History | frenchbulldog

History of French Bulldog

The origin of the French bulldog breed is not well known before the second half of the 18th century. It has a history as of hard working dogs in England, but there is no information from a reliable source. Its a long story ,but for sure the French bulldog goes down in the history as a cosmopolitan dog.

The French Bulldog probably descends at least in part from the English Bulldog – likely from one of the toy varieties which were popular in England around the 1850s and 1860s, especially among lace-makers in the Nottingham region of the English midlands.

When the Industrial Revolution closed down many of the small craft shops like lace-makers emigrated to the North of France—and they took their little bulldogs with them. They were easier to be looked after in simple dwellings of weavers, besides these dogs were good rat-catchers.

The tiny Bulldogs quickly became enormously popular in France were it was crossed with other local breeds, until the French Bulldog, with its distinctive "bat" ears, was developed.

These dogs, known as the Bouledogue Francais, created a furore in Paris and became a star of the working class Parisians society. Its physique, small size, and enchanting personality, soon made this little petite Boule the darling of flat faced breed fanciers. As the new smaller breed bulldog gained in popularity in France, they quickly gained favor with the "ladies of the night"

English School,

19th Century,

Portrait of a

French Bulldog

By the late 19th century, the upper class took a fancy to the breed and it got a place in many fine European homes.
Artists as Degas and Toulouse Lautres have often pictured the French Bulldog, and the writer Colette's indispensable companion was a French Bulldog named Toydog.

Edvard VII and

Paul son of Peater

At about the same time, American visitors to France brought several back to America and began to breed the dogs in earnest.
The Yanks preferred dogs with erect ears which was fine with the French breeders as they preferred the rose eared specimens, as did the British breeders.
Society ladies first exhibited Frenchies in 1896 at Westminster and a Frenchie was featured on the cover of the 1897 Westminster catalog even though it was not yet an approved AKC breed.

At that show, both bat eared and rose eared dogs were exhibited but the English judge put up only the rose-eared specimens. This infuriated the American fanciers who quickly organized the French Bull Dog Club of America and drew up a breed standard allowing only the bat ear. At the 1898 Westminster show, the Americans were outraged to find that classes for both bat-eared and rose-eared dogs were to be shown despite the fact that the new breed standard allowed only the former. They pulled their dogs, the American Judge refused to participate in the show, and the club organized their own show, for bat-eared dogs only, to be held at the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria. This was the famous first specialty of the French Bulldog Club of America — which, incidentally, was the first breed club anywhere in the world to be dedicated to the French Bulldog.

So considering the history of the French Bulldog, we should note the importance of three countries: England, France and America. England provided the foundation for our modern Frenchie: the old bulldog. Breeders in France developed the smaller bulldogs into a distinctly “French” type and American breeders set the standard that prescribed the all-important “bat ears''.

Originally called the "Bouledogue Français," the breed gained a strong following, and in 1902, a specialty club was formed and the Frenchie was officially recognised by the Kennel Club. Although it has never been an outrageously popular dog at the shows, its charming personality has earned it many loyal fans around the world. It makes an excellent family companion and enjoys life in the city or suburbs.