Barbet history preview

Louloute -Grand Barbet 1863 taken at the first Dog Show in Paris

A big thank you to Philippe Touret for the drawing and photograph.

The drawings and photos will be added to the bibliography on the Novaforesta site.

Hallie is in season

The sweet Charamese Hermione aka Hallie is in season which means in our household big excitement.
As I said before, trying to catch up but with a Husband just off mountaineering and my Mother deciding to go to Canada at the drop of a hat, life is never normal here!. Next week I will have 6 dogs and 2 cats living here :)

The Show must go on

I think I need to start by saying that 2014 did not start very well for my family as I lost my Father, last month to cancer. So apologies to all those that still have unanswered emails, I have about 8 weeks to catch up on and I am slowly wading my way through. My Dad was always very supportive of my Barbet venture, and loved my first two Barbets, Betsy and Bepop  although he could only tell them apart by their different charactors rather than how they looked. Bepop always greeted him with a big grin and then went for his pockets as he always had treats, and Betsy would wait patiently until all the dogs had calmed down and then she would quietly rest her chin on his knee with her tail wagging.
I have so much to share with you all, so watch this space.  

More action shots of a Barbet working

Nothing like a bit of debris attached, although it doesn't stop her

Spot the Barbet and the bird :)

Is a Barbet a Gundog?

Martha surprised me on Saturday, so her new title will be Amazing Martha.
We have been on a new shoot which is quite near us and they were short of beaters so we went along, sadly Bepop is a bit big for this shoot as due to the distances we cover, sometimes a landrover is needed so the size of dog is very relevant. Anyway back to Martha......On the 5th drive of the day she appeared along a track with a huge cock bird that had only a leg injury, this was her first experience of a warm bird and to add a very large alive bird and she presented it to me beautifully, a very proud moment :). I didn't think the day would get better but on the last drive, when we were all exhausted as it had been a tough day with only 6 beaters and 2 dogs, a Spinione and a Barbet , amazing Martha worked like she had never done before.The last drive is called the the Water meadows, and with all the rain and flooding it was extremely wet!!!!, she worked the hedge without any instruction and flushed the birds and as she was doing all the work I got out my camera, and suddenly she appeared with a shot bird, so there you have it, Martha excelling at a job. At the end of the day she got a few more pats than normal from the guns, and a few more asking, ''what is your dog again?''   .

Update on Obi

Obi is a pup from Bepop x Jedi and is now 9 months and enjoying the wet weather, a very handsome boy.

Apologies first .....

I have been slow to update my blog, although I have posted photos on my Novaforesta facebook page. As a family we have been very busy and sadly not just enjoyable busy as my Father has terminal cancer, and family needs have been a priority.
However the dogs have not been neglected, although Bepop I must admit is rather matted at the moment but that should be resolved this week :) and they are very well exercised as Julian and Jonty are in training for a mountain climb. Hopefully over the next couple of days I will try and update you all with some photos as Martha has also been busy working on a local shoot.