TOUCHDOWN, not talking about a football game

Justy is pregnant and Dapper scored the winning goal. I remember the words to a song that we used to sing with our children when they were small. HAVE PATIENCE, HAVE PATIENCE, DON'T BE IN SUCH A HURRY. HAVE PATIENCE, HAVE PATIENCE YOU'LL ONLY START TO WORRY. Well patience has paid off and we should expect puppies in late October. We did confirm this morning with an ultrasound at our vet clinic. Our website has pictures of both parents to be, Justy is on our "family & friends" page and Dapper is under "our dogs".

Arine's First Show

Brighthope attended the Oakville & District Kennel Club conformation dog shows this past weekend. Two shows on Friday, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. We thought it would be fun to get Arine out as a puppy and let her get a taste of the dog show world. Eclat was entered and Kim and Pat also entered Dax (Eclat's brother) as well. Whenever there are more then two Blues at a show, we always hear comments about this being a specialty for the Blue Picardy. :-) Arine is maturing nicely but we were still a little bit surprised when she took Best Of Breed at the first show and absolutely thrilled when the judge gave her Best Puppy in Group. This is only the second time in Canada that a Blue Picardy has won a puppy group, our Ciron being the first. Dax took the breed at the second show on Friday and Arine was given Best of Breed at the Saturday and Sunday shows. It was a fun weekend and we are very proud of our Dutch import, Arine. Her breeder in Holland will be thrilled with the news as well. Hats off to the Oakville club for a good show.

One Smart Blue

And one proud breeder. "Brighthope Time To Dance" aka "Indigo" has completed her Canadian Companion Dog title, she will now have the initials CD behind her name. Indigo was born on Sept. 29, 2008 here at Brighthope. Her dam, our beautiful Nola and her sire, that handsome boy Tristan who belonged to the late Kim Spelmer. Indigo was "puppy #5" and had 9 littermates. She was our pick of the litter and was still here with us when John and Sharon contacted us about the Blues. We were thrilled to let this puppy go to them. John and Sharon had bred Flat Coated Retrievers and decided that it was time for a new breed. So puppy #5 was renamed Indigo and went to live with John, Sharon and Elijah. Sharon's sister, Cheryl, and their son Elijah are Indigo's trainers and they have nothing but praise for this little Blue. Indigo is the second Blue in Canada to earn a CD. Morgan who was owned by Don and Kathy Fath in Alberta was the first. From here on in any higher level obedience titles that she receives will be a first for a Blue Picardy in Canada. And her owners and trainers have no doubt that she will move on in obedience. So you can see why as Indigo's breeder I am so proud and thrilled for her. I am certainly seeing the Blue Picardy as a very versatile breed. Yes they are excellent in the field as pointing dogs but I see much more for this relatively new breed here in Canada.

Mother Nature

Mother nature and Brighthope are fighting right now. Not an all out brawl mind you, but we are having words. If you ask any breeder they will always tell you that they are thinking 1-3 years down the road as to what they are planning for the next breedings. Beautiful Justy and handsome Dapper are planned for the next breeding here at Brighthope. Justy does not have regular cycles but we figured she would be in season in June and so we planned our summer accordingly. This is where mother nature kicked in and has control of the situation. So we are waiting patiently for Justy and of course I haven't told Dapper that he is getting the call this time so he is none the wiser. We have a breeding planned between Allure and Ciron, this is a repeat breeding that produced some lovely puppies including our gorgeous Eclat. Little Arine is growing into a lovely young girl and if all goes "according to plan" she will be bred to Ciron in the next year or so. So here at Brighthope we have lots to look forward to. We always welcome your visits to meet our pack and learn about the breed. Be sure to make note of our new email address. After a couple of months of on again off again problems, I have a new server, and just to complicate matters even more, I also have a new computer. And no, I am not a techy person so this is not exciting. Off to continue my discussion with mother nature.

New Email Address

We have recently changed our email address and will now be receiving emails at bluepicardyspaniel@gmail.com

Please update your Brighthope Kennel contact info with that addy--Thanks!!

What a Thrill!

Tired, but happy, Picardies!

The 2012 Blue Picardy Spaniel picnic was a great success!

The rains came BUT the sky cleared just in time for all the Blues and their owners to enjoy a great afternoon. We had 39 people and 24 Blues. To have that many Blue Picardies all in one spot was such a thrill for me as there are only about 250 or so in North America.

 It was great to meet little 3 month old Alex who came with his parents Dave and Dana to meet the relatives of his "big brother" Maverick. Dani at 11 years plus was our oldest Blue to attend and 5 month old Remy was the youngest. We even had two families, one from Michigan and one from Aurora who don't own a Blue but came to meet and learn about the breed.

 I also need to mention how blessed I am to have the best kennel help available, my other half Dave, has spent many years fixing this and repairing that so that our dogs are safe and secure. When I asked about putting up new fencing, Dave got to work and started the project. When I said I would like it finished for the picnic, I did get "the look" but the fenced was completed and the visiting Blues had 2 new acres to explore and play in. Thanks again Dave, I couldn't do this without you.

 Of course our granddaughter Katelyn and her friend Taylor made sure that desert was provided for the picnic. The 2012 Blue Picardy cupcakes were a big success, thanks Katelyn. Dave and I certainly enjoyed the day, it is always great when "our puppies" and their people come to visit. The Blue Picardy is a lovely breed and we think that all their owners would agree.

Still having issues with my computer, and I will have to post additional picnic pics at a later time, so ...stay tuned :-)

2012 Blue Picardy Spaniel Picnic

Let's go! It's PICNIC TIME!!!

The Brighthope Blues are gearing up for this weekend. Some are getting haircuts and everyone is getting a bath, WHY? 
Because their relatives are coming for a picnic and they want to look their best. Actually they really could care less how thay look, they just want to have a good time, it's the two legged pack member that thinks they should look good.

Yes, the Blue Picardy Picnic is just days away. What do you do when you have 25-30 Blue Picardies and their owners all in one place? Well you eat, talk about your Blue, play some games, take lots of pictures and talk about your Blue. At the last picnic one person was over heard commenting that "they thought their Blue was not very well behaved, until they saw someone else's Blue steal a hotdog off someone's plate".

Come and celebrate the Blue Picardy Spaniel with us.

Arrival time 11am

Lunch served at 12:00

Bring your lawnchairs

Saturday June 9th here, at Brighthope Kennels

Looking forward to seeing all our puppies and their people. You are welcome to attend even if you do not have a Blue, but would like to learn more about the breed.