Mango x Marie Puppies: Three Weeks Old

Dear Puppy Diary,

Week three saw many changes in the whelping box. The pup's ears are open and can hear almost everything.  There is a lot of noise in the puppy room these days as they practice using their outside voices with great gusto!


Their eyes are focusing better and they are more able to follow Marie and each others movements, albeit clumsily.  They have begun to wrestle and are mouthing, inviting their sibling to engage in play.....and then they fall asleep.  Ha ha.

I sit in front of the whelping box, softly clap my hands to them and call out to them "pup, pup, pup" which has elicited a response much to my delight.    They sit and stare in my direction and then waddle over to the noise and we greet each other which is just darling.

This week I introduced a puppy pad to the one side of their whelping box to encourage them to use this to go potty on.  Sweet Potato was the first pup to use the pads with the rest right behind her.  They have taken the 1st step towards house breaking.  Clever puppies!!!

Big changes are about to start when the pups hit their 22-28 day period.  Can't wait!

Until next week,

Susan Luyendyk and Sweet Marie

Frequent updates and photos are posted on our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page if you would like to follow the litter's progress.

Mango x Marie Puppies; Two Weeks Old

Dear Puppy Diary,

Well another week that flew by in the blink of an eye.  All of the pups are more than triple their birth weight and Marie's doing her best to keep up with their little demands. She lovingly cleans, feeds and nurtures more than fifteen pounds of puppy now!   

Just as predicted little eyes are now looking back and will soon be able to focus more on their environment. Their hearing will follow in this coming week. Soon they will all be able to see each other and actually hear all of the opinions that their brother Nutmeg has, along with Sweet Potato close behind. 

This pair always have something to say including barking, especially while dreaming. What on earth could a fourteen day old pup be dreaming about???

Marie continues to care so excellently for her pups, attentive always to their needs.  She has always been a clean freak herself so now she is in heaven with this mothering task.  One more week in the nursery and we will then start to think about moving to the puppy playpen. That will be interesting to see them in action!

Stay tuned for the next update from the puppy pen.

                      Susan Luyendyk and Sweet Marie

Frequent updates and photos are posted on our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page if you would like to follow the litter's progress.

Fingers crossed for Polo and Gracie Puppies!

Going for a walk at the Plains of Abraham park in Quebec City with the Saint Laurence River in view.

Gracie and Olivia in the beautiful Joan of Arc garden
at the Plains of Abraham park.

Earlier this month my daughter and I travelled to Quebec with our Barbet Gracie.  The weather could not have been better and the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful at this time of year.  Although the purpose of our trip was to take Gracie (CH Northrock's Goodness Gracious CGN) to Polo (BISS GCH Polnareff vom Zulimo) to be bred, we took full advantage of the gorgeous weather and played tourist while we were there.  

Riding the cable-car.

During our walk at the beautiful Montmorency Falls

Of course Gracie accompanied us wherever we went and she was such a good dog. Lots of people stopped us to meet Gracie and she certainly enjoyed all of the extra attention.  She did very well on our visit to Montmorency Falls and was calm and relaxed during the ride to the top of the falls in the cable-car.

On the suspension bridge at the top of the falls.

What a terrific time of year to have to travel for a breeding.  We are grateful to Carole Bouthillette, Polo's owner for letting us use her handsome male with Gracie.  Her hospitality and co-operation is very much appreciated.  Now we are crossing all of our fingers and toes that we will be able to welcome Polo and Gracie puppies in a couple of months time. 

More information about this exciting breeding is available on our website. If you are interested in a puppy for show, performance or as a loving companion, please send us an email providing information about yourself, where you live, they type of puppy you are looking for and the home that you can provide to one of our puppies. 

Mango x Marie Puppies: One Week Old

Dear Puppy Diary,

After a vigorous walk around our pond and through the pasture on the early morning of Tuesday October 8th, our Sweet Marie presented with great gusto, six beautiful pups.  Accomplished in her usual flair for life, Marie delivered all her puppies in just over two hours. Our Thanksgiving themed Butterball was the first to be born arriving at 9:20 am and the last puppy, Sweet Potato arriving at 11:25 am, just in time for lunch!  

Introducing in birth order;

Butterball - brown male - no collar

Apple Crisp - black female - green collar

Maple Syrup - black female - red collar

Pumpkin Pie - black female - orange collar

Nutmeg - black male - tan collar

Sweet Potato - black female - pink collar

All are thriving and all have doubled their birth weight, many having already done so on their fifth day.  First time mom, Marie has turned out to be an attentive and devoted mother.  The content squeaks and squeals are a delightful sound and even Nutmeg barking, yes barking already, is a rather sweet sound.  You have to wonder what he is trying to convey.

Some of the best reactions to Early Scent Introduction have been when introduced to BBQ potato chips and fresh coffee grinds, both seemed to be big hits!  Early Neurological Stimulation continues daily and this has proven to be fun watching the puppies develop as they become more familiar with the daily exercises.

We can't wait to see what unfolds in the coming week, maybe an eye or two peeking back at me?  How exciting!!! That's it for this week, catch you next week. Over and out from Marie's puppy pen.

Susan Luyendyk and Sweet Marie

Frequent updates and photos are posted on our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page if you would like to follow the litter's progress.

Welcoming the Mango and Marie Puppies

Litter born to GCH Courailee Roi de Thulé Mango

 and CKC / UKC CH Northrock's Forever Yours CGN

October 8, 2019

It's with great joy that Susan Luyendyk and I announce the birth of Mango and Marie's six beautiful puppies. Marie and her little ones are doing very well. Many thanks to Mango's owner Annick Lavallee for her friendship and co-operation in helping to make this litter a reality 

Upcoming Litter Plans at Northrock Barbets

BISS GCH Polnareff Vom Zulimo x 

CH Northrock’s Goodness Gracious CGN

This will be Gracie’s first litter and we are looking forward to what she could produce with Polo.  Both of these dogs have lovely temperaments and we anticipate that together they will produce beautiful, healthy puppies with sweet personalities.

Bred by Renate Zuber Morgenthaler in Switzerland and imported as a puppy to Canada by Carole Bouthillette at Roi de Thulé, Polo has matured into a beautiful Barbet.  He is currently the #1 Barbet in Canada, a multiple Sporting Group Winner and the 2018 Canadian National Specialty Winner.  Polo is a sound, clean moving male with excellent bone.  He has a strong masculine head, a beautiful coat and correct tail set.  His temperament is gentle and calm and he comes across as a big teddybear of a dog.  We are glad to have the opportunity to use this handsome male with Gracie. 

Polo's hips have been scored with PennHip and have normal hip-joint conformation with little to no risk of degenerative joint disease. Right DI=0.27, Left DI=025 and his elbows are OFA normal. His eyes are also OFA normal.  Polo is clear for dilution and is a carrier for prcd-pra.

Gracie was born here and lives with us at Northrock Barbets.  She has a sweet nature ad a friendly and playful personality.  A pretty Barbet, Gracie has a CKC Conformation championship and a Canine Good Neighbour title to her credit.  She has OFA hips rates as excellent, OFA elbows normal, OFA eyes normal, OFA cardiac normal and is clear for dilution and clear for prcd-pra.  Please visit her page for more photos and information about her. 

We anticipate this paring to produce good looking puppies that are sound in body and mind and a pleasure to live with.  We often have homes waiting long in advance for a Barbet from one of our litters and recommend that people express their interest for a puppy early on.

More information about our breeding program is available on the website and we invite you to visit our Facebook page and blog to learn more about our dogs and how we raise our litters here at Northrock.

If you are interested in a puppy for show, performance or as a loving companion, please send us an email providing information about yourself, where you live, they type of puppy you are looking for and the home that you can provide to one of our puppies.