New Beginnings for the Beau x Rizzo Puppies

CH Hickory Tavern Fool For Brookberry CM x 

CH Northrock's For The Joy Of It CGN 

And so a new adventure begins for each of the Beau and Rizzo puppies. They are such sweet-natured, pretty puppies with lovely personalities. They brought so much happiness into all of our lives and truly were a bright light during the difficult times that the world is facing.  

A big thank you to Beau's owners; Donna and Stephanie Forte and Judy Descutner for their support and friendship throughout.  Beau has certainly passed on his good looks to his offspring as these puppies are so homogenous it was truly a challenge at times telling them apart.  

Rizzo's co-owner and our dear friend Joy has also shared every step of this journey with us and what a good time we have had enJOYing these adorable puppies and watching them grow and mature. 

It has been an absolute joy sharing these last several weeks with the Happiness litter and now that they have gone to their new homes they are continuing to bring smiles to our faces when photos and updates are shared by their new owners.

I am pleased to introduce clockwise from the top right; Merry who now goes by Rey, Happy who is now called Carley, Giggles who is Belle and last but certainly not least is Jolly whose new name is Rosco.

Thank you to the wonderful families who have welcomed their Northrock puppy into their hearts and homes.  I know each of these special pups is already very much loved and cherished.  

The Beau x Rizzo Puppies: 8 Weeks Old

It was a fun filled week for the Happiness Litter.  The pups spent lots of time outside in the fresh air exploring the big yard as well as playing in the puppy pen. On warmer days they were able to fall asleep to the birds singing them lullabies.  

We had the puppies up on the grooming table many times during this week as we evaluated their structure and acclimated them to being up high and examined so they would be better able to handle their first veterinary exam.

Large bones were a great treat that they enjoyed a few times this week.  

The puppies spent time with the other dogs in our home and here they are with Summer who has always been an excellent "auntie" to our litters.

 I hope that following the development of this litter will bring you all much happiness. I invite you to like our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page where photos and videos will be posted on a regular basis for you to enJOY.

The Beau x Rizzo Puppies: 7 Weeks Old

The pups enjoyed another happy week here at Northrock with lots of play outside and exploring different rooms in the house.  They love playing with the equipment in their pens and the upside down turtle pool lid and swing are new favourites. 

The items in their indoor pen continue to be rotated and they still really enjoy interacting with their adventure box. 

We continue to play lots of different sounds for the puppies and rotate the speaker around the room. The pups are also going outside regularly for lots of potty breaks.  In this video they are playing outside while our "invisible group of children" plays on the speaker in the background.

  

Rizzo is a patient mother to her puppies and continues to enjoy spending time with them.

Puppy socialization during COVID-19 has caused us to make some adjustments to our protocols.  We can't take the puppies to yoga classes or for coffee and tea visits and we certainly aren't able to have the regular stream of visitors come to our home.  Because we couldn't introduce them to new people, we did our best to change our own appearances.  We wore wigs, and costumes, masks and even put on different scents. Our entire family had fun playing dress up. The puppies didn't seem to skip a beat and everyone had fun.

 I hope that following the development of this litter will bring you all much happiness. I invite you to like our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page where photos and videos will be posted on a regular basis for you to enJOY.

The Beau x Rizzo Puppies: 6 Weeks Old

"Tongue out Tuesday"

Every week it seems is a wonderful week with the puppies.  This is an especially fun age where they are active and engaging and enormously entertaining.

They have been exposed to different sounds that we play on a speaker for them but they have also been hearing outdoor noises coming through the windows and when they are spending time in their outdoor pen.  The weather has been quite nice so now they hear sounds of lawnmowers and other power tools, roofers and motorcycles...

Summer playing with the puppies.

The puppies also spent time with the other dogs in the house and that was very sweet to watch as they were quite gentle and patient with the little ones.

The pups are given new objects to investigate such as the musical mat which makes sounds when they step on the keyboard.

Another learning experience for the puppies! Here they are playing with the adventure box.  They become accustomed to objects bumping into them while they play and some of the objects are quite noisy so it helps them to associate these sounds with having fun.

I hope that following the development of this litter will bring you all much happiness. I invite you to like our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page where photos and videos will be posted on a regular basis for you to enJOY.

The Beau x Rizzo Puppies: 5 Weeks Old

 Oh we have had a fun time with these puppies during the past week. They are truly becoming little dogs now and their yips and growls and assorted vocalizations are very amusing.  They have the most beautiful little faces and I admit to being completely in love with each and every one of them!

Rizzo is a tender and loving mama to her pups. We couldn't be more pleased.

Although their indoor pen is still fairly small there are interesting objects for them to engage with and they enjoy time exploring outside of the pen as well.   

We've also started going outside with the puppies and with the warmer spring weather it's been so nice to have them experience the feel of the sunshine on their fur, the sounds and smells of the outdoors and the grass beneath their feet.

Watching these puppies play has been a great source of joy for us.  We hope you are enjoying them too.

 I hope that following the development of this litter will bring you all much happiness. I invite you to like our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page where photos and videos will be posted on a regular basis for you to enJOY.

The Beau x Rizzo Puppies: 4 Weeks Old

Well the pups are now four weeks old and the last week has been a week of big changes for them.  They now have a new space that's located on the main floor of our home in a busy area of the home next to the kitchen and living rooms.  They can hear all the sounds of family life, smell food cooking and it won't be long before they are venturing outside into the yard.

The puppies are now out of the whelping box and into a wire pen that they can see out of.  They have a sleeping area and a well defined potty area which they are using quite successfully.  

We continue to rotate different soft and safe toys for them to explore and are playing the radio as well as desensitization sounds on a regular basis.

Rizzo is doing an excellent job nursing her puppies and we have not introduced solid food to them yet.  That will come next week.  They are in great weight and their coats are healthy and shiny. 

Their coordination is improving although they are still very much toddlers. More and more they are interacting with one another, their mother and with their environment but next week is when we will really see their play and engagement take off.  Stay tuned!

I hope that following the development of this litter will bring you all much happiness. I invite you to like our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page where photos and videos will be posted on a regular basis for you to enJOY.

Pure Dog Talk Podcast #383: Barbet: French Water Dog, Not A Doodle

Photo credit: Anne Plomp, Nuphars Barbet

I'm so excited to share this wonderful podcast about the Barbet. I hope you'll enjoy listening to Laura Reeves interview Judy McMaster Descutner of Hickory Tavern Farm Whippets and Barbet as much as I did. I have appreciated the Pure Dog Talk podcasts for so long and I'm thrilled to have the Barbet featured during their Rare Breeds month. This is an informative and engaging look at this terrific breed. 

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!