Blog about Barbet Yatzie & Moët

My life with the French waterdogs Yatzie born 2007 and her daughter Moët born 2011. Barbets are purebred, active, relaxed and allergy friendly dogs with a soft and loving spirit. I am Swedish but live with my dogs in Holland. I hope you will enjoy the blog! Enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

2010 > 12

Yatzie wishes friends and family in Sweden, Holland, France and all over the world a Happy New Year 2011!  

 

For Yatzie's new year we wish... well - you all know what!

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Even though Yatzie has been showing many signs of pregnancy no puppies were seen in the ultra sound. She is pseudo pregnant. What a disappointment for her, for us and for everyone who was looking forward to this litter. Nature wanted differently. I have cried many tears... I wish I could have brought all of you happier news for the New Year. Of course I will give Yatzie a new chance in the next heat in June. We just have to get used to the fact that there will be many more days of waiting and hoping... Yatzie is so sweet and cuddely, more than ever, in this state of hers, and we enjoy her tremendously. You are the best Yatzie, we love you and cross our fingers for you for the next time!

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  • Arno • 11 januari 2011 22:42:21
    Dear Elisabeh, hopefully more luck this year!
  • Margarita Lioulia • 4 januari 2011 18:05:16
    Dear Elisabeth & Yatzie, don't be sad and disappointed please. Just have faith and trust nature. Meanwhile don't forget to enjoy life and every moment of 2011!
    all the best
    Margarita
  • Thanks dear Margarita. You are so right, I trust it will happen when the time is right. The best to you as well for 2011!

    4 januari 2011 18:10:12

  • Désirée • 4 januari 2011 16:30:33
    Dear Elisabeth. Its such sad news, I know Yatzie wants to be a mum more then anything. After all those weeks of waiting and hoping its a disappointment for all: for you two and for Yatzie and for us, hoping to care for one of her babies. We will all cross our fingers for the next time. Love. Désirée
  • Thanks Desirée. It will happen when she is ready!

    4 januari 2011 18:11:24

  • KERSTIN • 3 januari 2011 16:15:17
    Vilken fin bild på Yatzie (och dig) Inte ofta man får se hennes ögon! Det blir valpar till sommaren istället!
    Kram från kerstin (Anna o Axel häsar , vår dator hemma är trasig..)
  • Ja, låt oss hoppas på sommaren!!!!

    4 januari 2011 18:13:33

  • Geneviève et Django • 31 december 2010 16:30:50
    Dear Elizabeth, dear Yatze
    As we are sad we also in France, so we hoped that all those beautiful moments we bring to Yatzie beautiful babies ...
    Life has not picked this time!
    We send our best wishes for the new year with new heats Yatzie, summer offers the Barbichon we hope so.
    Close to you, with you sharing this sad news but with great hope for the future.
    Kisses and hugs
    Genevieve and Django
  • Merci chères Geneviève et Django!

    4 januari 2011 18:12:57

  • Åsa Carlberg Murakami • 31 december 2010 14:46:49
    lots of love and all the best for 2011 Elisabeth & co!

On Christmas Day we went for an adventurous sleigh ride. We had so much fun! Yatzie running up and down the slopes, after the sleigh, steeling our gloves as always and digging deep in the snow. Winter is great!

 

The same video twice in different formats - see what works for you.

Yatzie joining the sleigh ride

Bart the snow man!

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  • Arno • 11 januari 2011 22:40:04
    Nice picture: snowman Bart!

In Sweden Christmas Eve is the day when well behaving kids and dogs get their Christmas gifts. Being such a good dog Yatzie got more gifts than all the kids -  from the good hearted kids! The favourite was grandpas reindeer sausage that Yatzie picked out amongst all the other gifts. The problem was that it was actually for grandpa - Yatzie did not learn to read yet...

 

Yatzie knew who Santa Claus was behind the mask - a dear family member (psst, do not tell the children) and could not stop kissing til Santa almost fell in the stairs!

 

Below same video in two different formats - see what works best for you.

Yatzie playing with her Christmas gifts
Yatzie and I - matching in hairstyle and dress - with minimom Melise
Cosy Christmas feeling

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Etiketter: yatzie, christmas

Yatzie wishes all her friends a very Merry Christmas!

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  • Märta • 27 december 2010 18:07:55
    Vilken fin bild på Yatzie. Undrar just vad hon fått i paketet.
  • Lori van Handel • 24 december 2010 10:48:08
    Yatze and Elisabeth...we are thinking of you both from Cluny! We are so grateful for this recommendation for La Maison des Gardes. A Very Merry Christmas and we look forward to meeting you in the new year!

    Lori and Nancy
  • Thank you, I can imagine how cosy it is there now! Looking forward to seeing you in Holland!

    24 december 2010 15:48:00

-18 degrees this morning! Cold even for a viking woman! But Yatzie with her thick, long coat does not mind. She rolls around in the snow like always! Early this morming, while Yatzie was still sleeping (she is very morning lazy!), I saw two deers in the forest by our house. Later on Yatzie and I went walking over there and Yatzie found the place where the deers had been sleeping during the night. She was very excited, and sniffed and dug in there. Then rushed over the hills to look around for them but they were long gone...

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Yatzie's results Älvsjö International Dog Show: Quality 1, Comp 1, Cert Quality, BTKL 4, Reserv CACIB. Description: Good size, excellent type, feminine head, good dark eyes, could have stronger beard in her face, good ears, correct neck, balanced angles front and back, normal movements, good fur, nice temperament.

 

Congratulations Yatzie! I understood that the judge really liked Yatzie but was reluctant to her wavy head, which I am used to. He even told me afterwards: Could you not cut the fur on her head differently to give it a stronger appearance? I said Yatzie has a lot of the older blood lines in her where the curls are more open and wavy. And after all the Barbet must be presented in a natural, rustic way. Or next time maybe I should use my curler and some mousse on her head? :-)

 

There were many families visiting the exhibition that were interested in the Barbet, asking a lot of questions. Yatzie was more tired than normally and went to lie down in her cage a lot. To me it is a a good sign! I am starting to believe that she is really expecting...

Thanks Ola for the pictures!

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  • Désirée • 21 december 2010 17:24:23
    congratulations Elisabeth and Yatzie, on the good comments she got. Of course we already knew Yatzie is a gorgeous dog :-) I think next time maybe you can put papillottes in her hair before a show - it will make a cute picture at least - haha
    Love, Désirée
  • Geneviève et Django • 21 december 2010 09:28:09
    Félicitation à la belle Yatzie pour cet excellent résultat.
    Pour Django, pas de doutes , Yatzie est la plus belle des barbettes.
    Nous espérons aussi...Bravo encore et beau Noël
    Geneviève
  • Bart • 20 december 2010 17:59:18
    Watched the log at the airport on my phone. I'm leaving for Stockholm in 1 hour. Soon I'll be reunited with my two beautiful girls! Are "we" really pregnant!?
  • Ola Storbråten • 20 december 2010 10:07:12
    Hello
    Nice to meet you and Yatzie in Stockholm
    Congratulations with the feedback from the judges
    She is a very fine dog :-)

    Nice pictures by the way..

    Ola
  • Hi Ola, Nice meeting you too, and good luck with the to be new family member.
    /Elisabeth

    20 december 2010 10:19:43

Yatzie is fast asleep on her favourite doggy bed, dreaming about the down hill snow racing she just experienced with mini-mom Anna. Lots of snow on the empty, hilly golf course. Though it was 10 o'clock at night the snow made it seem so light, even the cloudy sky was in light colours. She needs her beauty sleep because tomorrow, Saturday, we are going to the international dog show in Älvsjö. Keep your fingers crossed for Yatzie!

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  • Bart • 18 december 2010 20:21:45
    Congratiolations Yatzie winning the first price in your category!

This evening when walking Yatzie she showed me that she wanted to say hello to her granma and granpa. So we did. The thing is they spoil her like they spoil their other grand children, and Yatzie knows it. This time grandpa Per-Arne went all the way down to the freezer in the cellar and pulled out a frozen reindeer bone for Yatzie. On my mother's side we have our roots in Lappland. Every fall my parents buy a whole reindeer from friends who are Lapps and own many reindeers. When jointing it some of the left over bones are kept in the freezer for the four legged family member who absolutely loves it! We had to leave quickly so Yatzie brought the bone in her mouth all the way to the car and there she happily chewed on it. What a dessert!

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See how he is smiling! Silas, Yatzie's golden neighbour in Danderyd, is madly in love with Yatzie. We have not told him about Django, he could not bear it. Silas is like a little boy, so playful, kind and sweet. But when it comes to Yatzies bones when he visits her at home - he steals them! A mischievous little boy he is! Despite Silas mom Willemien's help it was impossible to get a nice photo of Silas and Yatzie together. They would not sit still, Yatzie got bored, or the black and white combination caused exposure problems. A big mess, terrible photos, but I love his smile!

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Etiketter: barbet, yatzie, silas

This weekend Yatzie, Isa and Smilla visited the peninsula Bogesund, north of Stockholm, for a walk in the deep snow. We were surprised to find that there were skaters on the ice already, since around the city the ice is not yet strong enough. So we went for the first walk on ice this winter. Always a little scary the first days... but there were a lot of people around and we walked on safe paths. The dogs followed each other on excursions here and there. Little Smilla, who is a mix of dachshund and jack russel, did so well despite the snow. When she got cold she was warmed up inside Angela's jacket.

Isa - a Portugese waterdog - Yatzie's best friend

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Etiketter: barbet, yatzie, isa, smilla

On the 13th of December every year we Swedes celebrate Saint Lucia. In schools, churches, shopping centres, companies - everywhere there are processions with girls and boys dressed up in white gowns, candles in their hands, singing songs about Advent and Christmas. This year Anna, Yatzie's mini-mom, was the Lucia in her school Kevingeskolan. It was a fantastic performance. Yatzie did not do quite as well as Lucia I am afraid...

Swedish traditional lussebulle! Swedish traditional lussebulle!

Saint Lucia lived in Italy, in the 3rd century and she was a devout Christian. She refused to marry the pagan man appointed to her by her parents and was sentenced to death and tortured. To symbolise the blood shed, the Swedish Lucia wears a red ribbon around her waist. Lucia brings light and joy in the Swedish dark days of winter as we await the joy of Christmas. And last but not least Lucia brings Lussebullar, a traditional kind of bun made with saffron that every Swede eats a lot of this day and all through the Christmas period!

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  • kerstin neld • 3 januari 2011 16:10:14
    Vilka fina Lucia-flickor vi har Du och jag syrran!
    kram kerstin
  • Märta • 27 december 2010 18:04:13
    Hälsa Anna. Så fin hon var som Lucia.Krama Yatzie.
  • per arne kempemo • 14 december 2010 21:11:18
    Vilken fin bild på Anna. Yatzie är härlig som lucia Hälsningar pappa
  • Ruffa • 14 december 2010 14:48:18
    Yatzie, vilken fin hemsida du har fått! You're adorable! :)
    Nu har Ruffa skrivit om parningen på sin blogg också - so the word is out!

    Hoppas vi får till en stund för lek och bus i snön innan du far till Holland igen!
    /Ruffa
  • Bart • 13 december 2010 22:51:26
    Anna looks like an angel!!
Etiketter: barbet, yatzie, lucia, anna

Time to shower Yatzie. Three hours it took me to brush her this time! Her fur is so long now, more than 10 cm. Then shampooing and woops, the teddybear shrunk a few sizes! Yatzie enjoys the massage she gets when shampooing her, but she really dislikes the rinsing part, especially on her face. But she still obeys the command "gå till duschen" - go to the shower - and patiently waits for me to finnish. The drying off seems to be the best reward - she loves that! And one needs a few towels to get the water out. Then she dries totally over the night. In the mornings she gets a lot of cuddles - she is so soft and smells so good!

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  • Anna • 14 december 2010 15:06:43
    Det är mycket päls som ska torkas efter duschen! Vi använder en "dog towel" på Ruffa, och då behövs det inte lika många handdukar! :) Handduken är som en stor wettex-duk med extrem uppsugningsförmåga. Den kan även fuktas på sommaren och användas som en "avkylare" på en överhettad hund!

Today Yatzie came along to the city of Stockholm to do some Christmas shopping with me and mini-mom Anna. Yatzie is so relaxed in the underground, even when it is packed with people. She learned to travel on public transports when she was a puppy, accompanying me to my office in the city every day. We had lunch at NK, the only shopping mall in Stockholm where dogs are allowed everywhere - as well as the most exclusive one which is a perfectly natural combination! Yatzie behaved well in the shops, lied down and waited patiently. Reward - a nice bite of the ice-cream on top of Annas brownie!

 

Bought myself an early Christmas gift - a 50 mm Nikon lens for portraits. Anna tried it out on Yatzie on the way home - see the results below! Well done Anna!

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  • Désirée • 14 december 2010 15:37:35
    dear Elisabeth.
    I visit Yatzies blog every day and I absolutely loved these photos of her. Anna has captured her sweet face and lovely eyes so well. Sometimes we copy photos to our I-pod to look at and to show to people - this last one is definitely going on as well!!!
    Love. Désirée
  • Yes Désirée, Anna captured Yatzies sweet and quiet spirit i these pictures. Elisabeth

    15 december 2010 11:02:57

Sweet memories. One day Yatzie and Django went to visit a real French market with everything you could think of being sold. The animals and the food was of course the most interesting for the two. Hope you enjoy the movie!

Etiketter: django, yatzie, barbet

Today I made healthy liver goodies for Yatzie. Boiled the raw liver, cut it into small pieces and then dried it in the oven. I am trying to be very careful about what I feed Yatzie with, now that i expect she is expecting. Extra iron is needed.

 

Yatzie was very interested and of course tempted... it is almost a torture to be surrounded by that fantastic smell and unable to get to it. When Yatzie was a puppy she once tried to steal a piece of meat from the kitchen counter. I caught her in the act and told her it was not allowed. Since then she never did it again. Fabulous dog! So today I thought I could risk letting her take one piece from there. I put one small piece on the tip of the counter, pointed to it and said Varsågod (her go signal). She got her nose up on the counter, but saw that there were much bigger pieces, actually whole uncut ones, and of course choose one of those instead. Barbets are smart dogs. I got it out of her mouth (sorry Yatzie) after a little fight. Since I was the one who was unclear in my instructions to her I finally gave her a big part of it.

 

Now I have a lot of small bags with liver goodies for our daily walks and training. I usually put them in the freezer, even though I have dried them, since I do not dry them totally. They get so hard then. They stay fresh for 3-4 days. Yummie Yatzie!

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  • Désirée • 11 december 2010 10:37:28
    Dear Elisabeth. Of course i am following Yatzies blog with interest. This is another very cute one - and a good idea as well. I am planning to do the liver treats myself once we get our baby barbet :-) But... i read the phrase about Yatzie expecting - you mean its official yet that the mating was successfull???? I am still counting the days to know :-)
    Love. Désirée
  • Dear Desiree, We will not know until after New Year, long waiting. I changed the sentence not to create wrong impressions. Glad you follow the blog!

    11 december 2010 10:46:27

Etiketter: barbet, yatzie, liver goodies

Yatzie had not seen her best friend the portugese waterdog Isa for almost three months. When we approached the golf course this morning the sun was just rising above the horizon. Shadows were long and the snow was turning yellow. As soon as Yatzie saw the figure in the snow she knew who it was. She was yelling to get out of the car. A short tumble around in the snow, chasing a ball and Isa had to leave... Yatzie was disappointed and sat in the snow looking for her for a long time. We will soon see her again dear Yatzie! Fortunately we met a new friend, the flat Leija. Yatzie does not play with new acquaintances that easily but Leija was so playful that she got Yatzie going. What an amazing start of the day for both of us!

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  • Leia o Carin Zachrisson • 9 december 2010 14:56:22
    Det är verkligen från ett sagolandskap och vilka filmstjärnor, med och utan täcke !
    Tack !
    Sänder ett mail med bild !
  • Tomasz • 9 december 2010 09:48:55
    Amazing photos. Greetings from Poland.
  • Thanks, nice you found Yatzies blog even in Poland! / Elisabeth

    13 december 2010 12:52:51

Etiketter: barbet, yatzie, isa, leija, sunrise

Yatzie is so happy in the snow. She seems to find even more traces to follow than when the ground is bare. Just outside our apartment is a forest and we make short excursions there a few times a day. When the sun was setting the snow was glimmering so beautifully I had to bring my camera and capture it!

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  • Bart • 7 december 2010 20:39:27
    Fantastic pictures from a magic atmosphere!
Etiketter: yatzie, barbet

After two days on the road we reached our second home in Stockholm. It is full winter here and the Christmas trees are already lit in the garden of Hammarbacken where we live. We are looking forward to celebrating a white Christmas here with Yatzies and my Swedish family.

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  • esmee • 26 december 2010 10:11:35
    hoe gaat het elidabeth ik vind het heel leuk ik kijk elke dag naar je site en ik zit dit moment in oosterijk doei de groetjes aan yatzie
  • esmee • 17 december 2010 21:26:54
    deze nieuwe foto op barbet yatzie is ook helemaal leuk groetjes esmee
  • melise • 12 december 2010 17:53:30
    oh, yatzie är så vacker. Finns ingen finare hund <3
  • esmee frans • 11 december 2010 09:14:01
    frans is mijn vader en vind de site ook helemaal geweldig groetjes esmee en frans
  • Leuk. Groetjes Elisabeth en Yatzie

    11 december 2010 10:48:31

  • esmee • 10 december 2010 19:53:46
    lovely pictures elisabeth
  • esmee • 9 december 2010 07:59:25
    hallo elisabeth hoe gaat het met yatzie en is het een lieve hond diango groetjes esmee xxxxx
  • esmee • 8 december 2010 13:14:58
    de site is helemaal fantastice daaros wil ik de hele tijd maar schrijven elisabeth kiss esmee xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Dank u Esmee. Kisses from Yatzie and me!

    8 december 2010 16:23:41

  • esmee • 8 december 2010 12:42:54
    deze foto vind ik erg leuk hoe gaat het met yatzie en met jou stuur het via barbetyatzie oke doei
  • Ineke • 7 december 2010 22:04:47
    Hello sweetie, every night I visit your website to see if there are more photo's and stories about you two. Keep it up because it gives such a warm feeling to see all the beauty you catch with your camara, it makes me happy and I think many others.
    Have a wonderful time during the holidays and take also good care of my son in that cold climat of yours!!!
  • Johan Eneroth • 7 december 2010 18:58:45
    underbara foton!

Sweden welcomed us with a beautiful snowfall around midnight! Yatzie was thrilled and played her favourite winter game - steal a glove, then run - with mini mom Melise. Then it was nice to just chill together on the floor and relaaaaaaax!

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  • Melise • 8 december 2010 18:10:00
    vilka fina bilder, ser att du tog med två av bilderna jag tog :)
  • Ja, ni är så fina du och Yatzie, och det är klart vi ska skriva att du är fotografen på bilderna på Yatzie på golvet! Duktig fotograf!

    8 december 2010 21:23:41

  • Bart • 6 december 2010 16:32:12
    I`m sitting here with two lovely girls (Esmee and Katie, daughter of Mirjam!) They came by and walked Saartje. I`m showing them right now your nice site. They love it!
    Hello from all three of us.
  • Karin Mols • 6 december 2010 15:32:06
    Hej Syrran!
    Tack för titten. Hoppas resan hem gick bra. Vilka fina bilder på Yatzie och Melise!
  • Désirée • 6 december 2010 12:16:28
    Dear Elisabeth. That looks like fun times. Actually we had loads of snow in Utrecht as well and i was already thinking how cool that will be next year - playing like that. The picture of the two heads together - Yatzie and Melise - is absolutely gorgeous. Sooooooo sweet :-))

"Where have you been for so long?", said Yatzies neighbour the labrador Ruff and gave her a big hug. "So you did not read my blog? I met a fabulous guy in France, my heart is with him now. Sorry Ruff! But we will still play!"

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  • esmee • 28 december 2010 20:10:54
    hoi hoe gaat het met yatzie en met juo groetjes esmee xxxxx
  • Willemien • 4 december 2010 22:59:05
    Hej Elisabeth! Visste du att Sinterklaas även kommer hit till Edsviksvägen imorgon? Fast, det hinner du väll inte se, eller hur? Ha det bra, härligt att kunna följa dig på det sättet! Puss o kram, Willemien.
  • Geneviève • 4 december 2010 21:40:06
    Chaque jour, Django aussi reste devant la chambre nuptiale et attend que je lui ouvre la porte dans l'espoir d'y retrouver Yatzie, mais seule son odeur est restée....alors il hume le carrelage...
    Bien à vous
Etiketter: barbet, yatzie, ruff

Today Sinterklaas and all his Zwarte Piet helpers arrived at the childrens school. It was fantastic to see the joy in the faces of the children and to hear them sing the Sinterklaas song on the top of their voices. Yatzie also helped to bring some presents and got a kiss from her Dutch mini mom Margot!

 

This is the closest one gets to any kind of religious belief in Holland... Doesn't Sinterklaas look just like the present day Greek Orthodox Bishops? If I only had the pictures from the monastery in Greece I would post one right here and you could see how they resemble. But Yatzie never was a devil - she was always an angel! (See yesterdays blog post about the history of Zwarte Piet and you will know what I mean)

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Yatzies bonussister Saartje and nearest neighbour, the beagle Tupak, were playing around in the snow today. It is cold here in Holland, just as in the rest of Europe. But Yatzie loves it. Winter is her favorite season and she hardly ever gets cold in her thick coat.

 

Christmas comes earlier here in Holland. Every year on December 5 Sinterklaas comes with presents for the kids. Tonight we were wrapping gifts and Yatzie was sure they were all for her! Ever since she was a puppy I have wrapped things for her and she is terrific at opening packages. So of course I made one with some goodies for her as well.

What you did not know about jultomten

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.

 

Children in Holland dress up as Sinterklaas or Zwarte Piet during this period. Yatzie met a little Sinterklaas girl at the hockey field one day. See how curiously they look at each other!

 

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.

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  • Geneviève et Django • 2 december 2010 21:11:05
    Chère Élisabeth, chère Yatzie,
    Nous sommes heureux de vous savoir bien arrivées en Hollande.
    Nous nous faisions un peu de soucis avec l'épisode neigeux traversé...Plein d'espoir pour la suite des évènements!

A barbet book!

The first book about the barbet published in Europe is here! 308 pages, 300 photos, in hardback  for years of enjoyment. Order the book here: www.barbetbook.com. The book is available in English and Dutch and can be shipped to all countries!
Join the > Barbet Book Group on Facebook 
and share with other barbet book lovers!
Authours: Elisabeth Roest Kempemo and Brigitte Waller-Rengelink. 

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  • June • 4 juni 2016 16:31:26
    Beautiful Barbets! Has been a dream of mine for almost 10 years to have a Barbet of my own! Someday! ;)

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