This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, April 2015 issue.
In the past ten years or so registration statistics for French Bulldog puppies and litters registered with the AKC have risen dramatically. From 2013 to 2014 alone, French Bulldogs have gone from #11 to #9 in registration.
Those of us who love French Bulldogs and consider ourselves the caretakers of the breed, we understand these dramatic increase in numbers is not the result of an increase in the number of responsible breeders as much as it is the result of commercial kennels recognizing the financial opportunities that breeding French Bulldog represent.
The French Bulldog standard is interesting for judges and students of the breed. It has no faults listed. Much of the standard was borrowed word from word from the Bulldog standard before it was approved (for the first time) by the AKC in 1897.
The US was the first country to have an approved standard and were leaders in specifying that the breed have bat ears while breeders in England were still debating whether bat and rose ears were equally acceptable.
The standard has MANY disqualifications, most having to do with coat and nose color—and weight. Those breeders who are into breeding French Bulldogs for the money either haven’t read the standard or more likely don’t care what the standard’s DQs are. You just have to visit the new akc.org website on French Bulldogs to see photos of dogs with color disqualifications and other breed DQs—dogs with drop ears which would be a DQ for not being a bat ear and being a mutilation—yes mutilation is the word used in the breed standard as a DQ.
Since some breeders are deliberately breeding dogs with color DQs, there are coat colors and eye colors that are being produced now that are not described in the standard that is really scary. Nowhere does the standard mention harlequin French Bulldogs or green or blue eyes. Despite how the akc.org website currently reads, the two most distinctive features of the French Bulldog are the bat ears and the silhouette of the dog in profile.
The characteristic head profile/layback of muzzle, bat ears, extremely short nose; arched neck, the compact (referring to the loin) body with the characteristic roach back/moderate arch over the loin and straight or screwed tail hung low in repose; hind legs longer than the short front legs to elevate the loins about the shoulders, for both front and back feet the toes are supposed to be compact with short stubby nails, the slightly longer hind feet that are hard to detect when compared to the front feet. The standard does not say the dog is supposed to be square, off square, 15% longer than tall, long. The reference to short stubby nails is the only mention of a possible grooming requirement in the standard. Some people clip/scissor the hair in the ears and around the tail. Putting Vaseline® on the dog’s nose to soften it is fine too. Using a chemical to make a nose black is not fine but there is no way to prove a nose color doesn’t occur in nature unless the dye comes off on a tissue.
For judges of the breed, we recommend first evaluating the dog in profile remembering that the standard requires that everything be in proportion—all points so well distributed that the dog does not look poorly proportioned. If the dog does not have bat ears, he should be disqualified. Judges are not supposed to be veterinarians, so interpreting the DQ for mutilation could mean a dog that has a piece of ear missing/drop ear; a dog that is obviously blind or has an ulcer or some other eye deformity; judges are not supposed to have the expertise to determine if the dog has other mutilations such as entropion surgery, throat, nose, or mouth surgery. If there is any question about the dog’s weight, this would be the time to call for the scale to allow the superintendent/show secretary time to get the scale to the ring.
Weight DQ is important, the only way to correctly figure out the weight is by calling for the scale. If there is any question on how that is done, once a judge calls for the scale, the AKC rep will also be called to the ring to assist with the procedure. Unfortunately, AKC doesn’t have requirements on scales. Of course, there must be a weight to calibrate the scale. That being said, some of the scales that superintendents have at shows are literally bathroom scales. The dog should have the option to stand or sit on the scale, with or without his collar on and some of these scales are so tiny the only option for a (large) French Bulldog to try to get comfortable is to sit and it’s impossible for a lot of big French Bulldogs to stand on these small scales.
Approaching the dog from the front, the judge should be sure to remember the standard calls for heavy bone. Looking at the legs/front there should be a square. The standard allows for dogs of small or medium size. As long as the dog does not weigh over 28 pounds, there should not be a concern with a bitch being larger than a male. As long as the dog does not have a color DQ, color should not be considered in the determination of which French Bulldog is placed first/BOB.
The French Bulldog standard has never assigned a lot of importance in terms of points to movement (when a description of movement was added to the breed standard, the 1991 standard revision eliminated the point scale). That being said, a French Bulldog should be able to move with reach and drive; he should not look sickle hocked. Listening to the dog as he moves, there should be no sound of breathing/palate issue. Their pear-shaped body means that coming and going the rear legs would move closer than the front. There should be no sign of patella issues which are a problem in the breed. Moving in silhouette is the best place to evaluate the dog’s profile—does the dog have a roach back or did an expert exhibitor create a roach when the dog was set up on the table. To truly evaluate the dog’s expression, ear carriage, that is to be done not when the dog is set up on the table but on the ground.”
