Beth is Best in Miscellaneous at the National Dog Show!

 

Beth won a really nice Best in Miscellaneous at the National Dog Show in Philadelphia, PA for 3 points, bringing her within one point of finishing her Certificate of Merit! Thanks to handler Erica Sanden Cross and judge David Kittridge for this honor. 

5 Months Old Today for the Barbet Pups!

We are celebrating the 5 month birthday of our beautiful Marlee & Beau girls. They are both such promising pups and we are really enjoying keeping littermates for the first time. Here are our pups just one month away from being old enough to show!

Dana, the blue collar
Hickory Tavern Former Child Star

Beth, the white collar
Hickory Tavern Fortune Cookie

Here's a fun picture of Beth and Dana playing with Russell the Whippet 

Goodbye Little Guy

Hickory Tavern Fortune 500

Our final puppy to place left us this weekend. The yellow boy, now called 'Luke', lives just an hour away from us in Ohio. Luke has big shoes to fill in his new home; owners Debbie and Doug lost their longtime love Phoebe and bringing a new pup into the family is a very big yet bittersweet step. We wish them all well creating new memories!

Hickory Tavern Forward Backward

Our second southern girl left us this week as Milli moved to Alabama with Logan, Mallory, and their adorable daughter. Logan's dad was good enough to make the long drive with Logan to pick up their new pup. Milli is destined for field training in the marshy areas of Oneonta and we can't wait to see how she progresses. 

Hickory Tavern Fortunate Son

This fortunate pup is off to a fun life with Janie and Paul in eastern Pennsylvania. 'Merchant' has a beautiful 4.5 month old Portuguese Water Dog sister named Portia to play with and we wish the best for our sweet green collar pup.

Southern Girl!

Hickory Tavern Forgive and Forget

Off to Tuscaloosa, Alabama is Nixie, our orange collar girl. This little princess is going to be spoiled by Lee and Amanda and their children. Nixie will be attending kids sporting events, playing at the farm, and being a Barbet Ambassador in a cool new state. We are hoping that our paths will cross again in the future with this sweet family!

Bye Bye Pink Puppy!

Hickory Tavern Forget About It

Our second pup left us today. Lucky Roux will live with her big Barbet brother Bocuse in Jersey City, NJ along with Lauren, Ryan, and Teddy. Roux is a particularly gentle pup within this litter and it will be exciting to see her transform into a stylish city girl. 

Hickory Tavern For What Its Worth

At 8.5 weeks, it's already time for our first puppy to leave the nest. Our purple girl, now called Tallulah for short, headed off with Michelle to her new home in Sparkill, New York. We met Michelle last year at Westminster Meet the Breeds and she is now going home with her own very special Barbet. We look forward to seeing what events these two will do together!

New Pictures of All of the Pups!

Barbet Puppies at 6 Weeks

It's almost time for the 6 week birthday of Marlee's puppies! This time has flown by, partially because I was in Orlando for the AKC National Championship and partially because these puppies have felt so much older the entire time. This litter has been quick to do everything. They are so bright and engaged; a true pleasure to have in our home. In the next few weeks, we will make our final decisions on which pup will stay with us and who will be placed in homes around the country. I couldn't be more satisfied with the progress of these pups so far.

Sweet Sleepers

The puppies are doing great! Their eyes are now open and they can toddle around their box. They have also learned to bark! However, their still spend most of their time sleeping.

Barbet Puppy Pictures

The puppies are now one week and two days old. Everyone is doing so well. I am thrilled with the consistency I see throughout the litter and am really looking forward to seeing them grow. 

Pedigree of the Puppies

Blue Girl

Green Boy

Orange Girl

Pink Girl

Purple Girl

Red Girl

White Girl

Yellow Boy

New Barbet Puppies!

Our sweet Marlee had an effortless labor and delivery and is the proud new mom of 8 gorgeous pups. For us this litter is really special as it is the first time we've been able to combine the two bloodlines that we've been working with in our breeding program. So far they look beautiful!

For a breeder, there is nothing so satisfying as an easy, problem-free whelping that delivers consistent, attractive puppies with beautiful breed type. Marlee was solid and knew just what to do with her babies. Every one of them are vigorous and strong. There were no stillborn puppies, and the delivery was not prolonged. Today Marlee and her family are the picture of contentment. 

Barbet Family Successes

In the past 8 years, we've made so much progress with our Barbet. Breeding Claire (Neigenuveaux's Ermagarde) to Bango du Pre de Redy gave us the wonderful Solene (Hickory Tavern Intl Intrigue CM), who became the first female AKC CM winning Barbet. Her son Micah (HT Secret Liaison CM) was the first American bred Barbet to win a CM, Marlee (HT Secret Entourage CM3) the first to go beyond a CM with her CM3, and today Meg (HT Secret Garden CM) finished her CM with 3 Best in Open Show awards. To have Mama Solene and 3 of her kids in the first 10 Barbet recognized by the AKC for their Certificates of Merit has me feeling very grateful for the wonderful people I've shared this breed with. Thanks to Anne Plomp, Renate Zuber Morgenthaler, and Margrit Zbinden for getting us started with Bango, and to Lynn Vogt-Kinsey and Leslie Woodward for always presenting Meg and Micah so beautifully. This litter was sired by Bosch (Neigenuveaux's Gambit), and his contribution is invaluable. We only wish that Francois Menard was here to see this, as we know he would have been so proud. Here's to the future of the Barbet in America!

Wonderful Weekend

We had a really nice weekend showing the dogs in muddy Pennsylvania where Marlee finished her CM3 title and Solene won Best in Miscellaneous to bring her within 6 points of her CM2. Solene was beautifully shown by Barb Follett. In Illinois, Micah (Hickory Tavern Secret Liaison CM) won several Best in Misc with Robin Novack and Gris Gris (Hickory Tavern Final Approach) made his show debut, winning his first point toward his CM with Margie and Brian Lentini! We are so proud of these sweet dogs!

Hickory Tavern Secret Entourage CM3

Hickory Tavern Intl Intrigue CM with Barb Follett

Au Revoir Francois

Today we wrap up the birthday season with a hearty Happy Birthday wish to the Secret litter. David drove Solene to Repentigny, Quebec for her tryst with Bosch. While in Quebec, David enjoyed skiing at Mont-Tremblant and the wonderful hospitality of Francois Menard, the owner of Bosch. Francois sent David off each day with a beautiful box lunch, and welcomed him back from the slopes with a great meal and fine wine. The weather was terribly cold, but the breedings were successful and Francois sent David off with yet another nice meal for the road.

Bosch, David, and Solene at Francois Menard's home

With Solene's registered name being 'Intl Intrigue,' we chose 'Secret' as the theme of her litter. Solene is so special to me and her first litter was filled with emotion. I remember the fun of Neil Fournier flying in from California when the puppies were 11 days old and our joy of sitting in the whelping box sharing these beautiful babies. I think of the lost promise of the 3 stillborn souls who did not take a breath. When the puppies grew, Grandma Claire became a surrogate mother to the pups and she and Solene shared in raising the 9 sweet babies. I have been so proud to watch these pups grow and accomplish so much. So today, on their third birthday, I remember our friend Francois Menard, who passed away last Saturday. Francois was special, a swashbuckling sort of handsome and proud man. He had a distinctive handling style that said 'Of course you're going to choose this dog.' Yet he didn't just expect to win; he put in the work and earned titles in Conformation, Rally, Obedience, and other events. He was the first to earn an American Rally title. He won the first group placement at Premier with a Barbet. With his gregarious heart, he hosted wonderful cookouts while we camped at the shows. Francois donated prizes to our specialties, he became a SPOT evaluator, and he made friends for the Barbet wherever he traveled with Bosch. Francois and I shared the bond of being cancer survivors, but sadly, his recurred and no more treatment was available. Our deepest sympathies go to his wife Manon. Francois, you were one of a kind. 

I am honored to own my Bosch daughter Marlee, and I know that Francois is proud of her and all of the other Bosch kids. Happy birthday to Marlee, Micah, Meg, Clea, Charlie, Clovis, Teddy, Ernie, and Libby.

Francois Menard   1957-2017

Welcome home, Marlee!

We are right in the middle of our birthday season. Almost every one of our Barbet litters have been born in late March or early April. Living together usually makes all of the girls come into season around the same time, so it has been easy to plan for spring pups that are ready to head to their new homes just as summer is starting. A great time for puppies to make the transition when their new families can easily get them out to new places every day.

Next week we will celebrate the 3rd birthday of our beautiful Marlee and her siblings. Time flies! Yesterday I drove to Chesapeake City, MD to pick up Mar after her month on the road with Michelle and Michael Scott. This road trip was extremely successful for Marlee. She won Best of Breed and Best in Miscellaneous at 12 of the 14 shows where the Scotts showed her. Marlee made a lot of new friends for the breed and the Scotts learned about showing a Barbet. In the end, Marlee earned her CM2 title and is just two points shy of her CM3. She came home in impeccable condition, and she loved everyone on the Creekside Handling team. Marlee will continue to meet up with the Scotts throughout the year. My sincere thanks to Michael for presenting Marlee so beautifully!

An honor to win under Houston Clark

Balanced, beautiful movement. Totally correct. So proud :)

Taking the glamour down a notch :)   judge Richard V Miller

Marlee & Michael Scott

Two weeks ago, we sent our Marlee Girl out with Michelle & Michael Scott of Chesapeake City, MD for some of the more distant shows that we weren't able to attend. The Scotts have been wonderful taking on a rare breed, and Marlee clearly loves being with them. So far she has won 6 Best in Miscellaneous and her CM2 title, becoming the very first in the breed! Marlee & Michael are a wonderful team and clearly she loves showing for him!

Marlee & Michael

Marlee and Michael Scott at the Country Music Cluster in Nashville, Tennessee. This pair also won Best in Miscellaneous at the Louisville Kennel Club show March 17, 2017.

Best in Miscellaneous Marlee!

Hickory Tavern Secret Entourage CM

We are very proud of our Marlee Girl for having a wonderful first weekend with Michael and Michelle Scott. She won Best in Miscellaneous all four days of the Country Music Cluster in Nashville, Tennessee. She also won Best in Miscellaneous both days with me the previous weekend in Tallmadge, Ohio. This makes seven shows in a row where Marlee won Best in Miscellaneous! Marlee will be out with the Scotts throughout the year. We are very pleased to have such talented handlers showing our girl when we have other commitments. Next stop: Louisville, Kentucky!