Bedtime for Betsy and how she communicates

Although she has a long coat, its now Spring and Betsy has had her natural warm woolly jacket removed. I groom my barbets for the UK weather, but perhaps I had not taken into account our house is very cold and we have no carpets, so the flooring is cold!. At 7pm last night, after a very long walk, a good swim and a hearty meal she begged and cried until we realised she wanted to go upstairs to bed, as you can see that is where the dog beds are!. It really shows how the coat of a dog can be changed by grooming, Betsy spent most of our Snowy weather outside, she is not a dog naturally that ever feels the cold. Anyway, she didn't move, thats how she slept until 7am this morning, Bepop and Bobby thought it was great as they cuddled up. Its strange how dogs communicate so differently, Bepop if she wants something she looks with her eyes and then back to me, not unlike a baby would, Betsy dogs your heels and cries and you play the guessing game, Bobby is still a bit young and too preoccupied with retrieving anything not tied down, Jazz dances on his back legs near whatever he wants or runs to it.

Coat of a waterdog

This is just an example, as most of the barbets I groom, the soft hairs are groomed with the top coat so the knitting together of the softer coat is less obvious. I also don't shave that many. To the untrained eye, Mr Bentley yesterday did not look as though his coat would come off in large sections like the photograph, the soft hair feels like his skin. Its a true woolly jacket for a barbet. Hard to believe that this dog was wet when he arrived, so that shows also that his skin had been kept bone dry. Mr Bentley is brushed by his owners, and they do rely on myself to advise on whether he needs shaving or just a good groom out, teamwork really to make sure the dog is comfortable.
So now you all know whats under the curls!

Novaforesta Dempsey

It must be nearly spring as its a short back and sides for Mr Bentley. Glad I did it, as I removed several ticks that were very well hidden under his coat. Nice for him being short as he went back to being a puppy and ran madly round the garden with Bobby, when I just groom him out he doesn't do that!!. Mr Bentley is just a fantastic pet that lives his life in the forest, he is not a showdog. Those that show barbets do sometimes shave their barbets but ofton leave the ears, head and tail long as they say they take the longest to grow and a feature of the breed is the beard.

Barbet grooming

Yesterday I groomed Betsy, from top to tail and it took about 1.5 hours to do everything which included ears, nails, pads, armpits etc. It has been 4 weeks since her last groom, and her hair length is 6-7 inches curled. I am not bathing her, as she doesn't need it. although bear in mind I am a groomer by trade.
Betsy was shaved completely whilst living in France as a puppy, I cannot therefore know how her coat would have developed if she had not been shaved as a youngster. The good news is that considering she has a life of walking and running in mud and alot of swimming, her coat is manageable.
I am lucky, all my dogs are good about being groomed, they know they have to stand, they know it may pull a bit, if they were asked its probably not the highlight of their day and actually if I want to clear the room I just say 'bath time'. Anyway, back to Betsy and today she looks as though she was not brushed at all, she has her beautiful curls back.

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.