No Blue or Chocolate Frenchies Please! :(
Researching the French Bulldog breed can be a delight sometimes. Finding articles about them being dogs of historic belles and high socialites or learning that they’ll only weigh up to 28 pounds is always a great discovery. Sometimes you even run into a fact that’s kind of bizarre like that they fart a lot or that they have to learn how to bark.
The latest fact I discovered that I found interesting is that blue, chocolate or liver frenchies don’t fit into the French bulldog standard. They can’t show in AKC confirmation events. So, if you have one of those ever so rare beautiful blue (grey) colored $5-$10k French bulldogs, then you can’t show him. Nor can you breed him without getting your head cut off from avid Frenchie owners that aim to preserve the breed. If your frenchie is the color of delicious chocolate or tasty (to dogs) liver, then your dog can’t help toward French bulldog standards either. This is all a bummer to me because blue is my favorite color and I love chocolate. So if I were to ever get a blue frenchie, I wouldn’t be able to show him. Or if I decided to breed him, I would be going against AKC breed codes and qualifications. Which means I would actually be hurting the breed standard. That sucks.
Blue French bulldogs are so expensive because good breeders with a good cause (to better and protect the breed standard) are trying to eliminate all frenchies with imperfections like a diluted (d) black gene. Because of this they are rare and almost extinct.
I found this great French bulldog color genetics reference resource for anyone interested in learning more about frenchie genes and how they turn out the color they do. Here’s the link http://www.french-bulldog.com/page28.php.
To see pictures of beautiful blue French bulldogs visit this Blue French Bulldog Website or check out Shel-E’s French Bulldogs.
As for why the AKC disqualifies grey, brown and liver, I don’t know. I’m hoping to find out soon…
Maybe one day blues can show???
What great timing. This exact subject is currently being cussed and discussed by members of FBDCA (French Bulldog Club of America) as I type. Standards are set so that we are all breeding toward the same (hopefully) goal; to keep our beloved breed all looking “correct” as well as producing healthy dogs with the great temperaments they are known for. The color standard should be no more ignored than that of any other feature of the breed. Would it be ok to breed frenchies with long tails? How about long muzzles? No, because that is not the standard and goes against what makes them French Bulldogs. One of the bad things with the color genes is that some of the offspring produced may caring the gene but not be of the disqualifying color so you could end up with this in your breeding program without wanting it. Because of the stigma of the DQ colors they are often registered as another color, again masking the trait. I love this breed and work hard to keep what I produce as true to the standard as I can. I wish all French Bulldogs were produced from love of the breed rather than greed of the purse. Do your homework before you buy.
Thanks for the comment Beth. That was VERY informative.
Maybe you can help me figure out something I’ve been wondering.
You said
“No, because that is not the standard and goes against what makes them French Bulldogs.”
How was the standard decided? I mean, how did whoever decide that for now on, this is how frenchies are going to look? Where can I find this info?
I always imagine something like a chairboard looking at pictures of or actual french bulldogs and saying; ok, they can be these colors, but not these. They can be this bully but that’s too bully. There ears must be rounded and not pointed. How did they decide blue, liver or chocolate cannot be a color? Those colors were around back then, no?
Just very curious about the origination of the standard. Could you maybe recommend a book?
PS: I’ve always loved your site. You were one of the original breeders we wanted to buy our frenchie from (little off topic :) )
I believe blue Frenchies are not DQ in Europe. So that’s another thing to consider. Different countries have diff standards for dog breeds.
At one time, a long time ago, FB’s were allowed to have two different types of ear formations.
The Rose ear which is folded over like the English bulldog and the errect Bat ear which became the standard.
Personally I love the blue color in dogs. What I’ve been told is that lighter dogs are apt to
have more skin issues, something FB’s are prone to.
Here (http://gentscaninesociety.com/blog/2007/11/07/marcel-isidore/) is a lovely photo of a blue Frenchie and their Pied friend that live in England.
Frenchie farts are famous! Because of their sensitive stomach, gas can be a common problem…you shall learn about it, I’m sure, some day!
Oh don’t worry, you can still have fun with your blue Frenchie. Just because you can’t show him in AKC conformation doesn’t mean you can’t show him at all. After all, conformation is just piece of the marvelous puzzle called showing your dogs. I’ve shown my Pugs and Frenchies in obedience for years, met quite a few wonderful breeders, attended National Specialties, and loved it. I loved showing in breed too, but don’t limit yourself. If you want to own a blue Frenchie, buy one (mortgage the house, sell your wife, put Tink on Walmart food and toys), and show in performance competition.
Remember, however, for a few thousand dollars less, you can get a Frenchie that still snorts, gases, gives spit kisses, can out think you, and will make its skin color your FAVORITE skin color in about five minutes flat, just because he’s wearing it… What a deal!
I believe blue Frenchies are not DQ in Europe. So that’s another thing to consider. Different countries have diff standards for dog breeds.
Absolutely untrue - the FCI and KCoE standards are even more rigid when it comes to color than the AKC or Canadian KC standards are.
FCI (Europe and most other member countries other than the UK, Aus., NZ and Can and the USA:
COLOUR
- Uniformly fawn, brindled or not , or with limited patching (pied).
- Brindled fawn or not, with medium or large patching.
All the fawn shades are admitted, from the red to light brown (café au lait) colour. The entirely white dogs are classified in “brindled fawn with large white patching”. When a dog has a very dark nose, dark eyes with dark eyelids, certain depigmentations of the face may exceptionally be tolerated in very beautiful subjects.
KC of England Standard:
Colour
Brindle, pied or fawn. Tan, mouse and grey/blue highly undesirable.
Brindle: a mixture of black and coloured hairs. May contain white provided brindle predominates.
Pied: white predominates over brindle. Whites are classified with pieds for show purposes; but their eyelashes and eye rims should be black. In pieds the white should be clear with definite brindle patches and no ticking or black spots.
Fawn: may contain brindle hairs but must have black eye lashes and eye rims.
Rose ears in Frenchies were never acceptable under the American Standard. In fact, the standard was drafted precisely because a UK judge awarded rose eared dogs the ribbons.
My point about the ears is that when the breed was first developed their were two diff ear types. That must have been before the American Standard was made. The standard is for show and breeding reasons and thats great.
However blue, chocolate etc are available and if you wanted one you can find one. I’ve even heard of breeders that specialize in them. Their beautiful dogs as you can see from the photo in the link I posted. The standard also doesn’t allow all white dogs but they exist and I know people that enjoy love them very much.
Life is not just about show standards except to show people. I understand why show/breeders need to be so ridged. But not why they need to be so smug about it. Cheers!
I agree, Blue French Bulldogs are beautiful dogs….
So are pied ones, brindle ones, fawns ones, red ones, black-masked ones, cream ones and yes even chocolate ones.
Gotta love a frenchie, no matter the color.
I NEVER MET A FRENCHIE THAT I DIDNT TOTALLY LOVE…..MAYBE SOME ONE WHO HAS A BLUE FRENCHIE COULD GET IT DNA TESTED TO SEE IF ITS PURE …THEN IF THEY ARE MAYBE SOMEDAY WE WILL SEE THEM IN THE SHOW RING….
i hope to one day see blue, chocolate, black and tan, and pure white in the show ring. the dogs should be judged on their personality, body shap, ect, not color. the reason some people claim that they should not be admitted into the breed standard is because they are recessive and breeding recessives irresponsibly can lead to health problems. the thing is eliminating them does not stop the irresponsibility and other breeds have recessives as acceptable colors because good breeders have worked hard to stabilize and improve the color. the only way we will eer see blues in the show ring is to breed them. once there are enough breeders rallying to add them to the standard, the akc will consider it. that is how all colors, except the originally accepted ones are added. the same is true with brindles. they were once outlawed until they were better perfected and the added to the standard. if we spay all the recessive carrying frenchies, then we will be ever shrinking an already small gene pool and that is asking for trouble. if you don’t like blues, don’t buy one.
ive always had a great love for the blue in dogs …….I have had blue staffs in the past a wonderfull dog of great character…..i now own a wonderfull black brindle french bulldog……..whiich he appears to show no brindle in him wot so eva ?????????????nether the less he is cherished and love to the full………………i would love to have a blue frenchie….altho with all honesty have not seen pictures of them……………..in my curiousty or naivety were did the blue gene come from????????….when i was looking to purchase my 1st frenchie,,,,i found it very hard to get the colour i wanted………fawn ……..black brindle being the prominent colour,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i am still lookking to find a well bred fawn frenchie……….but to find a blue ????????????????well it says it all……………a well bred dog/bitch of all breed standard irrelevent of colour shown be recognised in the ring……this excellent breed of dog is rare as it is………….dont make it more rare or even a dying breed,,cause of colour discrimination in the ring…………
looking foward to getting my fawn frenchie very soon……………………..