Barbet on the Dutch Farm

Nuphar's Gift Wrapped

After a busy week racing in the park and making a final trip to the vet to get her traveling papers in order, Nessa got to visit her brother Thibault at his farm residence. There, she and her 3 sisters met horses, sheep, chickens and bunnies. It was an exciting outing for the girls. I am now in countdown mode...Monday afternoon our new baby girl will be an American citizen!

Nessa Wags While Seeing the Bunnies

The New Miss America

Home Grown Barbet Puppy

Nessa poses at her photo session in Holland in a crate marked "Home grown" in Dutch. Nessa was bred by Anne Plomp and she is out of the beautiful Alba, one of my favorite Barbet. In one week she will be a resident of the United States.

Exhausted little Barbet dog

Here is Nessa all tired out from her visit to the Puppy Playground in Holland. The pups were all able to enjoy this special outing before they begin departing for their new homes. I am lucky that Anne takes such beautiful pictures of the puppies. Only two more weeks until Nessa travels to America!

Solene Swims!

This week Solene learned to swim at the lake. She easily took to the water and retrieved many toys. She even jumped in from the dock to get her favorite turtle toy. It was fun watching her natural water instincts take over.

Old Horses Are The Best: Maximum Lark

Maximum Lark

In the late '80's, this beautiful gelding was born at Bo-Bett Farm in Ocala, Florida (our lucky mares spent the winter in sunny Florida while we stayed home freezing in Pennsylvania).  Maximum Lark was our 5th colt sired by Rugged Lark, and he always had the sweetest, most willing disposition imaginable. Carol Harris and the Bo-Bett staff always took great care of our mares, and we were thrilled with the newborn pictures that Carol sent us of this particular colt. Big and stout, he grew into a truly beautiful horse with a sweet little jog and a wonderful, smooth and fluid lope. We won a big Non-Pro Western Pleasure futurity when he was a two year old, and I also showed him a bit in the three year old futurities, and he always placed well. David and I started our own family, and Max wasn't shown again until he was 15. At that time, our son Sam started riding him, and we learned that Sam was a natural on a horse. They won a lot together, then later our daughter Isabel showed Max in the walk-trot classes. They made it look easy, and Max always took great care of Isabel. Now 23, gentle Max spends his days with his older full brother, Lark Seven. I am incredibly lucky to have these two special horses, who are among my favorite of the many horses I've bred and owned.

Barbet Puppies at the Park

Nessa with her family in Holland

Netherlands Barbet breeder Anne Plomp loaded up Alba and the pups and took them to a local dog park to experience new sensations. The puppies did great with their first car ride and they enjoyed their outing in new surroundings.  All of these early experiences are very important to young puppies, and will help make Nessa's transition to America easier for her.

Happy Birthday, Barbet Claire!

Today we are celebrating Claire's 3rd birthday! She and her 11 brothers and sisters have accomplished wonderful things and brought a lot of enjoyment to their lucky owners! Claire has changed a lot of things in our lives, and she continues to bring happiness to us every day with her wonderful, devoted personality.

In her first 3 years, Claire has earned show championships in 3 different registries (CKC, UKC and IABCA) and earned the first and only Best In Show awarded to a Barbet in the UKC. She won the breed from the classes at the Purina National, and finished 2011 as a Top 5 bitch in Canada in extremely limited showing. She was a wonderful mother to her special puppies, bred via frozen semen from Switzerland. Because of Claire, we have new friends all over Europe and North America who share our love of the breed.

Happy day, Clairissa!!

Our New Barbet Puppy

Nessa

This is Nessa, Nuphar's Gift Wrapped, coming to us all the way from Amersfoort, Holland. She is only 6 weeks old, and in a few weeks she will be making the big journey across the Atlantic to become a special addition to the American and Canadian Barbet show scene. Her mother is the beautiful Alba (Quaciendas Alba Aqua-Aura), and her father is Ooli (Novaforesta Dudley). We are very grateful to our friend Anne Plomp for sharing this very special gift with us.

Dogs: Our Barbet Puppy Solene at 6 Months

It amazes me that Solene is already 6 months old. The time has flown by, and she gets prettier every day. Claire and Bango really are a nice combination of bloodlines, and I look forward to seeing another litter from these two in the future. Happy birthday to sister Hanna in Canada!

A Barbet Breeder's Dream

I am so lucky to have gotten Claire as my foundation bitch. She is the smartest, sweetest, and happiest dog I've ever had. OK, everyone probably thinks this about their own dog, but in this case, it's true. Everyone who spends time with her just loves her. She is truly an ambassador for the Barbet breed.

Our Beautiful Barbet Puppy

Nessa

One of Anne Plomp's beautiful Alba/Ooli puppies in the Netherlands. Alba is a Barbet of exceptional quality.

Spinone Puppy Miffy at Her First Show

At the end of May, Miffy and I showed in a 6-9 month Puppy class for some good experience in the ring. She was a bit like Jello standing, but she sure can move! After she matures a bit, she will be back in the ring with her big, long tail. Miffy is an import from Holland, where tails are not docked. She is really a beautiful girl. Thanks to Jenneke and Trudie!

Miffy is owned by my sister, Dr Jan McMaster.

Canine Repro Seminar with Dr Hutchison

A lot of great advice from Hutch!

Dr Robert Hutchison, widely recognized as one of the preeminent repro vets in North America
Northview Animal Clinic, N. Ridgeville, OH
Transcript: Canine Reproduction Seminar



DrHutch: Good evening!
PCFFasDog: Good evening and thank you all for being here! We are very excited to welcome Dr. Robert Van Hutchison to our first Canine Reproduction Seminar.
This free seminar is sponsored by Veterinary Perinatal Specialties, Inc., home of the WhelpWise service. Please visit their website at http://www.whelpwise.com, and show your support for their sponsorship of this event!
Many of you already know Dr. Hutchison or have seen him speak in person. He is one of the leading canine reproduction experts in the world, and a favorite speaker at specialties and dog club events all over the country. It's a great honor for us to welcome him here tonight. Dr. Hutch is a Reproduction and Genetics consultant for the Veterinary Information Network, and is co-director of the Animal Clinic Northview, Inc., in North Ridgeville, Ohio.
He is also the president of the International Canine Semen Bank of Ohio, and advisor for College of Veterinary Medicine students interested in small animal theriogenology from Ohio State University, Virginia Tech, Purdue, Tufts, and Michigan State University.
Dr. Hutch is the author of many articles on canine reproduction in various breed journals and magazines, including "Canine Frozen Semen," "Improving the Odds of Having Healthy Puppies," "Treatment of Pyometritis in the Bitch Using Prostaglandin F - a Hypo-thyroidism," and "Female Reproduction." Dr. Hutch will open with a few remarks and then he will take your questions. To ask a question, just click on "AskDrHutch" in the right hand column, type your question, and hit "send."
If you have problems during the chat, just click on any of the names that begin with "@PCF" then type the question and hit "send."
I am very happy now to turn the seminar over to Dr. Hutch!
DrHutch: What a wonderful way to spend a winter evening! I thank everyone for their interest in canine reproduction. I especially want to thank Karen Copley and Whelpwise for their sponsorship and Christie Keith from VIN for her help.
For those that do not know me, I am tall, extremely handsome with wavy dark hair. For those of you who do know me, yes, I am still short, bald and dumpy! I do want to thank those who have attended my repro/pediatric seminars for their kind words on the message posts. Your questions have been excellent and very stimulating. I hope to cover as many as possible this evening.
For us to understand canine reproduction, we must realize that the canine, and especially the bitch, is a unique individual when compared to all other domestic species. While most animals ovulate into an estrogen bath, the bitch ovulates into a progesterone environment. This fact is why we cannot use estrogen testing, vaginal smears or breeding guns for other than general timing of the bitch's estrous cycle.
The use of frozen semen and fresh-cooled semen showed us the true facts of canine breeding. Many testing methods that seemed to work only appeared so due to the extreme long life of fresh semen in the bitch.
I always pictured Mother Nature looking at us dog breeders and saying "those poor, poor fools. They don't have a clue what they are doing!" Progesterone testing has allowed us to anticipate ovulation, determine whelping dates and to schedule planned c-sections months in advance.
Interpreting progesterone levels, unfortunately is still a mystery to many veterinarians and breeders. With these facts in place let's talk about your problems, concerns and interests!
Question: When you say "The use of frozen semen and fresh-cooled semen showed us the true facts of canine breeding. Many testing methods that seemed to work only appeared so due to the extreme long life of fresh semen in the bitch," what do you mean?
DrHutch: Basically, fresh semen lasts 5-6 days. Colorado state has found live semen ELEVEN days after breeding. This made up for a lot of our mistakes. Once we started using fresh cooled and frozen semen, which last only a few days or hours, suddenly things that seemed to work in the past no longer seemed to work. Now with prosterone testing, we can get 83 percent conception rates with FROZEN semen....
Question: Bitches who keep missing.
Several people asked a variation of this question:
I have tried a number of times to breed my bitch, both with natural breedings and with AIs. She has missed repeatedly. Where do you start when trying to understand and resolve this problem?
DrHutch: Basically there are only SIX reasons a bitch misses, and we run around testing thyroid and doing cultures, which are really only minimal reasons for failure.

• First, is the male sperm good.
• Second, did she ovlulate.
• Three, was semen put in at the right time.
• Four, did semen get to egg.
• Five, did fertilized egg implant.
• Six, did placenta develop enough to maintain (the pregnancy).

We have to work our way through the list to determine what the cause was. What we do is, first of all, have the male semen evaluated. That is NOT saying there is a drop of sperm on the slide, there is sperm or no sperm.
Normal sperm evaluations consist of 10 million sperm per pound of body weight, 80 percent motility, less than 20 percent abnormal, and if your male sperm meets those criteria, probably it's not the problem.
The other five problems have to do with the bitch herself, and progesterone testing the DAY of ovulation is the day her progesterone goes above 5 nanograms. Even though she has this three week-plus heat cycle, there is a three to four day window we have to hit that varies from bitch to bitch. With progesterone testing, we can be sure the semen is put in at the proper time no matter what type of insemination method we are using.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here

Dr. Hutchison gives his permission for breeders and dog clubs to reprint this article in their club newsletters or publications provided the following statement is included:
Copyright 2002 by Dr. Robert Hutchison and the Veterinary Information Network, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Dr. Van Hutchison can be reached at Animal Clinic Northview, Inc., 34910 Center Ridge Rd., North Ridgeville, Ohio 44039; (440) 327-8282.

Whippets...Living Art

Calla's Lassie Impression

Today at the Farm

HTF

Maximum Lark and Lark Seven - Great old Quarter Horse Geldings by Rugged Lark

Our new shop. Amazing what a hard working crew can accomplish in 3.5 days.

Smiling Ava

Skylar

Even bigger smile from Solene

And Calla is wishing someone would let her out into the big yard...

Barbet Clubs and Facebook Page Links

Because of the instant access of Facebook, Barbet lovers are able to discuss heath, training and grooming, learn of Barbet news across the globe, and share pictures of our beautiful dogs. However, club membership is vitally important to our organization and growth in North America. We must have active club members who will help with Meet the Breed events, health and genetics committees, show committees, and who support and compete in the various venues that are available to the Barbet. Please support your national clubs!

National Barbet Club Websites:

Barbet Club of America

Club Barbet Canada

United Barbet Club

Facebook Pages:

Barbet Club of America

Barbet North America

Club Barbet Canada

United Barbet Club

Claire is Front Page News in the WSJ

Best In Show UKC/Canadian/International Champion Neigenuveaux's Ermagarde and her daughter Solene

On May 25th, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about breeding Barbet in America. We were pleased to have Claire featured and it is good for more people to be aware of the Barbet. However, it is certainly not my intent to ever randomly produce puppies just because I can sell them. There is no planned "puppy boom." Massive popularity is disasterous for a breed. The number of Barbet do not exist, and this is certainly not the breed for everyone. The entire purpose of my breeding program is to improve upon what is already here. Any breeding begins with a healthy dog from healthy lines who has passed all necessary eye and hip clearances. To me, it is also very important that the dogs have been shown and proven, as it demonstrates that the dog possesses at least the breed type, quality, temperament, and proper bite necessary to finish a championship. It also exposes our rare breed to other dog people who may be interested in one day getting a different breed to show. Selecting a sire is a complicated puzzle of low inbreeding coefficient, temperament, health clearances, and complimentary physical traits. Nutrition is paramount, and the resulting puppies are very carefully raised and exposed to multitudes of stimuli during their time here. When they go to their new homes, new owners maintain contact for advice on grooming and training, and share many pictures and anecdotes about their puppy. We welcome contact for the life of the dog, and many of our friendships begin with a puppy purchase. We breed infrequently and we always value quality over quantity.

A Little More Freedom

Calla had her 5 week check-up today at Ohio State and her bones are healing very well. Dr Dyce is very pleased with her progress and will now allow Calla to add unlimited leash walking for the next few weeks. She can also be loose in the house and she is very happy to have free access to her toy basket and the furniture! Calla has been the perfect patient and we are very grateful to the staff at OSU.

Isabel's Handling Debut

Today was a very special day! Isabel showed Claire for the first time; in fact, it was Isabel's first time to show any dog! She did such a great job and won a Group 2 in a large Gun Dog group at an Ohio UKC show. So proud of my girls!!!

House Arrest

Calla is counting the days until she is allowed off her lead and is able to run! (or at least a long walk)

Solene Goes to the Lake

Finally I had a free weekend to go to the lake house. Calla and Solene went with us, but of course Calla was restricted to the house. She is still on very limited activity for a few more weeks. Rawhide and treats are keeping her happy in her crate. Solene enjoyed exploring the rocky shoreline and dipping her toes into the cold water.

Claire's International Championship

Bo-Bett Crew Chief

Ch. Tekoneva's Dario x Ch. Silver Bluff Winning Colors

October 10, 1996 - May 10, 2012

Rest In Peace, Little Guy

The "Farm" of Hickory Tavern Farm

 No, we don't run a tavern in Hickory. When Hickory was founded in 1797, it was called Hickory Tavern and there no doubt was a tavern along Main Street. Somewhere along the way, the town simply became Hickory. The farm was already named when my family purchased it in 1976. My parents have deeds for the property dating back to the early 1800s. Only a few families have owned this property over the years. When a family moves to Hickory Tavern Farm, they stay for a long time. I sure don't want to live anywhere else.

Our Barbet Puppy Solene is 4 Months Old!

Solene is the puppy that we kept from our Claire x Bango litter. She continues to really please us with her charming personality and correct conformation. Currently she is accompanying me on many of my daily activities, walking in parks and towns, and meeting a lot of new people and dogs. She is enjoying her extra socialization and of course people always want to visit with her.

Changes for Barbet in America

These are exciting times for American Barbet. There are more and more venues opening to the Barbet for competition. Recently the AKC added the breed to the Retriever Hunting Tests. In July, AKC will offer a new level of shows called Open shows, which, in comparison to traditional point shows, do not yet offer American AKC Championships, but will allow the Barbet to compete in conformation with AKC judges. Both of these events offer fantastic opportunities to get this breed out in front of a knowledgeable dog crowd.

I feel that the Barbet is currently one of the dog world's Best Kept Secrets. They are a medium sized, non-shedding, relatively healthy, sane, trainable, rare and fun breed. They are similar to the Portuguese Water Dog, but are less intense. They are similar to the Lagotto and Spanish Water Dog, but are said to be much more kind. Temperament is outstanding on the Barbet. They are anxious to hike, play ball, learn agility, or hang out around the house, as long as they are near someone who loves them. They get along great in a crowd or alone. Their sweet, goofy, somewhat cartoonish appearance always brings out a smile. In fact, the Barbet has all of the attributes that people seek in the Labradoodle, but in a pedigreed, registered, health-tested, time-honored package. Why buy a cross-bred mongrel when the Barbet exists?

We are looking forward to AKC conformation competition later this year.