with the addition of Eton, suddenly the dogs have rediscovered racing round the garden at 100 miles an hour, play time has arrived. He is a lovely boy, and has slotted straight in to our family life. Bepop loves him , Betsy protects him, Bobby has moments of sheer bliss that another dog wants to play, then he remembers that he is in charge of two girls and tries to look grown up. Its great watching them all together.

Novaforesta Demsey and Haircuts

8 weeks old

I am lucky as Novaforesta Demsey aka Mr Bentley lives near me, he was an adorable pup and has turned into the perfect pet for the family he lives with. Mr Bentley is shaved about every 6 months, and all I leave are his eyebrows and a bit of hair on his muzzle. For forest life its the best thing, ticks in the summer are a nuisance and can be clearly seen on a 'nude' barbet,and no concerns about overheating in the summer. In the winter his coat has grown and he spends much of his time lying in the garden regardless of the cold.


Bentley with three months hair growth.

He is a very docile male, and is one of the first litter born in the UK from Betsy so is just coming up to 3 years old. I borrowed Bentley for our TAN (basic working test) day, he had never had the opportunity to swim before as the forest where he walks has streams rather than lakes. He passed everything easily except the retrieve, he swam without thought and without ripples, but ignored the dummy so sadly he was a fail on the day. His owners were thrilled that he could swim, and not surprised about retrieving as Bentleys life is more about kids chasing after him with items of clothing in his mouth taken off the radiator!!!!!

Mr Bentley is about 59 in height and weighs about 30-32kg, he is a powerful dog but very gentle.

Mr Bentley with his summer trim, still wet from his bath, his eyebrows still needing a little tidying but I am sure you get an understanding of the trim.
I know I am lucky, to see Mr Bentley as ofton as I do, and to still be part of his life.   

Eton and grooming

Eton is only 14 months,

Eton as a pup.

He was the largest pup,weighing in at 530g when born, in fact he is the pup that fails to climb up on the bed in the youtube video, when you were as large as he was everything was too much effort, he liked food and sleep! He now is about 59/60 in height and weighs about 23kg, and is Mr Lively, loves everyone, tail never stops wagging and just makes you smile. However Eton has proved his calmness by passing his TAN in the UK, he currently attends gundog training and will shortly be taking his grade 1 gundog test, he also achieved his silver KC good citizen award and believe he is working towards his gold. Eton has a clear eye certificate too. All in All, a good allrounder.