Barbet Breed

May is from the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. She carries Swedish registry.

The Barbet. A French National Treasure.

General about the breed:

The barbet is used for hunting wildfowl. Like other waterdogs, barbet is more than just a retriever; it must search for, locate and flush out the wildfowl hiding in the water vegetation. The barbet retrieves wildfowl shot by his master.

The barbet is an ancient French breed, which origins are not exactly known. The special characteristic for the barbet is the thick and woolly coat, which usually makes cords. The coat also protects very good from both cold and humidity. The barbet doesn´t lose hair but still the barbet should be groomed at least once a year, more recommendable is twice a year. Between the grooming the barbet should be brush regularly to avoid the coat getting matted and tangled.

The barbet is a delightful companion who is calm and pleasant and who learns very quickly new things. The barbet is a very nice, friendly and honest breed which also makes the barbet very gentle. The barbet loves the company of people but also other dogs. These are characteristics, which makes the barbet a great family dog but one should also remember that he is devoted and very attached to his Master (owner).

The barbet also adores water and is an excellent swimmer.

In total, you can say that the barbet is a general multi-purpose dog as it excels in a large variety of activities, from its primarily use as a hunting dog to being ones best friend.

The barbet is an average sized dog, males being at minimum height 58 cm and bitches 53 cm. The breed standard specifies the heights to be for males 58 cm – 65 cm and for bitches 53 cm- 61 cm with a tolerance of +/1 cm.

Short history of the barbet

The barbet is a French waterdog and the breeds name “barbet comes from the French word barbe, which means beard. The barbet is an ancient breed, which origins are not exactly known. In Europe there have been waterdogs since the 12^th century and most likely the barbet, or at least its ancestors, were one version of the waterdog in that time.

The barbet´s most important field of activity has been hunting, for example wild fowl. It is said that the French royal have been hunting with barbets. The barbets have also been working as sailor´s assistants.

After the World War II there were only a few barbets left and more than 20 years later breeding of the barbet was started again.