How Much is that French Bulldog in the Window, Really?

A New York couple sued a pet sitting company for $1,000,000 last month after their French Bulldog was found dead in their apartment from heat exhaustion. A tragic but not uncommon end for French Bulldogs.

We all judge books by their cover. Everyone does it even if no one wants to admit it. And when we see cute, smushed puppy faces, or YouTube videos of barrel-chested puppies unable to roll over, the first thing we notice is just how precious French Bulldogs are. They were designed, like several other breeds, for cuteness. But at what price?

As a volunteer for the French Bulldog Rescue Network for the past three years, I have had several dogs pass through my door on their way to their forever home. One of them, the healthiest, had extreme allergies, several missing/crowded teeth, and bilateral luxating patellas; because her knees constantly slip out of their joints, she is a guaranteed surgical candidate as she ages. Another was paralyzed by a form of syringomyelia, a condition common in King Charles Cavalier Spaniels, and had to wear diapers due to accompanying incontinence. She also had extreme allergies, which, left untreated by her previous owner, led to her requiring a double ear ablation (removal of the ear canal, leaving her completely deaf) due to severe cauliflower ear. Yet another had had prior neck surgery, severe luxating patellas requiring surgery, and allergies. And our current foster, iMax, pictured above, has irritable bowel syndrome, making him prone to regurgitation after eating which can lead to malnourishment, as well as severe dental crowding, severe allergies, and an ataxic, or weak, hind end.

French Bulldogs, they aren’t cheap. They have small litters and the cost of producing such litters is high; many will not mate naturally, leaving breeders to resort to artificial insemination to produce puppies, and all births require delivery by c-section, at the risk of death of the bitch. And their high price ($2500 to $3500 for a reputably bred pup), might be a part of the reason they have rocketed in popularity in recent years, climbing the American Kennel Club rankings from 73rd to 24th between 1999 and 2009. 

They’ve become a status symbol, appearing in movies, print ads, and commercials, but with the sharp increase in popularity has come a sharp increase in surrenders to rescue. And I'd be willing to bet that most owners, when they fall for the cute face in the window, have no idea what they're getting into.

Many French Bulldogs require stenotic nares surgery to widen the nostrils in their too-smushed faces, and are plagued by a lifetime of breathing issues regardless. And soft palate ressection, to help with those issues, is often necessary as well. Not to mention how prone Frenchies are to ophthalmalogic problems, due to the way the brachycephalic skull forces the eye sockets to protrude. And that skull structure makes it difficult for brachycephalic dogs like English Bulldogs, Pugs, and French Bulldogs to tolerate even minor increases in temperature, which is why they account for 42 of the 122 deaths of dogs flying in cargo holds of major airlines since May 2005, when US airlines had to start disclosing the statistics.

French Bulldogs are also a hotbed of dermatological problems, dental problems, and orthopedic problems. And this goes for the dogs who are well bred; the puppy mill survivors and progeny of backyard breeders can be sentenced to a lifetime of pain from the moment they’re born.

So what can we do about it? Get educated. Make sure that we never support backyard breeders or puppymills, however unintentionally. Make sure that breeders don’t breed dogs to death. Tell the AKC to revise their breed standards to promote healthy dogs. And most importantly, if we choose to adopt a high maintenance breed, know the risks. Their lives depend on it.

Photo credit: Michelle Hodkin