The 100th issue is out filled with lots of results(Club show in June). Report of the AGM (June); French Championship Results and WDS (July) feedback of the BCE (October); How to become a champion and which French dogs have evolved on the SCC selection grid; All about the new SCC documents and pedigrees (from the SCC website); an article on epilepsy in the Lagotto with a mention of it also being in the Barbet.*
On the last inside page, a reference to my article about the Barbet de Buffon: Petit/Grand in 1765 and how they have evolved into being poodles, after they were selected to become fine, tall sophisticated solid colored very often overgroomed poofed out dogs.

It menstions my article being published in the next issue of the club bulletin.( It only shows the header of the article on a complete page)
For a sneak preview, here's the complete areticle ( in French)!

http://bbfrenchtreasure.free.fr/downloads/buffon.pdf

*There are no breeds exempt of epilepsy.The Barbet with it's very high dosage of poodle is not an exception.

Griffon Barbet Lynx.

As some of you may know, I fell in love with the Barbet when I saw this issue of Country Life at school, in Cluny, back in 1992.
I thought to myself, "One day I will have a Barbet!". Boy, little did I know. I loved the type of big loopy curls, the color with the lighter muzzle, the total rustic look of the dog. His name was Lynx, and since then...lots of water under the bridge!
Lynx, a rescue dog, was only a lookalike a Barbet. He was 54 cms, had light eyes and perhaps never even became a stud. When you think he is the foundation stock for the so-called Modern Barbet that only a very few years later, thanks to some who shall remain names less not more, turned into a shaved to the bone, frizzy 19 cms taller dog called a Barboodle.
Country Live and learn?

Now I am again comparing photos and what do you think? These are offsprings from Coccolina and Booly Wooly:


Funny Girl de la serve de la chapelle d'Alexandre, on the west coast of France.


Frankly Scarlet de la serve de la chapelle d'Alexandre,a Canadian champion.


Fanny Forigoler de la serve de la chapelle d'Alexandre, who is working on being an obedient dog in France.

My next step? Find myself a female pup to raise and mate with Booly Wooly so that I can make myself a Griffon Barbet like...Lynx.
What goes around, comes around? I guess, as long as you wait long enough?Ironic, no?

December 7 is and always has been a special day for any American, but it is for me with another reason in mind. Coccolina's birthday! She is an exceptional Barbet!Happy Birthday my little love!

She was born in 2004 in Italy.Her "real name" is Ermengarda, but the girls where she lived had been calling her Cocolina and it fit her perfectly well.No need to change it!
http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/what_does_%22coccolare%22_mean_in_italian

Grand- Ma Poppenspaler's Verveine

Mom: Zéolite

Dad: CH-I Caravaggio


Here she is at 8 weeks
She comes from a litter of 8. None of her siblings reproduced. Now it's too late..Imagine if she had not!
http://www.barbet-international.ch/cgi/pp_sibling.pl?id=202&gens=5

She was a Godsend to me when I got her as a gift just after the death of Molly (and the 4 pups she was bearing) after she had been artificially inseminated for her first litter( against FCI rules). I, of course, did not know or never would I have done it. Live, destroy and learn?

Coccolina was 5 months old when we drove down to Italy to get her.A very memorable trip with Jennifer sitting in the back seat on the 6 hours drive home and Coccolina vomiting her brains out. She had never been in a car before!(Hey, that happens!)


She is very much the phenotype of Estar des Marécages du Prince.


Below pictured with sister Arkann, the hunter!

And our dear Barbet friend, Rainier T Georgii, recently deceased:


All 3 above photos signed Mrs Inge Fischer, M Georgii's companion.

Cocclina has had 4 litters of pups.
1 with Ungaro


2 with Booly Wooly


and her last one with Chouffe.



She has been a fabulous mother and produced 39 all healthy pups. Her last 2 litters produced some undershot( tooth problem) puppies which I am ver sad about. It is so difficult to know where things come from especially since she and her mates have a perfect scissor bite.The mysteries of genetics!And the lack of information shared since the 1990's and made unavailable by breeders since then.
Many "new" breeders have chosen to ignore the past of the breed, which is not good in any breed and moreso a very rare one.


In 2010

She has A hips; clear eyes and has produced pups with A B and at least 1 C hips pups.
Several of her offsprings are Champions in several countries and she from the fact is quoted 5/6 on the SCC selection grid.
She has done her best for the survival of the phenotype and the Vieux Barbet Français( Old Barbet) for which there is one standard and that standard was written in 1891.
Link to other "old breeds"( posts just started:
http://bbfrenchtreasure.free.fr/articles.php?pg=art265
The past does predict the future!

http://bbfrenchtreasure.free.fr/articles.php?pg=art181
I am reactivating what work I had done back in 2008. There are now new developments. There's a complete section CHIEN DE CRAU.Enjoy!