Martha and Murdoch puppies are 7 weeks

Before you all panic, I will be posting individual photos soon but just thought you might to see the gang in action together. I have been lucky enough to have had so many visitors over the week and some very special ones too, as one of my puppy owners from Croatia is on holiday and popped in to see the pups which is also the reason why I have these beautiful photos ( thank you Malik) As for telling you who they all are.....hmm......I can identify Gloves!. This litter has been a dream so long may it continue, the puppies remain very contented, they sleep very well and they are a quiet bunch, so even if they become hooligans this week I will forgive them and so far only one ( no not saying who) that bites your ankles!

Martha and Murdoch puppies are 6 weeks old

New Start Orange boy

New Start Orange boy

New Start Orange boy

New World red boy

New World Red boy

New World red boy

New Day Gloves

New Day Gloves

New Day Gloves

New Life - Green boy

New Moon boy with white feet

New Moon boy with white feet

New Dawn girl with white foot

New Dawn girl with white foot

New Dawn girl with white foot

New Life - Green boy

New Horizon- Black Girl

New Horizon - Black girl

New Horizon black girl

New Moon boy with white feet

New Life -Green boy
Life with puppies is chaotic to say the least, and thinking of new experiences for them everyday is a challenge. In the last couple of days Martha has decided that the pups need weaning so as she is too much of a lady to regurgitate her food she has carried meals in her mouth into the puppy area, I hadn't realised until I saw the pups eating beetroot!, the next day she carried a boiled egg and a carrot in, then a mouthful of tripe. The pups are enjoying the experience of seconds, and I am being careful over what Martha eats now I know. Martha is also still feeding them milk and not getting grumpy with them at all, which hopefully will change this week as being rather selfish I don't like the 3am feed and Martha barks at the pen until we let the hooligans out!. As for the puppies and their characters;
New Horizon (Black girl) is very confident  and loves  exploring the garden, never seems to tire.
New Moon (boy with 2 white feet) is one of those pups that is never in trouble, he is good fun and very confident.
New Dawn (girl with white foot) is the puppy with the constant waggy tail who wants to be picked up and when you try and put her down she does the strangest wiggle, she is the attention seeker in the litter but is also very gentle.
New Day (Gloves) she is always watching what is going on, so very alert but likes the security of  what she knows best, she likes being part of the gang and playing with her brothers and sisters rather than exploring the garden on her own.
New Life ( Green boy) he is a confident boy that is very playful and is happy to be exploring on his own, he has started to let me know when he is awake and wants out of the kitchen.
New Start (Orange boy)  he is still a puppy that normally goes to sleep first, he is my quietest boy and just loves to be cuddled, he is calm and loves to play
New World ( red boy) he is my chunky puppy that is always stuck under the sofa  due to his size I think.so not sure how bright he is, he is actually quite a gentle pup though and he still stands in the food bowl to eat!
Snoop is still being a fantastic half sister, she is sometimes a little rough but they all adore her presence and normally a chorus of crying means Snoop is in sight as they get very excited about her in the pen or garden. Snoop is also breaking up the puppies when the play gets out of hand whilst Martha just watches which I find interesting, almost as though she has handed over the responsibility to Snoop ( thats a worry!)
We have a busy week planned as will start taking them out in the car, and we have so many visitors of all ages including some from overseas which I am thrilled about.        

Black and white boy at 4 weeks

This little boy is obviously intelligent as he reads the paper!, he loved being outside on his own which is very brave, and most of all he loves being with you.His best friend is the other black boy.

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.

Hallie has been in the wars

Poor Hallie has an injured hind leg after an impact with Bobby playing in the garden. After a visit to the vets, a small dispute over her treatment (the leg was not broken after initial examination) with the help of a few manic phone calls I decided that crate rest was the best course of treatment with medication from the vets.
A good idea, but not according to Hallie who has never been in a crate and certainly has no plans to start. I tried everything to get her to enter the crate, and only ever did she manage willingly her front legs. Jonty was better as he got in the crate with her, so that worked while he was around. So the next best thing was a bed near where I was working, and I decided it was going to be shredding paperwork day. As you can see, after  a short time she got bored and slept. It has now been a week since her accident and she is off all her medication and has been for a couple of lead walks with no limping and I have allowed her back with the other dogs for play.It is really tough with a young dog keeping them calm and rested, and trying to keep her apart from the others when she so desperately wanted to play.

Charamese Hermione aka Hallie

How beautiful is she? Hallie is just the sweetest dog, she is only 7 months old but she is a puppy you can never get cross with as she always makes you smile. Hallie and Bobby are now best friends. Poor Bobby has learnt to share his toys and not be so jealous and the result is that he now plays with Hallie continually and they daily share bones, they often chew one end each.So little Hallie has changed Bobby for the better, her stable and kind behaviour has won his affection. he still insists on sitting on her as in the photo above, but it is all done in the best possible taste. 

Spoilt dogs

Bless them, they were cold, wet and very tired and too little to leave to drip dry in the utility room.

Barbet puppy news

 

Duplo at 8 weeks old
I am very pleased to say that Novaforesta Duplo is the proud Daddy of 3 pups born in Finland. He was a beautiful pup and always very sweet, so lets hope he has passed his genes on.

 Above shows Duplo in France after his confirmation, he is on the left with the white flash on his chest. That was one of our weekend away trips and brings back such good memories. Hopefully we have 3 lined up for 2013, and I am already looking forward to it, as we do have alot of laughs.

A big congrats to Duplo and his new wife Emma, and welcome to their 3 new puppies, photos when I get them.

 

Eton the Barbet

Crikey, I can see for miles and miles

Hallie and her brother at 5 months

Basil formerly known as Half pint

Hallie who is just a diva for posing!

Facebook campaign

For all those on Facebook, go to 'Le Barbet' and like the page and add a photo of your Barbet.

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. 

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.  

Wet days and paperwork but lots of good news.

Another wet day in the UK, its getting a tad boring and with any spare time I should be down my allotment planting seeds. But instead, I am sorting out paperwork inbetween the most important distraction of puppies.
News today, two of the male puppies from Ebene and Ooli will be training for gundog work, One pup has already been signed up to start training with 'Huw' a wonderful gundog trainer in Wales where we spent a weekend several years ago. Lucky Huw will have another barbet to make into a steady gundog. The other pup will be trained as a gundog and be working on a family shoot.So 2 more barbets being trained is something to celebrate.
The video showing barbets training and working on land and water  that was requested this year by the organisers of the Sporting pavillion at the CLA Game Fair has been sent off ......a big thank you to Lorraine and David for that.
Finally the Kennel Club have been in contact over our recognition of the Barbet in the UK, the committee have  requested clarification over a few points in our submitted application. It maybe I have misunderstood a question  and ticked the wrong box, easily done at times! but I am seeking more information from France, where better than the home of the Barbet. On a positive note, more communication with our Kennel Club means I can now let them know about the 2 new litters born in the UK, our numbers have increased by 19 dogs since my application went in December. I will also be able to send them the video of the barbets working that will be seen at the Game Fair.
Strangely enough, the letter from the  KC also mentioned whether a breed club was being established, * cough cough cough* page 41 of the application........ I take that as a good sign that they never got beyond page 40.

Barbet Puppies having quality time

Annettes pups were 5 weeks old yesterday, and they are enjoying their freedom and learning the calming ways of the Spinones.

Barbet puppies

How sweet is he? We had been calling him 'Roo' after Kanga and little Roo, but he is starting to behave more like a 'Rudi'. One day in the future I hope I will be in the situation that I can write his name given by his owners, it will be wonderful to see this boy as an adult. He has real charactor, he enjoys a cuddle after feeding whereas the little girl goes straight to sleep. Hand rearing these pups makes you realise how strong the instinct is to survive. I am trying to make sure that everything is as clean as possible, the bottles are sterilised and hands are washed continually. On a visit to the vet, both pups enjoyed sucking the vets tunic and of course they have been introduced to new germs just by moving house and living with 4 different dogs who are out in the forest walking.