Yatzie and Moët wishes all their friends a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

When Moët enters the forest she takes it over. She fearlessly explores every corner of it, and stops only for short seconds to watch her surroundings. Both the sun and my lens found her one of those seconds. The next she was gone - direction her pointing leg! Fortunately Moët listens very well and she always comes within a minute when I call her  - if she is close enough to hear me call!

The love making is over and Yatzie is dreaming of her sweet Toffee! But she will see him soon again. During the Christmas holidays she will be staying next door to him and I am sure he will smell her presence and come by!

As soon as the Christmas tree was decorated Moët began to explore the interesting animal under the tree - a Christmas goat made of straw! Margit made clear to her that the goat had to be treated with respect or Santa Claus would not bring her any gifts this year.

Today Yatzie had her rendez-vous with her new love Toffee (Barbedoux Toffee Leckerli). Being the lucky date 11-12-13 we expect some very special puppies from this littter!  Read about and see more photos of Toffee here. Now we must wait for 8 long weeks to see the results of this beautiful and strong combination of barbets!

Yatzie is already for more than a week on heat! Today we made a first progesteron test at a specialized clinic using the most reliable technique available (Immulite), to find out if she is ready for the mating. It is not yet time but it is drawing closer! The vet made a spontaneous comment on Yatzie, and said that she is in a very good condition to have a litter!

On 5 december the whole of Holland celebrates Sinterklaas. The evening is also called gift-evening (pakjes avond) and this is for Dutch children like Christmas eve for the rest of the western world! Yatzie and Moët also had their share of gifts of course! They picked them out themselves from the baskets! Last year I made a film of Sinterklaas when he came to our house and poor Moët was so scared, see this link. This year Sinterklaas had already brought all the gifts in the afternoon!

Sinterklaas is celebrated on the nameday of Saint Nicholas (280–342), patron saint of Amsterdam, children and sailors. Saint Nicholas was a bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey. He was very kind to children. In the 11th century his relics were moved to south Italy and his fame spread over Europe. Sinterklaas has many helpers with black faces and colourful dresses called Zwarte Piet. During the Middle-ages Zwarte Piet was a name for the devil. Having triumphed over evil, it was said that on Saint Nicholas eve the devil was shackled and made his slave.

An interesting fact that most of us are unaware of is that Santa Claus in the United States, and later our Swedish jultomten, originates from the Turkish Saint Nicholas.

Lazy Sunday morning on the couch. Margot and her sweet friend Lotte grooming and cuddling with the doggies. 

Before mating the eyes of the dog need to have been recently checked, even if earlier tests have been clear, since some inheritable diseases have late onset of clinical signs. So today we had Yatzie's eyes checked for the second time and the result is all clear. Her heat is drawing closer and soon the news of the lucky chosen partner will be made official! Keep your eyes open!

This photo is very intimate but I want to share the sweet tenderness that one can experience with a barbet as a companion. Moët wakes me up every morning around 6, kisses my face passionately and then curls up in my arms. Yatzie instead likes to fall asleep beside me and later on finds her rest on her pillow below my bed. Some of you probably find it indecent letting a dog into your bed, but to me it is a quality moment where I bond with my dogs, that creates a feeling of mutual belonging. 

Yatzie has a predilection for our driveway and the cold or warm stones it is made of. Unfortunately I can not let her lay there too often, since there is traffic near by but sometimes I let her enjoy a moment on the stones - me all ears for possible cars approaching. 

Moët likes to jump up on top of tables and such. Since she is very agile and flexible, so she can even jump up on a narrow windowsill. This is in our bedroom where she watches the children play football on the grass field below our house. 

It was a lovely fall day and we took the dogs to Bilthoven - an area that they totally adore because of the many rabbit holes that they can sniff around in! Just look at those happy faces! There is water as well so muddy dogs can be washed before they get in the car! And for football lovers the fields allow for a nice game with daddy! 

Just a series of lovely photos of Yatzie from last week!

Moët laid down on the garden table during the storm and enjoyed the wind. But after some time we heard a knock on the terrass glass door: Can I come in now please? 

Stormy days are playful days! Yatzie and Moët play more and more with each other the way you see them play in this video. And look how Yatzie loves feeling the wind in her hair!

This morning on the Bloemendal Beach in Harlem, Yatzie and Moët enjoyed the sea together with their new friend Bommel, a 6 months old, gorgeous briard. He was totally fascinated by Moët and followed her wherever she went. Only the retreiving in the water made him leave her side for a few seconds!

Fall is here so I taught Yatzie how to keep warm on cold days by rolling herself into a blanket! On command "Yatzie is it cold?" (in Dutch) she goes to the blanket, lies down, gets a hold of the blanket with her mouth and rolls around. Handy!

On Sundays our daughter Margot trains Moët in a group with young dogs. This was her first session after the vacation and passivity training was on the curriculum. Moët does quite well, but can not sit quietly for too long, then she gets restless and starts making some noise. So this is great training for her. Margot knows how to reward at the right moments, when Moët by herself chooses to sit and shows that she is relaxed. Attention, follow and jump was also practiced. Margot and Moët make a great team!

Moët is laying totally relaxed on the floor while I cut her nails. I am so glad she trusts me so in this -  it is another story with Yatzie. For her, despite a lot of positive training, nail clipping is very stressful. 

Silla, a good friend from Hong Kong, came to visit us this weekend! We took the dogs to the city of Utrecht walking them through Bijenkorf, a chic department store. Silla found it very surprising that the dogs were allowed in there and that they knew how to ride the escalator! I have often taken the dogs to places with escalators to make them used to this strange moving object. In the beginning I bought a clicker and rewards to make it fun. Moët still finds it difficult to step on to it, but follows along, though hesitantly, by Yatzie who is very confident.  

Congratulations to Ambeloui de l'Esprit de bonté who became a Polish Beauty Champion this week!

This sunny weekend Yatzie and I participated in a rehearsal agility competition at the club where we are taking lessons (URV, Utrechtse Ras Vereniging). 4 or more years ago we took classes in Sweden and last week we started anew. Moët aswell. She learns quickly! And Yatzie remembers it all. But we did not win any trophy I am afraid. I managed to collide with Yatzie when she came rushing out the tunnel... And she needs to learn the slalom perfectly. She misses a pole now and then. Must practice a lot more both of us! When the competition was over Yatzie and Moët played wildly on the field together!

This weekend 23 barbets met up at the Dutch barbet club gathering on a camping in mid north Holland. It was a colourful and lively group of barbets that trained, played and relaxed together. At the camping was a stable agility course and the owners themselves are experienced trainers in agility and tracking. Thus Saturday everyone got to try out agility and Sunday we did some tracking exercises first on a grass field and then in the forest. The owners, who had not worked with barbets before, were very impressed by their intelligence and ability to quickly pick up new tasks. Especially their tracking skills stood out. Yatzie out performed by perfectly and full of enthusiasm following a forest track from the owner in a speed that I had a big problem to follow! The trainer said You must continue training this dog in tracking – she is a talent! Moët, who just started agility training the past week, did very well on the course and jumped the obstacles and ran through the tunnel as if she had done it many times before!

After her long birthday walk Moët got her birthday present - a big fresh filet of beef! If you only knew how much love, joy and laughter you bring us! We all love you crazy! Happy Birthday darling!

Moët's favourite birthday gift could be nothing else but a long walk in a forest where she can run around loose, so we took Yatzie and her to the area of Bos n'Duin. Fall has arrived here in Holland as you can see, and in the forest we walked on a beginning carpet of colourful leaves. I love this time of the year! Even though you get wet most every day!

In the sand dunes Moët was admired by a big and beautiful Labradoodle. But Yatzie helped to keep him on a distance when he got too close to Moët!

It is already two years ago since the 10 little puppies of Yatzie and Chico were born. What a joy that day - my own birthday as well as the birthday of the puppies! All the dogs are healthy and doing well, loved by their families and spreading the spirit of goodness, loving kindness and gentleness around them (l'Esprit de bonté). Below I post some photos of the dogs that I have had a photo of recently.  Happy happy birthday to all!

We spent a nice day together with Moët and Yatzie's cousins - the cavaliers Slons and Tipi. They live near the heathers and we made a nice walk all together. Slons and Tipi are not used to leaving the house for walks, they live on big premises, so for them it was an adventure. They did very well though! Moët and Yatzie were happily roaming about as always!

Moët is almost 2 and has reached her final bouw. Yatzie and Moët have the same short fur now, which allows for their body structure to show very well, so I made comparitive photos of them. I also measured them to make a detailed comparison between mother and daughter. Below are the results: 

 
In general Moët is "one size smaller" than Yatzie, she is 1,5 cm lower and her body is 3 cm shorter. She weighs only 20 kgs compared to Yatzie's 24. Still I must feed Moët 50% more than Yatzie because of her higher energy level! Moët distinguishes herself with a higher neck. Both tails are well hooked, but Yatzie's hook is more apparent. Below I place a photo of their tails in excited pose as well, where they have exactly the same expression. Ears and tails are correctly placed. Their hooks are well angulated. Both have big, wide noses. 

Just as in their appearence their characters also differ very much! Yatzie is open to human strangers, Moët reluctant in the beginning. Moët is more open to other dogs than Yatzie and more playful. Moët has more energy and runs faster. Yatzie likes to sleep in but Moët is early up (and earlier in bed)! They both love to cuddle, but Moët a little bit longer than Yatzie. Moët loves to sit in our laps and jumps up herself. Yatzie accepts it with some reluctance when we lift her up but loves to sit near us on the couch. Yatzie is more stubborn than Moët and has a higher level of independency. Both are as loving and loyal to their family and kiss our faces forever when we let them! We love them both as dearly with all their differences!

Yatzie is now almost 6  1/2 years old. Her fur is more stable in its structure, thinner and silkier than Moët's. She has nice curls on her body and her head has the typical wavy fur that one often sees in the the barbochos line. Her black fur has a tint of brown. 

It has been 2 1/2 months since I shaved Moët almost down to the skin. The fur that has grown is even thicker than before and she has lovely curls. The colour is interesting: chocolate brown mixed with golden yellow and some grey hairs in between. I find it very pretty. When I shaved her I saw that the colour of the fur was more brownish by the skin. And that is what now shows. But now the colour of the fur near the skin is again more greyish.... This is an interesting fur that keeps changing! Here some photos of how Moët looks like now.

Yatzie and Bart both like to cuddle! 

Today I took Yatzie and Moët to new waters - a picturesque canal with lots of water lilies and trees hanging low. They found it so exciting! 

A sausage was left over at the barbecue by a river in Gargellen, Austria. The dogs understood they would finally have a bite and lined up in front of the sausage. We could not resist filming how their heads turned with the sausage and then film a performance where the dogs barked on command to get their piece! "Skall" in Swedish - "Blaff" in Dutch!

Moët was tired when we sat down at the Piazza della Signorina in Florence and laid her head so sweetly in my lap, while we together enjoyed a choir performing Hallelujah! This video also gives an glimpes of the tender and loving contact one may have with a barbet! It is the most loving and sweet breed in the world.

"Back home from vacation is also ok", says Princess Moët, resting softly after our jogging round this morning. I found her this way in the sofa. How she placed that last pillow so perfectly on top of herself stays a mystery.

Want to continue feeding your dog raw meat during vacation? K9 Natural, is a freeze dried raw meat, in "kibbles", that keeps for months. I used this during the whole vacation and the dogs love it and had perfect digestion and stools - no grass eating (only through the paw!). You just add a little luke warm water and it is ready! It comes in a family pack of 4 kgs or smaller 500 gr bags. It is a complete food, with minerals and vitamins, totally pure, no grains or wheat added. I totally recommend this product for those of you that like to feed raw meat. And for those who do not - maybe this simple formula would make you want to try? It is recommended to also give the dog a chewy bone now and then for the teeth and for the fun of chewing as well. Comes as beef and lamb. www.k9natural.com

We started our trip back to Holland early in the morning. Fortunately the bakery opened just as early! Got some delicious Austrian croissants and sweet cakes to last through the trip of 10 hours. Yatzie and Moët asked for a baguette with ham which they also had! Bye bye Austria! Hope to come back soon!

Two dogs, two kids, two beds - that is cosy! Tomorrow we are leaving...

As you can see Moët is still wearing a head tube what do you call those things in English?) night time. Yesterday we went for a final check up at the vet. Unfortunately the simple anti biotics was not enough to stop the inflammation so Moët got a wide spectrum injection that is effective for 10 days. That should hopefully take care of the upset paw... 

On our last day in Austria it was raining for the first time. We dressed up in rain coats and climbed some mountains to enjoy a waterfall. It was steep and slippery but we made it. Both dogs and kids enjoyed the adventure!

This poor alp cow was thirsty and left his group to drink in a pond near us. Yatzie and Moët do not usually bark at cows, but this one I guess was very different... After this event Yatzie decided to get in real close contact with the cow - in another way - and rolled around in fresh cow feces...  First I cleaned her with moss and grass, and when we came to a water Bart balanced her on his arms straight up and dipped her in the water! That is what you get when you play with an alp cow!

Another cabin trip today. While the rest of the group continued to the last alp station, Margot and I got off on the first stop with Yatzie and Moët. We took a quiet walk on the fields and found a small stream hiding under high bushes - a shaded spot where the dogs could drink and Margot build stone dikes. Going back to the cabin we found this picturesque church. 

Today we took the cabin up the mountain and made a short walk all together. It gives me so much joy to see the dogs running free on the mountains! They are so much enjoying this! Moët is still limping a little so I keep her on the leash periodically. Actually dogs are not allowed to be unleashed where there are walking paths, but they do nobody any harm. Sometimes people make comments. Dog owners say: Come on, let your dog loose. Non dog-owners the opposite...

A sunny evening by a nearby river we took with us a bag of coal and a bunch of sausages and made a very simple but tasty barbecue. Wine and beer to go with it of course! The dogs got their share of the meat and had a lot of fun playing as well. The kids loved attending to the fire and playing in the river. So relaxed, so much togetherness and so close to nature. The favourite evening for many of us!

For some days now we have been enjoying the picturesque village Gargellen in west Austria. We have been very lucky with the weather. In the mornings I take Yatzie and Moët out on the fields in the valley where they can run freely. Moët's paw is still infected so I clean it daily, treat it with antibiotic cream and cover it with a shoe-sock when outside if the ground is dry. The infection does not bother her very much and she runs around as happy as ever as you can see!

Great news - the grass came out of Moët's paw! As I was cleaning it I saw something sticking out of the hole in the infected area and pulled. The grass was 2 cms long. It was just one single straw from a full Forasacchi which can have up to 10 straws. See the photo of a big one stuck in Yatzie's face. The grass went into the skin on top of the paw, between the toes, 7-8 days ago and has travelled some 6 cms inside the paw. Now I am extremely happy! My sweetest Moët will soon be well again! You can see how swollen her foot still is in the photo. She needs to wear a head collar, to prevent licking, and she is totally confused about that thing around her neck. She does not want to walk around it with but stands still, head hanging. She is very tired from the antibiotics so I think she can sleep well after all.