Here are the pups on their first outdoor outing! They went out in twos and three, and only stayed for a few minutes, but they all did great! Each day we'll add to their time outside as I increase their experiences every day.

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.

3 Weeks

Our puppies are already three weeks old. Today they celebrated by having their first real meal of ground turkey, goats milk, and Nature's Variety Prairie Holistic kibble. They were all excited to eat their new food, although some of them had more on them than in them. No problem, as Solene was very happy to clean them up when they were finished!

Calla Lily is Back!

Today is a monumental day for Calla Lily. Dr Radcliffe examined her and has cleared her to begin normal exercise! Last November, she broke her hind leg at the hock, and tore the ligaments that held it. After months of cast and bandage changes with weekly 3 hour round trip visits to the vet, she has spent the past weeks with very limited access to the small yard. Now we can begin long walks and gen...tle running. This may prove to be difficult, but we will monitor her and use the golf cart to exercise her.

We deeply appreciate all the good thoughts and care shown to Calla from our friends, from Facebook, from the dog world, and from the impeccable care of Dr Jim Radcliffe and his staff at Town & Country Veterinary Hospital, Wheeling, WV. I hope that all injured Whippets are able to get care of the quality given by Dr Jim. Calla may return to the ring later this year!

A Very Historic Win!!

Yesterday, in Amiens, France, our very good friend Anne Plomp and Jr Ch Nuphar's Deep In A Dream won Best In Show at the International dog show under French breed specialists Mr J. J. Dupas (Breed and BIS) and Mr Goubie (Group). 'Lotus' is a litter sister to our Nessa, and she beat an entry of 2,550 dogs to win the very first Best In Show by a Barbet in Europe. That this win took place in France is really special. Huge congratulations are in order for Anne, Wouter, and Lotus as Lotus is from the first Barbet litter bred by Anne (Alba x Ooli) and these puppies are not yet two years old. Anne shows Lotus with an impeccable, natural presentation, and her happy attitude and correct structure brought a truly wonderful result!

For me, seeing the beautiful Alba almost 5 years ago showed me the direction I hoped to go in my Barbet breeding program. I am so happy for Anne that she produced such a lovely litter!

A Few Puppy Portraits

Girls

Girls

Girl

Boys

Boys

Two Week Old Puppies

Solene is doing a great job taking care of her babies. They are growing like crazy, eyes are opening, and they are barking and starting to play with each other. From here on out, they are real little puppies, not just sleeping newborns.

Puppy Mugs

Puppy Visitor

While Solene was outside for a short break, Calla decided to investigate our new little pups. She was so gentle and inquisitive, and seemed to be very happy to meet them. 

Sweet Faces

Basket of Babies

Solene's puppies are now filling up their basket. They have more than doubled their birth weights and are so beautiful. I am amazed at the consistency within the litter. Now that they are 11 days old, eyes and ears will begin to open within the next few days. We treasure the time spent cuddling each little pup.

Poor Easter Bunny

Nessa found the Easter Bunny this morning in our yard.

Puppy Love

Every day the puppies are handled multiple times while they are being weighed, snuggled, and checked out . Each one of them gets individual cuddling and attention. This morning they all had their nails trimmed for the first time. We are now following the Early Neurological Stimulation protocol created by Dr Carmen Battaglia. These 5 daily exercises put mild stresses on the puppies' neurological systems and benefit the pups with improved cardiovascular performance, stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress, and greater resistance to disease.

Meet the Barbet Puppies!

 Now 5 days old, we present the Solene/Bosch babies in their birth order:

Black boy, white shield on chest, white chin

Brown boy, small white spot on chest

Black boy, white stripe on chest

Brown girl, no white

Brown girl, no white

Brown girl, small white chest, white chin

Black boy, white stripe on chest

Black girl, no white

Black boy, white triangle on chest

Barbet Puppies Day 4

You can see that they're already getting bigger. Plump and full, the babies look wonderful!

Proud Mom

While I clean the whelping box, Solene keeps watch over her babies.

Fun in Pittsburgh

Here is Claire's puppy Tag, now 7 months old, enjoying the fountain at the Point in Pittsburgh. He was the green collared boy and he continues to grow into a very handsome boy. Tag is a lucky pup to have such a fun family.

Barbet Puppies Day 2

All of the puppies gained a good amount of weight on their first full day of life and Solene is gaining a lot of confidence in her mothering skills. It's always wonderful to have baby puppies in the house!

New Barbet Babies

Here are a couple of quick headshots of a few of the pups. It is a very pretty litter!

Solene's Puppies Are Here!

Sweet Solene had a very easy and fast labor and delivery. Her 9 puppies are now here and doing great so far. There are 4 black boys, 1 brown boy, 1 black girl, and 3 brown girls. Solene is an excellent mother!

MBIS CH. Hickory Tavern Intl Intrigue (Solene) x MBIS UR02 CH. Neigenuveaux's Gambit (Bosch)

Solene's Morning Walk

Solene is very close to delivering her puppies, and her activity level has definitely slowed down. This morning she enjoyed a quiet stroll through our property. Although she hides it well in this photo, her belly is quite large and she spends lots of time snoozing near me. We are very anxious for a safe delivery, and the whelping box is up and ready!

Barbet Nessa Practicing for Agility

Corgi Bob's New Agility Titles

High Flyer Turbo of Belsam OAP OJP

Returning to the Agility ring for the first time in a year, Bob had a terrific weekend in Morgantown, WV last weekend. Because we hadn't trialed in such a long time, I didn't really have any expectations for the weekend. After Bob earned 1st place and a Qualifying score in both of his Friday classes, I realized that titling was a possibility for the weekend. And in his Saturday Jumpers class, we again won 1st and Q'd for his final leg in Open Preferred. On Sunday, I moved Bob into the Excellent division for Jumpers and got ready to compete in Standard. Due to the scheduling conflict, our walk-throughs for both classes were at exactly the same time. I concentrated on his Standard run, since a Q would complete his title, but I did get over to the Jumper ring for one lap through the complicated course. When our Standard run began, Bob cleared the first jump and burst over the dog walk into the corner tunnel. He easily made his weave entry and completed the weaves, then he took off toward the teeter. No Bob, not an off course! I called him back to the correct course, where he took the next jump, scampered up and down the A frame, then through the second tunnel and to the table, where he waited the requisite 5 seconds. Then we were off again, through the chute, through the tire, over four more jumps, and then to the teeter, which he did perfectly. Next was the final jump to the finish. Yes! Bob earned another Qualifying score to finish his Open Standard Preferred title. Just a few minutes later, we had to go into the Jumper ring for our first run in Excellent. Bob did a great job following my direction around the course, and we were just about finished when I knocked my hand into the upright of one of the final jumps, bringing the bar down. Oh well, there's always a next time! Now it's time for some serious training, and the Excellent ring is even more difficult.

Barbet Cover Girl Nessa

Quite exciting to get our mail today...our Nessa is on the cover of UKC's Bloodlines magazine!

UKC Barbet Top Ten Leading Qualifier

We've received Nessa's invitation to compete in the UKC Top Ten Finals, to be held in June in Kalamazoo, MI. For the second year in a year, we are happy to own the First Place qualifier! Last year it was Solene, and this year is Nessa. Very proud of these girls!