French Bulldogs - Why so much negativity on here?

[FrenchieBFan]

Following on from a different thread, I noticed a lot of negativity surrounding French Bulldogs - as a Frenchie Owner (Had my first for 13 Years, now have x2 more aged 3 and 6) ) I have only heard bad things on here. All of ours have been pedigree / KC Registered with long, long bloodline. Never faced any Health issues, my first old girl lived a fantastic long life and our current two are a delight. They're funny, faithful, somewhat lazy and adored by everyone we meet on walks and activities.
Is there really so many horror stories out there surrounding the breeding and health?

They literally can’t naturally give birth? How on earth is that a marker of a healthy animal that it can’t naturally reproduce

https://cgejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40575-021-00112-3

Look at rescue centres, there are a lot of French Bulldogs cropping up for a reason. I think it's that many have immediate health problems that the owners cannot afford, so they dump them (a lot are found straying). I often see rescues doing fundraisers to pay for expensive ops for Frenchies (also English bulldogs).

I absolutely love my frenchie to death. So loving and lots of personality, really enjoys hikes and long walks. I do understand that some have health problems. Looking forward to being able to adopt / rescue a few that need a home, now that I'm aware of what their breed involves

If you read the study @rbe78 linked to above, you'll see why they are regarded as a problem - the standards of the breed are inherently unhealthy and lead to many dogs with siginificant, life-affecting conditions.

As individuals, the Frenchies I've met have been lovely, gentle and laid back animals. They've also laboured to breathe, had spinal problems and skin problems in their folds, and other associated conditions.

Extremes of body shape in selectively bred animals presents risks for those animals.

I've got a Frenchie, he's from long bloodlines, is in great shape, nearly 5 and has had no health problems, can breathe fine and trot along on 10k hikes.

However, I see a lot around that you can see are badly bred, being a fashionable dog was horrific for the breed as so many unhealthy dogs were being forced to pump
out litter after litter.

It's such a shame because my boy is the best dog, has a great personality, wants to be everybodies friend and is just a huge people pleaser. But I wouldn't have another one because the bloodlines have been abused so much now.

The average lifespan of a French Bulldog is now four years old.

They are incredibly unhealthy as a breed - eye issues, skin issues, breathing issues, ear issues - it's so sad what we've done to them.

You must have had a bit of an outlier if it lived until 13 years old. The Royal Veterinary College reports dogs with the lowest average ages as -

1. French Bulldog (4.53 years)
2. English Bulldog (7.39)
3. Pug (7.65)
4. American Bulldog (7.79)
5. Chihuahua (7.91)
6. Husky (9.53)
7. Beagle (9.85)
8. Boxer (10.4)
9. German Shepherd (10.16)
10. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (10.45)

It is no surprise the top 4 are brachycephalic dogs that have been bred to emphasise deformities of compressed skeletons to give them their desirable "funny" characters, but also a world of discomfort and pain. It is heart-breaking how common these poor dogs are since social media brought them in as a "fashion item" for irresponsible owners, ds did a school essay on them and think they went from 3k KC registrations to 35k in the space of just a few years. A KC registration does not mean a healthy dog - it just means it has been bred from another pedigree deformed dog.

The breeds should be banned and we (humans and especially the KC) should be ashamed of condoning breeding such unhealthy dogs to suffer in the name of being adorable. There are plenty of studies that will educate you on the problems with these breeds much better than a parenting site.

I used to be a vet nurse, feel extremely sorry for them and anyone that buys one is contributing to the problem. I used to work with an absolutely horrible vet and he loved them- because they made him the most money (would just say that he was literally the only vet I ever worked with that thought that way!)

Like many popular breeds, back street breeders have jumped on the bandwagon and bred animals with no thought or concern for health and that has resulted in poorly bred French Bulldogs.

I have seen many that are very small in stature but their heads are ginormous. This is appalling and results in females having to deliver their litter only by caesarean. As you can imagine if they don't they will die whilst giving birth.

I adore Frenchies. They are a joyful, farty house potatoes who bring laughter and snuggles to many homes BUT just look at them.

Their faces are deformed and they struggle to breath freely. They tend towards leg issues, joint problems and many other issues that wouldn't otherwise be there if the breed was less extreme.

Just because a dog is bred to KC standards doesn't mean that is a good thing.

We shouldn't be encouraging and enabling deformities for aesthetic purposes in animals full stop. Frenchies would be just as wonderful if the breed was allowed to have a less extreme smooshed in face. Same with things in other breeds like Queen Anne's legs, Bug Eyes and tiny cranial deformities. These things are not essential in any way and do not enhance the animal.

Somewhere along the line, someone took a healthier version of the animal and decided to genetically wipe out the natural appearance for what we've got now. That isn't right or fair.

You just have to look at sites like Pets4Homes to see the problem. The whole first page I just looked at is 90% blue French Bulldogs (NOT a recognised colour for very good reason, blue = skin problems) with a few "Fluffy" French Bulldogs thrown into the mix too (mostly blue!) - because it's a really good idea to breed a dog that already struggles with temperature regulation on hot days, with a thicker coat.

Yes there are breeders out there who try to be contentious and not breed the extra flat face, are proud of excellent BOAS scoring, but they are severely outnumbered by the for-profit backyard breeders who only care about "rare" colours and cold hard cash.

If someone is reading this and has never heard of BOAS scoring it's this:
https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/health-and-dog-care/health/getting-started-with-health-testing-and-screening/respiratory-function-grading-scheme/
A good breeder should only be breeding dogs graded 0, maybe 1 at the most.

This is the nostril grading for brachycephalic dogs:
https://www.pughealth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Nostril-Grading.jpg

Pic of a "fluffy" french bulldog which was for sale as an example of what NOT to look for.

Humans have literally bred a deformed dog because they think it cute.
Owning one even as a rescue continues the trend

Also this mess being used as a stud dog - I can smell the skin infection from that overgrown "nose rope" from here. 😩

They are hideous

You know I really should have just stopped looking. I can hear this one wheezing from here. And yes, this guy is being used as a stud dog.

It's like a tick list of awful things.

• complete lack of nostrils, this thing won't be able to breath
• unrecognised colour, blue, which means very likely even more skin problems than they usually have
• what is with the "nose rope"? And the PRIDE that they have a big "nose rope"? That extra thick flap of skin serves no purpose except to harbour skin infections, cause eye infections and hamper breathing even further.
• he was also being studded as being a "fluffy carrier" because of course he is, you too can breed fluffy frenchies that can't breath.

Lots of dogs have wonderful personalities - fortunately without chronic breathing and skin issues and the strong chance of being unable to give birth naturally.

I just feel sorry for them. An average life span of four years is appalling. I like basically the exact opposite type of dog, all three of mine are lanky, hairy bags of elbows, and just as fun, loving, playful, faithful and adored, without perpetuating deliberate encouragement of life altering deformities.

I think it's so sad that we breed dogs (pets) for esthetic reasons rather than functionality.

Anyone interested in the bull breeds should look at Levitt Bulldogs to get an idea what they should look like.
Or have a look at old pictures/ engravings to see the changes over a very short period of time.

This is a collection of photographs of various dog breeds from 1915:

https://archive.org/details/dogsofallnations00masorich/page/n5/mode/1up?view=theater

French bulldog is quite different.

They’re lovely dogs personality-wise and they’re cute - but as others have said they’re basically a result of humans purposefully breeding deformed dogs. All flat faced breeds are deformed - they shouldn’t exist. I say this as a (rescue) pug owner. Rescue existing brachycephalic dogs by all means but I believe breeding them should be illegal unless they’re crossed with another breed with a proper snout (like a puggle pug-beagle cross or a jack-pug for example). And of course all the requisite health testing should happen. Backyard breeding in general needs a massive crackdown. Norway has banned the breeding of English bulldogs for health reasons.

Saw four in the park this very morning all with one owner and noted to my friend under my breath that their faces looked deformed. That was my honest reaction. Poor little mites.

I believe breeding them should be illegal unless they’re crossed with another breed with a proper snout (like a puggle pug-beagle cross or a jack-pug for example). And of course all the requisite health testing should happen.

What requisite health testing - you never know what you are going to get if you cross breed you could get the bad bits from both breeds. They should just stop breeding from deformed dogs entirely. Let the breed die out.

I feel quite strongly about them after reading ds's research and would even say, as the poor dogs will not be aware of what is happening to them, there is a case to PTS any in rescues to 1) prevent further suffering, 2) stop the "advertising" of deformed dogs by them being seen in public.

I know there’s tests for genetic issues but I don’t know enough about breeding to know specifics. I don’t think it’s necessary to breed any more so I agree I don’t think it would be a bad thing if they became extinct. But then humans would genetically engineer some other monstrosity (XL bullies anyone?)

A friend of mine has a couple of French bulldogs, her insurance costs are astronomical and both dogs are utterly neurotic. I lost my spaniel a few months ago and she’s forever sending me photos of Frenchies needing homes and gets most offended when I say I don’t like the breed.