The Bulldog International Research Center

English Kennel Club Breed Standard

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Sturdy, compact, solid, small dog with good bone, short, smooth coat. No point exaggerated, balance essential. Dogs showing respiratory distress highly undesirable.

CHARACTERISTICS: Full of courage, yet with clown - like qualities. Bat ears and short undocked tail essential features of the breed.

TEMPERAMENT: Vivacious, deeply affectionate, intelligent.

HEAD AND SKULL: Head square, large and broad but in proportion to dog’s size. Skull nearly flat between ears, domed forehead, loose skin forming symmetrical wrinkles. Muzzle broad, deep and set well back, muscles of cheeks well developed; nose and lips black. Stop well defined. Lower jaw deep, square, broad, slightly undershot and well turned up. Nose extremely short, black and wide, with open nostrils and line between well defined. Lips thick, meeting each other in centre, completely hiding teeth Upper lip covers lower on each side with plenty of cushion, never so exaggerated as to hang too much below level of lower jaw.

EYES: Preferably dark and matching. Moderate size, round, neither sunken nor prominent, showing no white when looking straight forward; set wide apart and low down in skull.

EARS: ‘Bat ears’, of medium size, wide at base, rounded at top; set high, carried upright and parallel, a sufficient width of skull preventing them being too close together; skin soft and fine, orifice as seen from the front, showing entirely.

MOUTH: Slightly undershot. Teeth sound and regular, but not visible when the mouth is closed. Tongue must not protrude.

NECK: Powerful, with loose skin at throat, but not exaggerated. Well arched and thick, but not too short.

FOREQUARTERS: Legs set wide apart, straight -boned, strong, muscular and short.

BODY: Short, cobby, muscular and well rounded with deep, wide brisket; roach back; strong; wide at shoulders and narrowing at loins; good ‘cut up’, ribs well sprung.

HINDQUARTERS: Legs strong, muscular and longer than forelegs, thus raising loins above shoulders. Hocks well let down.

FEET: Small, compact and placed in continuation of line of leg, with absolutely sound pasterns. Hindfeet rather longer than forefeet. Toes compact; well knuckled; nails short, thick and preferably black.

TAIL: Undocked, very short, set low, thick at root, tapering quickly towards tip, either straight or kinked, never curling over back nor carried gaily.

GAIT/MOVEMENT: Free and flowing. Soundness of movement of the utmost importance

COAT: Texture fine, smooth, lustrous, short and close.

COLOUR: Brindle, pied or fawn. Tan, mouse and
grey/blue highly undesirable.

BRINDLE: a mixture of black and coloured hairs.
May contain white provided brindle predominates.

PIED: white predominates over brindle. Whites
are classified with pieds for show purposes; but
their eyelashes and eye rims should be black.
In pieds the white should be clear with definite
brindle patches and no ticking or black spots.

FAWN: may contain brindle hairs but must have
black eyelashes and eye rims.

SIZE: Ideal weight: dogs: 12.7 kg (28 Ib);
bitches:10.9 kg (24 Ib). Soundness not to be
sacrificed to smallness.

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing
points should be considered a fault and the
seriousness with which the fault should be
regarded should be in exact proportion to
its degree and its effect upon the health and
welfare of the dog.

NOTE: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum

FRENCH BULLDOG

FCI Breed Standard Bouledogue français

FCI-Standard N° 101 / 06. 04. 1998 / GB 

TRANSLATION : Mrs Peggy Davis.

ORIGIN : France.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 28.04.1995.

UTILIZATION : Companion, watch dog, pleasure dog.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs.
Section 11 Small Molossian Dogs.
Without working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : Probably issued, like all the mastiffs, from the Epirus and the Roman Empire molosses, relative of the Bulldog of Great Britain, the Alans (tribe of the Middle Age), the mastiffs and small type mastiffs of France, the bulldog we know is the product of different crossings done by enthusiastic breeders in the popular quarters of Paris in the years 1880.
During that period, the Bulldog being a dog belonging to butchers and coachmen of « les Halles » (market place), he soon knew how to conquer the high society and the artistic world by his particular appearance and character. He then rapidly propagated himself.
The first breed club was founded in 1880 in Paris. The first registration dates from 1885 and the first standard was established in 1898, year in which the « Société Centrale Canine » of France recognized the breed of the French Bulldog. The first shown dog was from 1887. The standard, modified in 1931, 1932 and 1948, was reformulated in 1986 by H.F. Reant and R. Triquet (F.C.I. publication 1987), then in 1994 by the committee of the Club of the French Bulldog with the collaboration of R. Triquet.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Typically a small size molossian. Powerful dog for its small size, short, compact in all its proportions, smooth-coated, with a short face, a snub nose, erect ears and a naturally short tail. Must have the appearance of an active animal, intelligent, very muscular, of a compact build with a solid bone structure.

BEHAVIOUR / CHARACTER : Sociable, lively, playful, sporty, keen. Particularly affectionate towards his masters and the children.

HEAD : The head must be very strong, broad and square, the skin of the head forming almost symmetrical folds and wrinkles. The head of the bulldog is characterized by a contraction of the maxillary-nasal part; the skull has taken up in width that which it has lost in length.

CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Broad, almost flat, forehead very bulging. Superciliary arches prominent, separated by a particularly developed furrow between the eyes. The furrow must not extend onto the forehead. Occipital crest is hardly developed.
Stop : Deeply accentuated.

FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Broad, very short, turned up, nostrils well open and symmetrical, slanting towards the rear. The inclination of the nostrils as well as the snub nose (i.e. upturned) must, however, allow a normal nasal breathing.
Muzzle : Very short, broad, with concentric symmetrical folds coming down on the upper lips (length of muzzle about 1/6 of the total length of the head).
Lips : Thick, a little loose and black. The upper lip rejoins the lower lip at its middle, completely covering the teeth which should never be visible. The profile of the upper lip is descending and rounded. Tongue must never show.
Jaws : Broad, square, powerful. Lower jaw shows a broad curve, terminating in front of the upper jaw. The mouth being closed, the prominence of the lower jaw (prognathism-undershot) is moderated by the curve of the lower mandibular branches. This curve is necessary to avoid a too important shifting of the lower jaw.
Teeth : The lower incisors must never be behind the upper incisors in any case. The arch of the lower incisors is rounded. The jaw must not show lateral deviation, nor torsion. The disposition of the incisoral arches should not be strictly delimited, the essential condition being that the upper and the lower lips rejoin to completely cover the teeth.
Cheeks : The muscles of the cheeks are well developed, but not prominent.
Eyes : Lively expression, set low, quite far from the nose and especially from the ears, dark coloured, quite big, well round, slightly protruding, showing no trace of white (sclera) when the dog is looking straight ahead. Rims of eyelids must be black.
Ears : Medium size, wide at the base and rounded at the top. Set high on the head, but not too close together, carried erect. The orifice is open towards the front. The skin must be fine and soft to the touch.

NECK : Short, slightly arched, without dewlap.

BODY :
Topline : Rising progressively at loin level to slope rapidly towards the tail. This conformation which must be sought after, is the consequence of the short loin.
Back : Broad and muscular.
Loin : Short and broad.
Rump : Oblique.
Chest : Cylindrical and well let down; ribcage barrel shaped, very rounded.
Forechest : Wide.
Belly and flanks : Drawn up without excessive tuck up.

TAIL : Short, set low on the rump, close to the buttocks, thick at the base, knotted or kinked naturally and tapering at the tip. Even in action, must stay below the horizontal. A relatively long tail (not reaching beyond the point of the hocks), kinked and tapering is admissible, but not desirable.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs vertical and parallel seen in profile and from the front, standing well separated.
Shoulder : Short, thick, with a firm and visible musculature.
Upperarm : Short.
Elbows : Close to the body.
Forearm : Short, straight and muscular.
Pastern joint - Pastern : Solid and short.

HINDQUARTERS : Strong and muscular, hindlegs a little longer than the forelegs, thus raising the hindquarters. The legs are vertical and parallel as seen both in profile and from behind.
Thigh : Muscled, firm without being too rounded.
Hock joint : Quite well let down, neither too angulated nor certainly too straight.
Hock : Solid and short. The French Bulldog should be born without dewclaws.

FEET :
Forefeet round of small dimension, i.e. « cat feet », well set on the ground, turning slightly outward. The toes are compact, nails short, thick and well separated. The pads are hard, thick and black. In the brindle subjects, the nails must be black. In the pieds (caille = brindled fawns with medium white patching) and fawn subjects, dark nails are preferred, without however penalising the light coloured nails.
Hindfeet well compact.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : Free movement, the legs moving parallel to the median plane of the body.

COAT

HAIR : Beautiful smooth coat, close, glossy and soft.

COLOUR :
Uniformly fawn, brindled or not, or with limited patching (pied).
Fawn brindled or not, with medium or predominant patching.
All the fawn shades are admitted, from the red to light brown (café au lait) colour. The entirely white dogs are classified in « brindled fawn with predominant white patching ». When a dog has a very dark nose, dark eyes with dark eyelids, certain depigmentations of the face may exceptionally be tolerated in very beautiful subjects.

SIZE AND WEIGHT : The weight must not be below 8 kg nor over 14 kg for a bulldog in good condition, size being in proportion with the weight.

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Nose tightly closed or pinched and chronic snorers.
Lips not joining in the front.
Depigmentation of the lips.
Light eyes.
Dewlap.
Tail carried high, or too long or abnormally short.
Loose elbows.
Straight hock or placed forward.
Incorrect movement.
Coat (hair) too long.
Speckled coat.

SERIOUS FAULTS :
Incisors visible when mouth closed.
Tongue visible when mouth closed.
Stiff beating movement of the forelegs.
Pink spots on the face, except in the case of brindled fawns with medium white patching (« caille ») and fawns with limited or predominant white patching. (« fauve »).
Excessive or insufficient weight.

DISQUALIFICATIONS :
Aggressive or overly shy.
Colour of nose other than black.
Hare lip.
Dog with lower incisors articulating behind upper incisors.
Dog with permanently visible canines, mouth being closed.
Eyes of two different colours (heterochromatic).
Ears not carried erect.
Mutilation of ears, tail or dewclaws.
Taillessness.
Dewclaws on hindquarters.
Colour of coat black and tan, mouse grey, brown.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

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French Bulldog

Breed History

The French Bulldog first appeared in the United States in 1896 at the Westminster Kennel Club's show in New York.  He soon became known as "Frenchie," a name that stuck with him. He was a small to medium-size dog weighing under twenty-eight pounds with short hair and a muscular build. He was essentially a pocket-sized edition of the Bulldog, or English Bulldog as some people insist on calling them. However, his bat-like ears, held erect, his small size and his activeness set him apart from the Bulldog. He had a lively expression and a disposition described by some as roguish and fun loving . He's been referred to as "a clown in the cloak of a philosopher."       In the late 1800's the Bulldog had long had a reputation for strength and tenacity, sterling qualities in those days of sail, which was appreciated by seafaring men the world over. So it is not surprising that French seamen engaged in cross channel trade took a shine to them. Some Bulldogs in the south of England were known to be smaller than usual. It is generally thought that seamen liked the small size dogs because they were easier to smuggle aboard ship and keep out of sight during the trip back to France. During the same period, lace workers in the south of England, displaced by machines in the industrial revolution, moved to France in large numbers to practice their trade and took their "toy Bulldogs" with them. Thus many small Bulldogs found their way across the channel as pets.       In France, they became the dandies of "Ladies of the Night" and were quite popular in Paris, often being depicted in brothels by artist of that day. American tourist discovered the little French Bulldog and began bringing them home.       In this country, in 1897, exhibitors, disappointed because an English judge picked a Frenchie with rose ears for his best of breed, called a meeting and formed the French Bull Dog Club of America (the first breed club for French Bulldogs in the world) and the next year adopted a standard which remains essentially unchanged today. So it was here in The United States that the Frenchies "bat ears" were standardized, their small size maintained by a weight limit and their mixture of colors preserved. Frenchies can be brindle (not black - some brown hair must show), fawn, cream, white or pied as long as the dark patches in the pied are not black.       The French Bulldog's size and temperament make him ideal as a household pet. He readily adjusts to apartment life or to a large house. It is best, if possible, for him to have at least a small fenced yard to run and play in. He seldom barks but is alert to strange sounds. He is affectionate and likes to be near his humans and especially likes children. He is usually quiet and gentle but always ready to play. He is intelligent and quite trainable. And best of all, he needs no docking of tail or trimming of ears or other mutilation to satisfy human fads. We accept him and he accepts us just as we happen to be. Harry V. Dunn, Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

Bulldog Types

Many breeders have tried to reconstruct the Original Purebred Bulldog, with results scientifically and visibly disputable, starting from the belief that it was genetically extinct in the UK. On the contrary, the hypothesis of The Bulldog International Research Center is that the last genetic traces were still present in the best-bred bloodlines of the United Kingdom.

• Able Bulldog
• Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog
• Aylestone Bulldog
• Aussie Bulldog
• Australian Bulldog
• Catahoula Bulldog
• Old English Bulldog Bulldog
• Olde English Bulldogge
• Victorian Bulldog
• Bulldog Campeiro
• Dorset Olde Tyme Bulldog
• Olde Boston Bulldog ,
• Ca' de Bou
• Valley Bulldog
• Banter Bulldog
• Wilkinson Bulldog
• Renaissance Bulldog
• Renascence Bulldog
• American Pit Bull Terrier
• Staffordshire Terrier
• American Staffordshire Terrier
• Bull Terrier
• Dogue de Bordeaux
• Bull Mastiff
• Boston Terrier
• Boxer
• Boxer Breed Standard
• Bulldog Related Sites:
• Bristol Bulldog

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French Bulldog

Bouledogue Français

FBDCA HEALTH SURVEY RESULTS 2000

A comparison of the incidence of conditions reported in the health surveys done in 1991 and in 2000 suggest that little has changed, with disorders of bones and joints the most often reported, followed by airway problems.  There was an increase in the number of cases of atopic dermatitis reported recently.  Some conditions, such as hemivertebrae or hip dysphasia could be under-reported if the dogs are asymptomatic and pet owners would have no need to x-ray.  Other more subtle conditions, such as autoimmune diseases, might go undetected unless dogs are sent to veterinary specialists who ask for special lab tests.