Camping Trip to Bon Echo Provincial Park

We just got back from our annual camping trip with friends to Bon Echo Provincial Park.  This year we took Gemma (Northrock Diamond in the Ruff) along with us.  

There are lots of great hiking trails to explore.

Bon Echo is very dog friendly.  They have an off leash dog beach with a great water entry.  Gemma had a wonderful time playing with the other dogs and swimming in the lake.  Among the many trail options there is also an off leash exercise trail for the dogs to enjoy.

We rented canoes at the lagoon on Mazinaw Lake. From the canoe you can see the Aboriginal pictographs on the rock face that rises 100 meters above the lake. 

Picnic lunch on the big rock.

Hanging out with the girls at the campsite.  Gemma was so well behaved that it was easy to forget she is only 5 months old!

Roasting marshmallows and making smores around the campfire are a tradition.  Four families with a total of 8 kids ages 10 and under made for long fun filled days.  By the time campfire time rolled around Gemma was one tired puppy.

Kelly is now a CKC Grand Champion!*

Kelly with her handler Peter Scott and judge Manuel Queijeiro

In June, Kelly (Ch Northrock's Anchors Aweigh WC) attended the Ontario County Kennel Club dog shows with Peter Scott on the end of her lead. Kelly went Best of Breed all three days.  Friday's judge was Joanne Fernall and on Saturday and Sunday she was awarded two Group 2nds under judges Manuel Queijeiro and Ole Nielsen.  We are absolutely delighted that Kelly, our little Miss. Purple is now a CKC Grand Champion.  Thank you to all of the judges who have recognized her quality and awarded Kelly in the show ring.

*pending CKC confirmation

Northrock's Athos Pascal

This blog post celebrates one of the puppies from the Northrock "A" litter.  Born on August 4, 2012 to FCC/Can CH Barbugaulois Daragon x CH Bayport Coco Chanel. 

Pascal was our Mr. Blue.  He was the firstborn puppy in the litter a litter of 11 with 5 more males and 5 females to follow.  

In October of that year Pascal went to live in Providence, Rhode Island with Maria and Josh.  They have given him a wonderful life and we are so thankful to them!  Pascal is a happy and social dog who gets lots of walks in their busy town.  He is a favourite among the shopkeepers and they often keep cookies to give to him when he comes in their stores to say hello.  Josh and Maria are often stopped while out on their walks and Pascal enjoys all of the attention he receives.  Josh often takes Pascal to work with him and everyone in the office enjoys when he comes to visit.

I put together this little video with a collection of photos and videos that Maria and Josh have been sending me in their update emails.  I hope you enjoy watching it.  For those of you that have Barbets of your own I'm sure you will identify.  His owners taught Pascal lots of tricks.  The Barbet is very intelligent and they love to learn new things!  Try teaching something new to your Barbet. You will be surprised at how quickly he or she picks up the new behaviour.  For those of you that do not have a Barbet but are curious as to what the breed is like I hope this small glimpse into Pascal's world will help to give you an idea.

Many thanks to Josh and Maria for all of the love and care they give to Pascal.  Cheers to many more adventures with this wonderful Barbet!!!

The Next Chapter Begins for the Oreo x Sophie Puppies...

It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed for the Oreo x Sophie puppies.  Their 8th week was a busy one with many visits.  They had their appointment with a canine chiropractor, structural evaluations and a check-up at the vets.  Last Friday they turned 9 weeks old and two of the girls have left for their new homes.  We are so happy about where these puppies have gone and we look forward to hearing stories of their many adventures with their new families.

Violet has gone to live with Glenna and Keith in Alberta.  Her registered name is Northrock's Dance With Me and she is now called "Lyric".  

Lyric - en route to her new home.

Lily now lives in Kingston, Ontario.  She shares her home with Julie and Jamie and their three wonderful children.  Lily is now Northrock's Dare to Dreem and she goes by the name Sadie. 

Sadie is a delight to her new family and is settling in well.

Rose is still with us and is now Northrock Diamond in the Ruff.  We are calling her Gemma as it seemed that when the litter disbanded we ought to change her litter name too.  Gemma is a joy and a blessing and she will remain with us for the time being.

Oreo x Sophie Litter Update - 8 Weeks Old

The puppies were busy during the last two weeks. We have continued to have visitors to our home so the puppies are always meeting new people.  

We have also begun taking the puppies on excursions outside of the house.  They have gone on several car rides now where they have experienced riding together in a crate as well as riding alone in crates.  I'm pleased to say they are very good little travellers.

They have all had solo expeditions to another house where they experienced being away from their dam and litter mates in an unfamiliar environment. Happily they all walked into my mothers house  and quickly made themselves at home!

 

During their seventh week we temperament tested the litter which was a fun time for all involved.  We are delighted with how confident, curious and clever these little moppets are and are looking forward to seeing what adventures they will get up to with their new families.

The Barbet is in the Canadian Kennel Club's Sporting Group of dogs.  They were traditionally used as waterfowl retrievers and also hunted small game and upland birds.  Some Barbets are still used in this capacity today.  Sophie has her CKC Working Certificate.  In order to earn this title Sophie had to do two single retrieves on land and also two in the water.  The birds are thrown by a gunner out in the field and the dog is sent from the line to bring them back.   Ducks were used on all marks in Sophie's test but sometimes a test will have pigeons or chukars in the land portion of the test.  Preserving the Barbet's natural instincts is important to us at Northrock.  We expose all of our puppies to birds while they are with us so that we can see how they react to them.  We want to know how interested are they in the birds. Do they pick them up?  Will they retrieve them?  Happily all of the pups in this litter were interested in the duck wings and pigeons when exposed to them.

The puppies celebrated their 8 week birthday with a trip to a farm where they were able to run around, explore and meet some chickens.  It was a long car ride and they all did well on the ride and had fun checking out the new sights and sounds that country life has to offer.

New CKC Champion title for “Kelly” Northrock’s Anchors Aweigh WC

Kelly had a fantastic weekend at Nickel District Kennel Club.  Thank you to Breeder/Judge, Wendy Schira for awarding our girl a Group 4.  This gives Kelly her Championship with points garnered entirely from the group!

Judges Alan Ewles and Guy Jeavons each awarded Kelly Group 2 placements.  Thank you judges for these placements. We are so thrilled with our homebred girl’s success!  Once again Kelly was expertly handled by Peter Scott. 

Oreo x Sophie Litter Update - 6 Weeks Old

Socialization Period (5-16 weeks) and the Curiosity Period (5 -7 weeks) 

It’s been a busy time for the puppies here at Northrock.  The last two weeks have seen many changes in development for Oreo x Sophie’s little girls.  Their pen has expanded and the whelping box has been packed away.  There are lots of interesting things for the puppies to explore in their pen.  Mirrors, stools, toys, hanging objects, a pool filled with balls, a tunnel etc....  They are certainly enjoying their new space!

The pups have been taken outside for several excursions.  

They have mingled with the big dogs and hung out with our cat.  They have also had the opportunity to explore different rooms in the house.

“The more chances a puppy has to be properly exposed to something new during the critical socialization periods, the less bothered it will be throughout the rest of its life when confronted by other new or frightening things.” (Hastings and Rouse 2004:28)

The puppies still nurse from Sophie but they are also eating 3 meals a day that consist of ground meat and bone, organ meat, tripe and goats milk.  They are given raw meaty bones to gnaw on which helps to exercise their jaws, neck and shoulder muscles and ease their sore gums as their teeth continue to erupt.

The girls have all been given their first bath and blow dry this past week.  Here is a photo of Lily in the tub looking rather unimpressed with the experience.

Visitors continue to come over to help socialize the puppies and we welcome the opportunity to have the puppies meet an assortment of men and women and children of various ages. It’s been a great deal of fun helping Sophie to raise her three little girls.  Stay tuned for the next update of the Oreo x Sophie litter.

Hastings, P and E.A. Rouse, Editors. 2004. Another Piece of the Puzzle: Puppy Development. Oregon, Dogfolk Enterprises. 110p.