The French Bulldog

History of French Bulldogs 

According to the French Bulldog Club of America (2013b): 

French Bulldogs, almost always historically brindle, with strains from the English Bulldog, originated in England, France, and the United States of America during the 1800s. These endearing little dogs became the breed favorite among citizens from Normandy to Paris when lace-making emigrants with their “miniature bulldogs”, formerly called the Boule Dog Francais, set up shop in Northern France during the Industrial Revolution (FBDCA, 2013b). Soon after, wealthy Americans traveling to France also fell in love with the half-flat-skulled breed as well and began breeding the French Bulldog stateside with stand-up “bat” ears instead of the rose-eared-type (i.e., the kind of ears the English Bulldog has) typically bred by French breeders across the pond. The Westminster Dog show featured a brindle Frenchie on the cover of its 1897 catalog although the AKC did not recognize the breed until 1898 (AKC, 2013d).

To learn more about Frenchies history, check out the FBDCA’s Understanding Frenchies page. Also, the Southeast French Bulldog Club’s FAQs page has responses to several frequently asked questions about Frenchies, such as: Do Frenchies bark a lot? Do Frenchies shed? etc.

“Oh, he’s only a pet...”

Successful companion-hood is a Frenchie’s greatest achievement. Frenchies were not bred to pull carts, hunt water foul, herd cattle, or guard castles. The focus and intended function and purpose of the French Bulldog from the historical perspective was to lovingly sit on the wealthy laps of French, English, and American Aristocrats while looking adorable (FBDCA, 2013b).

Form follows function. It is arguable that quality companion-type French Bulldogs are generally bred with temperament and health forefront with confirmation trailing immediately behind. If the French Bulldog has form-related or confirmation-related faults making it unsuitable for the show ring, while being a fun, loyal, playful, and loving companion for his or her human, then theFrench Bulldog has achieved the greatest aspiration of French Bulldog life and its original function...love. Form follows function, in importance for companion-type Frenchies. 

As most breeders do, we love raising quality dogs and love the fact that our quality Frenchies are be adopted into fantastic, loving companion homes like ours and live extremely exceptional and remarkable companion-quality lives. Companion-hood is not to be looked down upon, in fact companion-hood is the most respectable accomplishment for a French Bulldog can achieve, and therefore, advocates should actively move to heighten awareness towards companion-hood being admired and embraced, but most importantly loved and appreciated.

No Fad Colors...

Quality isn’t expensive, it is priceless as many say. Especially when it comes to your dog. Ever heard the old adage, “You get what you pay for?” This adage is definitely true when it comes to buying a French Bulldog. “Rare” colored French Bulldogs, such as Mouse or “Blue” as it is often advertised online, is not only an inflated-price-marketing-scam in our opinion, but more importantly blue or mouse dogs are created by recessive genes, which are often accompanied by a myriad of health problems, such as blindness and follicular dysplasia (Maxime French Bulldog Art [MFBA], 2013). There is nothing "rare" about a Blue/Mouse/Grey French Bulldog. What the issue is is that the dog is born of a recessive gene pool. White, White and Black, White and Black with no trace of Brindle carry the deaf gene, have eye problems, and can be blue eyed (MFBA, 2013). Liver or “Chocolate” can go blind, have juvenile cataracts, and yellow eyes (MFBA, 2013). Black and Tan and ALL-Black-With-No-Trace-Of-Brindle is extremely dominate and will eliminate all other colors in the litter (MFBA, 2013).

The AKC DOES NOT recognize or register these colors of dogs. If a breeder is trying to sell you a dog of any of the colors above as an AKC Registered French Bulldog, they've lied to the AKC about the dog's color in order to get it registered and will definitely lie to you!!

Fad color dogs cannot be shown in AKC Shows and these colors are linked to health problems, such as:

• Blindness

• Follicular Dysplasia

• Deaf Gene

• Cataracts

The Wrong Puppy is one of the most heartbreaking sources of credible French Bulldog information available to prospective new French Bulldog Owners and it is imperative that if anyone considering adopting a French Bulldog takes time to read the critical information provided on this website. We are very concerned about over population and the health and safety of all animals. If you are interested in adopting a rescue French Bulldog, there may be options available to you! Please contact a French Bulldog Rescue listed at the top right of this page (*We are not affiliated with these groups, but completely advocate and support all humanitarian efforts of all animal rescue groups completely).

Cavalleria's French Bulldogs are only registered with the American Kennel Club. Although there are several dog registries available, such as the Continental Kennel Club (CKC), the American Kennel Club (AKC), founded in 1884, is the oldest kennel club dedicated to confirmation dog shows (AKC, 2013a). Cavalleria French Bulldogs are registered with the AKC and are eligible for AKC non-sporting group competitions. Our French Bulldogs are bred from Confirmation Champion Bloodlines towards doing our best to leave the breed better than when we found it.

The French Bulldog Club of America: The French Bulldog Club of America (FBDCA) founded in 1897, is the oldest French Bulldog Club dedicated to preserving and promoting the French Bulldog breed in the world (The French Bulldog Club of America, 2013). The FBDCA also conducts breeder and dog owner surveys towards studying French Bulldog genetics, helps owners understand confirmation and health, along with heightening awareness of the French Bulldog breed for the general public (FBDCA, 2013).  Check out their website for tons of great information about deciding if the French Bulldog is right for you.

We completely advocate, support, and will continue to promote the breed to enhance public awareness of the importance of breeding quality, healthy Frenchies. Here are some additional credible French Bulldog Information sources that offer support, education, etc. about Frenchies: 

• Southeast French Bulldog Club 

• California French Bulldog Club 

• Northern California French Bulldog Club 

• Dallas Fort Worth French Bulldog Club 

• The Bullytin  

References:

American Kennel Club. (2013a). AKC history. Retrieved from http://www.akc.org/about/history.cf

American Kennel Club. (2013b). French bulldog breed standard. Retrieved fromhttp://www.akc.org/breeds/french_bulldog/breed_standard.cfm

American Kennel Club. (2013c). AKC meet the breeds. Retrieved from http://www.akc.org/breeds/french_bulldog/index.cfm

American Kennel Club. (2013d). A look back. Retrieved from http://www.akc.org/breeds/french_bulldog/index.cfm

French Bulldog Club of America. (2013). Home. Retrieved from http://frenchbulldogclub.org/Maxime

French Bulldog Art. (2013). French bulldog colors. Retrieved fromhttp://www.maximefrenchbulldogs.com/French%20Bulldog%20colors.htm

Grebe, J. (2003, September). Only A Pet by Jan Grebe. French Bulldog Column, AKC Gazette.The origins of the French Bulldog are not as exactly traceable as are those of the Friesian horse.

French Bulldog Links & Info

Lots of great individuals in the French Bulldog world! We admire their hard work and their contributions to our learning. It is important to support and promote each other for the betterment of the breed.

• The American Kennel Club

• The French Bulldog Club of America

• Cutting Edge Kennel Brandon Edge is our professional handler who is a wealth of knowledge, who is a pleasure to work with. Brandon Edge has been a enormous learning resource for us and Francesca.

• Lionheart French Bulldogs Milan and Yana Miklos made our dreams come true by co-owning Lionheart's Famous by Fortune "Ava Penelope" with us

• Hollywood French Bulldogs is awesome! Brandon's co-breeder

• Fabelhaft French Bulldogs Fabelhalf Robobull French Bulldogs Ava's mother is a Fabelhaft dog. These are some of the finest dogs in the country

• Bandog French Bulldogs The Sosa Family is incredible when it comes to French Bulldogs. Worth the time to visit their site to absorb a plethora of knowledge.

• A'Vigdors Kennel

• Tribute to Doris Cox of Cox’s Goodtime lines, one of the most influential American French Bulldog lines to date (Our Louis is predominately Cox’s Goodtime lines in his champions)

• The Ins and Outs of Pedigree Analysis, Genetics, and Disease Control

• Inbreeding the French Bulldog

• Best in Show Daily

• Interview with Luis Sosa - The Sosa’s have raised and successfully shown AKC champions since the 1970s and judge French Bulldogs internationally. They are a wealth of information and there is so much to be learned from them. :)History Of The French Bulldog In America by Lois Sosa

• The Illustrated Standard 1997 book by the French Bulldog Club of America

• Judging The French Bulldog

• Quality of Judging

• 2012 powerpoint by the French Bulldog Club of America

• The History of the French Bulldog

• Judging--Finding The Diamond In The Rough Very helpful for understanding confirmation

• Judging II

• K-9 Structure and Terminology

• An Eye for a Dog

• Breed Better Dogs

• AKC French Bulldog Standard

• AKC Breeding Resources Links List

• Frenchie Info

• The French Bullytin

• World Pedigree-Database of French Bulldogs

• French Bulldog Coat Color Genetics

• No Fad Colors!!!