Yatzie and Moët came along to watch Bas playing football. After the game I let them loose for a moment and they ran around wild and free on the green grass, all the boys of the team running after them!

Moët today did her second show at the international dogshow De Utrecht with a fantastic result! She won 1st prize in junior class (Excellent) and 2nd (reserve CAC) in the competition. I am so proud of her. The judge wrote:

• Good neck and top lines
• Good angulations front and backpaws
• Perfect bone structure and compact feet
• Correct eye colour
• Correct bite

The BOB was given to Rose, Gladys da Capo - a beautiful Barbet with a rare mixed beige/brown colour!

Barbet Yatzie and Moët in the mud puddle! What is more delicious than a fresh zip of muddy water after a long wild run in the forest? And why not immerse in the mud as far as possible!

Even though my ambition is to groom my dogs myself time is scarse and I do not do it perfectly yet. So I asked my Barbet friend and groomer Brigitte Waller to help fix the dogs up for some upcoming shows. I was glad to see that Moët behaved so well on the table. She almost fell asleep while Brigitte was working on her feet! When it comes to Yatzie she is on heat, and caught much attention from Brigittes stay-over Barbet - he is supposed to be castrated but it did not show :-) ! I have never really seen Yatzie's fur so blown out and puffed up before. It looks so funny. But after a first dip in the water it was back to her normal soft curls! As a reward after many hours on the grooming table the dogs and we had a nice walk in the sunny fall weather. Nice to see so many Barbets running free together!

At an Open Day at our neighbourhood vetclinic Yatzie and Moët (as well as I!) met a skunk for the first time. They were very curious when the skunk was in his cage but when it was close to them they found it a bit scary!

Some things you may not know about a skunk:

A skunk does not smell unless it needs to use its precious weapon - two glands with sulphur containing chemicals. The odor of the fluid is strong enough to ward off bears and other potential attackers. Skunks are reluctant to use this weapon, as they carry just enough of the chemical for five or six uses and require some ten days to produce another supply. In the wild they live 1-3 years but as a house pet they can live 10-15 years. They are cuddely!

First time in an agility tunnel!

First time in an agility slalom!

Learning "Forward" with a sweet on a cone.

Animal Day! The dogs deserv something extra, said Margot, and found a lot of yummie things in the fridge to make a treat. The dogs gathered in the kitchen with her and were sooo curious, especially Moët. Once the treats were ready the dogs enjoyed them outside in the garden - and it was well worth waiting for!