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By the time you bring your new puppy home he will probably be around 8 to 10 weeks old and this is the perfect age to start teaching him. French bulldogs are known for their stubbornness so it is important that you start out as you mean to go on from the word go. Here are some of the most important things you should start teaching your new puppy straight away:

The routine

It is very important to teach your new puppy how life will be in his new home, puppies like to feel safe and have some kind of routine to their day and now is a good time to start. Some of the things you should teach him are:

* Where he will sleep.

* Where to find his food and water.

* When it is time to go to bed and get up.

* Where he will go to the bathroom.

* Where his toys are.

Once this is established your puppy will begin to form a bond with his master, he will find that you are dependable and can provide him with what he needs, he will feel safe. You can then go onto teaching other just as important things such as:

* What the word “NO” means – this is a word that you will probably find yourself repeating very often in the beginning, however by repeating it every time your puppy does something wrong he should quickly learn what the word means.

* Housetraining – this is the perfect age to start teaching your new puppy housetraining, you can introduce him to his bathroom and persist in taking him there every half hour, however due to the young age it can take several months for his young bladder to grow strong enough to stop accidents from happening.

* Being handled and groomed – your new puppy will be just like a young child always wanting to play and run around, however you should start a grooming regime at this young age to get into good habits. It is also wise to get your puppy used to being handled and picked up.

* To be gentle – now is a good time to teach your puppy how to be gentle, for example when he is taking something from your hand or when he has something in his mouth you want to take from him. You should teach him not to bite, grab or hold onto anything tightly.

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Once you have decided on the breed of puppy you want and the sex of the puppy the next big question you should ask yourself is which puppy you should choose and what to look for when going to buy your puppy. Searching for information on the internet could have led to more confusion, so here are some helpful sensible hints to help you decide what to look for when you choose your new puppy:

Evaluate the litter

You should never feel rushed into making a decision and choosing a puppy, a reputable breeder will give you all the time you need when choosing your puppy, but don’t be swayed by their choice. While the breeder can give you good advice on caring for your new puppy and most will be honest, there are some who might try to sell you those puppies they don’t want to be stuck with, for example the boisterous dominating puppy, while most breeders wouldn’t dream of doing this there is the odd one which might be tempted.

Don’t be fooled either by well meaning friends telling you to let the puppy choose you, the pushy puppies will come forward every time and these can often be the most difficult ones to raise, while the gentle ones which normally make the gentler pets are left behind.

Also don’t rely on the biggest puppy being the best; this isn’t always so the bigger puppy will be the more aggressive puppy that always pushed his way in to make sure he got fed, which again could be a problem with dominance as the puppy grows older. Puppies are very much like children each one of them will grow at a different rate and what is the smallest in the litter now could well turn into the biggest and best out of the litter. Certain things however should be taken into account and these are:

* Look at the whole litter as a group, if three out of four of the puppies run away, growl, bark or show some form of aggression then choose another breeder.

* Don’t be conned by the breeder telling you there just shy, socialization at an early age is crucial and any reputable breeder will have handled their puppies and got them used to being around people.

* Puppies who shrink away from you with their tails tucked between their legs are not a good choice, shy puppies will usually grow into shy dogs if this is in their genes.

* A healthy normal puppy should be very curious often running around your feet, tugging at your shoelaces, nibbling at your fingers and trying to climb into your lap.

* Watch how the puppies interact with each other, you can tell a lot about the puppy from how is interacts with its litter mates.

* Look for a puppy in the middle range, this is one that will be inquisitive, who joins in and holds their own without being too bossy and one who doesn’t growl or bite its fellow litter mates.

* Try a few simple tests, try clapping your hands or jiggling your car keys, which puppy is alert, interested or which shrinks away in fright.

Once you have checked out the litter as a whole then you can ask the breeder if you see them all singularly, this will give you a good idea of how the puppy will cope being away from its litter mates. This is the time you can evaluate the puppy’s own personality, sometimes a bold puppy will totally change when separated from the others. Signs to watch for are:

* The puppy’s general expression and body language.

* Does the puppy wag his tail or is it tucked between its legs.

* When you talk to the puppy how does it respond.

* Is the puppy lively and energetic, is the puppy inquisitive.

Spend as much time as you need with the litter as a whole and also with each puppy you are interested in, a reputable breeder will give you all the time you need with the puppies and should never rush you or sway you into making a choice. Perhaps the only time when a breeder should give you advice on which puppy is right for you is if you are thinking of showing the dog. Here the breeder can point out which puppy might be best for show and why they think it is.

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* Make sure that you research the breed thoroughly before you buy a puppy or dog, never make an impulse purchase and buy the first puppy from the first breeder you find.

* Be honest with the breeder about what you’re looking for when you go to see the puppies or dogs, if you are looking for a show dog then don’t tell the breeder you want a pet because you think this will cost you less. A responsible breeder will sell their French bulldogs as pets with limited registration papers and you will not be able to show your dog without full papers.

* If you buy a frenchie as a pet, then you probably wont be able to show it, the breeder will sell their frenchies as pets if they know the puppy wont meet the strict requirements needed for showing.

* Even if you purchase a dog or puppy for show there is no guarantee that you will be successful, not every show dog has the superior qualities which are needed to win major prizes at the top shows.

* Don’t buy a show dog just for the sake of it, if all you want is a companion then buy a puppy for a pet, they might not meet the exact standards required of the breed but if you bought your puppy from a reputable breeder who does breed show dogs then your companion will be pretty close to meeting the requirements without costing you an arm and leg.

* Make sure that you get yourself a copy of the breed standard and also equip yourself with the knowledge of the problems know to this specific breed.

* If you wish to purchase a dog for showing then attend as many shows as possible before you go looking for a puppy, make sure you know the breed and the colours that are required for showing.

* Even if you don’t intend to show your frenchie it doesn’t hurt to get acquainted with the breed’s standard before you choose your puppy, what better way to learn about the breed than from those who have been breeding and showing frenchies for years.

* Contact and view puppies from as many different breeders as you can before making your final choice.

* Makes sure you take a list with all the questions you want to ask the breeder, a reputable breeder will only be too happy to answer all your questions, they should also ask some questions of you too.

* A breeder who isn’t affiliated with a dog club is no worse than those who are, their puppies and dogs can be just as worthy of the show ring than those belonging to a club.

* Don’t be taken in by breeders who claim their dogs are show worthy but who don’t actually show them, a good breeder will show their dogs and have proof with certificates and trophies of what their dogs are actually capable of. The breeder who claims their dogs are champions without having the proof and who makes the excuse of not having time to show their dogs should be avoided especially if you do want to show the puppy.

* Look for a breeder who has several years of experience in breeding French bulldogs.

* Ask how many litters a year the breeder has and be wary of those who claim they always have litters available, the good breeder will only breed a few litters per year, those who say they always have litters haven’t got the best interests of the dogs at heart only their pockets.

* Does the breeder give you registration papers; health records and micro chip the puppies. A reputable breeder will give you the puppy’s pedigree records and health records. Most breeders know have a micro chip inserted into the puppy very early on, this helps to locate dogs that are lost or stolen.

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When you look back at some of the first ever French bulldogs you notice one thing straight away, the length of their tails. French bulldogs back then had much longer tails than the dogs of today, however there is no doubt that bulldogs selected for breeding did have the shortest tails or that tails were docked for one of the following reasons:

* As a way to avoid paying tax.

* To strengthen the back and increase the speed.

* To help prevent the tail being bitten while the dog was “ratting”.

* To make better sport when bear baiting or fighting.

It is thought that the longer tails were at one time a natural part of genes inherited by the frenchie, but that over a period of time frenchie breeders went for a shorter and shorter tail. The breed standard in 1937 stated that “the tail should be short and set low, lying flat on the buttocks, thick at the base, naturally broken and should be tapering at the ends”.

It also mentions that the tail shouldn’t be raised or too long, not reaching much beyond the thigh this therefore gives us the indication that the French bulldog tail in those days was longer than that of in the breed today. By 1950 however the wording for the standard was changed to match almost what we see in the frenchie today, “very short, set low, and thick at the root while tapering quickly to the tip.”

“Today most frenchies do indeed have a very very short tail which sometimes doesn’t even cover the anus. The breed’s standard of today however does state that the tail should be “undocked, low, and thick at the root while tapering quickly towards the tip”, so how short is short? Do today’s breeders take short to the extreme and could this be having an undesirable effect on the overall health of the French bulldog?

The actual importance of the tail itself is to act as a counter balance when the dog is carrying out movements such as leaping, walking along narrow structures or climbing. Their tail muscles are also used in stabilising the vertebral column and supporting the extensor muscles of the back as well as those of the buttocks.

Other aspects of the tail are its ability to show pleasure by wagging the tail and its movement relating to showing weakness, anger, dominance or fear to its fellow animals. Thought should be given to this aspect when we think about breeding for shorter and shorter tails, while it might not seem significant to us, the tail plays a significant part of who the dog is.

If you are thinking of showing your French bulldog then you will have bought the puppy from a reputable breeder who has strived to raise show dogs and whose puppies come from winning show dogs. The breeder will have given you advice when choosing your puppy and the puppy will have all the appropriate papers needed for showing. There are certain criteria which the show dog must posses in order to become a champion and these are set out as follows:

General appearance - the body should be sturdy, compact and solid with good bone, the coat should be short, smooth and good overall balance is essential.

Characteristics – full of courage with clown like qualities, the ears should be bat like and the tail should be short but not docked.

Temperament - deeply affectionate and intelligent.

Head and skull - the head should be square, large and broad while being in proportion to the dogs size, skull should be almost flat between the ears with a domed forehead. Loose skin around the muzzle should form symmetrical wrinkles with the muzzle being broad, deep and set well back. The muscles of the cheeks should be well developed with black nose and lips. The lower jaw should be deep, square, broad and slightly undershot; the nose should be extremely short and black with clear nostrils. The lips should be thick and meet in the centre.

Eyes - the eyes should be dark in colour and match, they should be moderate in size, round and be neither sunken nor prominent. They should be set wide apart and low down in the skull.

Ears - the ears should be bat like and of medium size, they should be wide at the base and round at the top. The should be carried upright and not too close together.

Mouth – slightly under shot with teeth that are round and regular, the tongue must not protrude.

Neck - the neck should be powerful with loose skin at the throat, it should be well arched and thick without being too short.

Forequarters - the legs should be set wide apart, straight boned, strong, muscular and short.

Body – short, muscular and well rounded with deep wide brisket, wide at the shoulders and narrowing at the loins, the ribs should be well sprung.

Hind quarters - the legs should be strong, muscular and longer than the forelegs, the loins should be raised above shoulders.

Feet - small and compact.

Tail – short but undocked, thick at the root while tapering to the tip.

Coat - fine, smooth, short and close.

Colour – brindle, pied or fawn.

Size - ideal weight for dogs is 28lb, bitches should be 24lb.

A new puppy will make a big change to your household until the puppy gets settled in and there may be many times you will wonder if having a puppy was such a good idea in the first place. The first few weeks will be the hardest until the new puppy gets used to his surroundings and his new family, so a little patience and perseverance will be what are needed from you at this stage. You can makes things run a little smoother by some planning before your puppy arrives in your home.

What you will need

* A plastic dog crate.

* Hard to destroy and easily washable bedding.

* A puppy collar and lead.

* An ID tag with your name and telephone number clearly printed on it.

* A few soft and safe chew toys.

* A quality brand of puppy food.

* A soft brush for grooming your puppy.

Make sure your home is puppy proof

Your new puppy will get into everything and everything it shouldn’t; it will want to nibble on everything it can fit into its mouth. There is a spray you can buy which you can spray onto furniture legs e.t.c to stop your puppy from nibbling on your furniture. Another thing to look out for are dangling or exposed electrical cords, these will be a temptation for your puppy and your puppy wont know there is electricity running through them as he’s tugging at them.

Get cable tidies for all exposed cables and wires around the home, this could prevent a nasty accident from occurring and they are simple and easy to fit. Also check your garden and fencing to make sure there is nowhere the puppy can escape from, remember a puppy can squeeze just about anywhere so check for the smallest of holes in fences.

Make sure your puppy knows his place

Your new puppy will most probably be missing his mother and siblings at first and remember he is in a strange place surrounded by people he doesn’t know, it can be a great comfort if he has a place of his own and knows where this place is. This could be a crate with a soft sheepskin blanket in where he can go and cuddle up or just a puppy bed with his chew toys in it, just like you have your bedroom where you can go to be alone or when you want a nap, then so should your puppy.

If you have young children they will of course be excited with the new puppy and probably constantly petting him, your puppy should be able to go to his bed without constant harassment from the children, so make it clear to them that when the puppy goes to bed they leave him alone for a while.

If you are looking for a dog who has a short easy to care for coat in a variety of colours who generally will get on with everyone and everything, who doesn’t bark much and requires very little exercise then the French bulldog might be the ideal breed for you. However if you don’t like stubbornness, sniffling, wheezing, a dog who slobbers and snorts a lot, who can be slow to house train and which can have serious problems with its health then you might be better off choosing a different breed.

The most important points to consider

* The French bulldog sounds – a great deal of French bulldogs share the same trait which is well known to the breed, this includes snorting, snuffling, grunting, wheezing and snoring loudly at times. While these sounds can be charming at times and fit the breed they can become nerve wrecking over time.

* Slobbering – the French bulldog is well known for its slobbering jowls, the frenchie is known for its excessive drooling particularly after eating and drinking. While some may not mind finding dog drool and slobber everywhere others might regard it with pure distaste.

* House training – the French bulldog can be very stubborn when it comes to being told what to do, on average you can expect to have to house train your puppy for roughly 6 months before it catches on. Even then there are no guarantees your efforts will succeed, it’s more a matter of who has the strongest will you or your dog.

* High maintenance – a puppy will be very expensive as they are a breed which is particularly had to breed many times artificial insemination is the only way to go. The breed also has problems giving birth due to the head size of the puppies and many times a caesarean is needed with a vets assistance.

* Serious health problems – this breed isn’t without serious health problems, many of the breed struggle to breathe in hot weather and during the summer they should be supervised to make sure they don’t become over heated. The French bulldog is also known to suffer from problems such as spinal defects, heart defects and problems with the joints.

* Gassiness – unfortunately this is a major problem with the French bulldog, though dogs fed on a natural diet of real meat instead of tinned have much less trouble with this problem.

After having said all of this there are many good points to owning a French bulldog, they are a lovable breed who act and look comical at times. There are many good points to consider as well as the bad, if after having taken all this into account you still think a French bulldog might be right for you then you should find a reputable breeder who can give you more information on the breed.

Your French bulldog dog or frenchie puppy will be just like one of the family and just like the rest of your family you will want to give them the best medical care available when they are ill, so how do you choose the right vet for your dog or puppy?

Due to the several medical problems that French bulldogs especially face, such as their shorter breathing system which can cause them breathing problems and of course interfere with anaesthesia, it is important that you find a vet which knows a little about the frenchie and its problems.

Most vets will know a vast amount of information on any particular breed and how to treat and deal with problems associated with that breed, but it is worthwhile double checking this and choosing your vet before they are needed.

How do I find the right vet?

The breeder who you got your puppy from can often give you information on particular vets which know your breed of dog, however very often you will have travelled quite a distance for your puppy especially if it is a certain breed such as the French bulldog.

If the breeder can’t recommend a vet within easy travelling distance then you could do a search online either for a vet just in your vicinity or a vet which has knowledge about your particular breed. You can also check in the yellow pages under vets and animal hospitals, all vets will have to be certified to meet certain requirements especially in fields such as surgery, cardiology or ophthalmology.

Once you have found one or two vets within travelling distance you should make an appointment to visit the practice, the vet should be more than willing to meet you and let you see the facility and meet your dog or puppy. Here are some general points you should look for when choosing a vet :

* Is the facility clean, well organised and does it feel comfortable.

* Are the members of staff friendly and do they seem happy in their work.

* Do you have to have an appointment to see the vet.

* How many veterinarians are there in the practice.

* Do they understand the problems associated with your French bulldog.

* Is the staff competent and calm.

* What are the fees.

* Are x ray, blood work and other diagnostic treatment available on the premises.

Don’t be afraid to ask the vet and the staff any questions or concerns that you have and talk with them about the problems associated with your frenchie, a reputable vet will be well aware of the problems surrounding a particular breed and know how to deal with them if they should occur.

You should take your dog or puppy with you when you visit so they can become accustomed to one another without any actual treatment been given, this way your dog or puppy won’t associate a trip to the vets with pain or discomfort.

Some dogs will naturally pick up housetraining more easily than others, some breeds just love to please and this shows by the quickness they pick up housetraining, other breeds such as the French bulldog can just be downright stubborn or lazy. There are however two basic aspects to housebreaking your puppy and these are:

* Confinement so that your puppy cant go to the bathroom in the wrong place.

* Regular or constant access to the right place for your puppy to go to the bathroom.

Follow these two simple rules and you can’t go far wrong, however that’s not to say that your puppy will see it this way. But what does confinement from the wrong places actually means, it simply means that you shouldn’t allow your dog to wander freely around the house until he is actually house broken.

By doing this you are ensuring that your puppy cannot “go” just anywhere he chooses to, unless you are playing, grooming, petting, walking, feeding or teaching him something then make sure he is confined. By doing this you can make sure that while you’re not watching him he isn’t going to the bathroom where he pleases, thus starting a bad habit.

Access to the right place means that you take your puppy to the place where you want him to “go”, this could be a litter box by the door or out in the garden, by doing this at regular times and times when your puppy is most likely to want to “go” will ensure good habits. Of course this doesn’t mean that your puppy will get the idea straight away, it could take months before they learn. Two good ideas are:

Confinement to a crate then taken outdoors

This is a common and effective way to housetrain your new puppy, whenever you aren’t with him confine him to a crate, then on a regular basis take the crate outside or to the designated bathroom area.

Confinement to a pen with newspaper

This method is a variation on the above and is more suitable if you are going to be out for a few hours at a time, your puppy will have a little more room to move about and newspaper or a litter box in which to use as their bathroom. However if you are going to use a cat litter box then make sure not to use regular cat litter, it can easily become digested and play havoc with the stomach. Also the dust from cat litter can make your frenchies breathing harder than it already is and will do nothing for the snuffles and sniffles.

There are many varied explanations of where the French bulldog actually originated from, however the most prevalent of these suggests that it came from the toy bulldog which was brought to France by some lace workers from Nottingham in the UK. There is however some that speculate the fact of artwork and skeletal finds of the bulldog know as Chincha in ancient Peru and which is said to closely resemble the French bulldog.

Excavated sites uncovered burial grounds which unearthed mummified bodies of dogs, skulls and skeletons, which did indeed confirm that bulldog like dogs did live around 1100 to 1400 AD in Peru. It was found that the Chincha bulldogs skull did have many similarities to what we know as the French bulldog today.

By the 1950`s and 1860`s England saw the increase of the toy or miniature bulldog and when many of the workers moved to France in search of work they took these smaller bulldogs with them. They found this small variety of bulldog was ideal for the small, cramped living conditions, in which they lived also these small bulldogs, were found to be excellent at hunting and killing rats which where to be a plague of that century.

Their popularity increased as more French realised they were not only good companions but also great “ratters”. By the mid 1860`s the breed became so popular and exportation to France was so great that the breed almost became extinct in England. The bulldog was then crossed with a terrier native to France the “terrier boule”, this also looked very similar to a small bulldog and this cross eventually gave rise to the French bulldog of which we know today.

Historians of other breeds have also claimed that the small bulldog was crossed with the pug but no evidence has ever substantiated this claim. What was known then as the petite boule quickly expanded in popularity throughout France and they became a favourite of the courtesans who adored the dog for its eccentric appearance? It was during this period that the upper class also fell for the charm of the little bulldog and its popularity soon began to extend to royalty.

The French bulldog however really took off in the 1880 when a group of French bulldog owners began to have regular meetings and it was during 1885 that the first provisional register of the breed was recognised and the French bulldog appeared in a show under its own name, the French bulldog in 1887. the French bulldog first appeared at a show in the United States in 1896 in New York, this is where the popular name “frenchie” was first given them and it is a name which has stuck with them ever since.

It was the Americans who organised the first ever French bulldog club in the world and it was these who first insisted that the “bat” ear of the dog which is still associated with the breed today should be considered the correct form for the standard.