Need Advice Concernning French Bulldog Breathing Problems

[Map]

Hello there, today I bought a female french bulldog, she is 2 years old and absolutely adorable. Although she has this problem where when she gets excited or when we are patting her she snorts quite loudly. I realise that bulldogs do this also, and i was wondering if this is also normal for a Frenchie, and could you get a Frenchie that does not do this or is it a feature of the breed? She also has black spots along the white of her coat which I believe is reffered to as 'ticking' the breeder has told me that if I was to show her that I would be able to cover them up with chalk, which really sounds a little strange and maybe like cheating? could anyone back this up? One more question the teeth on her bottom jaw are slightly crooked, another thing which would be bad for show, but the woman assures me the judges are unlikely to pay attention too, this can't be true right? (I have a vet appointment for tomorrow to have all of this checked to make sure she is not in any discomfort). Thankyou for any help

[Mjosa]

Hi there,

Welcome to the world of the Frenchie.

Yes there are Frenchies who do not have the breathing problems that your girl has.

She may have an elongated soft palate which can cause breathing problems another is that she has pinched nostrils, that is the opening of the nostrils is very very narrow and not wide open, thirdly she could be short in neck as well and this does also compromise breathing.

A pied should be pure white with no ticking, I know of some that do chalk their pieds, but this is usually just a few tick marks not one that has a lot of ticking they should not be shown at all.

What was the reason for the breeder to be selling her at this age?

You are doing the right thing by taking her for a check up at the vet tomorrow, so you should get some answers to your questions from them.

But remember it is not the normal thing for a well put together Frenchie to have breathing problems.

Judges do take particular note of the jawline, a Frenchie should have six straight across between the canines on the bottom jaw, if a judge has two dogs that look of equal quality one has a correct mouth and the other with the teeth crooked they will always opt for the one with the correct jaw and teeth. They take everything into consideration, so if your girl is ticked and has crooked teeth in my opinion she is not show quality. Sorry if she was mine I would not be showing her I would be having her desexed and sell her as a pet.

[Map]

Thankyou very much for the Reply . To have the experience of a show or two would have been nice, but the reason I bought my girl was specificicaly as a pet, and I am so happy I found her . The previous owners reason for selling her was that she was intending the breed her, but she ended up not having the time or patience for this, she apparently only had her for four months as she bought her from a QLD breeder at 1 and a half (there may not be much truth in this I can only take the breeders word for it). She has a bit of a shady past, but she has a very loving and permanent home now ;).

[Sandra777]

I can't answer your questions about French Bulldogs in particular but if your bitch has full registration and you want to show her you can, as long as you realise that she probably won't win with the breed faults you've described.

IMO she shouldn't be bred from if she has breathing problems caused by some physical problem but this doesn't mean you can't go along to some shows, have some fun and meet some like minded people - just don't expect to win.

Of course some people won't agree with this and are horrified by the idea of someone showing a dog which is not show quality, but if you choose to do so that's your right so long as you understand that when your girl doesn't win much it's not because it's "rigged" or "dishonest" but because she's not good enough to win.

Is there a club near where you live - often breed clubs hold members days and fun things where you could meet other breed people and other French Bulldogs.

[Rysup]

I agree with Sandra. If you dont mind the fact you may not win, go along to some shows, you never know you might really catch the bug and then you will do all the proper research and get a show quality puppy later on. Everyone has to start showing somewhere, and not everyone is lucky enough to start with a top winning dog.

[disorder]

I don't have anything to add......... except, may we see a photo of your girl?!

ETA: You should join us in the French Bulldog Sub forum off General

Edited December 14, 2007 by disorder