New CKC Champion title for Northrock's Hello Dolly

BleuZorange C Boom Frimouss B x BPIS CH Northrock's Eureka CGN

Not to be outdone by her sister and half brother, Ella also completed the requirements for her championship title in Sudbury this past weekend.

Piloted to her win by Tracy Dineley, Ella impressed Judge James Osborne and in addition to giving her Best of Breed she also made the cut in the Sporting Group under him.  We could not be more pleased that this sweet pup has her title.  Much gratitude to her family and co-owners, Sara and Brian Hollander who love and adore their silly girl.

New CKC Champion title for Northrock's Homegrown Honey

BleuZorange C Boom Frimouss B x BPIS CH Northrock's Eureka CGN 

Another Lexi pup also went home with a championship title at the Nickel District Kennel Club show.  This pretty Barbet finished her title in two weekends out showing, finishing under Breeder-Judge, Doug Windsor.  We are very pleased with how quickly she obtained her title and are grateful to all the judges who have awarded her in the ring.  Edie lives with her co-owner Matt McWilliams and his wife Alexz. Congratulations and many thanks to them for going on this journey with me. 

Mouss x Lexi Puppies Leave the Nest

It's with mixed emotions that I write about sending the Mouss and Lexi puppies off to their new homes.  This litter has been filled with such joy and happiness and also deep sadness.  

Fozzie at nice weeks of age.

Earlier on we lost Animal and I wrote about his passing in a previous blog post. Fozzie was also a small little puppy and because of our experience with Animal we were watching him closely. We were concerned about his slow growth rate and had therefore decided that he would remain with us for further observation and to let him get bigger and stronger before even considering placing him. 

Unfortunately as time went on and he grew older, Fozzie was unable to digest his food properly.  His growth rate was much slower than what one would expect in a puppy his age.  Something was not right.  It was heartbreaking to watch him because this little guy had the most beautiful soul.  He was happy and playful, sweet and good natured.  He participated along with his litter mates in all of our activities and seemed to be comfortable and enjoying life.  Sadly during his ninth week he took a turn for the worse and we had to let him go.

I'm thankful to have known him and his brother and to have loved and cared for them for the short while that they were here with us.  I do take some comfort in believing that he and Animal are running free on the other side and I am grateful to them for the lessons they have taught me.  

The esteemed all breed conformation judge,  Bill Shelton of Coventry PWC fame who was recently awarded AKC Breeder of the Year for 2017 posted to his Facebook timeline on February 15th words that touched me deeply. 

"I’m particularly proud of the independent breeders of today as they know the relevance in weaving our dogs beauty, and general soundness with the genes of health cooperatively. Always realizing that as mammals they will never be completely without disease, rather it be genetic or congenital. But still tiredly working towards a happy healthier family pet of purpose.  I salute all the unsung hero’s who bring responsibility to each life they bring into this world."  - Bill Shelton

With every breeding I strive to produce Barbets that are sound in mind and body and I am committed to placing puppies that I feel confident are hale and hearty and ready to become new members of their respective families. 

Thankfully the remainder of the Mouss and Lexi puppies are thriving.  We are delighted with their personalities, and look forward to hearing about all of their adventures as they begin this next chapter with their new families.  I could not be happier with each of their new homes and am enjoying the updates and photos that their families send me.

Gonzo kept his litter name! He is formally known as Northrock's Hey Good Lookin' and living with David and Kyla and their children in Ontario.

Rowlf has become Northrock's Honey Badger with the call name Badger - He joined Shane and Estella's family in Southwestern Ontario.

Beaker is named after the jazz musician Louis Armstrong and is Northrock's Here for the Party - call name Louis.  The Kellys will have lots of fun with this puppy!

Scooter is a new buddy for his two girls and their parents and that's just what they have decided to call him. Buddy's registered name is Northrock's Heart of Gold.

Kermit's registered name is Northrock's Happy Paddler.  He travelled the furthest to his new home.  His owner flew in from Winnipeg to collect her puppy and Kermit, now Gus has gone to join Grace, Allison and Ed along with their other Barbet Lucy (Northrock's All About Lucy), who is also his great aunt.

Miss Piggy is now Ella or Ella Fitz as her young boy likes to call her.  Ella's registered name is Northrock's Hello Dolly and happily she lives not to far from me.

Camilla has gone to live with Matt and his wife Alexz and is now called Edie - Northrock's Homegrown Honey.  She's bringing lots of joy and smiles to her new family.

I hope you enjoyed the blog posts about Northrock's "H" litter.  Photos and stories of the Muppets, now in their new homes, as well as our other Barbets will be shared on a regular basis on the Facebook page Northrock Barbets. 

The Mouss x Lexi Puppies are 9 Weeks Old

What a busy 2 weeks it has been for the Muppets.  So much has happened!  We kicked of their eighth week with a field trip to Fuzion Fitness And Yoga studio for family yoga with puppies.  What fun everyone had.  The outing was a wonderful opportunity for the puppies to experience riding in crates in the car, to explore a safe new environment and meet lots of friendly people.

We have had so many visitors come by to help socialize the puppies.  I am so very grateful to them for sharing their time with us at Northrock.  

It's very much appreciated.

Winter litters can sometimes be challenging having to deal with inclement weather so we have given the puppies lots of opportunities to play in the house. Visiting different rooms and keeping their indoor pen interesting with new toys to play with, structures to climb and wobble on etc.

We do try to get outside to play as often as possible - the puppies enjoy the snow and fresh air!

During these last two weeks the puppies have had their temperaments tested, been evaluated for breed type and structure, seen a canine chiropractor and had their veterinary check up!  It's been a very full calendar of events and throughout it all the puppies handled each new experience beautifully. 

We had a great visit with Lexi's family.  I'm so thankful for the wonderful friendships that have come about because this special breed had come into our lives. Lexi is a real sweetheart and she has an amazing family.

From left to right at eight weeks old the Muppets are:
Rowlf, Beaker, Gonzo, Fozzie, Miss. Piggy, Kermit, Camilla and Scooter

I hope you enjoy our blog posts about Northrock's "H" litter.  If you would like to see more photos and videos of the pups I invite you to like our Facebook page Northrock Barbets where I try to post photos of the little Muppets on a daily basis.

The Mouss x Lexi Puppies are 7 Weeks Old

The Muppets have had a busy week full of new experiences and happy visits. Toronto experienced a "wintermission" with warm weather that melted all the snow and afforded us several trips outside for recess periods with the puppies and further opportunities to eat in a different location.

 

Playing outside with Lexi on Jan 23

The saucer is always popular!

Running around in the sunshine - Jan 24

The puppies are teething and chewing on appropriate chew toys like kongs and rope toys feels good and helps for them to develop good chew toy habits but we also like to give them some bones to gnaw on and they were very appreciative of them! 

New things to interact with in their indoor pen provide further enrichment for the puppies.  Here they are enjoying the ball pool.

Playing with the other dogs in the home - here Kermit has some positive interaction with Summer.

 

The adventure box continued to delight the puppies.

And of course lots of visitors have come by to help socialize our puppies and we are always appreciative of them sharing their time with us.  

I hope you enjoy our blog posts about Northrock's "H" litter.  If you would like to see more photos and videos of the pups I invite you to like our Facebook page Northrock Barbets where I try to post photos of the little Muppets on a daily basis.

The Mouss x Lexi Puppies are 6 Weeks Old

The 5th Week

Time is passing by very quickly with the Mouss and Lexi puppies.  We are now in what is termed the "critical period" of development which lasts from three weeks to sixteen weeks.  What we do with these puppies in the next few weeks can have a big impact on their development and we work hard to offer them positive new experiences and an enriching environment.

Playing in their pen on January 10th

We've had lots of visitors come by to enjoy the puppies and to help socialize them to new people.  Some of our visitors are new puppy homes and they have enjoyed following the growth of the litter.  We also have neighbourhood friends and past puppy homes drop by and it's really nice to catch up with old friends and cuddle and play with puppies.  

One of the things we do with the pups while they are in our care is follow the "Rules of Seven" developed by Pat Schaap, a longtime Sheltie breeder.  By the time the puppies are seven weeks old they should have:

• Been on 7 different types of surfaces:  carpet, concrete, wood, vinyl, grass, dirt, gravel, wood chips
• Played with 7 different types of objects:  big balls, small balls, soft fabric toys, fuzzy toys, squeaky toys, paper of cardboard items, metal items, sticks or hose pieces
• Been in 7 different locations:  front yard, back yard, basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom
• Met and played with 7 new people:  include children and older adults, someone walking with a cane or stick, someone in a wheelchair or walker
• Been exposed to 7 challenges:  climb on a box, climb off a box, go  through a tunnel, climb steps, go down steps, climb over obstacles, play  hide and seek, in and out of a doorway with a step up or down, run around  a fence
• Eaten from 7 different containers;  metal, plastic, cardboard, paper,  china, pie plate, frying pan
• Eaten in 7 different locations:  crate, yard, kitchen, basement, laundry  room, living room, bathroom

The puppies playing in their pen on Jan 14th.  You can see how much they enjoy 

The 6th Week

Miss Piggy chewing on a rope toy

The puppies had a lot of fun this week.  So much growth and development is occurring that you can literally see the changes from one day to the next.  They have lots more teeth that have erupted and as a result they need to chew!  We want to establish good chew toy habits so provide the puppies with many appropriate chews that we rotate in and out of the pen on a daily basis.  

New items are added to the pen regularly and the puppies are introduced to a crate and very much enjoy sleeping in it.  They are busy learning how to use their bodies; climbing on stools, navigating barriers by having to go under, over or around, crawling under furniture when they are out playing in the living room, chasing, pouncing and carrying toys.  It's all so entertaining to watch and so important for their development.

Lexi playing in the puppy pen with her little ones - Jan 18  She is very good with her puppies.

The weather outside has been very cold but it is warming up now and we will be making more trips outside with the Muppets.  Here are some photos from their first trip out to play in the snow.

I hope you enjoy our blog posts about Northrock's "H" litter.  If you would like to see more photos and videos of the pups I invite you to like our Facebook page Northrock Barbets where I try to post photos of the little Muppets on a daily basis.

The Mouss x Lexi Puppies are 4 Weeks Old!

The past two weeks have been full of growth and development for the Muppets.  

The Third Week:

This week saw us finishing up with the Bio-sensor and Early Scent Introduction exercises.  The puppies all have their eyes and ears open and were much more steady on their feet.  They have become adept at crawling over and under one another and their dam.  Soft toys were added to their whelping box giving them something new to interact with.

Nine puppies is a larger litter for a Barbet and I weigh the puppies twice a day to carefully monitor who may need a little extra time at the milk bar and to give the smaller puppies some private nursing sessions with their dam.  There was always music playing in the room and we made a point to gently handle the puppies multiple times a day.  It has been a pleasure watching them grow from vulnerable little neonates into the puppy equivalent of toddlers.

The Fourth Week: 

The fourth week for the puppies was a big week for the litter. It began with them moving out of the guest bedroom down to the main floor of the house.  They now occupy the space that would otherwise be our dining room and are exposed to all of the sounds of daily living coming from the living room and kitchen.  

They were introduced to the potty box and housetraining is well underway.  It's amazing how the puppies quickly learn to eliminate in the areas that have been designated for them to do so.  We don't have a 100% success rate just yet but overnight all poops and pees have been made in their potty box and I'm quite pleased with that!

The larger space that the puppies now have to play in allows for more room for environmental enrichment in the form of new toys, hanging objects and different footing.  Their teeth are emerging and they are enjoying mouthing, grabbing and even carrying some of the light weight toys.  They play and interact to an even larger extent with one another and with their dam.   I don't believe I will ever tire of watching little puppies learn to play.  They are still sleeping the grand majority of the time with short play periods of about 15 minutes or so before they begin to tire.

Some of the puppies were ready for solids and have been introduced to soft meals of ground chicken with bone and ground turkey with bone.  They are enjoying their food immensely.  The few puppies that simply were not ready to start solids yet will begin eating solid foods later in the 5th week.  

During this week we have also begun having more visitors over to help socialize the puppies.  We aim to introduce the pups to many different people during the time that they are with us.  Visits will continue in earnest over the coming weeks.

Frequent updates and photos are posted on our Northrock Barbets Facebook Page if you would like to follow the litter's progress please like our page and join us there!