Irresistible “Lapsitter” and Versatile Performer

For a breed whose name begins with the word “French,” the French Bulldog may very well be much more apple pie and tea and crumpets than crêpes Suzette. In fact, breeders in England and the United States may have had at least as much — and quite likely more — influence on the development of the modern French Bulldog as French breeders.  

How so, you ask? Well, more than 200 years ago, English Bulldog breeders began to tinker with the breed, changing it from the strong, athletic dog that was used in the sport of bull baiting. Some bred for a bigger, heavier dog with exaggerated features. Others crossed the Bulldog with Terriers to get dogs for ratting or dogfighting. Still another group selectively bred for smaller, lighter, toy-sized dogs with round foreheads, short underjaws and either upright or rose ears.

The smallest dogs became very popular with the lacemakers around the Nottingham area. But many small craft shops, including those that made lace, went out of business during the Industrial Revolution. Many of the lacemakers had originally come to England from Lille in northern France. When they returned to Normandy, they took their little bulldogs with them.

From Normandy, the little dogs spread to Paris, where they became very popular with ordinary Parisians and the favorites of the Parisian belles de nuit, or “ladies of the night.” Rich Americans traveling in France discovered the little dogs — leaving it to your imagination just how they discovered them — and began bringing them back to the U.S. The Americans preferred the dogs with erect ears and established the section of the standard that calls for “bat” ears. The first French Bulldog club was also started in the U.S.

While the Frenchie’s forte has always been its charm, it turns out these little dogs, while not exactly renowned for performance, are surprisingly versatile and athletic. There are very few performance sports they don’t do. Even sports like dock diving, where due to their heavier fronts they’re not particularly good swimmers, have not been off limits for the breed. 

“While dock diving and water sports are a challenge, I take Lizzie swimming, and with a life jacket, she gets along fine in the water,” says Terry May, who serves on the honors and awards committee of the French Bulldog Club of America. Leaping into the water, however, is still a work in progress, as Lizzie— formally known as Merveille Just Call Me Lizzy RN NFP CA FCAT CGC TKI ATT— isn’t entirely comfortable with it yet.

Lizzie is happy to swim with a life jacket, but leaping into the water is still a stretch for her.

Frenchies are fun to work with because they learn quickly and without a lot of repetition, May continues. “They are muscular, agile and also have quite a strong prey drive. They are generally active, alert and playful. One of the things that makes them quite easy to train is that they love to be with me and try very hard to please. They love excitement and really like being the center of attention. The more applause they hear, the more animated they become. This results in faster performances in the dog sports, and in the show ring, it pumps them up and brings out their ‘look at me’ attitude.”

Ellyn Hutson says Frenchies can do so many different sports because they are happy-go-lucky dogs that are willing to try just about anything. 

“They want to have fun, enjoy challenges and puzzles, and they love spending time with their human partners,” she says. “We try to be ambassadors for the breed in performance sports.”

Jitterbug (GChB Fabelhaft Robobull Catalina Swing BN RN FDC FCAT3 THD RATS CGCACGCU TKN ATT FITG FBDCA VOM-S), Hutson’s other Frenchie, has her own fan club in barn hunt.

Her Frenchie, Jitterbug (GChB Fabelhaft Robobull Catalina Swing BN RN FDC FCAT3 THD RATS CGCACGCU TKN ATT FITG FBDCA VOM-S), has her own fan club in barn hunt because she “talks” the entire time she’s hunting and good-naturedly “fusses” at the rat wranglers when they remove her rats from the course. Not to be outdone, Fiddlesticks (GChS Caney Branch Fabelhaft Back Up and Push DCAT RATO TKN) streaks down the Fast CAT lane with her famous “Frenchie smile,” much to the delight of the children watching from the sidelines. 

“Frenchies have quite a different way of approaching challenges than other breeds I’ve owned,” Hutson says. “They are thinkers, but they think differently than one would imagine. As a result, you need to know your dog and anticipate how they approach a challenge — then you can react to it.”

Fiddlesticks (GChS Caney Branch Fabelhaft Back Up and Push DCAT RATO TKN), one of Ellyn Hutson’s Frenchies, loves Fast CAT and streaks down the lane with her famous “Frenchie smile.”

According to Jeanne Williams, whose current Frenchie is Slick (GChB RACHGailwin’s Gigolog@ Hollywood N Devine CDX BN GN RM3 RAE3 OAP OJP XFP CA THD CGCA CGCU TKN), the breed is very smart and picks up on any training quickly. Their devotion to their owners and their desire to please makes them successful in a variety of sports. 

“If they have the necessary health clearances, they can play in almost any arena,” she says. “I have not found much they can’t do if you are patient, although I don’t think I’d try dock diving because of their short noses. But I know that some Frenchie owners have been successful in that sport. 

“They’re such friendly dogs that I’ve found keeping their attention in the rally or obedience rings to be a challenge sometimes. They think they know someone outside the ring, and, of course, they must go visit. So one of the first things I try to work on is attention, which is helpful in any of the dog sports.”

Slick (GChB RACHGailwin’s Gigolog@ Hollywood N Devine CDX BN GN RM3 RAE3 OAP OJP XFP CA THD CGCA CGCU TKN), Jeanne Williams’ French Bulldog, is proof of her assertion that the breed can play in almost any arena.

“Frenchies are very smart and usually very motivated,” says Tina Tschudi, whose current dog is Cartman (Blackties’s Irresistibly Bad RE NAP NJP NFP CA FCAT3 SCN SEN SIN SBN SINE SCA SEA SCNE SENE SIA SCE RATO C-SWE C-SWP C-SWM CGC).

Because Cartman “lives to get outdoors,” Fast CAT and scent work are his favorite activities, Tschudi says. But being a brachy breed, he sometimes has difficulty in scent work when the hides are high. 

“It’s also necessary to be aware of the temperature as when it’s hot, he sometimes runs out of gas quicker than my AmStaffs,” she continues. “We’re currently training in obedience, as that’s one title he doesn’t have and it’s not either his or my favorite. It’s been necessary to break down every component of the exercises and go slow. The sit for exam has been a challenge because Cartman doesn’t like having his head touched. I’m hoping we will be able to overcome this issue in a trial, but for now, training is going well.”

Above: Cartman (Blackties’s Irresistibly Bad RE NAP NJP NFP CA FCAT3 SCN SEN,SIN SBN SINE SCA SEA SCNE SENE SIA SCE RATO C-SWE C-SWP C-SWM CGC), Tina Tschudi’s French Bulldog, lives to get outdoors, so any coursing sport is something he enjoys. Below: While agility isn’t Cartman’s favorite, he has been successful at it.

Jodi Kimizuka’s French Bulldog Boomer (Ch PACH Tahoma’s Darn the Torpedoes MXP8 MXPG MJP3 MJPB PAX CA GCAT SCN SBN CGC TKN) is the only male Frenchie to achieve both a conformation and agility championship. 

“Agility isn’t really an ideal sport for Frenchies, as they’re not known for their drive and their stocky, square body isn’t really built for the pounding, twisting and jumping that is part of agility,” she explains. “The Frenchie standards call for the males to be more bully and stockier, which makes agility even more difficult for the boys. Another issue is keeping their drive up. I had to be a running cheerleader when I ran agility with him. At the master level, you have to be fast, so the hardest part was getting Boomer to be consistently fast and motivated.”

Valarie Candelaria notes that Frenchies are happy to do what you want most of the time — especially if there is something in it for them, like food. 

“They really thrive when they get to spend their lives with you doing fun things. But they can have a stubborn streak, and being brachycephalic can make highly active sports like agility harder for some French Bulldogs,” she says. “Overall, however, they are happy to compete as long as you keep it fun.”

Vandal (Storytime Don’t Stop Me Now BN RI FDC SWN SCA THDA CGCA CGCU TKN ATT), Valarie Candalaria’s French Bulldog, finds scent work a job he likes.  

Her Vandal (Storytime Don’t Stop Me Now BN RI FDC SWN SCA THDA CGCA CGCU TKN ATT) much prefers sports where she can talk to him while competing, so obedience wasn’t his favorite. But, in true Frenchie fashion, laughter turned out to be the best medicine.

“We struggled with the recall for quite some time before I had the idea of using his nickname, ‘Monsieur,’ before the ‘come’ command,” Candelaria explains. “The first time I said, ‘Monsieur, come’ was at the nationals. He ran straight to me and sat at both trials like we’d never had an issue. Everyone watching cracked up, and, true to Frenchie form, when people laugh at their behavior, they’ll do it again and again. He finished his first obedience title shortly after that weekend.”

Vandal likes sports where his owner can talk to him, so obedience isn’t his favorite.  

Jill Faulmann agrees that Frenchies can be stubborn, but having a French Bulldog in performance sports often makes heads turn. 

“I’ve had many judges tell me that they’d never had a Frenchie in their ring. But they do want to take charge of whatever you are doing with them, and they can put on their ‘deaf ears,’” she says. “Training a Frenchie requires a good sense of humor.” 

High-level obedience can be especially challenging because of the Frenchie’s resistance to “taking orders,” as well as the very repetitious training involved at that advanced level. Faulmann offers this glimpse into the Frenchie’s internal monologue: “Why should I walk at heel when there’s something to sniff over in the corner?” “Me pick this thing up, go over a jump and bring it back to you? Why?”

Slick bounces out of the tunnel in agility.

Unlike other breeds developed to work alongside their handlers and be willing to do the same things over and over, that’s not what you get with a French Bulldog, Faulmann reminds.

“Teaching a Frenchie to take and then retrieve a dumbbell can be difficult,” she explains. “Although they’re willing to play with toys, you have to treat the dumbbell as ‘work,’ although to be worked happily. If you treat it as a toy, at some point the dog will consider it a toy and possibly stop bringing it to you.”

In addition, the Frenchie’s short nose can make jumping an issue. “Starting with low jumps and using an aid like cavalettis, taken from the hunter/jumper world of horse training, can be very helpful,” Faulmann advises. “Luckily, Homer (GCh 2stars Swingn’ For The Fences at TX Star CD BN RE OAP OJO XFP THDS CGCA CTCU TKA) is a wonderfully fluid jumper, and it took very little work to be successful at that aspect of his work.”

Above: Homer (GCh 2stars Swingn’ For The Fences at TX Star CD BN RE OAP OJO XFP THDS CGCA CTCU TKA), Jill Faulmann’s Frenchie, is a wonderfully fluid jumper. Below: While French Bulldogs may not be built perfectly for agility, Homer thinks it’s fun.  

May had an issue with Lizzie in scent work that required some outside-the-box thinking. 

“In scent work, the dog is supposed to be rewarded with a treat when they find the scent, and the dog is also supposed to take the treat. However, Lizzie isn’t food driven, so it has been a challenge to convey what the goal of the game is to her,” she says. “I’ve found that cheerleading is the key to resolving any issue with Lizzie, as the more excited and animated I am, the more willing she is to stick with me and participate in something she thinks is less fun than some of the other sports she prefers.”

May thinks the Frenchie’s outsized popularity is both a blessing and a curse. “While I can appreciate that so many people love the breed, not everyone who becomes involved with them has the breed’s best interests at heart.”

Candalaria agrees with that assessment, citing irresponsible breeding as the biggest challenge the breed faces today. “We are losing this fantastic breed to people who are breeding for money alone, and are intentionally breeding mixes while telling puppy buyers they are purebred and health tested,” she says. “Then they sell folks puppies that are not tested beyond Embark and come with problems ranging from poor temperaments to breathing problems to spine issues to everything in between.”

Jodi Kimizuki’s Boomer (Ch PACH Tahoma’s Darn the Torpedoes MXP8 MXPG MJP3 MJPB PAX CA GCAT SCN SBN CGC TKN) is the only male Frenchie to be both a conformation champion and achieve an agility championship. 

“The popularity of Frenchies is a real issue,” Williams agrees. “It brings out the breeders who don’t necessarily love the breed but love the status, as they see it, and the financial gain. As a preservation breeder, it breaks my heart to see some of the puppies being produced under sad circumstances. And since the new owners haven’t done their homework, they don’t understand the breed, which means Frenchies in rescue have increased dramatically.”  

“Frenchies are being overbred by greedy ‘fad color’ people who are doing nothing but producing dogs for a big profit,” Faulmann concurs. “Frenchies do not come in merle, or with blue eyes, long hair or fluffy coats. The cuteness, personality and playfulness of a French Bulldog are very endearing, but unfortunately too many people looking for a Frenchie do not do their homework to find quality breeders who to breed to the standard and pay attention to health issues. As a result, instead of getting a dog that’s a lifelong joy, they wind up with one that’s a lifelong problem.”   

Boomer is not a “one trick dog”: He also loves chasing a lure, finding scents and doing tricks.  

Hutson notes that the “fad Frenchie” has become a serious issue for the breed. “The AKC has permitted registration of French Bulldogs with coloration, coat and conformation that does not fit the breed standard. All these ‘fad Frenchies’ are mixed breeds with longer legs, longer noses and often serious health issues. But if you follow the AKC’s Fast CAT rankings for French Bulldogs, all the top dogs are mixes. As a result, those of us who have French Bulldogs that are actually purebred will never have the opportunity to compete in the AKC Fast CAT invitational at the AKC nationals. If the AKC needs the registration fees and event entry fees, I wish they would create a new breed for these mixes under a name that contains neither ‘French’ nor ‘Bulldog.’ Then they could do their thing and we could do ours.”