Berrypoint's Newfie News

Fall 2011 Update

2011-12-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas with luck and happiness in the New Year.

Summer 2011 Update

2011-08-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Berrypoint’s Dani turned 10 years old in August. We get wonderful updates from her owner. Dani and her “mom” volunteer at their local library.

A few months ago I purchased a booster bath. We had used one at the Canadian nationals and I thought it was wonderful. Years ago Bob had set up a great outdoor bathing area for the dogs, but this device is so easy and so light to move around. Lincoln and Jackie both enjoy sitting or standing in this while being bathed. We continue to do our tracking. All of the kids have come home during the summer for a visit and all have been giving extra attention to the newfs…they love it.

Spring Update 2011

2011-05-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

We have collected all of our saliva swabs for the cruciate study going on in England. Owners who had dogs related to ours kindly participated in the study as well.

It has been a very wet and cold spring but we were able to get out and lay a few tracks in our endeavor to master tracking. Lincoln received his OFA clearances for heart and patellas. We also submitted his swabs for the OFA DNA data bank.

Winter 2011 Update

2011-01-23T17:12:00.000-08:00

We have been spending time with my parents over in Richmond. The newfies have been well cared for by my husband and friends. Renée and Mike came out to visit during the holiday season and spent many hours outside walking with the dogs.

Summer Update

2010-09-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Summer shows were put on hold as Bob and I went to Europe for a few weeks. My sister kindly looked after and spoiled the dogs. While we were in Amsterdam we visited Willem Wijnberg and his lovely wife along with their berner Dingo and newfie Jessie. Members of our BC Newf Club had been asked to submit headshot photos of their dogs as Willem had kindly offered to paint 4 of the photos of which were auctioned off at the Canadian Newfoundland Specialty held in Chilliwack of this year. The money was then donated towards canine cancer research. One of the photos he chose was of our dear Maxwell. Needless to add but I bid on the painting, had it framed and it is now hanging in our living room. We had a nice visit and I was able to thank Willem personally for the wonderful painting he did of my Maxwell. Willem showed us his studio and his subjects are all so realistic. It was an honour to have met Willem and our visit with him was one of the highlights of our trip.

There is a study going on in England in regards to Newfoundland dogs and cruciate ruptures. We have been busy collecting saliva swabs on our dogs. We hope there will be some findings as to the cause of this dreaded ailment that seems to be affecting so many of our wonderful breed. I guess we have been lucky in the sense that only one of the twelve dogs we have owned ever had a cruciate injury (we purchased him as a breeding male but never bred him and had him neutered). The study compares the DNA of dogs that have had cruciate injuries to the DNA of dogs who have not had any cruciate symptoms over the age of 5 years.

We wish you a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

Spring 2010

2010-06-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

In April, Storhode’s Link to Berrypoint (Lincoln) attended his first show at the Canadian Newfoundland Specialty, which was held in Chilliwack, BC. He placed first in his Senior Puppy Male Sweepstakes class on Friday. On Saturday, Lincoln placed first in the Senior Puppy Male Class. The Canadian Specialty had not been hosted in BC since 1986. It was a great opportunity to meet many people from all over Canada and the US.

Show season has started here on Vancouver Island. Lincoln placed Best of Winners in two of his 3 days at the Tyee Show and placed second in his puppy sweeps class. At the next show in Black Creek he took reserve for his 2 days out and placed second in his puppy sweeps class.

Tracking is on our agenda for this summer. Both Lincoln and Jackie are sporting new tracking harnesses and getting accustomed to wearing them. As always, we keep practicing our obedience. Once the weather gets a little warmer, I’ll be ready to take the newfs to the beach.

Wishing you a safe and happy summer.

Lincoln at the BC Regional Specialty

2010-04-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

Click the video to watch Lincoln at the BC Regional Specialty in the Senior Puppy Class at 11 months of age. Hope you enjoy it!

Winter Update

2010-02-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

Winter weather has certainly been kind to us this year. Yes, we have had some rain but we haven’t had any of that white fluffy stuff...although I guess if one were a newfoundland dog then one would find enjoyment playing and frolicking in it.

Lincoln excelled in his puppy classes and graduated onto Beginners’ class. His show debut will be taking place soon and we have been practicing our free stacking and focus exercises. We still have some leash work to perfect but he seems to be enjoying all the treats. He is now 9 months old and ever so sweet. We were at the vet’s office for his rabies shot and he weighed in at 120 pounds and 27 inches at the withers (not too big and not too little – just right).

Jackie enjoys swimming but is on hiatus until the spring. We get jelly fish in our waters beginning mid August and then with the colder weather in the fall and winter I have not taken her to the beach. Jackie would go in but I am a warm water kind of person. She does however spend countless hours playing in the streams on our property.

Taylor has had a good winter. He is the babysitter for our bichons. There are huge ravens, owls and eagles that fly overhead and I always feel better with Taylor outside guarding the little white ones! We all have duties to do here and his are to watch the bichons and in the summer/ fall to keep the deer away from the apple trees. Oh yes and he demands lots of snuggles...the least we can do to keep the big guy happy.

One of the newfies’ and bichons’ buddies, Narnee, our 16 year old cat passed away a few days ago. He was so gentle with all of our little ones…whether they were baby ducks, baby turkeys, chickens and/or puppies. His patience especially with puppies was phenomenal.

Spring is just around the corner and the dog show season is just about to commence. Happy Spring everyone!

Video

2010-02-11T18:37:00.001-08:00

To view our latest video, please click on the February Latest Video option on the right side menu. Enjoy!!!

Latest Video

2010-02-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Fall 2009 Update

2009-12-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

2009 was a special year for Berrypoint Kennel. Lincoln, Maxwell’s grandson, joined our family. The Landseer pup and Maxwell were inseparable over the course of the summer. Max was patient and kind with the young and excited puppy. This past fall was symbolized by a changing of the guard at Berrypoint Kennel. Sadly, we lost Maxwell and Scarlett. Max celebrated his 12th birthday this summer. Scarlett enjoyed snuggling with stuffed animals and squeakies right until the end. We miss our Max and Scarlett. A friend said that time will help heal the sting we feel. Maxwell and Scarlett remain in our hearts forever.

On a happier note, Lincoln attended puppy classes. He was ever so sweet with his "classmates" and numerous comments and chuckles were made weekly about his growth rate. We entered Jackie as a Special in two island shows and she took Best of Breed each day. She even made the cut for group. This girl loves the show ring. We also had Jackie attend her first USA show in Bremerton and she took WF on her first day out. Taylor was occupied this summer keeping the deer out of the front yard. He is very protective of his apple trees and this year we were able to eat more apples than the deer!

As we head into 2010, we look forward to spending time with our dogs and making more memories. Lincoln will be making his show debut. We will be entering the Canadian Newfoundland Specialty, which is being held during Easter weekend up in Chilliwack BC. And if all goes as planned, we should have a litter of little ones late in the spring.

We wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.