First I must apologise to Spot for not announcing his passing of his puppy class. He did this when I was not updating so please don’t be offended Spot, we are just as proud of you!

Now for the toadstool Lagotto.

Funny Bella, also affectionately known as “Bully” (again from our last litter). She surprised her owner by bringing back a toadstool totally unblemished. This was a very nice coincidence for a truffle dog.

But a few weeks later she did it again, and we are thinking this isn’t a coincidence but perhaps a new hobby that Bella has taken up. This time her owners were wise enough to take photos to prove the act!

So her she is, “toadstool Lagotto Bella”!!!

The proud scholars and their diploma!


The fluffy one is Cash with owner Els.

Every now and then I finally do an update for this homepage. In the english side you can see "Dotjes" page. Zanna had also an update on the english side.
Gradually we will get there ;-)

Congratulations to Cash for passing his puppy class!!! Maybe his owner will give as a prity picture of him to show he's not only cleaver but also handsom :-)))

Still to come in near future updates in this diary pictures of Bella becoming a "toadstoel retrieving expert".

In the car and off to the bush!

My girls have a bad habit that I can really enjoy. They love to eat fruit, not a bad thing but it is when they stoop to beg for it. It’s all my fault since I give them the bits I don’t eat but are still totally ok for consumption.

With apples they get the core (minus the pips) and they crunch up their share looking so cute and the sounds they make are so funny. That’s is rather ironic considering the fact that if any person should sit close to me eating an apple in the same way it would really bother me.

In the garden we have a fig tree and it is now “fig time”. The girls have the uncanny ability to know when I pick the figs and keep a sharp eye out when and where I decide to “dissect” and eat them. The inside of the fruit is for me, the outside is for the girls who enjoy the delicacy as much as I do. I’m only too please that up till now they have the manners to wait for me to pick the figs and have my share. I know of dogs that would have no qualms picking and eating the whole fruit for themselves.

When on walks they love the black berries that are now ripe to eat. Walks are considerably longer in time with all the “fruit stops” at the moment.
A daughter of Tieka, Tiba owned by a friend of mine, was the first in our walking club to pick the black berries herself.
Now Zanna and Vaglie are good pickers themselves but prefer I pick them for them.
Tieka will only eat what I pick for her, can’t say I blame her. I wouldn’t want to risk my cute fluffy nose in such prickly plants either.
Kiwi will take any berries I give to her, rolls them around in her mouth and if they are not ripe and sweet enough spits them out to be eaten by a crazy Lagotto who are not so fussy as Estrelas.

Any fruits I like goes down well with the ladies. It all adds to the variety of their daily intake.

And some times their interest is not food but the tv or the computer. 2 months ago we got a thank you email from Zanna’s daughter for looking after her for a week when her owners were on holiday. It was a really cute card that said “thank you” in all sorts of weird voices. Kiwi couldn’t believe her ears and her head went from side to side in utter amazement as she watched the screen. Pity you cant see the movement in the photo but it gives a bit of an idea.

Its a long read but extreem food for thought about vaccinating.

http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/scienceVaccineDamage.html

How to get into a coconut?

Give it to the big dog and wait for her to open it..…


Doesn’t look like it’s going to work eh mum….


“look stop pestering me. I maybe bigger than you but I’m still just a baby ok!”


Ok lets try the hammer!


“Wow Vaglie look its open!”


“too bad you ate your piece so quick, mine still tastes soooooo good”

Our everyday walks usually consist also of fetching balls and swimming. I have decide if there is such thing as reincarnation I’d like to be one of my dogs.

Zanna and Vaglie waiting for the ball


And Tieka too, she is usually the winner of the ball chase and the others have the highest respect for Tieka when she is on the ball ;-).


Shake that body Kiwi!


3 dogs and only 1 ball… but lots of water!


Why not have 2 balls I hear you ask. Well it’s half the fun to try to get the ball before Tieka dose so it’s a 1 ball game.

This is Nina, one of the girls from Zanna’s first litter.

She just got back from holiday in Austria. Below a few pictures to prove she was in the mountains.

Her owners keep her in lovely shape so in typical Lagotto style Nina never tired and acted as if she spent every day of her life running for hours in the mountains. When finally back “home” at the end of the day she turned into a true couch potato proving the other side of a typical Lagotto.

Big brave Lagotto meeting “alp cow”


Nina had a special harness on so her owners could hold her while climbing steep mountain ranges. Me thinks Nina looks very professional in her mountain outfit :-).



What can I say, such a lovely photo.

Zanna, Tieka and Vaglie
After a heat wave the weather in Holland now is WET!
Nearly dry but couldn’t resist the silly photo.

Yep we got photos!

Up on the left you can see Luna’s behind. The white-brown puppy is Dono. Next to him roam brown brother Cash. Bottom the lovely cream white Croatian girl a month or so younger than Zanna’s pups.


Most of us people together, 5 out of 8 isn’t bad… but never a photo of all the dogs in one spot, there were 13 dogs pffff


Zanna and Tieka waiting for the ball. Clearly the start of the walk as only legs wet here.


Kiwi accompanying “Croatian girl” for her first swim in Dutch waters. She was a natural!


Thank you so much Els for the photos! Next time I will also follow the strict “list before you leave home” that Michel put you through so I can make photos too ;-)

Zanna’s puppies from march 2006 are growing up nicely. A happy friendly lot full of endless energy.

Every now and then we meet for walks with also “puppies” from earlier litters. These “Kakapo” walks are always lots of fun and great opportunities to take nice photos for this diary……. But I always forget to take my camera. Pffff. Finally today I had taken my camera with excellent intentions to make a good start again to keep up my diary again.

Yes today we had another “Kakapo” walk that we spent at Erkemederstrand. Here is their homepage for anyone wanting to go to a great dog beach that is open all year round http://www.erkemederstrand.nl

This time we even had extra special guests from the “van ‘t Wie Dach-ie kennel” who brought the cutest Croatian Lagotto puppy with them. She and Bella (alias Teddy) hit it off and after the walk they kept each other busy the whole time we were having dinner at the beach restaurant. They made typical “Lagotto noises” while teasing each other under the tables. If you have a Lagotto you’re bound to know what sounds I mean.

Cash and Dono made the usual “boy team” and played together during the whole walk. Boys will be boys and they can’t get enough of each other.

Youri, the big blond boy from Tieka’s second litter, was with us too along with his black poodle brother of 10 years. Its so nice to hold Youri’s large male head in your hands. Its so much more than my girly Lagotto heads. Much more fun to squeeze and cuddle, and he has the kindest expression.

Luna, Dono’s terrier sister, scuttles between all the much longer legged dogs enjoying being a member of such a large pack. She is very smart making extra sure she’s Kiwi’s friend. Its always a good idea to be friends with the biggest protector ;-) She used to be very close to my old Estrela Flecha and would cheer him on in any doggy disputes knowing she was backing up the strongest side.

Kiwi is always very glad to see “her Lagotto puppies”. When she meets them she rolls them around on the ground very pleased to see and tease them again. Bella and Kiwi clearly have the tightest bond. Whether it’s each others characters that fit together the best, or that Bella was with us for a longer time than the rest of the pups I’m not sure but it is very touching.

Vaglie, Tieka and Zanna are the “tennis ball girls”. The large pack is fun but it’s even more fun that there are more people to throw the ball for them. They run, swim, run, swim much more again and run till you would think it was enough…. And still they come back for more seeming never to tire.

After the walk the meal was great. Its fun to sit and talk with dog lovers.

It was a good turn out for the holiday time. And a good time to make photos…

IM SO SORRY BUT ……… when I turned on the camera the batteries were empty…. Waaaaa I could have cried. Hopefully Chase’s mum has made some nice photos to follow up this entry.
In the mean time 2 photo’s from a few months ago of the pups and owners in Groeneveld, a park near where we live.