Tolouse Biscay's Sapphire THD Earns AKC Therapy Dog Title The AKC Therapy Dog title, or "THD," launched June 27th as an official AKC suffix title and rewards dogs and their owners that have provided ongoing community service to help improve the well being of others. Congratulations to Tracey and Tug of Hoboken, NJ for being the first to earn this AKC title. When Tug and I became a Good Dog Foundation certified therapy dog team last August little did I know that one of the rewards would be an AKC title. It has been a very rewarding year. I have met some wonderful people (patients, families, and staff). It feels good to be making a difference. It is a fun activity that Tug and I do together. Tug was nominated for an American Humane Association Hero Dog Award (http://www.herodogawards.org) and we were included in the National kick off. When the AKC Title was launched on June 27th I collected my documentation and sent if off. Tug shows the many ways barbet are suited for the work. Tug is a great "ice breaker" and conversations often start with "What is he?" and can lead open, comfortable sharing with the patient about so much more. I've had a number of people tell me that they are not "dog" people, but they are "Tug" people -- there is nothing scary about our teddy bear. Tug's training, routine and gentle nature prepare him to interact with all types of people and he is "unflappable". Like many other barbet he has two speeds - on and off - so he can sit or lay quietly with patients or he his happy to play fetch (on leash, of course). He is unique, approachable, gentle, and balanced. If you have any inclination to volunteer as a therapy dog team, I highly recommend it! There are more opportunities than there are teams. Volunteers are needed in hospitals, clinics, schools, libraries, etc. so you can find opportunities to meet your interests and schedule. Some visits are ad hoc such as university visits during finals week. Others are scheduled once a month, twice a month, or weekly. To get started, go to the AKC site to find an approved Therapy Dog Certification Organization http:// www.akc.org/akctherapydog/organizations.cfm. How to Earn the Title: Qualifications To earn the AKC Therapy Dog title, you and your dog must meet the following criteria: 1. Certified/registered by an AKC recognized therapy dog organization. 2. Perform a minimum of 50 visits. 3. The dog must be registered with AKC FSS The Barbet Club of America is proud to introduce our new name. The Board voted to change our club name to be more in line with American Kennel Club breed club standards as we work towards official AKC recognition.
SHOWING YOUR BARBET IN UKC Sure, you ve seen the green carpet of the Westminster Kennel Club filled with outstanding dogs from all over the country, shown by professional handlers or their very skilled owners on television every February but did you know that there is a very family friendly series of shows that are only open to non-professional handlers and Barbet are welcome? Children as young as two are able to show their UKC registered dog in Junior Handling. You can even get a Temporary Listing number at the show so that UKC registration is not required, and the show secretary can help you select the proper class for your dog. Some UKC shows offer altered classes for neutered pets. Conformation judges the structure, appearance and movement of your dog. While your dog needs to lead easily beside you and stand for examination, conformation does not require the hours of training needed for agility, obedience or tracking. When you enter the ring, you will pose your dog in his best square stance. Then the judge will ask you and your competition to gait around the ring. Take it easy and don t go too fast. A nice, ground covering trot is all that is required. Next the judge will have you stand for examination and gait individually. Most of the time, the judge will ask for a down and back pattern. Pick a point in the direction that the judge points towards, and keep your eyes on it as your trot across the ring. This will help you stay in a straight line on your pattern. When you get the fence, slow down and gently turn your dog. When you start back to the judge, make sure that you have the dog trotting straight toward the judge. As you get back to the judge, stop and pose your dog. Many times the judge will make a noise to get your dogs attention to assess expression. That s it! Hopefully the judge will hand you a 1 st place ribbon that will qualify you to return for further competition. Even in Group and Best in Show competition, the ring procedure is the same. UKC shows are very informal and a neat, clean appearance is all that is needed for both you and your dog. Many families let the children show the dog in Junior Handling; the adult will exhibit the dog in the breed/age class. Read the rules and the United Kennel Club Dog Events forum at www.ukcdogs.com to learn more about shows in your area. The UKC website has everything you need to learn about registration and show schedules. Many UKC exhibitors have never seen a Barbet and are anxious to learn about them. Showing can be a fun way to spend the day with your best friend! Judy McMaster Descutner Hickory, PA Can/UKC Ch. Neigenuveaux s Ermagarde (Claire) and Judy at the Purina National in Toronto, ON Make Grooming as Enjoyable as Possible... For the Both of You! Grooming sessions should always be fun, so be sure to schedule them when your dog is relaxed, especially if she is the excitable type. Until your pet is used to being groomed, keep the sessions short just 5 to 10 minutes. Gradually lengthen the time until it becomes routine for your dog. You can help her get comfortable with being touched and handled by making a habit of petting every single part of your dog, including such potentially sensitive areas as the ears, tail, belly, back and feet. And here s one of our most important tips of all pile on the praise and offer your pooch a treat when the session is finished! ASPCA.ORG WE WANT TO PUBLISH YOUR DOG S PICTURES AND ACHIEVEMENTS! IT S TIME TO START TAKING PICTURES FOR THIS YEAR S CALENDAR! EACH MEMBER GETS ONE PICTURE OF THEIR DOG PUBLISHED FREE AND ADDITIONAL PICTURES ARE ONLY $5.00! EMAIL YOUR CANDID PHOTOS AND NEW TITLE INFORMATION FOR THE NEWSLETTER TO BARBETDOGS@GMAIL.COM
JOANNE CAMPAGNA ATTENDS AKC TRACKING SEMINAR Joanne and Finley at the tracking seminar in New York am trying to learn as much as I can to ensure Finley s success out there and to ultimately test for the TD (Tracking Dog) title. During the month of May, Biscay s Sebastian (Finley) and I attended a weekend seminar on Tracking. Our guest trainer for the event was Mike Clemens, an AKC Tracking Judge. Mike has been Tracking German Shepherds since the 1980 s and is author of Tracking From the Flag to the Glove. The weekend could not have been more perfect for canine nor worse for human. The torrential downpours made the terrain at Joseph Davis Park in Lewiston, NY, on the border of Canada, a quagmire. The dogs thoroughly enjoyed trudging through the waist high fields and water, the humans, not so much. The moisture actually helps keep the scent longer so the dogs are at an advantage in human scent tracking in this type of weather. Mike showed off his 2 Tracking German Shepherds and worked individually with each attendee both days. He was a hands-on trainer and quite informative, even to those whose dogs already carry the TD or TDX titles. His focus on the handling of the lead and the verbal repartee between dog and owner was incredibly helpful and truly aided many of us in being better handlers on the Track. As a novice to the AKC Companion Sport of Tracking, I Since Finley is the only Barbet in the US, to my knowledge, currently actively pursuing a Tracking Title, it was important for me to hear what an AKC Tracking Judge thought of his breed. Mike kept stating that I had a very nice dog and his nose to ground work was very encouraging. As with most dog sports we have tried, the weaker link is the handler me. Mike helped me adjust the movement of the lead and worked on my dialogue with Finley to ensure Finley was leading, not me. In Tracking, the DOG must pull the owner, the total opposite of any Obedience based training so lead handling and dialogue are key as the DOG must lead while the owner follows. I was privileged to have as much time as I did that weekend with Mike and tried to learn as much as I could from him. The experience and perspective of an AKC Judge cannot be understated. To further our beloved Barbet breed in the States, we need to build a base of responsible breed enthusiasts on both the conformation and the companion event terrains. Finley and I hope to test for his TD title in 2012. Happy Tracking! Joanne Campagna Buffalo, NY Would you like to participate in Meet the Breeds in New York City? Once again, the Barbet Club of America will be attending AKC s enormous breed expo, Meet the Breeds, held November 19-20, at the Javits Center in New York, NY. With an attendance of almost 20,000 people per day, we are able to present our rare breed to many interested dog lovers. Several Barbet are needed to be loved, touched and adored by show visitors. If you are available to come for a few hours or a day, please let me know. The show is great fun with most breeds of cats and dogs represented as well as a pet trade show. Judy Descutner barbetdogs@gmail.com http://www.akc.org/meet_the_breeds/
AKC JUDGES EDUCATION SEMINAR METAMORA, MI Tracey Schnabel reports on the AKC Sportinig Dog AKC Judges Education Seminar: The Barbet Club of America and the Barbet Fanciers Association of Ontario co-sponsored a ring at the Sporting Dog Seminars June 25 26, 2011 in Metamora, MI. We met with AKC and CKC judges to introduce them to the Barbet. We went over the breed standard, demonstrated movement, and discussed the breed Tracey and Tug completed retrieves for the water demo status in the USA. The judges asked questions and provided feedback. It was an educational weekend for all. The event was held at the Hunters Creek Club with beautiful ponds and ample field space. Each breed had the opportunity to participate in the water demos and the field demos so that the judges could see the dogs work. This is a really fun event! The judges selected 8-breeds each day plus each breed was able to run one dog in the field demo and the water demo. They organized it so that most breeds had judges on either Saturday or Sunday and the field demo was one day and the water demo the next. We had our judge seminars on Saturday. We took an informal "living room" approach where we invited the judges to sit under the tent while Paula Ballak went over the Standard. The judges took notes and asked many questions. Our standard is not precise so they wanted to know relative proportions. Paula explained that there is not a formula for height versus length, but that the dogs should be "slightly longer than tall". We gaited the dogs. The judges spent time going over the dogs and asking questions. We had 4 adult dogs and 2 four month old puppies. The judges we met were extremely complementary of the dogs. Sunday we decided to go with Tug (Toulouse Biscay s Sapphire) for the water retrieve because of the drive he was showing at the sound of the shot gun. I let the steward know he's green, which might have been apparent by my complete absence of technique, so he threw the bumper from the blind near where we stood. The steward said "pup pup pup" before shooting so that Tug could track the throw. Tug went right out so they did another from the side at the mid-point the same way. He did great. They did a 3rd was from a distant blind and the man tossing the bumper shot and threw without the "pup pup pup" and Tug did not get the mark. He kept staring at the pond. The man did another this time calling "pup pup pup" and Tug was on it.
HUGE BARBET ENTRY AT THE WORLD DOG SHOW, PARIS, FRANCE This year s 2011 World Dog Show in Paris, France was amazing. There were over 38,000 dogs in attendance and over 50 of those were Barbet! I believe this was the largest gathering of Barbet ever at a show. Countries such as Canada, Holland, France, Switzerland, Finland, Italy, and several others were there representing the Barbet. Two Barbet Club of America members, Stacy Able and Reserve Female Winners Female Judy Descutner, were in attendance but Barbet free. It was an amazing event to partake in as to see so many of this breed together under one roof was priceless. To me, everyone in attendance was a winner as so many traveled so far. The World Dog Show is an FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) sanctioned international dog show, starting in 1971. The show has something for everyone from conformation to agility among other demonstrations and events. Each year a different location and country is chosen. Next year s event will be in gorgeous Salzburg, Austria May 18-20, 2012. Of course while there I had to take photos which you can view the entire gallery at: https://picasaweb.google.com/ stacybrogan/ WorldDogShowJuly82011? authkey=gv1srgcn7wju7aztgb8ge Stacy Able Columbus, IN Best Young Dog Best of Breed World Dog Show Paris France 2011 Barbet Results Best of Breed: BATTERIKULLENS COME TO THE CABARET - Denmark Reserve Male: ALLIAS DE L ILE ROMANDE - Switzerland Winners Female: NELUM-HIMALIS CHERIE - Sweden Reserve Female: QUACIENDAS ALBA AQUA-AURA - Holland Best Young Dog: FLACON D PARIS OF NEIGENUVEAUX - Canada WDS Online Catalog: http://www.chiens-online.com/actualites-6440-les-resultatsdu-championnat-de-france-et-du-world-dog-show-2011.html Open Female Class
Barbet Club of America, Inc July 21, 2011 Meeting Minutes Meeting was called to order by President Stacy Able at 9:08 EST. Secretary Judy Descutner and Treasurer Carolynn Howsley were also in attendance. President s Report Stacy reports that Joanne Campagna has decided to resign as Vice President; we accepted her resignation. Treasurer s Report Carolynn reported that bank statements are in transition from Tracey to her. We have received a new member application from Nan Schleusner of Anchorage, Alaska. Our annual filing fee for Delaware will be due soon. Stacy asked Carolynn to contact Judy Munday to see what FSS paperwork she has. Member News Roni Kunstler of East Rockaway, New York reports that Ziggy completed the CGB (Canine Good Behavior) class. He just received his certificate last week. Filling Vice President position We discussed possible VP candidates. Tracey Schnabel was nominated and unanimously approved. Tracey is able to take the position of Vice President in September. Breeder Code Of Ethics We discussed adding verbage accepting foreign registries and practices in regards to hip registries. Change age of bitch to as near 24 months as possible. We will list current USA breeders who have signed our current code of ethics. Stacy will work with Tracey on the changes. Meet The Breeds Judy reported that this years Meet The Breeds will be held November 19-20, 2011 in New York, NY. We will be updating our booth to reflect a more artistic French theme. Dogs and their owners who wish to participate are being sought. Possible Match Show We have tentatively scheduled September 17-18, 2011 for a conformation match in Carlisle, PA to be held the same weekend as the UKC shows. Tracey Schnabel is chairing the match show. WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBER NAN SCHLEUSNER OF ANCHORAGE, ALASKA New logo/website/increasing site traffic We discussed how we could make our website better. We need more barbet specific information, a link to the Pawpeds site, maintaining our own registry of US Barbet, new layout and more professional pictures, a map showing where all dogs are. Stacy and Tracey will work on the new website. Summer Newsletter weeks. Judy reports that it will be sent out within the next two Calendar October 31 will be our deadline for picture submissions. We will have the same structure as last year where members can submit one picture free and additional pictures cost $5.00 Membership Stacy nominated Nan Schleusner for membership, Judy seconded. Motion approved. Meeting ended at 10:08 EST