Solene is #1 Barbet in UKC for 2017

With her Best in Show win at the United Barbet Club Specialty, Solene sealed her position as the #1 Barbet in UKC for 2017. Her half sister Alainn, Hickory Tavern Finally Friday, was just one point behind in the standings. Alainn is owned by Lynn Vogt-Kinsey and Leslie Woodward. We're proud of our girls! As the #1 Barbet, Solene received her invitation to compete in the UKC Top Ten show this June in Kalamazoo. 

Catching Up

This summer has been packed with activities and I am behind in updating the blog! One of the highlights was our annual trip to the UKC Premier show in Kalamazoo, MI. This show is always a fun time spent with friends and enjoying our dogs. We were thrilled when Solene, Ch Hickory Tavern Intl Intrigue CM, won Best in  Show at the United Barbet Club Specialty. Then Meg, Ch Hickory Tavern Secret Garden won 4th place in the Top Ten competition, defeating almost 500 dogs in the process! Congratulations to Meg's owners, Lynn Vogt-Kinsey and Leslie Woodward of Anam Chara Barbet. The other big winner of the week for us was Hickory Tavern Finally Friday, Alainn, who placed in the Gun Dog group at two huge shows!

Best in Show Solene with judge Sue Phillips and me

Solene and me after the Specialty :)

Leslie and Meg with their Top Ten winnings

Isabel Descutner, Leslie Woodward, Barb Gresham, Lyne Trudel, Carole Bouthillette, Lynn Vogt-Kinsey

Solene is Pregnant!

Solene is confirmed in whelp to Thibault today by ultrasound. She was bred from frozen semen shipped from The Netherlands, and we are anxiously awaiting this much-anticipated litter!!

Barbet Puppy Kit at 6 Months

Isabel was home this weekend from NYU and she helped me get some new photos of our puppy Kit. She is a beautiful combination of the best parts of her mom Nessa and her father Murdoch.  We are so pleased with this entire litter and we have so much to look forward to in the future. Several of these puppies are in show homes and are off to promising starts. Best of all, they are fun and silly pups who are a joy to live with.

Kit looks so much like Nessa in the face

Kit has beautiful extension and smooth movement

Last week we loaded up the RV and hit the road to Kalamazoo, MI where we met up with Lynn and Leslie at the UKC Premier show. We had so much fun showing our Barbets, and at the end of the week, they both took their new pups home. Only 3 puppies are still with us.

Hickory Tavern Finally Friday (Claire's Green Girl) with Lynn
Hickory Tavern Fools Rush In (Nessa's Purple Girl) with Leslie

MBIS Ch Nuphar's Gift-Wrapped

Here is my beautiful Nessa, taken today, just 8 weeks after the birth of her 8 puppies.  Nessa was such a wonderful mom to her litter, attentive and meticulous, and her puppies sired by GrChEx Flacon d'Paris of Neigenuveaux are a beautiful, cohesive group with really pretty heads, deep chests, beautiful fronts, and rears with good drive. They are all of very similar type and I couldn't be more pleased with the litter. Nessa is a bit of a goof, and I wondered whether she'd be able to take parenting seriously, but her instincts were perfect and I am so proud of her. Nessa will be back in the ring next month!

Barbet Puppy Love

Isabel loves spending time with the pups every day

Four Day Old Barbet Puppies

Friday Puppy Update

This picture has two fun things: the white collar puppy who passed out headfirst and the other under Nessa's chest where just the back legs are sticking out. All puppies gained weight nicely and are doing great so far!

 Sleeping Comfortably!

This little girl is wiped out on Nessa's front leg!

Very proud mamma Ness

American Barbet Puppies!

Our Dutch import, Nessa, gave birth to 8 beautiful puppies this morning, sired by Canada's #1 Barbet, Murdoch. A first time mom, Nessa easily delivered her babies in under two hours. All of the puppies came out head first, fully encased in their sacs, for a smooth passage into the world.

5:00 AM    #1    Girl   228g    brown    blue collar

5:36 AM    #2    Boy   263g    black    red collar

5:51 AM    #3    Girl    200g    black    yellow collar

5:58 AM    #4    Girl    202g    black    white collar

6:10 AM    #5    Boy    233g    black    light blue collar

6:36 AM    #6    Girl    197g    black    green collar

6:50 AM    #7    Boy    250g    black    orange collar

6:57 AM    #8    Girl    256g    brown    purple collar

Birth size doesn't really indicate adult size, but it's interesting to watch as they grow. Sometimes the biggest pups in the litter stay the biggest, and other times the smaller pups end up being the exact right size as adults. I'll get individual shots of the pups posted over the next few days.

Barbet UKC Group 1!

Congratulations to Leslie Woodward and Ch. Hickory Tavern Secret Liaison (Micah) for winning a Group 1 yesterday at the One Paw Forward UKC show in Jackson, MI. Leslie keeps Micah in tip-top condition and he looks beautiful, with a very showy attitude!

Barbet Puppies on the Way

Here are our two expectant mothers, taken this morning after breakfast. Claire (right) is a very maternal girl, and has been acting pregnant and extra snuggly since immediately after the breeding. She is really showing and seems to be carrying a lot of puppies. Nessa (left) has just recently widened and changed in appearance, although her silly, bouncy personality is unchanged. As we approach the end of the month and Nessa's due date, excitement builds for these two Barbet litters!

Double the Barbet Fun

This spring, we're going to be doing something we've never done before--having two litters simultaneously! Claire was to have her final litter last fall, but with the passing of my father, I just wasn't up to it.

In 2015, we planned to breed Nessa, who is almost 3, to Gr Ch Ex Flacon d'Paris of Neigenuveaux CGC for her first litter; and to wrap up Claire's career as a mom with an exciting breeding with Stacy Able's Ch Quaciendas Thunus Georgii. As girls often do, Claire, Ness, and Solene all came into season within 10 days of each other. Timing and other events dictate that both girls were bred in February, and we are now pleased to announce that both girls are safely in whelp and due in the next few weeks. Nessa is due first, around March 31, and Claire is due one week later (April 6).

I drove Nessa to Ontario, where she spent several days with Flo Erwin for multiple breedings with Murdoch. My sister Jan took Claire to Virginia and met with Georgii's family for one quick breeding while she was dropping off her Spinone with her handler. I'm happy that Jan and Nancy, dog breeding novices, were able to successfully supervise the lovely couple.

So, we'll be home for puppy fun in April and May, and ready to hit the shows later this summer!

Nessa - UKC BIS Ch Nuphar's Gift-Wrapped

Claire - CKC Ch UKC BIS Ch Neigenuveaux's Ermagarde

Nessa is in Season!

Nessa

Nessa

We've been not so patiently waiting for Nessa to come into season, and finally she has! Tomorrow she will have her Brucellosis and first Progesterone test done, so that we can begin to schedule our trip to Toronto to breed her with the beautiful Murdoch.

Murdoch

New UKC Barbet Champion!

Announcing the second UKC champion for Solene and Bosch! Congratulations to Maggie - Hickory Tavern Secret Garden - owned by Mark and Renae Bertagnoli, Lynn Vogt-Kinsey, and Leslie Woodward. We are proud of our babies! Maggie also won a Group 2 out of 25 entries!

Bosch Wins Best of the Best

Bosch and Francois winning Best of the Best in Brampton, Ontario

"At the Maple Leaf Kennel Club (UKC) event Bosch and I ended up in Rally with two first places and one second place with an average of 97% in Rally Obedience 3 (Excellent). In conformation, one third place, three second places and one first place.Three Top Dog Award. One Best in Show and one Best of the Best in Show." -- Francois Menard

Congratulations to Francois and Bosch for their wonderful weekend! Bosch is the father of Solene's April litter: Micah, Clovis, Charlie, Maggie, Libby, Marlee, Ernie, Clea and Teddy. This litter has excellent uniformity, temperament, size, and bone. We are very happy with our Bosch pups!

In addition to his nice performance in Rally, Bosch won Best of the Best, which is a UKC competition between all dogs who won Best In Show over the weekend. Fantastic!

Miss Madison

I stopped by to visit with Madison, a 9 month old puppy from our last litter (Hickory Tavern Dior On Madison, Claire x Obie). She is a wild and silly girl who is really growing nicely. Next month she'll be going to the Premier dog shows with us in Kalamazoo, MI. It will be fun to show our puppy!

Nessa's Latest Best In Show

Last Friday evening, Nessa and I traveled to Ohio for the inaugural United Black Russian Terrier Club's All-Breed shows. There's something special about night shows, and Nessa was extra showy! She performed beautifully, and won a Best In Show and a Reserve Best In Show! The large size of the shows meant that we didn't get home until almost 3:00 am but it was definitely worth it!

Best In Show for Nessa!

Just home from a big day in Ohio:
Nessa heard about her sister Lotus and her huge BIS last weekend, so she decided to make some news of her own. Today she won her first UKC Best In Show and also a Reserve Best In Show at the UBRTC's inaugural shows. Thanks so much to judges Jennifer Landers-Morado and Brenda Landers for appreciating our girl. Great competition, good food, and fun times made today really special. As always, I remain indebted to Anne Plomp for sending this little girl to America. We have nothing but fun with her.

With this win by Nessa,  all three of my Barbet girls are UKC Best In Show winners. Claire won the first ever Best In Show for a Barbet in North America in September 2010. We are so proud and pleased with our Barbet and the rewarding placements from the judges.