French Bulldog Did You Know?
It is fairly well established that one of the ancestors of the French Bulldog is, not surprisingly, the English Bulldog (most likely one of the toy variety).
Two distinctive features of the French Bulldog are its bat ears and half-flat, half-domed skull.
Originally called the Boule-Dog Francais, though the english later scoffed at the idea of calling an English dog by a French name.
Had it not been for the objections of American fanciers, the bat ear of the French Bulldog would have been bred out of the breed and replaced with a rose ear, resulting in a miniaturized version of the English Bulldog.
The first specialty club was the French Bulldog Club of America, and fanciers gave a specialty show in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC in 1989, the first specialty show to be held in such deluxe quarters. Receiving serious press coverage, French Bulldogs were thrust into vogue, reaching a peak in 1913 with an entry of 100 at the Westminster Kennel Club.
While bred primarily as pets and companions, Frenchies are remarkably intelligent and serve as good watchdogs.