Barbet Français

 

A breed cannot exist without a history, of course, and the word Barbet is very old.  This word "Barbet" has become a generic word to describe dogs that are of completely different types and morphology.  No one has ever been able to fully retrace the actual story or the lineages with photos or pedigrees of the Barbet to justify them.   Many writers have covered the Barbet in their writings: Jean Castaing, Fernand Méry, Pascal Baux, Eugène Gayot, Pierre Mégnin, along with the magazines Le Chasseur français, La Sauvagine, et al.

That the history of the Barbet stretches back into antiquity is not in doubt although its exact origins, like that of many breeds is now subject to debate. The generally accepted theory is that the Barbet descended from corded herding dogs originating in North Africa which were brought to Europe with the Moors as they occupied the Iberian Peninsula during the 7th and 8th centuries and then further a field by returning armies from the Crusades crossing the Pyrenees in to France and central Europe. These dogs would have interbred with indigenous populations and may well have formed the foundation of the present day breeds of herding and water dogs. While this theory fits neatly with known human history, modern canine genetic research tells us that the oldest dog breeds originated in Asia, and coupled with the lack of anything resembling a Barbet to be found in N. Africa it is just as likely that the Barbet found its way to Europe overland via central Asia and Eastern Europe. We now also know that the dog as a species maintained a wide genetic base until very recently, making it hard to prove either theory as correct, and in fact making it likely that the majority of modern breeds` are a mix of the two.

What we can say with some certainty, is that this hardy, water loving, intelligent and highly adaptable dog soon spread right across Europe. From Russia to the southern tip of Spain and west to the UK and Ireland the Barbet-type dog spread. By crossing with local dogs it adapted to its environment and became more suited to the local needs of hunters, farmers and fishermen and yet retained the characteristics which gave it its initial appeal.

The past of the Barbet as ancestor to the Poodle, Briard, Korthals, Bichon, Terre-Neuve, Griffon, Labrador, and many other breeds did the breed no good in the 20th century. 

The current history of the Barbet starts with the standard established in 1891 by J. de Coninck, who was President of the Société Havraise pour l’Amélioration des races de chiens and who was thought to have felt that the Barbet was a better water retriever than gun dog.

The name will remain “Barbet d’arrêt” and will be designated as a French dog. This standard became an official French SCC standard and the Barbet spent almost a hundred years in the SCC 7th group (gun dogs) before being moved into the SCC 8th group (water dogs and retrievers).
However, what some commonly call a “water dog” in many European countries (Puli for example: Hungarian water dog also used as guard dog and shepherd for the Mérinos sheep) do not necessarily have the same origins, nor are they in the SCC 8th group.

The Barbet is a rustic dog, of a primitive type, never sophisticated, a bit stocky, vigorous, of the Griffon family - which he contributed to the creation of. He has a long woolly coat that covers his entire body from the tip of the nose to the bottom of his toes and that gives him his Teddy Bear look. His coat can be of many colors: gray and dirty white, with spots, black or brown.  These are essential characteristics of the breed. He is of medium size, so easy to feed and train, adapts to everything and therefore, became an all around country dog as opposed to a sophisticated city dog.  From guarding the sheep, to whatever he had to for his family.  Known for being the only water dog to point, and because of his extraordinary character and flexibility, he did it all.

Commoners especially used him as an auxiliary for hunting. they were not allowed to hunt with breeds "reserved" to nobility. French dog shows or exhibitions never took a great interest in him, as he was not sophisticated enough for dog shows.  However, the Barbet has managed to survive after all these years of being in the shade, and because of ignorance about the breed has become very rare, but: the Barbet remains.

That is why retracing of “Lines” have been accomplished from official SCC archives, pedigrees, show catalogues, photos, birth registries and an extensive bibliography.
The families of Mr. Le Houelleur, Dr. Vincenti /Mdme. Pêtre along with Mr. Georgii, Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Fichter and Mr. Preston, were kind enough to share their personal archives for this very reason.

 

Lineage One:  Mr. Le Houelleur "de Floirac"

      

 
The oldest line, started by Mr. Le Houelleur goes back in genotype to 1925.
He had the Floirac kennel name and lived in Dordogne where his family has been for 200 years in the same house where some of his Barbet were born and raised. He was a land registrar as for his profession, hunter, and SCC judge, and became interested in the Barbet through Pyram a dog he found in the Somme region of France, which could be the birthplace of the Barbet Français. At that time, in that area, there was a lot of marshland and birds everywhere.  He made decisions that only experienced breeders would/ could/should make, he decided to cross a Bouvier des Flandres “Médor” with a Braque d’Auvergne “Timballe” and the result was “Besef de Floirac”. Besef was mated to Pyram and all the Barbet Français alive today stem from this union.  This can be traced back with official SCC documents to the 1920's in genotype (genes transmitted) and to 1886 in phenotype (physical resemblance)

The 1894 standard was represented by a dog named Pilote. He belonged to a man whose name was Mr. Coste and who lived in the north of France.  Pilote is the Barbet pictured everywhere along with the one of Joyeuse du Mas de la Chapelle.  The first photograph we have of Pilote was perhaps taken at the Cours la Reine dog show in 1886.  It would appear that he was also used to write the standard for the Griffon Barbet as it was a gun dog in the SCC 7th group.

 

Lineage 2: Dr Vincenti: Barbet de Camargue "Mas de la Chappelle"

 

 
 

Dr Vincenti (Mas de la Chapelle kennel) lived in Graveson, not far from Tarascon and the Crau area of France (Camargue, more precisely). He corresponded with Mr. Le Houelleur and obtained “Hourie de Floirac” from him and she produced the most famous Barbet ever: Joyeuse du Mas de la Chapelle.
Dr Vincenti’s objective was a gundog a bit lighter than those of Mr. Le Houelleur. He therefore mated his Barbet with a Chien de Crau named "Balthazar", born October 5th 1931, son and grandson of Barbets de Camargue, so the letter says, who according to a document that dates to 1936 are “an old breed from Arles coming from the Yonnet family, old capitalists from Provence”.
Alas, WWII was fatal for both kennels of Mr. Le Houelleur and Dr. Vincenti.
However, one of Dr. Vincenti’s neighbours, Mr. Ayme at the Mas de la Musique, had some Barbet for hunting from Dr. Vincenti and continued breeding them for their hunting capacities.  It was obvious that they were not registered officially at the SCC.

A redip with a Portuguese water dog imported from Portugal brought some new blood into the Ayme breeding.
In 1970, Helene Pêtre, daughter of Dr. Vincenti, decided to breed Barbet again, and easily found one of her father’s line of Barbet. The breeding started up again in Tarascon, a few kilometers away from the Mas de la Chapelle where her father lived and that Mas is also still in the family!

Lineage 3: Griffon Boulet

    

 

The rarest line, descends from the Griffon Boulet, the dog created by Emmanuel Boulet, a rich industrialist from Elbeuf in the 1880’s.  This is the rarest one because the Boulet is now extinct, so the few that we still have left, as you can imagine are genetic treasures for the Barbet...It had Barbet blood in it. Mr. Boulet corresponded with the baron Korthals, who had also created his own breed by using 2 Barbet to make his Griffon. Janus GSB 33, (Griffon-Hunde-Stammbuch), who was gray and brown and Donna, GSB 190. Baron Korthals used seven racers as founding stock for his dog, for their physical and moral qualities to obtain a versatile rough coated dog whereas Mr. Boulet was trying to obtain a silkier wooly coat that was to be brown or deadleaf color. Originally, the Boulet was white with yellowish spots.  It took him 20 years to reach his objective.
At the beginning of the 20th century a lot of Boulets looked like Barbets or vice versa especially when you look at some photos. It was very easy to confuse them. Having seen a Boulet that he mistook for a Barbet back in the 1970’s, a gentleman started looking for one. He found a couple of Griffon Boulet that he had confirmed as Barbets and from these 2 dogs descend this last bloodline that is alive.
Doctor Massé lived in Perpignan, in the south of France and travelled a lot. One day in Paris in the early 70's, he saw a Barbet looking dog and decided he wanted one.Love at first sight?
He later found a couple of dogs. He was sure they were Barbet and in fact they were Griffons, like the Barbet, but from a different family: The Boulet family.

Lineage 4: The Fawn Barbet

  

These dogs certainly have something to do with the Barbet, as he came westbound from the Eastern countries (and not from Spain or nor, it seems was he brought up by los Moros) these dogs have always had a thick woolly coat and in the hot temperatures, it didn't seem logical.  The coat texture adapts to the environment.

The Griffon is Boulonnais of the same family as the Griffin, which has the half-curly hair, long and woolly, forming on the shoulders feature a fold.

It means "flämischer (Flemish) Hirtenpudel" and westfälischer Hirtenpudel. Westfalen is the area around Münster. The "Schafpudel" is an old breed used for minding sheep. There are only a few breeders in Germany. Isn't that interesting that it is like the chien de Crau? people hanging to traditions....These dogs are not FCI, just like the Chien de Crau. The similarities are incredible.  Genes come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the past.

Henri de la Blancherie in 1875, in The Hunting Dogs states These silky-haired griffons do other than Barbet past.  Our Dogs in 1923, Pierre Mégnin about his hair and its color: woolly, curly loops, like color, there are black or white or pie, with 2 colors, brown or coffee or milk.
"Do not get me wrong. Griffin of the poodle, through what we call today the Barbet, the transition is insensitive. What we now call Barbet is, what Buffon called a dog, mixed the two extremes, and bearing on its back a fold reminiscent of the mane of the lion. "

 

Lineage 5: The Brown Barbet:   coming soon!

Lineage 6: The Grand Barbet:   circa 1980

 

 

The Barbet in his natural state became a farm dog in the second half of the 19th century whilst the poodle was "selected" to become a finer, more refined looking dog. The poodle became a powdered/perfumed, groomed dog with "pompoms" on his body. He had an extremely curly coat that had to be constantly groomed and kept short.

At the beginning of the 80's, a Mr. J.C. Hermans in Paris became interested in the "Barbet". He spent a lot of time in libraries looking for old documents, wanting to recreate the Buffon Barbet (circa 1750), so he worked around Paris looking for local types and found poodles and mutts, carefully avoiding the Barbet with Griffon bloodlines.  He then crossed together and recreated what he thought was a Barbet from the 1750's.

 

Another modern mix of course....who can forget??

 

The Labradoodle started life as a cross between a Labrador (related to the Barbet historically) and a Poodle (which according to French dictionaries was a Barbet), the Barbet d'arret/Barbet français started life as a herding dog.

Because of the dogs put into the Australian "doodle" and other "doodle" mixes, we now seem to be at the same point in time...of course, history will repeat itself, as it always does.  Imagine research in 100 years, and the dogs look the same in phenotype. Remembering though, the distinct differences between a purebred Barbet (with distinct characteristics and genotype) and a "doodle" of any origin - a crossbreed.

 

Embracing the true and documented history of the Barbet 
Edited with permission by Paula Ballak.
Pre-1800's history Mr Julian Preston © 2009
Lineage history Ms. Elaine Fichter © 2009.

The objective of a small number of Barbet “Fanciers” of the old bloodlines are trying to do their utmost to save them and their genetic diversity. Thanks to progress in the scientific domain and professionals, it is now more than before possible to continue these old lines and render them into existence once again.

If you are interested in joining the Barbet Francais Group - please express your interest in an email to:  barbetfrancais@yahoogroups.com