Today was a lovely sunny day and the dogs and I spent some time in a forest in Almere. After rallying around both Yatzie adnd Moët desperately need to drink, always, and were very pleased when they both found a puddle of fresh yummy water that you also could lie down in to cool off! After such a dip it is important to keep distance to avoid the shake that always follows :-) !

After the refreshing walk I visited Whoppi to admire her 9 newborns, now three weeks old! Sweethearts! Whoppi is doing well even though she is rather tired still. Follow the puppies as they grow on Judiths blog! All puppies have homes already!

We got some more pictures from the puppies as they turned 1 year. This is Missy (Tsarine) who lives in Limburg, south Holland. She looks so much like her mother! Below Clifford (Cliquot) in Sweden that got a birthday hug from his friend and a special treat for his big day!

Beli (Ambeloui) in Poland on her 1 year birthday! Irek sent us an update telling us of her latest achievements which includes 4 gold medals in dog shows and excellent performance in her favourite sport agility! He says: "Beli loves agility more than anything. On the track she's extremely excited, focused and runs through all obstacles on the highest speed." Bravissimo Beli!

Moët, Charley and mother Yatzie celebrated the birthday all together at the Zuidbergs I had to go to  Sweden :-( ... Martijn made a special treat for them. See how good they behave waiting for it! For the rest Moët and Yatzie love to spend the time by the enclosure for the rabbits and hens.  Not a dull moment! But at the end of the day it is nice to just cuddle on the sofa!

HIPP HIPP HURRAY!

Today the Champagne litter de l'Esprit de Bonté celebrates 1 year! Happy Birthday to all of the happy, sweet and beautiful dogs from Yatzie and Chico! Above a collage of the most recent pictures of the ten dogs who are living in Holland, Sweden, Finland and Poland, watched over by the proud parents!

Yatzie and Moët will once again stay a long weekend with Charley's sweet family in Julianadorp, north Holland, while Bart and I go to Sweden. I spent some hours there today with them to let the dogs get used to each other again before leaving them there. They felt at home at once and the sister and brother started immediately to play wildly!

Great to see Charley fullgrown! He has a strong male appearance, with an amazing thick wavy fur. Just like the other black offsprings from Yatzie and Chico his fur has a beautiful brownish tint. He is 60 cm high and weighs 28 kgs without being overweight in any way. Just a sturdy Barbet. Moët, newly groomed, looked so small beside him with her 20 kgs and 53 cms height. Charley is a male version replica of Yatzie. He even makes the same snurking sound as she does when he is enjoying being petted or wants some attention. The fur on his head is straighter than the rest of the body just like her. His character is very friendly, jolly and playful. He loves his family and is very cuddely like most Barbets. Enjoy the pictures of the family!

Free music: Danosongs, The art of Gardens

For the first time I have groomed Moët myself! Yatzie I always shaved but now I am going to try to learn the art of grooming with scissors. I bought a professional - very expensive - pair of one sided thinning  scissors. In that way mistakes do not show so much! It takes longer though. First I brushed her out totally, got rid of the mats with a matting knife (the yellow and blue on the picture) and blowed through the fur with my water blower. With the wooden wide toothed comb I brushed up the fur and then started cutting. I found it very difficult! It was hard to know how much I actually did cut off. Looking at some pictures and a sketch I have made with the help of some groomers' advice I tried to shape her into a "Barbet shape". Kept the hair on the legs long, neck and thighs shorter. Most difficult was the neck and the face/ears. Well, here is the result! Not too bad for a first-timer maybe? But still loads to learn! Afterwards Moët enjoyed a nice tumbeling around with Ollie!

The weekend was so hot we took off to a nice lake, where dogs are allowed (Kleine Plass, Maarssen). Yatzie was happily jumping off the pier to get her beloved orange water dummy - but after a while we lost it. She took it to a safe place I think. Normally she can find everything she hides but after search - retrieve excercises for half an hour we both gave up... My good friend Maaike and Yatzie are always cuddeling so sweetly I had to take a photo of the two!

What I did not know was that the waters were infected with parasites and the day after my whole body was covered with red, itchy spots called Swimmer's itch (badklåda, swemmers jeuk). Nothing seems to help to calm the itching. I am going crazy from it. Tips are welcome! I do not think I will ever swim in a small lake again... The kids were not affected and after some studying on the Internet it seems that my sunscreen lotion must contain unsaturated fatty acids that are a stimuli for the parasites' penetration into the skin... Thank God the kids did not use the same sunlotion!

Moët is crazy about water! Every day she gets into the water at least three times. In fact, as soon as she sees water she is in it! She swims around for a moment and then gets out all soaked and happy!

A traditional Dragonboat festival was held in our neighbourhood today and Bart joined one of the teams. It was an amazing late summer day, with clear blue skies and 30 degrees! We took the doggies with us and found a place in the shade. Dogs weren't really allowed so I tried to keep a low profile but it was hard cause they love to play with each other. They could also swim nearby to cool off. Bart's team did the fastest races out of all the boats but in the final got only a bronse medal. Deserved Gold!

Yatzie today achieved her first official hunting diploma, won silver in her level and received this beautiful trofé with the fantastic result 57 out of 60 points! Around 40 dogs participated in the exam, on level 1 to 3. This was Yatzie's first exam ever and I am very proud of her performance! Level 1 exam includes lay and stay out of sight, follow leashed ad unleashed, send out and flute in, retreive a dummy from land and water and search and retrieve with a dummy out of sight (forest). She did everything steadily and without hesitation. The exam was organized by the Nederlandse Organisatie vor Jacht & Grondbeheer. Congratulations and hurray for Yatzie!