Bloodhound vs Barbet - Breed Comparison | Petzlover

The Barbet is an ancient European waterdog, with the first references to it coming way back from 1387. This breed is thought to serve as a common ancestor for several other waterdogs, and these include the poodle. The breed was used to retrieve water fowl from water, and today it is used as a gundog and as a companion.

The name ‘Barbet’ comes from the French word for beard, which is ‘barbe’. The Kennel Club has announced that this dog is to be described as being in a class of its own, and it has become the 220th pedigree breed.

The history of the Bloodhound breed is a fascinating one. Known as a Sleuthhound for its ability to smell out the culprit and bag the prey. Even more so the Bloodhound is known for tracking and finding lost people. He is famous for finding human scents and being able to follow them even days or weeks after the person is lost. They are also able to track people over a great amount of land and have been known to successfully track escaped prisoners or wanted criminals. They are descended from the Saint-Hubert Hounds that were bred at the Abbey/Monastery at Saint-Hubert, Belgium. According to the legends the St. Hubert hounds were bred by the Monks in 1000AD. This hound was thought to be a mixed breed rather than a purebred. That’s because the ancestry of this hound is not really known but it is known that the monks bred them and sent several to the King of France annually. Only black hounds were gifted.

Some kings preferred not to hunt with these hounds thinking them not good enough while others thought the only use for them was as a leash hound. All described the St. Hubert as long in body with short legs. These gifts continued until the French Revolution when hunting in France was greatly reduced until the 19th century. The original St. Hubert strain became extinct in the 19th century and that the current European St. Hubert hound has its origins in the Bloodhound. The Bloodhound as a separate breed was already established in Europe by the middle of the 14th century. They were used as leach hounds to sniff out the prey so that the pack hounds could chase and keep it “at bay”. They were also used from the beginnings of the breed to track humans. At this time they were often known as sleuth hounds. As recorded by John Caius – the authority on Bloodhounds from their origins – writes about the breeds ability to find and track the scent of blood – thus becoming the Bloodhound and its use to track poachers and thieves. He also reported that the Bloodhound and the Sleuth Hound were the same basic breed. The number of Bloodhounds in Britain gradually declined until few remained after World War II. Britain has gradually built their breed back up by importing dogs from America. It was during the 19th century that the Bloodhound was imported into France by breeders who wished to reestablish the St. Hubert Hound. Thus the St. Hubert is both the ancestor and descendent of the Bloodhound. The Britain’s continue to believe that the Bloodhound is a native British breed.

The Bloodhounds in America have had great success as companion animals, with police departments and forest rangers and showing in the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club in New York. There are more Bloodhounds in the United States than anywhere else in the world.

In the end the Anglo-Saxton Bloodhound cannot be specified with any real certainty. Many believe it was not the St. Hubert that the Bloodhound descended from but rather the Norman hound or the sleuth-hound. Many believe it could have included other breeds such as the southern hound, the dun-hound and the Talbot. It cannot be proven today it the Bloodhound’s origins come from Belgian or England.

The Barbet is a medium-sized breed of French water dog, measuring anything between 52–66cm in height. The dog is known for his thick, curly textured coat and even the head and tail are covered with this dense hair. His coat is waterproof.

The coat can vary in color and these colors can be brown, grey, white, fawn or black. The dog isn’t a heavy shedder. The Barbet’s tail is long and somewhat raised but not erect. He has long, wide pendant ears set at eye height, the skull is broad and the neck short and strong.

A Kindly Expression

With his kind brown eyes, it simply adds to the kindly expression of this attractive gun dog. He is a friendly, fun-loving dog, and makes a great family pet. He loves to swim and in fact has webbed paws to assist him with his swimming. Some dog owners say that this intelligent active breed can be a great watchdog, while others say the being a guard dog isn’t a particularly strong characteristic.

When being judged for confirmation in a show ring, the preference is for a larger dog, with an unusual skeleton in respect to its large size and heavy weight in the bones. They have a narrow head, flat at the sides, but long. They have deep set eyes buried in the deep, long face and wrinkles. The eyes might be yellow or run the gamut to deep hazel depending upon the color of the dog. The long velvety ears and thin and low set on the head. These long ears are as much a part of the Bloodhounds Olfactory system as his amazing nose. They curl backward and inward as the ends. There is a large amount of loose skin on the head and at the jowls. When the Bloodhound lowers his head the loose folds and ridges of skin are prominent on the face and forehead.

For many centuries all different colors of Bloodhounds could be found. Today however they are pretty much red, black and tan and black and liver. The Bloodhound is a powerful dog and is larger than most breeds of hounds.

Most Barbets do superbly well with children and are naturally gentle with them. It is always important to teach children to respect animals and to be kind towards them. Even a gentle dog like the Barbet can turn aggressive if taunted beyond their endurance.

Barbets are social, good mixers and they get on well with other pets in the family, more so when they have been properly socialized. As a Sporting breed, the Barbet is energetic and loves to be involved in games and activities. He is such a versatile dog – gentle and friendly and he makes a wonderful devoted pet. Of course, he is also suited for use as a working dog, after all this breed was originally used for hunting waterfowl.

Treat him well and the thanks you’ll get will is unconditional friendship and loyalty.

The Bloodhound is known as a gentle soul and he truly is. They are affectionate and gentle with people and children. However, their strong will to track can make them stubborn and hard to handle and train. They are easy going dogs and really like to be with people, children and other dogs. They are affectionate but tend to be set in their ways.

The Barbet is a rare breed and therefore not much is known about particular health issues affecting him. Some health issues that you will need to be alert about with your Barbet are ear infections, hernias and hip dysplasia.

A veterinarian should be consulted if your dog shows signs of these ailments. The risk of a Barbet developing any health condition can always be significantly reduced by making sure you buy your Barbet from a reputable breeder. If he is fed well and taken to the vet when he does get sick, he can live to be 13 to 15 years of age.

Obviously with ears like the Bloodhound there is always a chance for problems and serious infections. The ears need to be cleaned daily. Because their coat is so thick, they can overheat easily, and they are very prone to bloat, as are many large animals. However, with the Bloodhound, Bloat is the number one killer. Their lifespan is one of the shortest of all dogs at 6.75 years.

Grooming

The Barbet’s coat is longish and curly, much like a poodle, and long, wooly coat This being the case, moderate maintenance is required. Brushing and grooming twice a week will be necessary to keep the coat from matting too much. In fact, some Barbet owners prefer to keep their Barbets professionally groomed so that the thick hair is fairly short all over.

The dog’s ears will also need to be kept clean and dry.

Food/Diet

If your Barbet is a farm dog, used for hunting or working purposes, make sure to buy dog food formulated for active dogs. Your Barbet puppy up to the age of 3 months will require 4 meals a day. When your Barbet reaches a year of age he can be fed one or two bowls of food. Speak to your veterinarian about top-quality wet- and dry foods. Every dog will require raw meat added into their food once in a while.

Make sure there is a constant supply of cool, fresh water and also wash his food and water bowls regularly.

Training

The Barbet is an intelligent breed and therefore trainable. Dog owners who care for their pets, see to it that they are trained and have been socialized. This makes dogs much nicer to live with as they get on well with children and other pets and they don’t bark incessantly.

Exercise

The Barbet is a working breed so you can’t just leave him in your back garden day after day. To stay healthy and happy, he will need to be played with, taken for walks and exercised regularly.

The Bloodhound is not a high energy, fast moving dog but that does not mean he doesn’t have serious nutritional needs. An overweight Bloodhound is on a course to an early demise. They should be fed a high-quality food once a day or split into two daily servings. Do not feed them right before or right after strenuous exercise and remember that strenuous exercise for a Bloodhound is considerably less than it is for a terrier.

Health issues

As previously mentioned the number one cause of death in Bloodhounds is Bloat. They are also prone to cancer. They have minor issues with their eyes, but their ears and skin are also major concerns. Clean the ears daily and wipe out the skin folds and wrinkles to prevent infections. They should be test for hip and elbow dysplasia simply because they are large dogs, though these conditions are less common in Bloodhounds.

Exercise and games

Though the Bloodhound is known as a couch potato his stamina and activity levels are usually greatly underestimated. He can follow a scent for 7-10 hours over miles of terrain with out a problem. He needs daily exercise such as long walks on a leash. Do not take your Bloodhound out off leash because if he picks up a scent and wanders off you will not be able to get his attention to call him back.