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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.
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While you might have in mind the exact breed of puppy you want many people have to make this decision when thinking of buying a puppy, there are so many different breeds to choose from each possessing qualities of their own. However there is also another option available when buying a puppy and this is buying a mixed breed puppy.
A mixed breed puppy can be just as beautiful as a pure bred and they are just as intelligent, a mixed breed is a mixture of two different breeds of dog somewhere down the line. Depending on if it is a first generation mixed, for example the mother could be a Labrador and the father a German Shepard then the puppy could look very similar to either of its parents and have the traits associated with both.
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Just because someone proudly brags that their puppy is a pedigree and it’s registered by a kennel club doesn’t necessarily mean that their puppy is any better than yours. Being registered by a kennel club doesn’t automatically mean that the puppy is of superior quality to one which isn’t, the kennel club will register any puppy whose parents were registered and those parents were registered because their parents were registered, and so it goes on. Registration by a kennel club simply means that you filled in a form and paid your money to keep the chain of registration going.
What does the pedigree mean?
Again apply to the kennel club, fill in a form, pay your money and they will access their database and look for the long list of names of your puppy’s parents, grand parents, great grand parents e.t.c, as many of them and as far back as you wish to pay for. A pedigree is really just nothing more than a family tree that we humans can trace back to find our relatives; the dog hasn’t had to meet any specific requirements for behaviour, temperament, health or appearance.
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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.
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The French bulldog breed is prone to several conditions and congenital diseases the most common of these being problems relating to breathing due to the squatness of their face. The French bulldog is also particularly prone to a condition called Von Williebrands disease which is a disease similar to haemophilia in humans. Many breeders of the French bulldog now routinely perform tests for this particular disease.
One of the most common defects found in the French bulldog is elongated soft palate or cleft palate, cleft palate is considered to be something which is almost impossible to correct in the French bulldog and so puppies born with this defect are generally put down at birth.
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Image by utomjording via FlickrThe French bulldog is a small, compact, short coated dog which weighs around 11kgs, they can be very stubborn particularly when older and training should commence at an early age. The French bulldog is known for its comical expressive face and heavy or noisy breathing due to the squatness of its face and nose, the French bulldog can live a life expectancy of around 9 to 15 years.
French bulldog dietary requirements
Weight can be a problem for the frenchie and this should be monitored constantly as it can lead to serious breathing difficulties, heart problems and back problems in the breed. Click here to read more …
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The French bulldog or “Frenchie” as they are charmingly nicknamed is a delightful little animal which can make an excellent companion, guard dog and is also excellent around children.
It is however a breed that doesn’t like to be left alone for long periods of time but rather loves spending time with a companion and is regarded as a faithful companion dog. The French bulldog has earned itself several nicknames which includes “a clown”, “fearless” and “gay” and due to its small size needs very limited space so is ideal for those that live in apartments. Click here to read more …
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The cost of the French bulldog is mostly determined by the quality of the breed, if you are looking for a dog that meets the standard for the breed to a tee with the option of showing the dog at dog shows then you will pay more for a puppy than you would if you just had in mind to have the dog as a pet.
A French bulldog sold just as a pet will not meet the high standards that are needed and meet the specific criteria that is set out in the breed standard, this might be that the ears are slightly too small than that of the standard or they don’t stand right on the head. This of course doesn’t defer from the dogs appearance and lovability of course and the puppy is worthy of buying if you just want a companion dog and of course they are cheaper, but if you want a dog for show then you will have to ensure that it does meet the exact standards and of course the show breeders will charge a high price for a puppy that come from show stock quality. Click here to read more …
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