The Barbet is a breed of dog, it is a medium-sized French water dog. It was taken out of the gun dogs (7th group) in the mid- 80's.

History

The Barbet breed is an integral part of dog history, and many familiar breeds have Barbet in their ancestry. Depending on geography and necessity, the Barbet connected through the centuries in various capacities, and as a companion dog, but more as an all-around working dog. The name Barbet became throughout centuries a "generic" name for a dog with a long woolly coat The Grand Barbet de Buffon (1750)is thought to be the original source of the various water dog breeds (Poodle, Portuguese Water Dog, American Water Spaniel, and so on). Its actual origin is lost in antiquity but probably stems from corded herding stock and definitely Griffon hounds (griffons are dogs with hair over their eyes and a beard). The breed is gaining popularity in Scandinavian countries and North America as more and more people are becoming interested in this all-around working dog or just as a pet. The Barbet is a French water dog and the breed's name "Barbet" comes from the French word barbe, which means beard. It has been said that the French Royals had hunted with Barbets. The Barbet has also worked as sailor's assistants, much like the Portuguese Water Dog. The versatile nature of the Barbet has meant its survival, and today's Barbet still has the assets attributed to it from the past and the Barbet origines and bloodlines can be traced back to the writing of the first standard in 1891. There are very few Barbet in the United States. Estimated as of 2009 are less than 47 known Barbet. Steps are being taken to slowly increase Barbet in the States. Currently, Barbets may be fully registered in the United States with ARBA or the UKC, and there has been a recent acceptance in the AKC Foundation Stock Service Program. According to the AKC, to get full recognition there needs to be at least 300 Barbet to apply. Every Barbet registered with the AKC FSS program is helping the Barbet get to that goal. In 2007, there were 8 Barbet born in the United States with the common color being black and secondary is brown. The year 2008 had no Barbet births in America. Currently for 2009, there has been one litter of 6. 

Appearance and Size

The breed stands 58 to 65 cms (20.5-25.5 inches) for the males in height, 52 to 61 for the females with a tolerance of 1 cm +/- and weighs 17 to 28 kg (35-60 pounds). Many breeders are trying to keep its original morphology by keeping the height at the lower end of the scale. The Barbet is a prototypic water dog, with a long, woolly and curly coat. Their coats grow long and must be groomed regularly, otherwise the Barbet may lose small tufts of hair like tumbleweeds. The accepted colours of the breed are solid black, brown, fawn, grey, pale fawn, white or more or less pied. All shades of red-fawn and pale fawn are permitted. The shade should, preferably, be the same as the colour of the body. Grey and white are extremely rare; mixed colours (except with white) are considered as a fault. The most common colors being black or brown with white markings. The birth figures worldwide for 2007 are 176. All born were black or brown some with white markings on chest, chin, and legs. 

Personality

The Barbet's personality is described as companionable, joyful, goofy, obedient, and intelligent. They are quick to learn and need obedience training. They are a great with children, families, and the elderly. They are capable retrievers for waterfowl hunting. The do field trials in Germany and only water trials in France. 

Wikipedia and GNU

The content of this entry is from the Wikipedia article "Barbet" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.