Barbet Club of America
Member Updates - March 2016
AKC Miscellaneous...Now What?
One of the goals of the BCA is to gain full recognition for the Barbet in the Sporting Group of the American Kennel Club. From 2009 when just 30 Barbet were known in the United States, we have come a long, long way! Following AKC's Road to Full Status checklist, our club has achieved many milestones to bring the breed into Miscellaneous. These include:
- Members have registered imported dogs and all litters with AKC FSS
- Earned AKC titles on their dogs in conformation, rally, obedience, dock diving, agility, therapy, and Canine Good Citizen
- Participated in numerous Meet the Breeds, Judges Education, and Responsible Dog Days events
- Partnered with Club Barbet Canada to enroll the Barbet in CHIC Canine Health database
- Maintained membership in the club and conducted regular club meetings
- Produced newsletters, calendars, and club correspondence
- In 2015 the AKC accepted the Barbet into Miscellaneous, the next step towards full recognition.
- The Barbet Club of America was named by the AKC as the Parent club for the breed
- BCA comittee wrote the American Barbet standard that conforms to the AKC's guidelines.
- BCA club and board voted to move the Barbet from FSS to Miscellaneous as of January 1, 2017.
What exactly is Miscellaneous status?
At nearly all AKC dog shows, there are class offerings for dogs in Miscellaneous, judged by breed with class placements, and a selection of Best of Breed and Best of Opposite. Best of Breed winners compete for Best in Miscellaneous. Competition ends with this group win; Miscellaneous winners do not compete for Best in Show. Breeds will stay in Miscellaneous for a minimum of one year; usually longer while more dogs earn AKC show and performance titles, litters are registered with AKC, club membership is enlarged, and the club hosts events. The BCA will hold several open shows for all FSS breeds during this time. While in Miscellaneous, Barbet will continue to be shown in all AKC performance events. Juniors are also eligible to show Barbet in Junior Handling. Instead of only being able to show at the FSS Open shows, Barbet will now be able to enter at most AKC conformation events. Miscellaneous is an exciting step in the process of getting full recognition in the Sporting Group for the Barbet!
Barbet in the AKC CHIC Program
by Stephanie Dixon
In February of 2012 the Barbet Club of America, in cooperation with Club Barbet Canada, joined the AKC Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) program. CHIC has established a centralized canine health database that is maintained in a secure environment by qualified staff at the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals or OFA.
The event marked a milestone for the breed in North America. The OFA’s open database provides reliable, documented health information to owners and breeders of Barbet and supplies scientists with information that supports research into canine disease. The breed specific requirements for a CHIC number as set forth below are straight forward and reflective of the data that has already been collected on our breed. As health priorities within our breed change, as more data is collected and as new tests become available, the requirements for a CHIC number can be modified and updated.
The requirements in order for a Barbet to receive a CHIC number are:
OFA Evaluation or
OVC Evaluation or
PennHip Evaluation
Elbow Dysplasia
OFA Evaluation or
OVC Evaluation
Eye Examination by a Board certified ACVO Ophthalmologist
Minimum age 12 months, recommend CAER eye exam (OFA Eye Certification Registry) prior to onset of breeding and then periodically thereafter ie, every 1 - 2 years).
DNA Profiles registered with AKC or UKC recommended.
To qualify for a CHIC number each Barbet must be permanently identified by microchip or tattoo. In addition, they will need to meet the requirements as set forth above and their owners have to agree to have their dog’s results registered and published publicly on the database. What is very exciting about this program is that test results do not have to be normal in order for a Barbet to receive a CHIC number.
Presently very few DNA profiles are actually on file for Barbets in the OFA system. Going forward, as new applications are received using AKC numbers, a DNA profile on file with the AKC will be part of the information that is transmitted back to the CHIC program. For existing dogs, there is no automated method in place for CHIC to collect this information. Barbet owners can email CHIC with their dog’s DNA Profile information, their dog’s name and registration number, and CHIC will add the DNA Profile number to their record.
As the numbers of Barbet that receive CHIC numbers increase, breeders will have a large database available to them that documents the health status of individual Barbet and all of the tested dogs that are related to them, ie, siblings, parents, offspring. With this information our club will more accurately be able to identify the prevalence of these diseases in the Barbet as well as work towards reducing their occurrence in the breed.
As of February 2016 there are 61 Barbets with CHIC numbers and 131 Barbets listed in the OFA database.
It is important to understand that the OFA database is an “informed consent” database. Unless the owner releases information to the public the results of all tests are kept confidential. There is still tremendous value in submitting the results of a Barbet’s tests if they are not normal and if you do not wish to obtain a CHIC number. By having these results submitted, all information obtained on the dogs will be collected for statistical reporting purposes. These dogs will not be individually identified.
For more information about the CHIC program please consult the following website: http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/
Barbet Appears in New AKC Breed Book
Welcome to our New Member!
Janet VanArsdale
San Diego, CA
AKC Title Earners
New AKC Rally Novice Title
AKC FSS Show Calendar
Arrowhead Kennel Club Scottsdale, AZ March 25, 2016
Scottsdale Dog Fanciers Association, Inc. Scottsdale, AZ March 26, 2016
Kooikerhondje Club of the USA Concord, NC April 02, 2016
Peruvian Inca Orchid Club of the Untied States Moses Lake, WA April 15, 2016
Mudi Club of America Moses Lake, WA April 15, 2016
Trenton Kennel Club, Inc.W Windsor Twp, NJ May 08, 2016
Trenton Kennel Club, Inc.W Windsor Twp, NJ May 09, 2016
Illinois Capitol Kennel Club, Inc.Springfield, IL May 21, 2016
Langley Kennel Club Hampton, VA May 26, 2016
Greenwich Kennel Club Norwalk, CT June 11, 2016
Longshore-Southport Kennel Club, Inc. Norwalk, CT June 12, 2016
Northeastern Maryland Kennel ClubWest Friendship, MD July 08, 2016
Upper Marlboro Kennel ClubWest Friendship, MD July 09, 2016
National Capital Kennel Club, Inc.West Friendship, MD July 10, 2016
Rolla Missouri Kennel ClubGray Summit, MO September 23, 2016
Cornhusker Kennel Club of Lincoln, Nebraska, Inc. Lincoln, NE October 08, 2016
Cornhusker Kennel Club of Lincoln, Nebraska, Inc. Lincoln, NE October 09, 2016
Judy Descutner, Editor
Email: barbetclubofamerica@gmail.com
Website: barbetclubofamerica.com
Phone: 724-344-6468
Facebook: facebook.com/barbetclubofamerica