Coccolina

Lucky 13, birthday boys…and girls!

BARBET, Barbets en Bresse, Breed threatened with extinction, Coccolina, , , , , ,

Ch- Compay II ( Segundo), like the singer, is celebrating 13 years of a nice healthy fulfilled life surrounded by his mom, Coccolina ( 15 1/2) his progeny and our 5th generation. What more can you ask for? Rejoice and dance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBd4CWNPJ-I

Happy birthday wishes to his sisters Che and Cori, whom I see as often and possible. ChiChi and Colleen in Scandinavia. Caya in Le Havre France.

And a special thought to Cooper and Charly who are up there looking at us…

..and Cooldady who is now a retired Guide dog from the Lyon school.

The Vieux Griffon Barbet is threatened with extinction and not to be confused with a Barbet Moderne.

My 3 musketeers 3 years later

BARBET, Barbets en Bresse, Breed threatened with extinction, Coccolina, Old line from Mrs Pêtre, , , , , ,

Here’s the short version of the 3 lil’ musketeers who grew up happily.. well, 2 of them since the 3rd disappeared off the radar.  Everyone is happy to get their pup and so happy to have a real Barbet of the old line.. and Barbet 2 on D-day starts to negotiate the price..so, she won a few€ for her pleasure and off she went. A few weeks later, I get a call at 9.30pm..her vet said a testicle was not there and blablabla (not true).. and I said,  “well, I’d have to see it.” And off the radar she went. So, morale of the story? If someone does it now? I send them straight to our professional breeders who will sell by color, and a female if you want. No no, no go with me. I get these calls regularly and off they go to get a dog by the name of Barbet Moderne. Ladida. I ask them and do not even spend time answering. And yes, I do understand that they have not a clue beyond the word “Barbet”..and the name is all they want. Not for me.


Just a barbet..

BARBET, Barbets en Bresse, Breed threatened with extinction, Coccolina, , ,

 

The Vieux Griffon Barbet situation in the world..has nothing to do with the Barbet Moderne, which is a bottomless pit of renewing itself and stock.  When people contact me because they want a Barbet(just a Barbet)..I tell them I do not make “barbet”, I am working on /with what is left of a centuries’ old breed for the people around me who can appreciate the breed and not look for financial gain in the dog they may get. It’s a lot of hard work, sacrifices and research to do the job and yes, it’s going to cost a bit more than just a barbet. People who call me and ask for the price before engaging in a conversation can generally go to the merchants who are more likeky to negotiate. There are many and they are generally a dime a dozen.  If it’s just the name of the breed..pass your way. Socutesonice.

Trucking along… wonderful Coccolina!

BARBET, Barbets en Bresse, Breed threatened with extinction, Coccolina, Old line from Mrs Pêtre, , , , , ,

She is happy, aware, eating well. So far, so good. I hope she makes it to 15 1/2..and beyond. She is in the pedigree of nearly 3000  dogs todate. I’d venture to say she is the biggest contributor to the old breed/Vieux Grifffon Barbet..alive today. The old breed will die, but it won’t be for her not contributing, but from very improper selection ( just to refresh Poodle blood).

May Day..May Day.

BARBET, Barbets en Bresse, Breed threatened with extinction, Coccolina, CONSERVATOIRE DU BARBET, Hunting/retrieving work, Old line from Mrs Pêtre, , , ,

One of the pictures  was found on the net, on a public page. It is so sad to see what people do to breeds. It has left me speechless ( not for long, tho). I happen to know all the pedigrees in the breedS ( Vieux Griffon Barbet/Barbet Moderne). When I see a strange picture, I start wondering how the dog came about. I can visualize the dogs in the pedigrees. This is 15 years of work and archives to study.

If more worried about what they were producing and selling, it would not be such a mess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the right Ashley and my Coccolina. They both measure 50cms. The curly black and white male on the left is Ashley’s son. He is on the small side and the light structure comes out in the picture at the top  (another male, with Coccolina in the pedigree). If you do not know what you are working with, you end up with these catastrophes and the breed degenerates. Then, it all goes haywire. After 5 generations of selection and work for the old/Vieux Griffon Barbet, I can sort of say.. I do not need a database to know what is going on. Why are people not more interested in facts?

 

 

Vieux Griffon Barbet: 100 left in the world..and dwindling.

Barbets en Bresse, Breed threatened with extinction, Coccolina, CONSERVATOIRE DU BARBET, HERCULE di Barbochos Reiau de Prouvenco, Old line from Mrs Pêtre, Rare breeds, Ulysse, , , , , , ,
When I got into the breed, of Vieux Barbet or Vieux Griffon Barbet..I was told to stay away from the Poodle lines. They go back 100+ years ( we’re talking Wycliffe/Apiele et al).
Not all lines had Poodle in them, they do now. It’s a question of getting the type out.
An F1 litter when crossing lines as one does today is going to be a pot-pourri of all the breeds in the 2 dogs. They will be cuteandnice but useless down the…line. Unless you know your lines and not many do.
Not all lines have SWD. You can see which do.
All lines have PWD.
Some lines have IWS. It is the only line that helped as it is similar to the Vieux Griffon Barbet, when you know how to select. I know all the pedigrees back to when they made the first ones.
You don’t always inherit from the parents, but from their siblings. Keep that in mind if you do not know what they look like.
There is a bunch of still, hidden stuff like there was in ALL breeds many years ago. Suffice to ask Pro- breeders. They know. By that I mean OLD breeders not recent ones.
I have always tried to keep one or two puppies of each litter ( I have not had many, it’s not possible) to see how they grew under my roof, not dispatched and brought in for breeding.
Dealing with a nearly extinct breed is a sacrifice and passion, contrary to what some may think, is not a money making affair. It’s trial and error.
Here you have 60 dogs in my line which comes from the oldest line which is Italian, along with the one which was in the south of France.
 I can go back to the 30’s with type and you can go further with history. I have.
If you use Poodle history you will be hard put to claim a line. That’s is unless it is a Poodle line>> Barbet Moderne. It is not an ancient breed…it was created in the 1980’s in France.
Now if you breed, and claim “genetic diversity..”.. I would ask of what? Why?
What is your breeding goal and do you have a breeding plan, down the line and why have we never heard of it?
That is, with the fact there are less than one hundred of the Vieux Griffon Barbets alive today.They are not easy to come by.
Last but not least I have DNA going back 7 generations. My oldest Barbet is 15 and my youngest is 3.
It’s been 20 years now. I have most of the archives and 5 generations under my roof, going on 6, I hope.
it’s a labor of love and devotion.
The man on the moon, didn’t just fall there!