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Breeding the Frenchie dog breed is not a simple task. There are a lot of variables involved when breeding Frenchie puppies, which are some of the most challenging dogs to breed. When someone asks why a Frenchie is so expensive they clearly do not understand what it is to be a French Bulldog breeder.
In this article we will discuss all the variables that comes with breeding French Bulldogs. We hope this article is a helpful guideline to future Frenchie owners and hobby breeders, as well as established French Bulldog breeders. We have interviewed a couple of our selective trusted breeders for some input as well.
With a life expectancy of 10-12 years, the French bulldog is the fourth most popular dog in the United States according to Business Insider. This may come as a bit of a surprise, especially considering the difficult task of breeding French bulldogs.
Lovers of the breed are well aware of their worth and value. But those who know the dog well also understand the difficulties that come with breeding them.
Prone to a lot of health concerns that you would not ordinarily experience with other dog breeds, it can be a tad challenging trying to breed a Frenchie. If you don’t know your way around this breed, you may end up wondering what you’ve got yourself into. It would definitely be a mistake to get started on the process of breeding French bulldogs without first understanding the breed needs and risks.
While a French bulldog is one of the cutest animals you can find, they are susceptible to breathing problems and many other medical defaults.
Perhaps the primary health concern of French bulldogs is their pinched nostrils (known as stenotic nares). They are one of the brachycephalic breed.
Cambridge BOAS research group
This means that they are prone to difficult, obstructive breathing because of the shape of their head, muzzle and throat.
Cambridge BOAS research group
A condition that causes breeding problems, hyperventilation and exhaustion known as BOAS.
Hip dysplasia, abnormal vertebrae and/or premature degeneration of intervertebral discs are also major health issues that trouble the breed. These health concerns are the reasons why breeders must continue to find ways of improving the health and well-being of French bulldogs. A responsible breeder will do all necessary genetic testing to ensure quality and healthy Frenchie puppies.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) has agreed on a general ‘standard’ for French bulldogs. Perhaps the most notable standard is that any alteration other than the removal of the dewclaws is considered mutilation.
As such, this will disqualify the breed from being named a French bulldog. Other standards, as you may find in the AKC guideline are that the height of a French bulldog is usually between 11-13 inches and that they must not weigh more than 28 pounds. Standard colors of the French Bulldogs are:
Rare colors of a coat in French Bulldogs are disqualified by the American Kennel Club French Bulldog Breed Standard.
FAD colors in French Bulldog puppies include the following but not limited to:
For the majority of dog breeds, natural mating is the most effective and cheapest way to produce a litter of puppies. This is not the scenario for French bulldogs.
French bulldogs have unusually small hips and an oversized head. This makes it quite difficult for the male to mount the female naturally.
When it comes to breeding French bulldogs, artificial insemination is the safest and most effective way.
One of the reasons why French bulldogs are quite expensive is because of the cost involved in birthing one. For Frenchies a C-section is usually considered the safest option.
Caesarean section or C-section will involve the use of surgery to deliver the puppies. This is often necessary when a vaginal delivery will be too unsafe for the dam or the puppy or both. The oversized heads of the puppies and narrow pelvis of the dam makes it difficult for the dog to give birth naturally.
Age of maturity differs from one dog breed to another. It has however been found that small breeds mature faster than large breeds.
Male French bulldogs become fertile after about six months old. They can also reach full sexual maturity by 12 to 15 months. If your male Frenchie is healthy, he may even remain sexually active and fertile at old age. For your dam, their first heat season (estrus) comes after six months. In some situations though, this estrus has delayed for up to 18 months or even two years of age. The heat season of your dam should come at intervals of six months until old age.
It is however considered controversial and against standard to breed your dam in her first season. This is because they aren’t fully grown at that young age and the pregnancy could come with increased risks to the dog and the puppies. According to the American Kennel Club Rules the registration of a litter out of a dam less than 8 months or more than 12 years of age is not ordinarily allowed.
Knowing the cycle of your female is necessary. This will help you track her reproductive periods. The cycle of a dam is divided into four:
After the Estrus, you have to look for signs of pregnancy in your dam. These signs include an increase in appetite, weight, or nipple size. This is however not that conclusive in itself.
As mentioned earlier, your dam may show pregnancy signs and still not be pregnant.A Vet can make this confirmation for you by conductingan ultrasound or X-ray or by examining her abdominal palpitation at 28 days.
Once you have confirmed that your dam is pregnant, you have to start talking to the Vet about the special attention required for breeding a French bulldog.
This will include how to identify emergency situations that would require immediate medical attention.This should also include details about her labor and what to expect after she gives birth.
French bulldogs are like any other dog breed when it comes to pregnancy length. This period should last between 58 to 68 days. The average pregnancy period is usually 63 days from the day of conception. This is about two months altogether.
A few days close to birthing, your dam may stop eating or have reduced appetite. Also, she may begin to build a “nest” where she plans to have her puppies.
Approximately 24 hours after her temperature drops,she can be expected to enter the first stage of labor when the cervix dilates and opens the birth canal for the passage of puppies.
At this time, she will pant, strain, and appear restless. A few moments to birth, her body temperature may drop to 99 degrees or lower. This stage is then followed by actual abdominal straining and birthing.
As mentioned above natural birth is not recommended for French Bulldogs due to their breathing difficulties and small hips coupled with larger puppy heads.
Compared to other dogs that birth quite a sizable number of puppies, French bulldogs only birth a few.
When breeding a French bulldog, the number of puppies you can expect in the litter will range from 3 to 5. There are some rare instances where French bulldogs have birthed as high as 7 puppies.
French bulldogs are naturally small breeds. As such, a smaller number of litter mates would mean better conditions for the puppies inside the womb.
If you’re not a certified and experience breeder, you should not be breeding French Bulldogs. The complications that may arise out of doing this will not only endanger the female, it may also create avoidable birth defects for the puppies.
A pup back deal is a puppy back to the Frenchie stud owner in exchange for the stud service. In most cases a puppy back is not ideal and can fall through for many reasons.
If you insist on doing this type of deal you should consider the following to protect yourself:
It is rare but it does happen. How do we determine whether or not two French Bulldogs are identical twins? When the mother Frenchie dog is giving birth, count the placentas. If two newborn Frenchie puppies share a placenta there is a good chance you have some identical twins on your hands.
If you want to know for sure your puppies are identical twins you can confirm that with a blood test. This is it for this Pawsletter. We hope you enjoyed reading or listening to this article and hope you learned something new along the way.
We create these to educate, and inspire you to be the best French Bulldog owner you can be. If you want us to write about a particular topic please let us know below.Also don't forget to pawscribe to our email list. We always notify our loyal customers and friends with any new Pawsletter, event or announcement.
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Michael Dawes
October 06, 2024
Great read an information