Long story short, but other half works with someone who breeds French Bulldogs, and he's been offered a pup from a litter planned in about 13 months. He's really keen, but wanted to get the dirty, before he says yes to this woman and doens't want to turn round and say he's changed his mind! He is GREAT with sweep, got the hang of walking and looking after him, which is a good effort, cause sweeps blind and anxious of new people, but he's never owned a dog himself. So would they make good first dogs? He has a more than decent sized garden, especially for a dog of that size, and a massive local park. I know he would put lots of time and effort into the dog, and lots of research, but are they a good breed for first time owners? Not too many awkward quirks or not too stubborn? Basically just give me the good the bad and the ugly and i'll pass on the info!
i think frenchies are great little dogs and i would love to own one one day i know anne-marie on here has one, and theres a couple of other people that do. i dont know what health tests and things they need maybe someone else can help you with that or look on the breed club websites.
Hi There are no KC required tests, however if you go onto the French Bulldog Club of England web site then you will see a list of recomended tests that are now done on Frenchies. The main one being a DNA test for Hereditary Cataracts. They do tend to have stubborn/obstinate traits like all the bull breeds and can get fixated on things. They snort and snuffle and talk a lot but are not prolific barkers and have a tendency for really bad wind They are extremely comical. Marvin is now 9 months he is a delight. They are supposed to be a little harder to toilet train than other breeds but we have had no problems by following all the normal advice. (Taking out every hour and after feeding at the start and gradually lengthening). They become very people orientated and can become very dependant but not in a whiney way ( always need to know where you are and what you're doing) sorry don't know how to better explain that. Then again we have had no problems with seperation anxiety. We do pop him in the playpen with his cuddly when we go out and leave the radio on though. I would say they could make a very good first dog as long as you read up about the breed and prepare youself for their little foibles. They do not need masses of exercise 2 fifteen/twenty minutes walk a day when fully grown would suffice but they do love a long ramble too and Marvin has very good recall. Because of their flat faces I know some do have breathing problems but fingers crossed we have not had any experience of this. Hope this helps
Oh and one thing I almost forgot as so far we have only actually experienced this once. Check out the french bulldog death yodel on you**be. I think you will be stunned lol. Marvin has only done this once shortly after we brought him home. Think it was either the 1st or 2nd time we put him in his crate and he could not actually see us. I would definitely advise having a puppy in your bedroom in your line of sight for the 1st couple of weeks till he gets used to his new surroundings
you star, that's great! thank you i will pass the info on. I'll of course help him, but I've only ever had cavvies, so it's useful for me too!
Hi Emmis - I would strongly recommend that he only gets a puppy that has not only been tested for cateracts, but more importantly (IMO) both parents should have had spine X-rays to ensure they do not have any spinal issues such as Hemivertebrae. I would recommend your partner reads up about the health issues that can affect Frenchies, such as cleft palate, pinched nostrils, hip displaysia etc. Both French Bulldog breed clubs strongly advocate rigorous health testing and they are good sites to learn more about them. The other thing that is essential is to keep their wrinkles clean and vaseline their noses. I use a non-scented wet wipe to wash her face and under her tail every day and rub a dab of vaseline on her nose to stop it drying out (they can crack if not and get sore) None of this is high maintenance and takes less than a minute to do each day.;-) Care has to be taken in hot weather as they can overheat easily. When it's very warm, walk early morning or later in the evening when the heat of the sun has gone. Please don't be put off by this - there are lots of happy healthy Frenchies, you just have to be careful as lots of people know they are popular and see them as an easy way to make money, testing is the last thing on their minds:-( As Bijouinnuendo has said they are very friendly, happy little dogs with a HUGE personality. They aren't the type who yap all the time, but I do agree when they do that yodel it is quite something! Lola is generally quiet in the house, but she is a good little guard giving a woof when she hears something unusual. They definitely have no idea whatsover that they are small! Frenchies are very much the clowns, larger than life attitude. Lola is hilarious, she is such a live-wire and is Miss Personality-Plus, she totally has Marius (my 5yr old Rottweiler) at her beck & call. Frenchies need company and hate being left alone - I work part-time and even though it's less than 18hrs a week, you'd think I'd left her for 24hrs the way she looks at me when I get back! Lola is my first Frenchie and she has definitely ignited a major passion in them for me. I think they are amazing little dogs.
One more thing - yes, I crate-trained Lola too. I had read a few times that Frenchies can be murder to house-train, but she picked it up quite quickly and was no harder than any of my other dogs TBH. I think the crate helped with this. I don't allow my dogs upstairs,so we just had ours in the living room. But she did really well. They can be stubborn and I think the secret to their training is to be more stubborn than they are.
He works with the breeder, so speaks to him every day, so i'll get him to check on health checks! I'll text those to him now before i forget! Thanks again, that's all fantastic info!
