French Bulldog Show StandardsFrenchies are one of the most noble of all the dog breeds. No wonder owners enjoy showing off their French Bulldog with such enthusiasm. Every little Frenchie is adorable with their own unique personality traits, quirks and temperaments; and in every instance lovable and all too eager to please their owners. If you have ever considered showing off your Frenchie but have seriously pondered if your French Bulldog has what it takes to compete, this article attempts to answer those questions for you. Frenchies are one of the most noble of all the dog breeds. No wonder owners enjoy showing off their pride and joy with such enthusiasm. Every little Frenchie is adorable with their own unique personality traits, quirks and temperaments; and in every instance lovable and all too eager to please their owners. If you have ever considered showing off your Frenchie but have seriously pondered if your Frenchie has what it takes to compete, this article endeavors to answer those questions for you.
First lets look at the general appearance which should be that of an active, intelligent muscular dog with a heavy structure, a smooth coat, compact built and of medium or small structure. They should have an alert, curious, and interested expression. Compactly built means a short bodied dog as juxtaposed to breeds of similar height. The Frenchie's legs and body should show strong muscular development. The expression should never be dull and reflect intelligence. This is a hallmark feature of French Bulldogs. All points are well distributed and bear good relation to each other; no feature being in prominence from either excess or lack of quality that the Frenchie appears poorly proportioned. They have a substantial amount of bone for a dog of its size. HEAD The head should be large and square. Their dark eyes should be wide apart and set low down in the skull, as far from their characteristic bat ears as possible. In lighter colored dogs, lighter eye colors are acceptable. When they look forward there shouldn't be any white showing. The skull top should be flat between the ears but the forehead is not flat but slightly rounded. The muzzle is broad, deep and well-laid back; the cheek muscles are well developed. There is a hollow groove between the eyes with heavy wrinkles forming a soft roll over an extremely short nose. The nostrils are broad with a well-defined line between them. Neck, Top-line Body The neck is thick with loose skin at the throat. A roach back with a slight fall close behind the shoulders strong and short broad at the shoulders and narrowing at the loins is ideal. This portion of the back, because of its curve of a wheel, was originally named "wheel back"; now more commonly known as "roach back." The body is short and well-rounded. The chest is broad, deep and full; well-ribbed with the body tucked up. The tail is either straight or screwed (but not curly), short, hung low, thick root and fine tip; carried low in repose. The top line of the neck a slight but graceful arch beginning at the junction of the neck and the skull and extending, but gradually decreasing to about half way down the neck. It then forms a short curve to the withers (part of the back of a dog or any other quadruped). The correct body formation is essential to the health, strength, and vitality of your Frenchie as well as its true type and character. To be in good proportion and balance with the large, square head, the body should be short and broad in front. The chest should be deep and capacious with its forward ribs well rounded to enhance the desired broad fronted appearance and let down between the heavily boned forelegs. The brisket region, or the chest and ribs, should begin to taper at the beginning of the abdominal cavity forming a convex curve up to the small, well-tucked up waist following the top line of the body. This broad deep formation is necessary to provide plenty of room for the heart, lungs, and other internal organs. The back of the French Bulldog should be short for its height with shoulders, chest, loin, and hips closely and firmly united to convey the impression of strength. While broad at the shoulders, beyond the ribs the body should begin to narrow especially at the loins. Just behind the shoulders there should be a slight downward curve to the back gradually rising to the top of the loins. From here the spine should curve downward until it reaches the tail. FOREQUARTERS Forelegs are short, stout, straight, muscular, and set wide apart. Dew claws may be removed. A dew claw is similar to a thumb -- complete with a toenail -- but it grows a bit higher up on the paw than the rest of the toenails on that paw and it never comes in contact with the ground. Feet are moderate in size, compact, and firmly set. Toes compact, well split up, with high knuckles and short stubby nails. The French Bulldog should have good wide front. The space created between the front legs, the chest, and the ground should be nearly square. To exhibit this characteristic, the forelegs must be widely placed, well-formed, of proper length and muscular, with a good formation of the shoulders and elbow. The patterns are straight with the feet only slightly turned out. Width may be produced by misplacement at the elbows creating incorrect movement. This, combined with feet turned outward, is often called a "fiddle front." A too narrow front is not in balance with the other structural aspects of French Bulldogs and does not allow for the breadth of chest desired. A compact, muscular, heavily boned dog such as the French Bulldog need to have compact, well-padded feet to support its weight. The foot is medium size, well split up, with high knuckles. Weak pasterns and splayed toes are both unattractive and unsound. For those who are not in the know, a pastern is the leg bone directly above the foot in the front legs. HINDQUARTERS Hind legs are strong, muscular, longer than the forelegs so as to elevate the loins above the shoulders. Feet are moderate in size, compact, and firmly set. Toes should be compact, well split-up, with high knuckles and short, stubby nails; hind feet are slightly longer than forefeet. Strong, muscular hindquarters are necessary to provide the drive necessary for good movement. This movement is an aspect of conformation which is often given little consideration in French Bulldogs, however to be the active, athletic dog it should be, a Frenchie must exhibit sound structure throughout. A French Bulldog should have legs that, when seen from the rear, drop straight from the hips to the ground with a stifle and feet turned slightly outward. From the side view, it should exhibit moderate angulation. A dog with this conformation stands firmly and moves gracefully as desired. Hocks with a the too straight stifle of this conformation are usually weak or double jointed, inclined to bend backwards, and create a stilted gait in the rear. Dogs with back feet rotated inward often exhibit a gait with back feet crossing each other when moving which is undesirable. COAT The coat is moderately fine, brilliant, short, and smooth. Skin is soft and loose, especially at the head and shoulders where wrinkles form. COLOR Acceptable colors -- all brindle, fawn, white, brindle and white, and any other color except those which constitute disqualification. All colors are acceptable with the exception of solid black, mouse, liver, black and tan, black and white, and white with black are all disqualifications. Black means black without a trace of brindle. Many French Bulldogs may appear to be black, but it is likely there will be at least a few lighter colored hairs when closely examined. This is common in the breed, dogs bearing these markings qualify as brindle. Let's talk about some other interesting noteworthy colors deserving of further exploration. Black brindles are also known as seal brindles. Your Frenchie may appear black, but closer inspection reveals a few lighter colored hairs. In the reverse brindle coloring this pattern shows fawn predominantly above the black brindle pattern. The color and patters on these Frenchies In the dog shown, there is also a black mask present. Tiger brindle is a well-suited term reserved for dogs with a coat comprising a regular pattern of alternating fawn and black stripes, hence the name sake. A brindle pied has brindled areas where fawn is overlaid with black striping and interspersed with white areas. These markings can be slight, or predominant. These patterns are as rare as they are gorgeous. Frenchie colors are as diverse as the colorings of a rainbow and just as exciting. A black masked red fawn is so named due to the rich red hues of the fawn base coat. Fawns range in shades from brick red to honey to lemon yellow. In black masked fawn Frenchies, the base color of the coat varies in shade from red to tan. The mask refers to the marking patterns on the face. Red fawn pied French Bulldogs versions are sometimes called fawn pied, lemon pied or honey pied. A mask may be associated with this pattern. Have you ever seen a "blue" dog? And we don't refer to pets exhibiting tendencies toward depression, we mean the color. Believe it or not, there are even "blue" Frenchies which are characterized by brindle markings. These dogs have a "grey" hue, and base coat color with a solid blue-gray hue, hence the term "blue". Blue Pied Frenchies are a result of the "d" or dilute gene. In this form, the dilute factor has caused the black hairs to become blue. Pigment on nose and pads is also a grayish blue in color, and eyes are often blue or yellowish gold. Blue fawn is a variation of blue, with coloring being seen most clearly in the masking points on the face. Typically they have green/grey eyes. GAIT Correct gait is double tracking with reach and drive; the action is unrestricted, free and vigorous. Because the French Bulldog has a broader front than rear, the hind feet will track inside the steps of the front with graceful and powerful movements. TEMPERAMENT Frenchies are well-behaved, adaptable, and comfortable companions with an affectionate nature and even disposition. Generally they are active, alert, and playful, but not unduly boisterous. The French Bulldog's bright, intelligent, lively personality makes it a wonderful companion and these traits should be apparent in its expression and demeanor. DISQUALIFICATIONS If you are serious about showing off your little Frenchie, please consider these disqualifiers from competition. Any alteration other than removal of dew claws. Over 28 pounds. Only bat ears are acceptable. Nose other than black, except in the case of lighter dogs where a lighter colored nose is acceptable but not desirable. Solid black, mouse, liver, black and white, white with black; black means black without a trace of brindle. Remember that all Frenchies are deserving of their owners love and attention. Any sort of deviation from the specific modifications above doesn't mean that your Frenchie is of inferior quality, all it means is that he or she isn't primed as show material. Either route, enjoy your Frenchie and well-spent time together. |
