Novaforesta Dolly

Dolly has settled into her new home brilliantly, she has two other dogs for company our Newfie Rosie, almost 10 and our Lurcher Tillie who is about 13 we think.

This all came about because it seemed the right time in our lives to ‘downsize’ and I had been looking for a smaller dog which had a similar character to Newfies, which we have owned and loved for over 20 years,. I read an article about the barbet in a book of breeds and was very interested they sounded ideal, and I wanted to see some. I searched the internet, found out all I could about the breed and liked what I read.

I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw Wendy and Julian’s website and discovered that they were not too far away from us so I phoned Wendy to enquire if we could go and meet them and their dogs. The rest, as they say, is history. I loved Betsy and Bepop and found them to be exactly as we’d hoped and knew this was the breed I’d been looking for. Lovely family dogs, lots of character, intelligent but laid back. The non-shedding coat, newfies shed by the bag load, and the fact that there were no known health issues were an added bonus.

Dolly has been superb; she is a very clever puppy, and learns quickly. She’s full of energy, particularly in the evenings, and we find it pays to channel it into learning, and playing games where she’s having lots of fun but having to think a bit as well. Lots of water dog traits, loves to ‘puddle’ in the water bowls, drink out of the tap, helps me most vigorously watering the pots.

We must wait about 10 days now, her second lot of injections were yesterday, then she can go into the big wide world in earnest. Can’t wait to get her to the river, I know just the place for a little puppy to start.

At the end of the month we are going to beginners training classes, with mostly other puppies, so that should be lots of fun; then we’ll decide what we’ll try next - could be Working Trials, or Agility (my grandson is keen on this one). Wendy made all the pups members of the Gundog Club so there’s another avenue to explore.

She is a terrific character and although only small has made a huge impact in our home. She’s lovable, full of fun and mischief, clever, independent and determined. Already she is doing a good recall - as long as I’m not too far away, she sits, downs, however we are not being too clever on the retrieve, but slowly it’s coming together. It’s now up to Richard and I to do our bit well.

Jilly & Richard, Hampshire, UK