Mary Allen
The French Bulldog is a real snuggle ball. Here you will learn everything about the breed’s character, husbandry and care and the breeding-related problems.
The French bulldog is small, scowling, and has huge bat ears. The “Frenchies” or “Bullys”, as the cute charmers are also affectionately called, are among the most popular dogs in the world. With their cute appearance, they wrap many people around their paws in no time.
The French bulldogs are quite undemanding when it comes to keeping them, which makes them more or less the ideal city dog. In any case, the breed is a perfect family dog that also takes children to its heart.
The breed is particularly popular as a beginner’s dog, as the French bulldogs are considered to be uncomplicated to train, are very people-oriented, and generally, always want to be “in the thick of things instead of just there”. In this respect, they have a lot in common with the visually similar Boston Terrier. However, the breed has several major problems due to breeding.
What does the French Bulldog look like?
The French bulldog is small, scowling, and has huge bat ears. The “Frenchies” or “Bullys”, as the cute charmers are also affectionately called, are among the most popular dogs in the world. With their cute appearance, they wrap many people around their paws in no time.
How big is a French Bulldog?
French bulldogs belong to the “small-sized Molossers”. Bully dogs are about 27 cm to 35 cm tall, bitches between 24 cm and 32 cm. The official VDH standard allows a deviation of one centimeter above or below this size. The dog is measured at the withers.
How heavy is a French Bulldog?
Males weigh 9 kg to 14 kg and females about 8 kg to 13 kg. Here, too, the standard allows a deviation of 500 g above the specifications if the bully meets all other criteria.
How old does a French Bulldog get?
A French bulldog from a reputable breeder will live anywhere between 10 and 12 years old if in good health and with proper care. The British Kennel Club even comes up with a life expectancy of twelve to 14 years and the American Kennel Club gives a range of eleven to 13 years.
Where does the French bulldog come from?
Frenchies are originally descended from English bulldogs. Traditionally, the dog was bred for fights with bulls (bullbaiting) and other dogs. Dog fighting was banned in England in the 19th century. This also had an impact on the dog breeds, because it changed the breeding goal: smaller, more peaceful bulldogs were now in demand from breeders.
Among other things, they were taken by French buyers in their home country to catch rats. They quickly became popular there and over time even made it from the lower class to aristocratic households.
Especially small specimens with prick ears were popular among the puppies. They were crossed with pugs and terriers. The characteristic bat ears in this dog only developed into a typical feature in France.
The male “Loupi” is considered to be the progenitor of today’s French bulldog. He lived to be about 15 years old and appears in almost all pedigrees. When the breed came to the United States in the late 1800s, it quickly became popular there for its ears. Individual dogs are said to have cost up to $5,000 from the breeder.
The first standard in France was also created around this time. In 1954 the French Bulldog was officially recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI).
What character or nature does the French bulldog have?
The French bulldog is popular as a so-called companion dog. Her character is considered friendly, good-natured, loving, and playful. She is best known to most for her cuddly and funny nature – a combat cuddler who practices cuddling as a competitive sport.
The Bully adapts very well to the rhythm of life and the living situation of its human. The dog is also neutral to open-minded towards strangers. In general, the French bulldogs belong to the quiet dog breeds. They rarely bark for no reason.
French Bulldog: the right attitude and training
The French Bulldog is a companion dog, not a dog bred for a specific job like the Dachshund, Bernese Mountain Dog, or German Shepherd. Despite all the cuddliness, the upbringing needs a certain consistency, otherwise, not only the puppies of this breed learn to quickly exploit every one of their weaknesses.
The little French is not suitable for high-performance sports, leisurely walks are more to the taste of the French smooch. Even as puppies, the dogs learn tricks quickly and with pleasure, because of course the small dog brain also wants to be busy.
French bulldogs are suitable as city dogs, but they should not have to climb stairs too often. This is especially true when the dogs are puppies.
What care does the French bulldog need?
Due to the short fur without an undercoat, Bullies do not need any special care for their fur or regular appointments with the dog groomer. (Reading tip: This is completely different with these dog breeds.) Occasional brushing serves more as a massage. This is very pleasant for owners, so the amount of dog hair in the apartment is limited.
However, it is important to keep an eye on facial wrinkles during care. The cute wrinkles are susceptible to dirt or parasites. So check regularly and gently remove dirt and moisture with a cloth.
You should also clean your eyes regularly. Carefully wipe out the creases. In the course of this, you can also see whether a possible eye infection is imminent and can act at an early stage.
Finally, there are the ears. Check them regularly for possible inflammation. Fungi or mites can nest and lead to lengthy treatments. It’s better to prevent it.
Therefore, occasionally drip some ear cleaner into the bat ears and massage it well. The dog is then allowed to shake out the dirt and you remove the remains with a soft cloth or cotton ball.
What are the typical diseases of the French Bulldog?
As cute as the French Bulldog is, these dogs have a lot of breeding issues. Although not all representatives of this breed are affected by health problems, it is still important to draw attention to this. Incidentally, it is interesting that the health of the animals is sometimes estimated by their keepers to be better than it actually is. This is shown by a study published in the summer of 2019. This is fatal since animal suffering so often goes unnoticed.
The problem with the nose
Like the pug, the French bulldog is one of the dog breeds with a particularly flat nose. They are also called flat-nosed dogs. Added to this is brachycephaly. This means that their heads and thus their noses were bred to be extremely short.
The popular child pattern, not only in puppies, results in brachycephalic syndrome in many dogs: a soft palate that is too long or too slack narrows the airways in the too small pharynx. The narrow nostrils make breathing even more difficult. The dogs begin to rattle. With age, when the tissue becomes looser, the symptoms can worsen.
Dog breeds with these problems are often only helped by a special operation. It is all the more important that the puppy – if it is supposed to be this breed – comes from a responsible breeder! He will try to raise puppies that don’t have these problems.
Problems with eyes and ears
Conjunctivitis and ear infections are also quite common. Due to the very round shape of the head, complications are more common when the puppies are born. Many bulldog breeds are affected by this.
Problems with the back
The French bulldog also often has back problems. If it is too short, it is often strongly curved upwards. This is due to the so-called wedge vertebrae, which cause hereditary shortening of the spine. They occur in the mid to posterior thoracic spine.
Wedge vertebrae do not have the normal rectangular shape in cross-section, but are wedge-shaped instead. The front edge is lower than the rear. If this leads to a curvature of the spine, symptoms such as movement disorders, paralysis, pain or even incontinence can occur. In addition to the French bulldog, the pug and the Boston terrier are also often affected by this problem.
Genetic problems
A genetic defect can cause the so-called Willebrand-Jürgens syndrome. This is a blood clotting disorder that shows up as nosebleeds or blood in the urine.
Gray and lilac dogs also carry the dilution gene, which can cause CDA (color dilution alopecia) in some breeds, such as the Labrador Retriever or Doberman pinscher. So far, however, nothing is known about this among Frenchies.
How much does a French bulldog cost?
You can get puppies of the French bulldog from the breeder for around 800 euros to 2,000 euros.