Friday 23 November 2012

Top 5 strategies to determine your French Bulldog breeder


Once we had decided that a French Bulldog is the ideal dog for us we knew that the next step was quintessential – we had to find the right breeder. It often seems like a daunting task, especially if you don’t really know how to determine whether it’s a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ breeder.

But I would recommend looking for the French Bulldog Club/Association in your country, like the ones in the UK, Germany or the USA. In the USA the American Kennel Club is also a good source of information for quality breeders. They often provide you with great information and sometimes already with a list and the contact details of certified breeders. In addition, you can also often find a lot of information online from “expert” dog sites (see link for an example), but I would be very careful when it comes to contacts or names of trusted breeders. They are good for general information about breeds and some introduction to training etc., but not very much for personal contacts and recommendations.

I can highly recommend to search for private breeders that have an internet presence, with who you can get in touch with and ideally, if the geography allows, personal visit. Often you can already get a small sense of their commitment and expertise from their websites and once you get in touch with them. Try to ask them as many questions as possible and if you can, contact two or three breeders and ask them all the same questions. That way you should also get a sense of who really knows the Frenchies well.

Example: We have a very good example from Ireland. See Celticlibrid – French Bulldogs 

Every breeder should be very keen on meeting with you, because it is in the breeder’s interest to give the puppies only to responsible people. Therefore, breeders who don’t agree to meet are NOT to be trusted. We would recommend meeting with the breeder once before deciding. It is also important to stick with the breeder once chosen, even if the litter still takes several months. It is not worth rushing to another breeder just because he/she has a litter right that moment.


So overall, I would summarise our Top 5 strategies to determine the right breeder for your French Bulldog as followed:

1.    Be 100% sure that the French Bulldog is the right dog for you

2. Research well about your national (or even local) French Bulldog associations/clubs and what they have to offer in terms of recommended breeders

3. Also search for and get in contact with trustworthy private breeders with a quality website to evaluate their expertise and commitment. Double-check with any official association/club if they know the breeder and if they have any opinion about him/her.

4. Request at least one visit before making a decision.

5. Once a breeder is chosen, stick with him/her.


Now just a little bit for fun, ENJOY!