Stop Breeding French Bulldogs
Introduction
French bulldogs have risen to popularity especially over the last decade with many claiming it is now the most popular dog in America, replacing the Labrador Retriever. The reasons for that in my opinion are they are small and portable, generally considered “cute” because of their smashed faces, and many would claim their personalities are quirky – “a lot in a little package.” But french bulldogs, the most popular of the brachycephalic breeds, and other breeds suffer many health conditions and limitations due to their physical characteristics which I believe should make them a dog that is no longer bred: the birthing process is riskier and potentially more painful than other breeds, their lives are lower quality due to their physical limitations, and the vet bills are potentially higher than other breeds.
Tougher Birth
Because of the size of the French Bulldog’s head relative to its narrow hips, a C-section is often required to safely birth the litter. It’s irresponsible to breed dogs that are likely to need additional assistance to safely birth a litter. Natural selection, as brutal as it is, would cause all dogs with large heads and tiny hips to die off over time since they can’t consistently and safely birth litters; however, due to advances in veterinary medicine and the amounts owners are willing to pay for their dogs and the demand for the breed, this is now becoming common practice.
Lower Quality Lives
French bulldogs suffer a litany of health conditions over their lives which include inability to cool off quickly or efficiently, issues breathing, heart conditions, neurological problems, skin, ear, and eye problems due to their smashed faces. It doesn’t help that they traditionally inherit the prey drive of the bulldog so they want to do a lot of things but can quickly tire out due to their physical limitations being so low. Sort of like an olympian mindset but with cerebral palsy.
Higher Vet Costs
The birthing process alone may cost an additional $500 to $4,000 if a c-section is needed. With this breed, you will definitely need to be working closely with a vet to ensure that whatever potential complications may come up will be addressed which will cost extra. Here is a list of veterinary costs commonly required for French Bulldogs with intervetebral disc disease averaging $9,000 to treat. This is prohibitively expensive for most US families. Even with pet insurance, genetic conditions are generally not covered and even if the specific condition that your Frenchie has is covered, you will likely be subject to higher insurance premiums than other breeds.
Conclusion
Frenchies aren’t my thing. I have dog sat a few of them and similar breeds and am constantly worried that they’ll just keel over and die if they exert themselves too much. Because they’re so high prey drive, they don’t mind mixing it up with other dogs which means they could easily get bitten in the face and their eyes are at the front of the their face which could mean the difference between a bite to the nose and a bite to the eye. The only thing that props up the breed is veterinary medicine. I expect all of the genetic conditions that come with the Frenchie will continue to get worse over time with expanded breeding so my advice? Don’t get a Frenchie.