Blue Barbet boy at 5 weeks

He is cheeky this boy, quietly confident, the sort of puppy that sits behind you whilst you are looking for him chewing the end of your trousers, he used to be a real wriggler like green collar but now just happy to be held and shown new things, similar to the solid black boy, very happy to be cuddled and to sleep on your lap.

Red collar boy at 5 weeks

Well here he is, a Barbet puppy that is so easy to photograph, he just loves the camera or maybe just loves the attention. He is the bravest puppy outside, he is certainly the hungriest puppy, but not the one that makes the most noise, so strong and silent! This boy was totally relaxed with Martha, this was their first meeting not through the fence, the other pups were more fascinated by her as she was not Mum.

Meet Mr blue, a Barbet puppy at 4 weeks old

Mr blue collar is everything you want from a 4 week old pup, he is responding to me whistling, he is readily trying to climb on my lap and he is playful with his toys and he is taking to his raw meat like a puppy should.

Barbet Magic

I always think the best photos are the ones that make you run for your camera as you want to capture something quite magical.

Novaforesta Demi

Always such a pleasure to see my little Demi

Barbet walk in the New Forest

Is that what I think it is?

Just a little push and he would have been in

Martha and Hallie looking for a dummy I think

The forest was so wet today, a good time for waterdogs

Thank you Kate Kingan for the photos, they are lovely

Barbet Puppies

Tomorrow is a big day for Bepop and I, she is being scanned for pregnancy. It is not perhaps normal to tell the world about a scan but I think it is nice to share my nerves and perhaps I will not be so alone pacing the vets room! Bepop will not be nervous, her last memory at the vets was when she mugged the vet as he had been treating two cats, she will drag me in tomorrow so I hope her nose will be filled with the perfume of cat aroma.Should there be a cat in the waiting room then she will start to believe in miracles.

Happy Birthday Barbet 'D' litter

Happy Birthday to the very first litter of Barbets born in the UK. The proud parents being Betsy and Borree (from Holland). This litter has now reached the grand age of 5 years. Betsy and Borree had 7 puppies, 5 boys and 2 girls. Sadly 2 of the boys, Novaforesta Drew and Novaforesta Dexter are no longer with us, Drew aka Remy was involved in a car accident and Dexter aka Baxter died of lungworm. The smooth puppy in the photo is the delightful Novaforesta Dempsey aka Mr Bentley who I am still seeing on a regular basis. .

Bepops' son

Can you tell I am looking at puppy photos? I am preparing for more I hope!!
This is the lovely Doug now called Dougie from Bepops first litter. We had Dougie with us until about 5 months, although he used to go for mini holidays with his now owners during that time.So we sort of shared those early days.

Happy 7th Birthday

How time flies, here is a photo of Betsy at Nantes in France when we picked her up at 10 months old. A sad day for Nicole, but a happy day for us :). Betsy is 7 years old today, and she has produced some beautiful pups which have gone on to further the numbers of the breed not only in the UK but abroad.
So a big thank you to Nicole for trusting us with Betsy, and HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY:)

Hallie the Barbet

This is Hallie yesterday just before she was groomed, she has so much coat and with the weather being so wet and muddy in the forest I decided to take a few inches off her coat. I hated doing it as she has a fab coat, but you do start thinking that these dogs cannot remain damps for days and days......just in case you are worried, she now has a fringe so she can see :)
Hallie is very sweet, Bobby thinks she is rather sexy! and Martha just takes all the toys away. Martha and Hallie are good friends as there is only 4 months age difference, and yes they play rough.    

Family dog = The Barbet

Well the sun is out and all 5 dogs are in the garden with bones which will give me PC time I hope :)

I am asked all the time whether Barbets are good family dogs, so it is nice to be able to share clips like this

The Barbet- a family dog

A beautiful Barbet

I know I am biased, but dear sweet Hallie is turning into a really lovely Barbet. She is going to be a smaller dog than her 'Grandmothers' probably she will be more like her Mum which is a lovely size, at the moment she is about 54 in height and weighs 20kg. Her coat at the moment is still a fantasy Barbet coat as it doesn't need brushing, in my dreams it will remain that way but only time will tell. She does get the grooming experience as she still needs to learn grooming manners, but I spend more time whispering in her ear than I do brushing!. Exciting times ahead for Hallie as she is shortly going to be living in a different household, but will reveal more later.

Betsy Bonheur

Betsy Bonheur caught on camera, the day before Hallie had been blamed for breaking the shrub. One can only assume that a stray dog biscuit is in there.