HomeBreeds › Barbet

Sporting · Medium (35-65 lbs) · 12-14 years

Barbet

Friendly, joyful, calm at home; the shaggy French water dog.

35–65 lb

At a glance

Kid-friendly
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First-time owners
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Energy
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Shedding
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Good with cats
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Alone time
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Apartment OK
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Trainability
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What this is

What they’re great at

✓ Quick study - learns in a handful of reps
✓ Forgiving of first-timer mistakes
✓ Adapts beautifully to smaller spaces
✓ Wants to work WITH you - biddable to the bone
Why it matters

Honest challenges

Alone time is genuinely hard
Bred to work or live beside a human all day - solitude was never in the job description.

What helps: Train it like a skill: the Alone-Time guide builds tolerance in micro-doses from day one. The frozen-KONG-only-when-you-leave ritual turns departures into jackpots. Cover long days honestly: a midday walker, daycare 2-3x a week, and a camera to know (not guess) how they're doing.
Needs a real outlet, rain or shine
Moderate-high drive doesn't take days off.

What helps: Build the outlet into the routine: Dock diving. Brain work counts double on bad-weather days - see Training School. A flirt pole in the yard delivers a workout in ten minutes.
What you can do

Exercise & training

Exercise: Moderate-high - 1 hr/day
Training profile — Gundog / retrieving-pointing-flushing type: Biddable and handler-focused: these breeds genuinely want to work WITH you. Under-exercised gundogs invent jobs - usually involving your furniture.
Sports and outlets that suit them: Dock diving · Scent work
What you can do

Grooming & coat

Grooming: High - frequent brushing and regular trims to prevent mats.
Shedding: Minimal - curly low-shedding coat.
Good to know

Health to know about

Hip dysplasia, epilepsy, eye conditions; small gene pool
Breed-typical tendencies, not a diagnosis. Individual dogs vary enormously — your veterinarian screens for what matters for your dog.
How much should YOUR Barbet eat?

This page can only give breed ranges. The app calculates calories and portions from your dog’s actual weight and life stage, splits them across the right number of meals, and adjusts as they grow.

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Why it matters

Emergency red flags

Poisoning (chocolate, xylitol, grapes, medications, rodenticide)
Vomiting, drooling, tremors, collapse, or known ingestion
Call ASPCA Poison Control 888-426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline 855-764-7661 immediately; do NOT induce vomiting unless instructed
Know your ER
Save your nearest 24-hour emergency vet's address and phone in your phone TODAY, not during a crisis
Seizure
Collapse with paddling, jaw chomping, drooling, loss of awareness
Clear the area, do NOT touch the mouth, time the seizure and video it. Over 3 minutes, a cluster of 2+, or first-ever seizure = ER now
This page never carries product links in the emergency section. ASPCA Poison Control (888) 426-4435 · Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661.
These need to work when the signal does not

The app keeps every Barbet red flag on your phone and opens them with no connection at all — which is the whole point at 2am in a car park. Add it to your home screen and it works like any other app.

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📊 The numbers

Typical ranges for planning, not promises — costs vary by region, breeder and individual dog.

GroupSporting
SizeMedium (35-65 lbs)
Lifespan12-14 years
Healthy adult weight35–65 lb
Original purposeLocating and retrieving waterfowl in marshes.
Monthly care$100-$160
Typical puppy price$2,500-$4,000
🐕 Similar breeds
Got a Barbet?

Add them in the app for feeding by weight, training for their stage, and Barbet emergency red flags saved to your phone. Free, no account needed.

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Bring your Barbet in

Add them once and everything here becomes about your dog: feeding by their weight, training picked for their stage, a day built around your hours, and a vitals log that shows the trend. Free, works offline, no account needed.

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Get this for your own dogFeeding by their weight, a daily plan, emergency cards that work offline. Free, no account needed.
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