French Bulldog

[Manyandyoucanwalkover]

I was very sad to see a poor flat faced dog win the utilities section. There were so many lovely dogs in that section, with long faces. A dog who can actually breathe properly with the right shaped face, should have won. Crufts is the biggest dog show in the world and it’s utterly shameful that they are promoting dogs who can’t breathe properly.

It's a travesty what we've done to those dogs. Personality wise, I have never met and unpleasant one, but they're so deformed and unhealthy that the vast majority just spend their lives in pain and misery until they die at a tragically young age.

If you look at pictures of them even 40 years ago, they looked so different.

Your words ' Dogs should be able to run around, play, chaise and get muddy. Afterwards they should be able to knonk out on their bed / settee sleeping peacefully ... oh and did i metion that they lolove gobbling up their food? '
My three do all of the above so does that fit with your prerequisite? I totally agree that the breed has been ruined , I totally agree that it is unfair when you see them struggling , I agree that more should be done to stop the bad breeding , I know that some of the frenchies around are bred to produce 'rare' colours and along with that comes a wealth of health issues. My point is that not ALL frenchies are unhealthy the same way all breeds have their health issues , there is a very large number who sadly are . The problem has been exacerbated by the frenchie becoming popular through social media and celebrity. I do not feel that every frenchie and by extension their owner should be vilified. Some dogs are rescues( mine included) that have been given a better home where they can be given the care they need to have a great and healthy life. My dogs ARE healthy and my dogs are HAPPY.

@babybirdsmomma So you just happen to have rescued 3 French bulldogs who are all the exception to the breed?

You're honest enough to admit the breed has been ruined and that the majority of them have health issues, so I find it very hard to believe your 3 rescues have zero health problems.

I have 3 ,
1 - bought from breeder , all health checks on parents were good , no issues with BOAS etc - happy and healthy from the onset
2 - rescued from an abusive situation, issues due to being abused - happy and healthy now

3 - rehomed from someone who took on more than they could chew , being fed the wrong foods which would cause issues with any breed - happy and healthy now

Do not really care whether you find it hard to believe or not , the truth is that my three are fine as are many of the people I know who care for frenchies , however they have come by having them in their families. So easy to come on a forum and bad mouth people as a whole when the reality is that there are very many healthy frenchies. True lovers of the breed are also disgusted by the way the breed has been butchered so shouldn't be counted with the ignorants .

Didn't you recently post about another Frenchie who died very young of a heart attack which is another very common health problem in this breed?

Genuinely sorry for your loss, I know how hard it is to lose a dog, but it is disingenuous to leave that out while telling us how healthy your living Frenchie's currently appear to be.

No Touch

Didn't you recently post about another Frenchie who died very young of a heart attack which is another very common health problem in this breed?

Genuinely sorry for your loss, I know how hard it is to lose a dog, but it is disingenuous to leave that out while telling us how healthy your living Frenchie's currently appear to be.

I'm not disingenuous, the topic of conversation was their health due to bad breeding concerning their breathing. My beautiful girl had none of those issues , She did die young , from a suspected congenital heart defect but without a post mortem there was no way to know for sure. The frenchies have many issues but heart problems is not common in them . It is common in other larger breeds such as boxers , Rottweilers , German shepherds, retrievers.

My living frenchies don't appear to be healthy , they are healthy , currently doing zoomies in the rain, playing and not struggling to breathe as some people think every frenchie does.
There are a myriad of issues with the breed but do not assume that every single one of them is suffering in some form as it simply isn't true. Sadly no matter how hard we explain this it appears to be falling on deaf ears. So just to make my stance very clear , I do not agree with the way a particular type of breeder is producing animals that are having aesthetics put before health , it makes me sad that there are many animals out there suffering. But this can be said for other breeds too and whilst it's not to the same extent as the French bulldog it is happening.

Oh gawd, why do I get involved in these threads, it gives me the rage.

“The frenchies have many issues but heart problems is not common in them.”

I hate it when misinformation is stated as fact. That is categorically not true.

French Bulldogs are the third most common pure breed dog to present with any isolated congenital heart condition. The most common in Frenchies being pulmonary stenosis, which is actually increasing in incidence in the breed, not decreasing. They are also over represented in dogs with tumours of the heart base. There are plenty of studies that prove these and the statistics are easily found online.

In the interests of fairness, the top two breeds were the Boxer, and the German Shepherd.

I don't really care if you believe that your particular dogs are healthy or not. You got lucky, but it's not enough to defend the Frechie as a breed.

The breed overall isn't healthy and people should not advocate for them or buy them. Buy all means rescue, if you have enough savings.

Their appearance might be appealing to you. But everything you think is aesthetically pleasing about the dog is the route course for all the health problems.

There are many many studies out there, some of which have conflicting views. There has been a link between grain free diet ( many frenchies have this due to allergies ) and heart disease.
'Some of the dog breeds that were reported more than once include Yorkshire Terrier, Afghan Hound, Australian Cattle Dog, Standard Long-haired Dachshund, Pomeranian, Portuguese Water Dog, Boston Terrierr, Chihuahua, Dalmatian, Flat-coated Retriever, French Bulldogg, Miniature Schnauzer, Rottweiler, etc. The most-reported dog breed is the Golden Retriever.'
That's a long list with frenchies included in there. No one is saying it's not an issue but it affects many other breeds too. Bottom line is that the breed needs to have better control over how it is being bred to stop all the suffering and anguish.

@babybirdsmomma a congenital issue is something a dog is born with.

It's not due to later diet, grain free or otherwise.

many frenchies have this due to allergies
This implies, to me at least, that Frenchies are prone to allergies - which doesn't exactly imply that they're a healthy breed.

I’m chatting with my vet friend while watching Best In Show. She’s praying the bloody Frenchie doesn’t win, on the basis that the last thing the world needs is more of the ghastly deformed unhealthy things.

It’s a case of ABF - Anything But the Frenchie.

I hope that Incredibly cute little JRT wins. 🤞

I know what a congenital heart condition is , the point was that some of the heart problems are linked to diet and not all to a birth defect . Bulldogs and French Bulldogs heart Disease can be a congenital born defect like aortic and/or pulmonary stenosis or one that is acquired at a later age like dilatative cardiomyopathy, heart base tumors, and endocardiosis. And yes they do suffer with allergies. Which is why better breeding is needed and in the meantime a better understanding by owners of what their dog needs to keep them from suffering.

Dance floor acrobatics

The breed overall isn't healthy and people should not advocate for them or buy them. Buy all means rescue, if you have enough savings.

Their appearance might be appealing to you. But everything you think is aesthetically pleasing about the dog is the route course for all the health problems.

We all know the breed overall isn't healthy which is why they need to be advocated for , the healthy , longer legged , longer palate , correct colour , open nares etc. A breed of dog isn't chosen by its aesthetics alone , the French bulldog has the personality that appeals. Can't stress enough how it pains me too that the breed is in the position it is.

Thank fuck for that. Well done that judge.

thst winner has no tail. ☹️

Aussies have a bob tail. It’s normal for the breed and not docked.

At least it’s not a docked breed, thankfully. Apparently the lack of tail is a genetic trait in an otherwise robust, sound, healthy, natural working-type dog. I don’t think there’s going to be a population explosion of Aussie Shepherds.

How many dogs are continuing to be breed that don't pass the breathing test?

Is passing the breathing test fully protective for the offspring? Or is it one of those things that can occur from any parentage (as shape/size of parents skeleton is never fully predictive?)

Genuine question btw - I don't know about these tests and how they factor in to heredity as I've never had a flat face pet (dog or anything else)

It's like Manx cats. There's a short-tail gene, and depending on what's passed down from each parent you can get full tail, short tail or bob-tail

I completely agree with you. When I'm out on walks I hear these dogs struggling to breathe. They're lovely dogs, I just wish the flat face could be bred out to something more natural.

It's not supposed to!

On the fence whether it is preferable to have docked tails than encourage breeding the gene that causes spine defects and euthansia of puppies that are born with spina bifida.

(I don't agree with either, dogs should have tails, they use them to communicate and in play with other dogs)

I was disgusted that a French bulldog was in the final lineup.

I'd support a complete ban of them at dog shows.

I wanted the JRT to win 🐶

I genuinely cannot understand how a breeder who loves frenchies and breeds for health does not, then, select for a slightly longer muzzle.

All the BOAS tests done to see who can breathe and who cannot when the whole issue can easily be sorted with two or three inches of nose.

How on earth do you keep selecting a physical trait you know comes with the risk of suffocation rather than choose a slight adjustment to form?

It's breed standard. Aussies are 99% still working dogs. Much like many spaniel breeds, the tails are docked naturally.

Separately though, as much as I think that is a beautiful example of the Aussie breed (and deserved to win), I wish it hadn't. I can just see the local idiots all wanting to buy them now because they're so pretty...and having no understanding of how difficult Aussies are to own and the commitment involved.

Sigh.