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AKC Standard for English Bulldogs | AKC Standard for French Bulldogs

French and English bulldogs require a lot of attention. They are both highly social breeds. They love to be a center of attention. It is also very important to feed them healthy. We feed our bullies with dry food and also with natural food. You can read more about nutrition under "Guarantee".

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10 Tips to Training Puppies | Dog Names | Dog Nutrition | Fleas

History of the English Bulldog

The term "bulldog" was first used around 1568[1] and might have been applied to various ancestors of modern bulldog breeds.Bulldogs were bred in England over time from a cross between a mastiff and the smaller pug.

In the 1600s, bulldogs were used for bullbaiting (as well as bearbaiting), a wagering sport popular in the 17th century in which trained bulldogs leapt at a bull lashed to a post, latched onto its snout and attempted to suffocate it. [2]

The oldest single breed specialty club is The Bulldog Club (England), which was formed in 1875. Members of this club met frequently at the Blue Post pub on Oxford Street in London. There they wrote the first standard of perfection for the breed. In 1891 the two top bulldogs, Orry and Dockleaf, competed in a contest to see which dog could walk the farthest. King Orry was reminiscent of the original bulldogs — lighter boned and very athletic. Dockleaf was smaller and heavier set — more like modern bulldogs. Dockleaf was declared the winner that year. Although some argued that the older version of the bulldog was more fit to perform, the modern version’s looks won over the fans of the breed because they proved they were equally as fit and athletic in the walking competition.

History of the French Bulldog

While theories abound about the exact origin of the French Bulldog, the most prevalent opinion is that around the mid 1800s Normandy lace workers from England took smaller bulldogs with them when they sought work in France. In the farming communities north of France that the lace workers settled in, the little Bulldogs became very popular as ratters and loyal family companions and their population began to swell. These little bulldogs were in fact "culls" of the established Bulldog Breeders in England, who were generally more than happy to sell these undersized examples of their breed to fanciers of the "new" breed in England. This was especially true of the "tulip" eared puppies that cropped up at times in Bulldog litters.

As the new, smaller Bulldogs gained popularity in France, they became favorites of the Parisian "Belles De Nuit" - the street walkers. Breed historians can still sometimes turn up notorious "French Postcards" bearing images of scantily clad French prostitutes posing with their little "Bouledogues Francais." The aura of notoriety that ownership of the little dogs conveyed made them a fashionable way for the well to do classes to show off how daring they could be, and they soon became favorites of the "artistic" set across Europe.

Photos dating to around this time show photos of the Russian Royal family posing along side their French Bulldogs, and they imported several of the little dogs from France. Other famous fanciers included Toulouse-Lautrec, the author Colette and King Edward VII. As a point of historic interest, a French Bulldog, insured for the at that time astronomical sum of $750, was on board the ill fated Titanic.

It is inarguable that without the influence of dedicated, turn of the century American fanciers the breed would not be what it is today. It is they that organized the very first French Bulldog Club in the world, and it was they who insisted that the "bat" ear so associated with the breed today was correct. Until that time, French Bulldogs were shown with either the "bat" or "rose" ear.

All in all, French Bulldogs truly are an International Breed, with fanciers of many nations being responsible for the creation of the loving dogs we know today.