The Mango x Marie Puppies Leave the Nest

Northrock's "K" Litter  

Born Oct. 8, 2019

GCH Courailee Roi de Thulé Mango x CKC / UKC CH Northrock's Forever Yours CGN

Time flies when you're having fun as the saying goes! How true. What started out as just a "dream"  the beginning of 2017, when a young Barbet, Sweet Marie entered our lives, came to fruition finishing off 2019 perfectly.

Marie and Mango have produced such a lovely, evenly matched litter that are happy and well adjusted youngsters. It has been a great pleasure handing them over to their owners and families to continue on their life's journey. Very delightful when we have updates and pictures of their progress and hear of how much they are loved. So very satisfying to see them becoming good, solid citizens.

It truly does take a village and so many names to mention and friends gained along the way, that I think it wise not to try in case I miss someone. The exception here will be to thank from the bottom of my heart Stephanie Dixon for her guidance and unfailing support along every step of this journey. Without it, we would still just have that "dream."

Erik, thank you so much for the many hours preparing in advance for and then helping me raise this litter. You have once again been a "jack of all trades" as you supported yet another adventure. 

Marie will continue on in 2020 with her Rally-Obedience work, Scent work and she is scheduled for Therapeutic Paws of Canada testing later in the summer. As I watch keeper pup, Pinkie grow, once again "it started as just a dream the end of 2019" comes to mind. Watch for Pinkie in the show ring spring/summer.

Over and out!

Susan Luyendyk and Sweet Marie

And now to present the Mango and Marie puppies, in order of departure;

Northrock's Kamloops Mister B (Butterball) went home to Prince George a couple weeks ago. Dave picked up this brown bundle of adorable puppy and flew him home with a stop over in Calgary where Mr. B charmed all in sight before he finished the long trek home to his waiting family. This gentle soul is in for the time of his life hiking and swimming during the summer and cross country skiing in winter with Annie and Dave and their family, lucky boy! Looking forward to seeing this little man grow over the years.

Northrock's Kindred Spirit (Pumpkin Pie aka MJ) was our second pup to leave the puppy pen. Our little "Kissy Face" girl with her sweet and gentle nature is now known as Stella. Mary and Dom are head over heels in love with little miss Bella Stella and we look forward to hearing of her life with grandkids, walks in the park and maybe even accompanying Dom on his photo shoots. 
  

Northrock's Khloe is Keeping it Real (Apple Crisp) was our third pup to leave for her family. This incredibly cheerful little sprite left with Michele and daughter Kate and Khloe hasn't looked back. Khloe's family are all thrilled to have her join their lives and spend time with each of them. Khloe's future involves barn visits to see the family horses, enjoying the great outdoors with all it has to offer and future performance competitions. Her mom, Sweet Marie is thrilled to know she may see her "kid" out there in the performance world at some point in the future. We can't wait to see Khloe progress!

Northrock's Knock Knock Who's There (Nutmeg) was puppy number four to exit to his forever home. Kash is one lucky boy as he gets to live with another Barbet, Chloe. Now, Chloe is still warming up to having to share her people with this rambunctious boy but, by the looks of it "King" Kash has definitely moved in! His new family are delighted with him. Hanging out with his sister and swimming in the family pool when the weather is suitable are the future for Kash. I expect we will see Kash often!

Northrock's Keep Calm Carry On (Maple Syrup) is one lucky little girl! Maple gets to live with this young family and be the dog they will all remember growing up. This affectionate youngster has won her entire family over with her gentle and soft ways. Maple's future sure looks busy as her  family include her in extracurricular activities that are likely to include walking, hiking and beach visiting in summer with snowshoeing in the winter. Young Isabella has agility in mind for Maple as a future activity and again mom, Sweet Marie looks forward to perhaps meeting up with another one of her "kids" in the performance ring....can't wait!

So, this brings us to puppy number 6. Erik and I are the lucky new owners of Northrock's Key to my Heart (Sweet Potato). Pinkie is staying here on the farm with her mom, Marie and her people. Confident, joyful, saucy and precocious all rolled into one, this bundle of energy has turned out to be a great fit for her mom. Already Marie is teaching Pinkie the tricks of the trade and we are now the proud owners of not one but, two Frisbee freaks. We start puppy classes in the new year and Pinkie along with her mom will be out in the show/performance world this coming spring and summer. Some fun times lie ahead for us in 2020. We are betting we may just run into Khloe and Maple somewhere on our travels, won't that be fun?

Mango x Marie Puppies: Eight Weeks Old

Dear Puppy Diary,

Such a busy week the pups have had as they finish up their eighth week. For the first time in their young lives they are acting like real "dogs" albeit little ones but, dogs none the less. Personalities are shining through in the puppy pen and it's getting easier to recognize the barks and play sounds of the individual puppies from another room.

The beginning of the week definitely had great weather allowing for plenty of puppy play out in their outdoor puppy pen.  Some cold early morning romps put a glow on those little cheeks. Four to six times daily for thirty minute stretches at a time.  Their conformation has been studied twice and their temperament test was completed on Saturday. What an amazing litter, they are all so close in every aspect.

 
The potty box is a favourite place to nap LOL

We stepped up the potty training yet again.  After their late night meal, we put the pups out with their mom for their last evening potty break.  This is working very well.  No playtime allowed at this potty break.  The only good thing about it being so cold at 10:00 pm is the ease of getting pups back inside quickly.  Brrrrr, too cold to be out.

🎶Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow 🎶 

The Mango and Marie puppies think this white stuff is terrific! December 1st.

The pups finished this week with the best play time ever after we received a snowfall that started midday Sunday and stopped Monday afternoon.  The pups were so delighted to be chasing each other and chasing these funny things falling from the sky.  They came in from that morning's romp, wet, weary and completely satisfied.  They were smiling as they settled for their morning nap.

The pups are busy putting the finishing touches on themselves in preparation for their departure to their forever homes in the next week.  Just a few more appointments and they will be ready....where has the time gone????

                             Until the next update,

                                                          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: Seven Weeks Old

In this video the puppies are 42 days old. They are enjoying some playtime in their puppy pen. They are a quiet and content bunch, for the moment anyway.

The weather has been very good this week and the pups are outside several times a day now and enjoying every minute of their new play spaces. Here they are exploring their exercise area in the front yard.

It was so much fun to be able to get together with other Barbet breeders and go over the Mango and Marie puppies on Sunday the 24th. The sun was out and we enjoyed observing the pups at play, running about the yard and we were able to get them up on the table and evaluate their conformation. Thank you Carole Bouthillette and Janet Black Evans for sharing your opinions of the litter. Susan Luyendyk and I are so pleased with the overall quality and consistency of the pups. They are a nice bunch of Barbet babies and they have wonderful personalities.

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: Six Weeks Old

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: Five Weeks Old

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: Four Weeks Old

Dear Puppy Diary,

Well week four, days 22-28 are behind us now.  Lots of new things happened in this week.  Pups are out of the whelping room and have graduated out of the whelping box near the end of this past week.

The puppy pen is set up in the kitchen where they are slowly being integrated into everyday life, lots of activity in this area of the house.  Plenty of visitors coming and going, and they even get to see the resident cat as he tiptoes pas their pen.

They are fully engaged with each other and there are some squabbles beginning as they test each others tolerance.  Their teeth have emerged and their canines are like needles.....ouch!  

They met their first singing toy complete with lights flashing, it was a big hit.  Their litter training is coming along very well and getting better by the day.

Best of all and to top the week off, on day 28 they had their first meal at 7:00 am that morning.  They dove into breakfast with great gusto, delighting us all with their enthusiasm.  They sure are a fun little bunch of pups.

Days 29-35 are about to begin...exciting plans in place already.

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: 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.

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