Finally mum allowed us to catch a rabbit! Happy Easter!

Maybe Yatzie was a cat in her previous life :-) - she loves to climb trees! Especially if there is something to retrieve; a dummy or a sweet!  It stimulates the brains of the dog to solve problems, so I always try to challenge the dogs during the walks. It also helps building the bond and making them have more attention for me, which is good considering the amount of rabbits around!

Today I took Moët for her hip x-ray. I was so nervous, even though I was expecting a good result. She is so agile and athletic, and loves to jump. In the forest she is like a dear, flying over stones and trunks in full speed. But you never know. The result: A hips!

This veterinary is a specialist in hips and judges hip photos at the Dutch Kennel Club. Therefore one gets the result at once, which is a very big advantage. The waiting is otherwise nerv wracking. Another advantage is that there is no anesthesia needed. This vet has a cradle in which the dog lays for the photo to be taken, being held by three persons. Moët did so well in this peculiar situation. Even the second time (first photo was too dark) she did not panic, but let herself be placed in the cradle and accepted to be forced into the right position.

Today was a happy day in the house of the kennel l'Esprit de Bonté - the official diploma stating that Moët is a Dutch Youth Champion arrived! So proud of this sweet, loving, happy and fun barbet that we have the pleasure of having as a family member!

Every day when it is time to go out and I ask Moët: "Ska vi gå ut?" (Shall we go out? in Swedish) she starts jumping up and down totally excited. It is so cute I had to film it!

Yatzie and Moët in a wresteling game on the beach. Ollie, the white labradoodle, also tries to join, but with some difficulty! When Yatzie and Moët play they only have eyes for each other.

Retrieving is never as fun as it is on the beach! Moët and Yatzie finds it extra exciting to fight over the apport... a perfect trainer would never allow that with a water apport - so, good for my dogs that I am not such a perfect trainer! They have fun and that is the most important to me! And one of them, in the end, always brings the apport back to me!

Today we had a breakfast rendez-vous with Ollie, the labradoodle, and her sweet family the Sparnaay's. They live near the west coast so we met on the beach by Noordwijk, in a dog friendly restaurant called Take2. The place was full of dogs and so cosy! Afterwards the dogs enjoyed themselves tremendously running and playing on the beach! Oh how we long for real spring and all these visits to the beach again! Thanks Rob and Vivenne for this great initiative!

The official BOB photo of Moët de l'Esprit de Bonté from Martini Dogshow in Groeningen, March 2.

At the show in Groningen Yatzie could not control herself when we passed the stand where they sold these huge dried bones. She kept nibbeling on whatever was sticking out of the big metal basket where they were kept. So, when the big day was over, I bought one leg each for them - well deserved after their great performance in the ring!

Today at the Martini Dogshow in Groningen Moët was Best of Breed in hard competition and Yatzie got the second place (res CAC and CACIB)! Moët and Yatzie had to compete against each other and Moët won over her mother! This was Moët's third 1st place in the youth class and thus is she now a Dutch Youth Champion! What a happy, successful day for the Kennel de l'Esprit de Bonté!

Again we had the pleasure to have the sweet labradoodle Ollie in the house for a week! Ollie and Moët are such playmates - it is a joy to see them. But not only the dogs play with Ollie - Margot and Bas love it too! While Ollie is chasing a ball Yatzie and Moët are searching for hidden birds in the canal! "They must be there!", they seem to tell each other and keep looking and looking. But there is nothing! A neighbour berner sennen Elmer came to say hello this afternoon.