Barbet through the Ages.
The Barbet has a rich history, of that there is no doubt.
It is not a new breed or a crossbreed, nor a designer doodle. It is a French dog which was in the FCI group 7, but was in recent times moved into the FCI group 8 which is where you will find the Water Dogs.
If you wish to see the history of this breed, and how the poodle was introduced into some of them, then you must read this article published by Mrs Elaine Fichter in July 2012. It is easy to read, and easy to understand what actually happened to this breed in the past and up to the present day. http://www.vieuxbarbetfrancais.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Barbet_historyproject.pdf.
There is really nothing more to the history of the Barbet that anyone can add to at present. We can all trawl the internet to find records in old publications, and even find postcards and the like for sale on ebay, but to find anything novel these days, you really have to visit the site of Elaine Fichter in France. Elaine has worked tirelessly for many years, obtaining original records and photographs of Barbets from bygone times and speaking with breeders who have long since faded into history themselves .
http://chiensdeau.free.fr/BarbetenBresse/articles.php?pg=art168
Please note, that when you find sites on the internet giving a description of the breed, remember that some of these sites have never ever even laid eyes on a barbet. Just recently a website here in the UK published a description of the breed, when questioned about where they referenced their material, it seems it was from their young daughter who had found just one book at the library!
Some people have stated that the barbet was extinct! The map above shows the area where the barbets were still being bred after the war, and until very recently too!
It is not a new breed or a crossbreed, nor a designer doodle. It is a French dog which was in the FCI group 7, but was in recent times moved into the FCI group 8 which is where you will find the Water Dogs.
If you wish to see the history of this breed, and how the poodle was introduced into some of them, then you must read this article published by Mrs Elaine Fichter in July 2012. It is easy to read, and easy to understand what actually happened to this breed in the past and up to the present day. http://www.vieuxbarbetfrancais.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Barbet_historyproject.pdf.
There is really nothing more to the history of the Barbet that anyone can add to at present. We can all trawl the internet to find records in old publications, and even find postcards and the like for sale on ebay, but to find anything novel these days, you really have to visit the site of Elaine Fichter in France. Elaine has worked tirelessly for many years, obtaining original records and photographs of Barbets from bygone times and speaking with breeders who have long since faded into history themselves .
http://chiensdeau.free.fr/BarbetenBresse/articles.php?pg=art168
Please note, that when you find sites on the internet giving a description of the breed, remember that some of these sites have never ever even laid eyes on a barbet. Just recently a website here in the UK published a description of the breed, when questioned about where they referenced their material, it seems it was from their young daughter who had found just one book at the library!
Some people have stated that the barbet was extinct! The map above shows the area where the barbets were still being bred after the war, and until very recently too!