Things to consider when searching for your first dog are the following: structure, sex of the dog, DNA, overall health, breeder reputation, and budget. Each of these subjects will be discussed in later blog posts; it is important that none of these topics are overlooked as it will give you your best chance of getting a great first dog without worries of being scammed. Today’s blog is about structure!
I first heard about the French Bulldog breed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t get me wrong, I had seen Frenchies before, but I never understood why they were so expensive. Later that year, I saw myself with an opportunity to get a puppy off an old friend that I knew back when I served in the military. I trusted him because we had served together so I truthfully didn’t do much of any research into getting my first dog.
I should’ve done some more research! I didn’t mind paying my old friend $8,000 for my first female. My friend kept on telling me that she had “good pedigree and DNA.” It was easy for me to notice how much more increasingly popular the breed was getting so it appeared to me to be a no-brainer type of deal. I had literally just seen him earn way more than that just off one litter, so I figured the same would happen to me by the time my newborn female was mature.
Once my female had become of age (January, 2022) the French Bulldog market seemed to have been a lot different then during the COVID-19 pandemic. My pups weren’t going for as much as I thought they would. Honestly, now that I know a little more about Frenchies I think it would’ve been better if I had gotten a better structured female. I don’t feel like I got scammed; I just wish I had done a little more research.
-Frenchie Social User
What is structure? The American Kennel Club describes a Frenchie’s ears as being large, erect, and ‘bat like.’ Its head is described as large and square, with heavy wrinkles rolled above the extremely short nose. Next, the body is compact and muscular weighing less than 28 pounds. Anatomically, the French Bulldog is a mildly chondrodystrophic breed which means the breed exhibits short limbed dwarfism. This is okay as it is common in Bulldog breeds amongst other breeds such as Dachsunds and Skye Terriers. The key note is that extreme examples of chondrodystrophy is frowned upon because it produces undesirable effects in the breed.
The reason it is important to go so in depth is because structure may be different in other geographic locations due to lots of newer breeders liking to define structure based off of their location. California, Texas, Florida: all of these states have their own individual culture in how they like their dogs to look. Some prefer a smaller & more compact appearance while others prefer a more muscular & chunky look. To each their own; however, a problem starts to develop as new breeders base their camp’s structure off of previous breeders who aren’t taking the AKC’s standards into consideration. They will try to make an already tiny dog, more compact and large while maintaining its size. This is how you end up with so many dogs with structure problems where they can’t even breathe or walk on a leash correctly.
Creating a poorly structured dogs is inhumane as the animal is not able to function the way it properly should. All French Bulldogs should be able to play and move around with great mobility. It is important to ask to yourself, “How will I define structure for my camp’s guidelines?” Your guidelines shouldn’t stray too far away from the AKC standards of structure; however, as long as your Frenchie’s are healthy and passing along healthy DNA then it is alright.
First time French Bulldog buyers need to consider structure. If you are going to see your potential pup then you also need to see the parents as it will give a good indicator as to how the structure of your puppy will be once it has matured. If they have pedigree papers then with research you can even look into the grandparents of your future puppy. This research is the best way to know that you’ll receive a well-structured French Bulldog.
