Solene Wins the National Dog Show

Solene and I had a great trip to Philadelphia for the National Dog Show. We were thrilled that she won Best of Breed and got to compete in the Sporting group on the national telecast on Thanksgiving Day on NBC.  Thanks to National Dog Show/Steve Surfman for the photos.

Canine Chronicle November/December Issue

We've been having a really nice fall with the dogs. Going to a few dog shows, lure coursing with Russell, and contemplating our next steps breeding a few litters in 2021. On the horizon, we plan to breed Dana and Jessa, but at this point nothing is firm. As always, we do not maintain a waiting list and cannot promise anyone a puppy until a litter is delivered. 

Celebrating the success of Solene and Flynn, we share our page in the Canine Chronicle Nov/Dec issue. This mother/daughter duo are both AKC champions and in the top of the AKC standings for 2020.

Some of our Summer Memories

Solene in the Canine Chronicle

David and Isabel at the lake house with old men Bob & Skylar

Strava, #1 Barbet in NADD 2020

Sam and Lauren got married at the farm August 1

Flynn #1 NOHS Barbet, #1 Barbet Female

Jessa, Dock Senior title in NADD

Elissa surrounded with puppies

Radar in the soybeans

Sophie in the pool

 

Solene wins NOHS Reserve Best in Show at the New Castle KC, Canfield, OH

Solene wins NOHS Reserve Best in Show at the New Castle Kennel Club, Canfield, OH

While the younger girls were busy at home with summer litters, we entered Solene at the only day of Canfield we could attend. Our son Sam was marrying his longtime sweetie Lauren on August 1, so off we went to the Thursday Canfield show. Canfield drew huge entries and was the only dog show held in the US on this particular weekend, just as US dog shows were beginning to start up. Solene won Best of Breed under Charles Olvis, then waited through a very long day to compete in the Owner Handler group. Judged by sporting specialist Doug Johnson, Solene was selected as the best of the Sporting group. On to Best in Show. Solene was so happy to be in the ring; she shows with so much attitude and goes around the ring with effortless movement. With her tail wagging non-stop, Solene was chosen by Robert Shreve as Reserve Best in Show. What a thrill to have Solene, at 8.5 years old, near the top of the day's show results. Good girl, Solene. We love you so much!

NOHS RBIS CH Hickory Tavern Intl Intrigue CM

Canine Chronicle March 2020

Happy to see our girls in the March 2020 issue of the Chronicle

Champion Flynn and other Barbet Wins!

We've had a great start to the year with Barbet entering the AKC Sporting group as of January 1, 2020. We've shown dogs in Maryland, Ohio, and Florida. Flynn earned her AKC championship January 10 and Solene is close on her heels. Flynn also has several OH Group placements. We are so excited to be part of the Sporting group. Our thanks to Justin Smithey, Erica Cross, Janet Evans, and Moira for the help!

OH Group 2 - Dr Norbert Dee

Flynn in the Sporting Group

First AKC Points awarded to Flynn

Flynn's AKC Championship - Barbara Alderman

Other dogs we bred were showing and winning in Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California. We are so proud of our dogs!

Barbet Pups at 6 weeks

 

A beautiful winter day, sunny but cold, and the puppies were able to spend a short time outside. They are brave little pups who do not seem intimidated at the total change in scenery. They are eating well, using their pee pads, and growing like crazy. Their teeth have also started to come in. Our sweet little babies will soon be sharks!

Solene had her checkup with her surgeon yesterday and her incision has healed perfectly. Stitches removed, she is now completely back to normal and is enjoying her babies again! She is keeping them clean, spending time snuggling, and of course cleaning up their food bowls!

Give Thanks!

Solene's Homecoming

After a very rough week in the hospital, Solene is home! We are beyond grateful to Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialists, both South and North locations, for their expert diagnosis and care when Solene crashed on Thanksgiving with a temp of 106+ and a systemic bacterial infection. I fully expected a call Thursday night to tell me that she had passed. PVSEC treated Solene throughout the weekend and she improved enough that Monday morning I was able to pick her up and bring her to Meadowlands Veterinary Clinic for surgery. 
 

Solene between hospital stays

Our own fabulous vet, Dr Kathryn Gardner, removed a now necrotic mammary gland and other tissue. Solene is home recovering and we continue to bottlefeed the fast growing puppies. This episode was really scary as Solene went from normal to near death within two hours. Our Thanksgiving thoughts are filled with appreciation for the wonderful vets who work so hard to save our sweet pets. This time we’ve got a very happy ending. Thanks to everyone for their concern and good wishes!
The puppies are doing great and are growing like crazy on their bottle formula and gruel. I can't wait until Solene is allowed back to her babies! 

The babies at 3 weeks with one of their stand-in moms :)

Pupdate

Things have taken an unexpected turn here as Solene has been hospitalized since Thursday with acute septic mastitis. With excellent treatment and supportive care, she is now stable enough for tomorrow's surgery to remove the problematic mammary gland. Thankfully the puppies had the benefit of Solene's care for the first few weeks as we are now hand-raising 10 puppies. Solene will no longer be able to nurse them but I'm sure she'll be happy to snuggle and keep them clean once she is back on her feet. Splitting feedings between bottles and gruel, the puppies are doing great and are extra social with us. They are a bit sloppy learning to eat! Here are a few puppy pics taken this morning before their breakfast cleanup. Our response to email is necessarily diminished; thank you for your patience.

Please help us think good thoughts and wishes for Solene's complete recovery. Our special girl means the world to us.

 

Barbet Puppies

 

Our puppy pile is getting larger. Now 11 days old, the pups will begin to open their eyes and ears in the next few days. They are already wobbling around the box on all four feet. The boys are red, green, gray, and purple collars. Girls are blue, yellow, white, pink, orange, and black collars. Solene is the perfect mother!

Barbet Puppies

 

One black boy and one brown girl :)

Solene's Pups Have Arrived!!!

Solene is having a great day of rest after spending yesterday giving birth to her babies right on her due date. We have 10 wonderful puppies, 6 girls and 4 boys. Two girls are brown and the rest of the pups are black. She started whelping at 2:00 in the afternoon and was basically wrapped up by 9:30 pm. The pups are beautiful, vigorous, and strong.

With Solene carrying such a large litter, we knew there were risks that not all puppies would survive. In the end, Solene gave birth to 14 puppies and the loss of those 4 perfect little babies breaks my heart. When we have a puppy born, my immediate action is to open the sac at the head, insert my finger in the mouth to check for a cleft palate, and wait for any movement from the new baby. Usually they latch right on to my finger and I withdraw and allow the mom to tend to her newborn. With a stillborn, my heart skips a beat when I get no reaction. I try many different methods to resuscitate the baby but in the end, nature can be cruel and not all puppies are meant to live. I will never get used to this aspect of breeding and I never forget each lifeless puppy that I've briefly held in my hands.

It is days like these that make each success with my dogs so sweet.

Solene's puppies are almost here!

With a week to go, our sweet Solene is really showing her pregnancy. Her belly is huge and she looks like she'll be giving birth any minute! At this point, we just hope for a safe delivery for the babies and Solene. She still feels great and enjoys her time outside. Only a few more days until we meet her Pascal pups! This will be Solene's final litter. Her other two litters have produced beautiful puppies with special personalities and we're excited to learn what this litter brings us!

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. 

ShowSight Magazine November 2017

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!

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