FRENCH BULLDOG

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY

Probably arose, like all dogues, from the Molossos of Epirus and the Roman Empire, a relative of the Bulldog of Great Britain, of the Alanos of the Middle Ages, of the dogues and small dogues of France, the bulldog we know is a product of different crosses by passionate creators in the popular neighborhoods of Paris in the 1880s. At that time strong dog Halles – butchers, coachmen – and soon conquered high society and the world of artists for their physique and particularly for their character. It then spread quickly. The first breed club was founded in 1880 in Paris. The first record dates from 1885 and the first standard was established in 1898, the year in which the Central Canine Society (Kennel Club French) recognized the French Bulldog as a breed. The first dog of this breed was exposed in early 1887.

GENERAL APPEARANCE

The type is that of a small molossoid. Powerful dog for its small size, short, stocky, compact in all its proportions, of short fur, with a flat nose, with erect ears and a naturally short tail. He must have the appearance of an active, intelligent, very muscular dog, with a compact structure with a solid bone. No point is exaggerated compared to the others, which could destroy the overall harmony or give the dog a misshapen appearance of gender or movement.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS

The length of the body, measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock, is slightly longer than the height at the withers. The length of the snout is about 1/6 of the total length of the head.

BEHAVIOR / TEMPERAMENT

Companion dog, sociable, cheerful, playful, possessive, active.

HEAD

It should be strong, wide and square, the skin that covers it forms, without excess, the folds and symmetrical wrinkles.

CRANIAL REGION

Skull: Broad, almost flat from one ear to the other, forehead bulging. Prominent superciliary arches, separated by a pronounced sagittal groove between the eyes. The groove does not extend to the forehead. External occipital crest very poorly developed. Stop: Pronounced.

FACIAL REGION

The head of the French Bulldog is characterized by a shortening of the maxilla-nasal portion, as well as a slight to moderate tilt of the nose backwards. The truffle is slightly upturned.

Nose: Black, broad, flattened, with wide open and symmetrical nostrils, turned obliquely to the rear. The inclination of the nostrils as well as the upturned nose should allow normal nasal breathing.

Muzzle: Very short, wide, with concentric symmetrical pleats.

Lips: Thick, slightly loose and black. The upper lip joins the lower lip in its half, completely covering the teeth. The profile of the upper lip is descending and rounded. The tongue should never be exposed when the dog is at rest.

Jaws / Teeth: Jaws wide and powerful. The lower jaw (mandible) protrudes in front of the upper jaw and curves upward. The lower incisor arch is rounded. The jaws must not show lateral deviation or twist. The spaces of the incisive arches must not be strictly delimited, the essential condition is that the upper and lower lips close tightly and completely cover the teeth. The lower incisors overlap the upper incisors. Sufficiently developed incisors and canines. Complete dentition is desired.

Cheeks: Well developed.

Eyes: Very visible, with an alert expression, low set, well away from the nose and ears, dark in color, quite large, rounded and without showing traces of white (sclerotic) when the animal is looking directly ahead. The edge of the eyelids should be black.

Ears: Medium in size, broad at the base and rounded at the tip. Inserted on top of the head, without being too close, carried upright. The pavilion faces forward. The skin should be thin and soft to the touch.

NECK

Short, powerful, slightly arched, without dewlap, it widens towards the shoulder.

TRUNK

Topline: Progressively ascending, but not excessively, from withers down to the loin level. This conformation, called carp (“dos de carpe”), is a characteristic of the breed.

Back: Broad and muscular, solid and without looseness.

Loin: Short, broad and arched.

Croup: Well inclined.

Chest: Cylindrical and well lowered (slightly below the elbows), ribs very well sprung, called “barrel”. Chest wide open, inscribed in a square, when viewed from the front.

Bottom line and belly: Retracted, but not too tucked up.

TAIL

Naturally short, ideally long enough to cover the anus, of low insertion, almost straight, thick at the base and tapering at the end. A twisted, knotty, broken or relatively long tail, but which does not extend beyond the hocks, is permitted. It is carried low, even in action, and must not rise above the horizontal.

PREVIOUS MEMBERS

General appearance: Regular straightness when viewed in profile and from the front.

Shoulder blades: They should be very oblique.

Arms: Short, thick, muscular, slightly curved.

Elbows: Close to the body, without looseness.

Forearms: Short, straight and muscular.

Carpus: Solid and short.

Pasterns: Short and slightly oblique when viewed in profile.

Legs: Round, compact, of small dimension, called “cat feet”, slightly turned outwards. The fingers are tightly clenched, the nails short, thick and black in color.

POSTERS

General appearance: The hind legs are strong and muscular, slightly longer than the forelegs, thus raising the rear. The uprights are straight, when viewed in profile and from behind.

Thighs: Muscular, firm.

Hocks: Well let down, neither too angulated nor straight.

Tarsus: solid.

Metatarsals: Short.

Legs: Round, very compact, turning neither in nor out

MOVEMENT

The limbs move parallel to the median plane of the body, both when viewed from the front and in profile. The movements are free, powerful and regular.

SKIN

Without looseness.

COAT

Hair: Short, tight, shiny and soft, without undercoat.

Color: Fawn, brindle or not, with or without white spots. Coatings without white spots.

Brindle: Fawn fur with moderate transverse grooves of dark streak giving a “tiger” appearance, the heavily brindle fur should not hide the fawn-colored mask. A black mask must be present. Limited white patches present or not.

Fawn: Uniform coat, from light fawn nuance to dark fawn, sometimes showing a color attenuation of the inclined parts, with or without a black mask, the mask coat being preferred. Limited white patches present or not.

Coat with white spots: Brindle with moderate or intense number of white spots: so-called “quail”, the white spot being ideally distributed over the entire animal.

Some blemishes on your skin are tolerated. Fawn with moderate or intense number of white spots: so-called “fawn and white”, the white spot being ideally distributed over the entire animal. Some blemishes on your skin are tolerated. For all coats, the truffle is black, never brown or blue. Wholly white specimens (the wholly invasive white stain), except that with the nose and the edges of the black eyelids, are allowed, but not sought because of the risks associated with deafness.

SIZE / WEIGHT

Withers height: Males: 27 to 35cm; Females: 24 to 32cm, with a tolerance

1 cm more or less.

Weight:

 Males: 9 to 14kg;

Females: 8 to 13kg.

A tolerance of 500 g above the upper limit is accepted if the specimen is very typical.

FAULTS

. Any deviation from the terms of this standard should be considered a fault and penalized in the exact proportion of its severity and its effects on the dog’s health and well-being.

. Strongly spotted “quail” color.

. Fawn color and white heavily speckled.

. For fawn color, very pronounced dorsal stripe that extends on the back.

. “White sock” on brindle and fawn.

. Clear nails.

SERIOUS FAULTS

. “Hipertipo”, exaggeration of the characteristics of the breed.

. Muzzle too long or too short.

. Apparent tongue, the mouth being closed.

. Clear eye (eye of prey).

. Horizontal top line, from the withers to the loin.

. Excess depigmentation on the lips, nose and edges of the eyelids that should never be completely depigmented.

. Forceps bite.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS

. Aggressiveness or excessive shyness.

. Any dog ​​that shows any sign of physical or behavioral anomaly must be disqualified.

. Lack of type: insufficient racial characteristics that make the dog as a whole not look enough with its counterparts of the same breed.

. Completely closed nostrils.

. Lateral deviation or torsion of the jaw leaving the tongue permanently visible.

. Dogs with lower incisors articulating behind the upper ones.

. Dogs with canines (fangs) permanently on display even with their mouths closed.

. Heterochromic eyes.

. Truffle colors other than black.

. Ears not carried upright.

. Anurism and tail grown inward.

. “Ergô” in the later ones.

. Inverted hock (“cow”).

. Long, hard or woolly coat

. Color not in accordance with those described in the standard, including black, black with fawn marks and all black dilutions, with or without white spot.

. Size and weight outside the accepted limits.

. Breathing difficulty

. Deafness.

GRADES

Males should have both testicles, normal in appearance, well lowered and accommodated in the scrotum.

Only dogs that are clinically and functionally healthy and of a typical breed configuration should be used for breeding.