WASHINGTON — You see them on your social media feeds, in your neighborhood, and, with thieves targeting the breed, in the headlines. French bulldogs are the most popular pets in the world. Selling the breed can fetch thousands of dollars, but many people don’t see that it’s often the animal itself paying the price.
FOR THE LOVE OF FRENCHIES
The grunts, huffs, sighs and pants might sound like heavy breathing, but Scott and Krista say they can decipher the distinct tones in what their 3-year-old is trying to tell them.
“He’s purring,” said Krista, stroking the belly of the lethargic dog sprawled across her lap. “He's a mama's boy.”
The couple are also the proud parents of 5-year-old Lulu, snoozing nearby on Scott’s lap.
“She's sort of like the queen bee of the house,” said Scott. “She's very athletic, we're going to show you in a minute, but she's the sweetest little dog you could ever have.”
Scott and Krista weren’t always a Frenchie family. In fact, Scott said they haven’t always been a dog family at all.
“Our daughters were both obsessed with French bulldogs, and he and I weren't convinced," Krista said. "Then we met some, and fell in love.”
“You see them on the street and there's just something about them that's just so, I don't know, lovable, intriguing,” Scott added.
They’ve since become fluent in Frenchie—which has come to mean much more than interpreting breathing patterns. Like typical French bulldogs, Ollie and Lulu have special dietary needs. Their body shape and skin folds require attentive grooming routines. Spending time outdoors in warm weather can be dangerous. They need special surgery to open up their airways to properly breathe.
“I think with any dog you need to do a lot of research,” said Krista. "But [French bulldogs] might require a little bit more work.”
THE IN BREED
“There is a common saying among French bulldog owners–once you have a Frenchie, you will always have a Frenchie,” said Ksenia Saini, for whom that’s certainly been the case.
She received her first Frenchie when she was eight years old. Today, she is a professional breeder and considers herself an expert on the breed. After their initial inquiry and spending several years getting to know Scott, Krista, and their family, Saini specifically matched them with Ollie and Lulu. She currently has eight Frenchies of her own.
“I have a special passion for this breed,” Saini said. “They’re fun, they’re entertaining, they’re very easygoing.”
The American Kennel Club notes the breed’s easygoing nature, describing the Frenchie as “playful, alert, adaptable, and completely irresistible.” In 2023, the French bulldog dethroned the Labrador retriever as the most popular dog breed in America, according to the AKC, a spot labs held for more than three decades.
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“They always want to be by your side,” Saini said beaming with pride at her own pups, La Vie and Le Roi. “The Frenchies always need to be near their person.”
But when asked about the Frenchie’s move to the top of the list of popular dogs, Saini’s expression turns.
“I really think that it's a little sad that they're number one right now,” she said. “I can tell you, any person, any breeder, who actually cares about the breed, they will tell you that that's not a good thing.”
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DESIGNED TO FAIL
The French bulldog is known for its trademark flat face, pointed or “batty” ears, bulging eyes, large head, short body, and stocky legs.
“From a physical point of view, we have designed something that is not a typical dog,” said Dr. Dan O’Neill, a senior lecturer and researcher with the Royal Veterinary College. “Flat faces in dogs do not exist in nature.”
O’Neill and several colleagues conducted research through a sweeping survey of health outcomes for more than two-million dogs at veterinary clinics around the United Kingdom. From there, he reached a simple conclusion.
“French bulldogs' health is dramatically poorer than non-French bulldogs,” he said.
He says the physical traits that people love about the Frenchie are inherently linked to breathing, back, stomach, and even reproductive issues.
“It has become glaringly obvious that breeds with extreme conformations—extreme body shapes–are the ones that have lots of issues,” said Dr. O’Neill.
O'Neill said other breeds with these more extreme conformations, like long-backed dachshunds and corgis, may be prone to health issues, but for French bulldogs, the issues are literally built in because of their body compositions.
“The conditions they get often exist from the moment they're born,” said Dr. O’Neill.
The Royal Kennel Club–the British equivalent of the AKC–is formally discouraging ownership of flat-faced dogs, which includes pugs and other bulldog varieties. Nearby European countries have also adopted restrictions and bans on the breed because of these extreme body traits and the associated negative health outcomes.
KEEPING FRENCHIES
According to AKC data, about one out of every seven dogs newly registered in 2022 was a Frenchie.
“They’re great dogs, they have wonderful personalities,” said Emergency Medicine Veterinarian Dr. Christine Klippen, who says she sees as many as 10 French bulldogs every single week. “My hope as a veterinarian who treats these guys, is that owners know what they're getting themselves into.”
That includes those special diets and grooming routines, and brachycephalic surgery to help the dogs breathe.
Social media posts rarely highlight how time consuming their care can be, and Dr. Klippen says Frenchie owners are often not prepared for the financial burden of their pet’s emergency care.
“If we are able to look ahead and have pet insurance that can hopefully help covering some of the cost, then we can do what's best for our pets,” she said. “It can be absolutely heartbreaking if [money] ends up being a decision maker, when having to choose between a several thousand and even tens of thousands of dollars bill, versus potentially putting an animal to sleep.”
CHANGING THE TRENDS
Dr. O'Neill points to the relatively recent history of breeding dogs for specific purposes, compared to the thousands of years canines have existed on the planet.
“Whether they were selected originally to hunt elk or moose or whatever kind of is an irrelevance,” said Dr. O’Neill. “The current dog isn't likely to be doing that. Therefore, the current dog needs to be equipped to be a pet, and to be a pet means fulfilling what we want it to do in life.”
He argues that trying to keep many of these dogs healthy is like chasing your tail—something that French bulldogs can’t actually do.
“Actually the question should be, how do we choose a healthy dog in the first place," O'Neill says.
The popularity of the Frenchie means more people getting into the business of the breed—often selling “designer traits,” like smaller sizes, “rare” colors, and fluffy coats.
“Extremes are never good, so anyone who breeds for color, anyone who breeds for size is unfortunately not doing the right thing,” Saini said. “There's a lot involved in responsible breeding. And some of those practices just basically get ignored by everybody who just wants to breed.”
Saini says she knows people love her pup La Vie’s extra squished face, but when it comes to breeding, she knows she would have to select a male partner who made it less likely the characteristic would be passed on to puppies.
“You do not want to breed for that trait,” she said. “Those maintenance issues can be extreme.”
Klippen added that when you're breeding for recessive genes, there's a lot more manipulation occurring.
“If the aim of the general public is to have a non-typical dog, and if right now there are lots of French bulldogs, then the typical French bulldog is no longer a non-typical dog, right?” said Dr. O’Neill.
He says he hopes the social pressures to own a desirable breed can swing in a more sustainable direction, for the betterment of the breed, emphasizing healthier builds and more natural proportions.
"So it can still tickle our fancy to own something called a French bulldog," said Dr. O'Neill. "But weirdly, from the dog's point of view, the dog can now enjoy living a life as a French bulldog.
Saini said she believes personal preference among people looking to own Frenchies will have more sway on the industry than any regulations or official changes to breed standards.
"People who just want that shiny little object that they've seen on TV, they're going to be in for an unfortunately unpleasant surprise ," added Saini. "As long as there is a demand, there's always going to be that breeder. I can say it's up to people. That's why I agreed for this interview -- for people to make an educated choice when they want to get a dog.”
AT HOME WITH THE FRENCHIE
Scott and Krista asked WUSA9 to not use their last name in this story, given that the increase in French bulldog thefts around the area means worries about security have become another reality for Frenchie owners. They tell us they’ve had to take precautions walking around their own neighborhood.
At worst, the popularity is a liability. But at best, they say, it simply doesn't sum up their affinity for the breed.
"I would say the status part is like a turn off, like would be a reason for me not to get one," said Scott.
“The fact that there are so many of them out there now is shocking, but it doesn't bother me. I love seeing Frenchies on the street. I love that other people have them," said Krista. "But I am a little shocked by that because of some of the health issues, I'm shocked that people don't look into that a little bit more.”
They've become fluent in Frenchie, but Scott and Krista say it's even more important to understand them.
"I don't think we consider that work," said Scott, tossing a ball for Lulu to chase down the entryway hallway and return to him, which she will proceed to do at top speed until the ball is removed from her sight.
“I don't know that we could have any other breed, to be honest," he says.
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