Barbets are medium-sized, French water dogs. The word "barbet" comes from the French word "barbe," meaning beard.
These gentle, fun-loving dogs are most commonly entirely black, black-brown, fawn, white and pied. A lot of the solid-colored Barbets have white markings .Males usually grow to be between 21 and 25 inches tall, and between 40 and 60 pounds; females grow to between 20 and 23 inches, and 30 to 50 pounds. The dogs live, on average, 13 to 15 years.
The history of barbets traces the history of dogs in general; with the name barbet a common name for any dog with a long, curly, woolly coat. Most notably used as companion and working dogs, barbets have been used as sailors' assistants and capable waterfowl retrievers for hunters.
In the United States, there are only around 200 barbets in existence. At Blue Spruce Barbets, we are working along with other responsible breeders in this country to slowly increase the barbet population.