Hallie the Waterdog

Hallie at nearly 6 months , not sure what she was waiting for, but she was in the water when we arrived. I have read recently that some Barbets do not swim, is that a concern? certainly the majority of Barbets in the UK like water and retrieve well in water so it is not an issue here. There are also owners who buy a waterdog for the reason that it does not shed its coat, and ofton those dogs are not taken to water so they do not get the opportunities that dogs like Hallie get from an early age.    

Hallie and dog training

Well, Hallie has now been enrolled in weekly dog training classes and after two weeks she has settled in nicely amongst the labradors which outnumber her by 5-1. I am helping out at the classes as I am very interested in not just the training but also the behaviour of pups and Hallie at not yet 6 months old has to lie down and watch the first class for an hour. To be honest I didn't think it would be possible that Hallie could be that good!.
The first week we sat together and watched the puppy class,  a group of 6 puppies ranging from 6 months to 8 months, it was very noisy, but  Hallie remained relatively calm throughout. Hallie then joined the older dog class and behaved extremely well and was much steadier than I could have hoped for as training with other dogs especially for a pup is very distracting.The second week she was tied to a piano on the stage, with my coat as her blanket and I sat near her whilst the first class was held, and after intently watching the class for awhile, she then lay on her side and slept. I woke her for her training session and once again she excelled, and her three dummy retrieves were all to hand :) So she is learning to chill amongst chaos, and she is learning to work with distractions and what is best of all for me is that when the classes are finished, she turns into a complete hooligan and wants to play and cause chaos with all the dogs. So she is not just a perfect puppy that is easy to train, she is learning what is expected of her in different situations.Fingers crossed for our third week, I will keep you posted.  

Its Daddy Eton

Lovely photo taken of Eton, he really is a handsome chap. Becoming a sire of 14 pups has not changed his outlook on life which is based around fun.Certainly one of the best things about breeding a litter, is  remaining in contact with the new owners of puppies. I have seen Eton shown in France, achieve his working test, I even witnessed his first marriage to Bonnie, and to beat all that I saw him being born.  Eton is a well loved dog and beautifully groomed if I say so myself. 

Kennel Club update

The  Breed Standards Sub-Committee will be meeting again on the 27th June 2012, and the recognition of the Barbet as a breed in the UK will be on their agenda.
The information requested by the Committee will be submitted in time for this meeting.

Having been the receiver of two rejections by the Breed Standards Sub Committee Kennel Club in the past, its far too early to get excited. My world crashed when we had our first rejection, by the second rejection I was getting more used to the idea!,and on a very positive note with the help of the French Club allowing us to take the Tan in England and in Wales and the wonderful assistance of The French Kennel Club the breed in the UK has achieved so much in the last three years. So my theory in life that something positive always comes from something negative remains true. Anyway, crossed fingers, crossed toes and crossed paws and think good thoughts  about the breed and its future on the 27th June.

A barbet weekend and grooming

On Saturday I had the pleasure of Eton and his owner, I am pleased to say we have experimented with a new brush on his coat. We must have removed nearly a black bag of hair, and he still looked like a barbet when he left, so now we sit and wait to see how the coat grows back. Learning about the breed and their coats will take time, in some breeds coat colour makes a difference, and whether the dog has been castrated or spayed can make a difference.So far I do think that shaving black dogs makes the coat curlier and thicker, but thats not 100% accurate. The future for a perfect coat will be the ratio of undercoat to the top coat, and the length of undercoat. If you look back at the old barbet, it would have been shaved with the sheep or as a peasants dog would have got so matted that as the hair grew the dog would scratch the matts out or they would get caught on something and get pulled out, not a nice thought as some areas would always remained uncomfortable for the dog, as some old books describe, the barbet was a smelly flea infested dog.

Cenzo the tolerant Spinone

I forgot this photo yesterday, the puppies just adore him and as he walked around he was rather like the pied piper.
Will he miss them? probably not, but the puppies will have very happy memories of this gentle spinone.

Ebene and Oolis pups 4 weeks old

What a wonderful litter these 5 are, Ebene has done a grand job of rearing them. I can't wait for my puppy visit again.I have delayed a visit because of having the two foster pups.  

Do barbets point?

 Remy, son of Betsy joined us yesterday on the shoot. He behaved perfectly, a credit to the flushing abilities of the barbet. As a breed in the UK, the dogs that we have do not flush like spaniels, they are bigger which makes a difference and they have inbuilt survival that tells them small holes in bramble are best left to other dogs! I was lucky yesterday as I witnessed Remy being over keen and leaving the cover during a drive, thinking the worse (commen when you own a barbet!) I watched and thankfully he flushed a rather large cock bird and returned at the same speed back into the cover. Free thinking barbets, they give you anxiety attacks, but time and time again they prove their worth.

Spot the barbet?  Remy in cover