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French bulldog

The French bulldog began as a toy bulldog in Nottingham, carried to Normandy by lacemakers displaced by industrialisation, and was taken up so enthusiastically in Paris that it came back across the Channel as a French breed.

The bat ears, originally controversial, were fixed by American fanciers who preferred them to the rose ear.

It is a small, heavy-boned, flat-faced dog built for company and nothing else — no herding, no retrieving, no ratting in its history. Frenchies are affectionate, comic and famously stubborn, and have become one of the most registered breeds in the world.

Origin
England and France, 1800s
Size
8–14 kg, 27–33 cm at the shoulder
Lifespan
9–12 years
Coat
Short, fine and smooth
Temperament
Affectionate, playful, stubborn, strongly attached to people
Exercise
Two short walks daily, avoiding heat

Related: Bulldog · Alapaha blue blood bulldog · American bulldog · French spaniel

3 french bulldog photos, newest first

French bulldog feed
  • Gaston, a french bulldog

    Gaston

    Gaston cannot push the board himself, which has never once stopped him standing on it.

    FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

  • Pierogi, a french bulldog

    Pierogi

    Pierogi's new museum exhibition is already leaving the plinths.

    FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

  • Pierogi, a french bulldog

    Pierogi

    Pierogi has decided this spot belongs to them now.

    MerryBadger · 2 weeks ago

Living with a french bulldog

Grooming is trivial: a weekly wipe, and clean and dry the facial folds so they do not go sore.

The breathing is the thing to take seriously. French bulldogs are brachycephalic, and many have some degree of obstructive airway syndrome — snoring, snorting and struggling in heat are signs, not charm. They overheat dangerously fast, cannot swim, and should not be exercised hard or left in warm rooms. Surgery to open the airway is common and genuinely helps affected dogs.

Also watch the spine: screw tails often come with malformed vertebrae, and intervertebral disc disease is frequent. Keeping them lean protects both the back and the breathing.

General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual dogs vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.

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