They are bat-eared and irrepressible, and they love you and own you like no dog’s business. The French Bulldog is a clown and commander in equal measure and is a much-loved breed for uncountable reasons. If you seek a French bulldog companion, you might well ask where you can find a happy and healthy puppy?
You will find a good French Bulldog at either a shelter or a breed-specific rescue group, where happy and healthy dogs land up through no fault of their own. You could also source an ethical breeder through word of mouth or ask your local veterinarian for breeders with excellent reputations.
It’s tempting to grab the first puppy you see, especially when they are as uber adorable as the french bully. However, you have a responsibility as a dog lover to ensure that you do not encourage unconscionable backstreet breeders who churn out puppies with no thought to the conditions of their breeding dogs.
If you want a crazy clown sidekick and do no harm, here’s the best way to find your new French bulldog companion.
First Try Your Local Rescue Groups or Animal Shelters
A sad fact about puppy mills is that almost 2.6 million puppies are sold each year in the US from puppy mills with inhumane conditions and deplorable treatment of pedigree breeds.
With the current crisis of unloved and abandoned dogs in shelters, the ASPCA estimates that almost 400,000 dogs are euthanized in American shelters every year. With these sobering facts, some question whether breeders, even reputable ones, are not contributing to this heavy death toll of loving dogs in shelters who could not find a forever home.
You could find a perfectly healthy and wonderful French Bulldog who has been abandoned through no fault of their own in one such rescue shelter. If you seek a French Bulldog who is just waiting for your loving forever home, you may try the following steps.
How To Find a Good French Bulldog from a Rescue Shelter
| Google French Bulldog-specific rescue groups in your area. Often dog lovers devoted to a particular breed spend long hours connecting with local shelters and foster care to help new owners find their perfect companion. |
| Search websites such as the American Kennel Club, Petfinder, and Adopt-a-Pet. These groups contain a wealth fr information on many pedigree breeds, such as French Bulldog rescue groups. |
| Keep abreast of social media groups. Follow groups involved with the French Bulldog breed and rescue who may post updates on French Bulldog puppies and adults up for rescue. |
| Ask your local veterinarian for information on rescue groups in your area. Often dog lovers approach their vet with information and fliers about dogs seeking homes in your area. |
If your search for a huggable French Bully has come to nothing, and you can’t wait to have one of these quirky darlings in your home, you could always search for a reputable and ethical breeder.
How Do I Find an Ethical French Bulldog Breeder?
When sourcing an ethical French Bulldog breeder, the first thing to remember is to steer clear of online sellers or pet store puppies. Ethical breeders care about the conditions they keep their dogs. They will invite you to their home to view the puppies and parents and assess you for suitability.
Ethical French bulldog breeders will have an excellent word-of-mouth reputation in reputable circles. They will have their happy and healthy breeding dogs available to view, and they will vet potential owners before agreeing to sell their puppies.
Breeders of any worth would never sell their pets without ensuring they are homed with a suitable owner. Those willing to sell their puppies to unseen owners are often unethical breeders who use their puppies and dogs as commodities without regard for their beautiful souls.
Signs of an Ethical French Bulldog Breeder
| Ethical breeders have an excellent reputation. Word of mouth is the greatest ally of ethical puppy breeders as often they will not sell their puppies online or in pet stores. Often they will be known in showing circles or reputable institutions such as the AKC. |
| Responsible breeders will invite you to their homes. Ethical breeders love their dogs and are happy for potential owners to view their happy and healthy dogs. Ethical breeders have their breeding pairs inside their homes and will invite you to view their’ family.’ |
| Caring breeders will question you to ensure you will be a suitable and loving home for their puppies. Breeders who love their dogs will need to meet you and discuss whether you have the appropriate space, lifestyle, and mindset suited to the French bulldog breed. |
| Ethical breeders provide the perfect environment for their specific breed. When you visit the home of a good breeder, you will find the home clean, open, and with enough space for the dogs to run and play happily. Cramped cages or dirty, confined conditions are the hallmarks of a puppy mill. |
| Responsible breeders are forthcoming with breed-specific information. Reputable breeders will discuss breed-specific problems and show evidence that they have attempted to choose only healthy breeding stocks that are unrelated or manifest breed-specific genetic defects. |
| Good French Bulldog breeder’s dogs will be happy, healthy, and friendly. Often one can see the behavior of the dam and sire as a reflection of the love and care the breeders have put into raising their dogs. Shy, scared, or aggressive dogs are often the sign of an unethical breeder. |
| Responsible breeders will show your puppy’s veterinary history. Reputable French Bulldog breeders will have the veterinary history of your puppy with all their vaccinations and age-specific protocols recorded by an accredited veterinarian. |
We Like To Introduce You To One Of Our Favorite Ethical Breeders.
TomKings Puppies have been breeding French Bulldogs ethically for over 10 years. They started as a small family business founded by two ex-Olympic athlete brothers Geri and Tom, who had a mission of raising healthy and happy Frenchies and finding forever-loving families for them. Today, their puppies live in 45 countries worldwide, mostly in the United States.
Their sporting careers taught Geri and Tom that success doesn’t come without hard work and dedication, so they set the highest standards in their breeding program too:
- the selection process of the puppy parents,
- the feeding and healthcare protocols of the babies
- the space they need to play and grow healthy muscles
- the attention they give to the puppies and the Frenchie moms (they keep the number of litters from a mom to four in total, then they either find a loving family for her or she stays with them).
Apart from being extremely selective about the health and look of the Frenchie parents, they make sure that the puppies receive the utmost love, care, and attention: they consider every Frenchie a family member from the moment they are born. They believe that the secret to having socialized and healthy Frenchie puppies are spending time with them all day long and letting them run and play in the backyard.
“We give them much more space than officially needed. Their muscles can grow better if they have the space to move around and we can also radically decrease the chance of infections and diseases,” explains Tom, who gained most of his professional knowledge from his university studies in animal breeding.
TomKings give their puppies the highest quality food and vitamins and do regular health screenings to ensure that every Frenchie arrives at their new parents in an excellent physical condition. “We believe that ethical breeding is the only way of breeding, and as we’ve been animal lovers since we can remember, we couldn’t do it in any other way”, says Tom.
They have a Facebook group called TomKings Frenchie Family where they stay in contact with the adopters and give them lifelong help with their Frenchies. “We not only consider our puppies as our family members but our Frenchie parents too!”, says Geri. If you’d like to see it with your own eyes, join their Facebook community!
French Bulldog Breed Q;A
How Do I Know If My Frenchie Is Pure?
You will know your Frenchie is pure because a reputable dealer will provide you with the official pedigree papers of your puppy’s family tree. Your breeder will also provide you with the veterinary history of your pup from a reputable veterinarian.
Is There a Black Market For French Bulldogs?
There is a black market for French Bulldogs across America where thieves target the small and friendly breed because they are easy to steal. They then sell them on the black market for thousands of dollars, with no care for their inconsolable owners.
In 2021 Thieves stole Lady Gaga’s Frenchies Gustav and Koji and shot her dog walker in LA. This incident is just the tip of the iceberg for the burgeoning French bulldog black market, where thieves sell Frenchies for over $5,000.
Why Are French Bulldogs Being Stolen?
French Bulldogs are being stolen because they are easy to grab, friendly, and fetch around $5,000 on the black market. This breed of the stars is highly coveted, and some conscienceless or unwary people are willing to buy them despite the pain for both the dogs and owners.
This sad reality is yet another reason to ensure that you source an ethical breeder for your French Bulldog. Buying a Frenchie off the street without papers could mean you are promoting this terrible situation.
Final Thoughts
If you don’t feel complete until you have your very own” clown dog” to keep you entertained, be sure to source either a rescue or an ethical breeder. If puppy-mill-type breeders lure you in, you deprive an already existing dog of a loving home.
It may take a bit longer to source the real deal, but your happy and healthy French Bully will reward you with snorts and antics you will treasure.
