I know what you're thinking. I'm a breeder and in the business of selling puppies- so why would I tell you not to buy a Frenchie? Yes, I am a breeder and I do sell puppies. The thing many may not consider is that I love my dogs and I love their puppies. I don't want them going to shelters, being mistreated, bred irresponsibly, or for a family to ever be in the situation where they realize they cannot afford the time, money, or attention to raising this puppy responsibly.
The bottom line is, I want my puppies to go to good homes, where they will be loved, cherished, and cared for properly. There are a lot of pieces of the puzzle that need to align in order to constitute a good home. So let's go through them!
1. Don't buy a French Bulldog if you found a great deal.
We all know French Bulldogs regularly cost $6,000 and up if they are coming from Champion lines, OFA health tested parents, and raised in home environments (no kennels/barns/horrible living conditions) but hey, maybe you found one on Craigslist for a couple hundred bucks. This is most likely a scam. It used to be pretty easy to pick out the fakes among real breeding programs. But nowadays even fake websites, instagram and Facebook pages can look legitimate. My best advise to avoid loosing your money is to ask to see the puppy in person, via FaceTime, ask for the puppies or parents most recent vet records with a time/date stamp, ask for proof of health testing, and really any question that may come to mind. The relationship between breeder and buyer should be an open book. Frequently Breeders will have questions for you too. Use your good judgement and don't let those adorable photos lead to an impulse deposit.
Going along with not buying a puppy since its a "geat deal" is that breeding is an extremely demanding and expensive career. You may have already read my blog posts about what I personally invest into my litters in terms of money, time, labor, and emotional investment (if you would like to read that post please click here and here- and btw those blogs were written several years ago before the record inflation they everyone is feeling as I write this blog now end of 2022- regular vet exams have gone from $45 to $75, a bag of puppy formula went from $70 to $140, so on and so forth). In short, each and every litter costs me $5,000-$25,000 upfront, and a minimum of 560 hours of hands on care. That's ten hours a day, seven days a week, for a minimum of 8 weeks. Once I substract my overhead costs from whatever amount of money made from litters I frequently find I have been working for minimum wages. Believe it or not, I haven't been able to pay myself for the entire year of 2022 due to these over head costs and small litter sizes. All of 2022 I. have been working seven days a week for free. Imagine how it makes me feel when I get texts telling me how I overcharge for my puppies and “how dare I price a puppy like this”, yes I legitimately received a paragraph long text on my birthday letting me know that my puppy isn’t worth what I’m asking- its actually a slap across the face. Ofcourse, most people just see the sticker price and think I'm "rolling in it" but if they ever truly knew everything that was poured into and sacrificed in order to produce only the very very best quality dogs, If they only spent one week in my shoes- they wouldn't ever doubt the value. In fact, I left for a two week vacation and had to hire three different housesitters to stay at my home and watch my eight dogs while I was away, totaling $2,100. When I got back I saw a receipt on the counter from Safeway with 6 Red Bulls. It took this poor person 6 Red Bulls to get through 5 days of my regular everyday work- and that wasn’t even including doing all the things I do apart from just caring for the house- like raising two human children, cooking, cleanings, administrative, accounting, and customer service work for the business. Look. The bottom line is that the World Class breeding program that I have now didn’t just fall into my lap. I worked REALLY hard for it. I have invested HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars into it. I have dedicated YEARS of my life to it. That’s what my dogs and my program are worth to me and to the families that have put their trust into me raising their forever companion for them.
Sure, there are ways of making breeding more profitable and reducing overhead costs specifically. Breeders don't have to spend thousands on health testing and subsequently don't have to cut dogs from their program because they assume if the dog is alive it must be healthy enough to breed. They could breed a mamma dog endlessly instead of retiring her after a few litters. They don't have to spend thousands on stud fees and just breed whatever dogs they have access to- like moms to sons, fathers to daughters and so forth. They can do everything under the table instead of paying for licenses, registrations, and taxes. They don't have to buy new blankets, puppy pads and laundry detergent and just have the dogs live in their own filth in a barn. They don't have to pay for vaccines, dewormer, or medical care. They can let who lives live, and who dies die instead of rushing sick puppies to the vet for lifesaving care. They can stack cages on top of cages and keep a hundred breeding age dogs and push out dozens of litters per month. They can save time and labor by keeping dogs on wire bottom cages to let the poop and pee fall through the bottom instead of having the dogs exercising- after all a dog out of a cage is a dog you have to train and constantly keep your eyes on to stay out of trouble. You get the point.
I do everything in my power to enrich the lives of my dogs as much as possible. I treat my dogs as if they were my own children. And in my personal philosophy if it ever comes to the point where I can no longer provide the five star care to my breeding program then I won't be breeding at all. I see it as- I purposely brought these dogs into the world so I should personally be responsible for them. Just like human children, if you don't want to dedicate your life to being a mom or dad, then please for the childs sake DONT reproduce. Furthermore, its my responsibility to find these puppies homes that will provide the same level of care that I do, or better. That is why I ask my families to submit a puppy application and why I ask so many personal questions. I need to know that my puppy is going into good hands.
2. Don't buy a French Bulldog if you are never home.
French Bulldogs are most famous for their clingy personalities. They don't want to be alone. So please consider your work/social schedule before factoring in all the extra snuggle time. Some families are lucky enough to work from home, or have family members home, can hire help, or can bring their pup to work- these are all wonderful situations considering the pup will almost always be with a responsible adult. This is especially important during those first few months where a new puppy bonds with his/her forever human, learns a daily routine, and goes through potty and obedience training.
3. Don't buy a French Bulldog as a gift.
I always tell my puppy families that owning a Frenchie puppy is like having a baby. You wouldn't ever gift someone a baby out of the blue to "play with" Someone who hasn't been obsessing over preparing for a French Bulldog most likely isn't prepared to take on the role of a 24/7 caretaker with so little notice. Couples regularly take years to prepare for a baby, and children who ask for puppies typically need to first graduate from caring for a fish or hamster to show they have they discipline, consistency. love and tenderness to care for an animal that relies on them completely for their survival. So please, unless you and your family member/loved one is 10000% ready and able and prepared to care for this fragile, helpless, and extremely needy little creature do not gift them a French Bulldog.
4. Don't buy a French Bulldog if you have allergies
I just don't recommend taking an allergy pill a day- trust me this will get old fast and when you no longer want to take the medication but cannot live normally when exposed to dander all of a sudden the dog will become nuisance. It's so important to consider what you will need to do or change to your daily life to ensure this addition to your home will work- and if that change is something you can commit to for the next decade. If it is impossible to undergo immunotherapy, or take medication on a daily basis, then a dogless life may be your unfortunate reality because French Bulldogs DO shed.
5. Don't buy a French Bulldog if you have an unstable lifestyle
There are several things to be said under this category. Just like when preparing to have a child there are a few "bottom line" must haves that go beyond the crib and stroller- This is the absolute foundation, do you have a home? Does your apartment or rental allow dogs? Is the back yard fenced? Is there any place that is even remotely convenient and safe for going potty 5-10 times a day? Tiny baby puppies need to relieve their bladder as frequently as every 30 minutes while awake and playing/drinking water. Is there a pool that needs to be puppy proofed? Are you aware that French Bulldogs absolutely cannot swim and WILL drown if they fall into a pool, even a shallow pond, water feature, kiddie pool? Are you constantly traveling or moving? And will you be able to take the dog with you everywhere you go? And if not, then where will the dog be while you are away. Would "away" time at least be consistent so that both the dog and the caregiver aren't left to fend for themselves? Do you have air conditioning? Are you aware that French Bulldogs are a brachycephalic breed and cannot tolerate heat or stringent exercise especially in humid conditions? Is there a space in your home that you can transform or dedicate to a puppy "safe area" where the pup can be while you are working/cleaning/running errands/working out/etc. Please be aware that I do not ever recommend allowing new puppies free roam of the house until they are fully potty trained and can be trusted not to hurt themselves or cause any damage to your home. Do you truly have the time to dedicate dozens and dozens of hours to training your new puppy? And are you willing to be consistent with training, essentially creating a new lifestyle for yourself in order to create a safe, enriched, and achievable living standard for your dog?
6. Don't buy a French Bulldog if you are living paycheck to paycheck.
Like I mentioned in point #1, French Bulldogs normally cost $6,000 and up to purchase up front. But this is only the first expense involved with dog ownership. My recommendation is to at a bare minimum have $5,000 saved and tucked away for emergency situations. I personally require each one of my puppy families to purchase pet insurance. I cannot imagine being in a situation where the family must choose between a vet bill and their pets life. Accidents and emergencies DO happen. A broken elbow from a fall can cost $6,000 to repair. Something as simple as an upset tummy can easily cost $500- and you may leave the vet without even a diagnosis. Dental cleanings can cost $1,000. Now lets scale things up for a dog that is more medically fragile and needs treatment for something like intervertebral disc disease. This can cost $10,000 for the surgery alone- along with lifetime acupuncture, physical therapy, pain relief, and many other treatments that the dog may need to live a comfortable life. Beyond vet care there are endless expenses from premium biologically appropriate food ($150/month), treats ($50/month), leash, collar and harness ($100), beds, crates, sweaters, bowls, hygiene items and/grooming, how about a fence (ten grand), car seats, professional training (potentially hundreds to thousands), so on and so forth. Dog ownership is extremely expensive.
7. Don't buy a French Bulldog if you don't have patience.
French Bulldogs are notoriously stubborn. Its not uncommon to take an entire year to potty train a Frenchie to the point where you can leave them alone to free roam your house for 6 hours and come home to zero potty accidents. Not only are they difficult to potty train they are extremely naughty. I don't necessarily believe this point is exclusive to French Bulldogs but they certainly can be destructive if left to themselves with no supervision and nothing to keep them busy. Have you see the instagram posts of "dog shaming" and they show photos of all the fluff torn out of pillows, drywall and moldings eaten away, shoes and couches eaten up, toilet paper completely unrolled and all over the home, garbage tipped over and all over the kitchen, and even entire doors broken though? Well, yep don't be surprised if you come home to this when you let your dog home alone with nothing to do and zero training. Training, routine, discipline and respect takes A LOT of effort and a lot of time to create. So if you don't have the patience to properly train, or at least the money to hire a trainer and stay consistent with the training they have done for you then a French Bulldog might not be for you.
8. Don't buy a French Bulldog if you have a sensitive nose.
French Bulldogs are notorious for having a sensitive stomach, poor digestion, even IBD, and EXTREME gas. Feeding a biologically appropriate diet of raw meat, vegetables and supplements can help with this issue tremendously but even then once in a while I find my dogs can clear the room. I actually have an air purifier going 24/7 in my home to help suck up those odors. Please know that synthetic scents from candles, and plug ins can be toxic for dogs so its very very important to switch to 100% natural and safe scents in your home or just don't use fragrances altogether if you cannot confirm that the fragrance is not synthetic. These chemicals, along with many chemicals in cleaning agents and even flea meds can cause severe and in some cases irreversible neurological effects such as seizures.
On a final note, having a French Bulldog can be life changing in all the good ways too. Frenchies are truly a soul dog, a best friend. Frenchies don’t care what you have accomplished in life, what you look life, where you have been or what you are going through. They will be there for you through thick and thin, and their love is unconditional. It’s hard to describe just how special they are. They are truly closer to humans than to dogs in personality and I hope that you can experience their love and companionship if its something you want:) As always, sending all of my love and all of my hugs from NW Frenchies.
Please leave a comment if you feel I’ve missed anything from this list!
