French Bulldog
The French Bulldog descends from the toy bulldogs that Nottingham lace workers took with them to France in the nineteenth century, where they were crossed with local ratters and…
About the French Bulldog
The French Bulldog descends from the toy bulldogs that Nottingham lace workers took with them to France in the nineteenth century, where they were crossed with local ratters and became the darling of Paris. In the last decade it has risen to become one of the two or three most registered breeds in Britain, and that popularity has brought problems with it.
Frenchies weigh about 12.5 kg for dogs, compact and muscular, with bat ears and a short coat in brindle, fawn or pied. The Royal Kennel Club's Breed Watch lists the breed's points of concern, and the Respiratory Function Grading Scheme exists for it; a stud graded 0 or 1 under that scheme, with open nostrils and a visible muzzle, is the first thing to ask for. Fashionable colours outside the standard, such as blue and merle, are not registrable and their breeders are best avoided.
Ask a French Bulldog stud owner for hip scores, patella examination and a current eye certificate, and for the DNA tests established in the breed: hereditary cataract, canine multifocal retinopathy and degenerative myelopathy. Spinal X-rays for hemivertebrae matter in a screw-tailed breed, and a straight answer about caesarean deliveries in the line tells you a great deal.
Health & breeding
We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Breed Right’s summary — under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard
Health tests for the French Bulldog
This panel is Breed Right’s summary of the testing that matters for the breed under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard. The Health Standard is the Royal Kennel Club’s guidance for breeders, not a registration rule. It describes tests to ask about — it is not a report on any individual dog. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Good Practice — the Royal Kennel Club’s minimum before breeding
The tests the Royal Kennel Club says breeders should, at a minimum, complete before breeding.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breathing grading — BOAS (RKC Respiratory Function Grading Scheme) | Screening scheme | RKC | Grade 0–3; 0 is clinically unaffected. |
Best Practice — further tests it recommends
Completing these as well as the Good Practice tests is what the Royal Kennel Club calls Best Practice.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNA test — HC-HSF4-2 (Hereditary Cataract, SBT / Boston Terrier / French Bulldog form) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| Hip score (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Total of both hips, 0–106. Lower is better. |
| Elbow grading (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Grade 0–3. The dog is graded on the worse of the two elbows. |
| Eye testing (BVA/KC/ISDS) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC/ISDS | Result printed on the eye certificate. |
Breed club schemes listed in the Health Standard
Run by the breed club, not the Royal Kennel Club, which does not record their results. The Standard lists them as schemes to be aware of.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breed club health scheme (named in the result) | Other | Breed club | Name the scheme and the outcome. |
Breed hip median
Breed median 12 (BVA Hip Dysplasia Scheme breed statistics 2025 — 5 years, 8 dogs scored — indicative only, from a small sample). Lower is better. Source · How hip scores work
At stud now
French Bulldog stud dogs
No French Bulldog studs are listed right now
When a French Bulldog on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register is listed at stud, it will appear here.
Also available
French Bulldog litters
No French Bulldog litters are listed right now
Litters appear here as breeders list them. Check back soon, or browse other breeds.
