Yahoo Movies I love my French bulldogs – but I think it’s time for them to be banned in Britain
“No, no, no, I wouldn’t recommend one,” says Laura Perkes, the owner of four French bulldogs. They snort loudly and choke on their own tongues, they’re expensive and, most tragically of all, they make her sad.
Frank, Dolly, Poppy and Tiger sound sweet. They look adorable too and they are gentle. But Perkes would never buy another French bulldog. In fact, she is painfully aware that her dogs could be about to be cancelled.
French bulldog ownership is up, with more than 54,000 registered in 2021. On paper, they should be ideal pets – not too big with a gentle temperament. But in Perkes’s experience, they have caused no end of trauma – in the Netherlands, they are about to be banned. Last month, plans were announced there to make the ownership of designer pets including pugs and French bulldogs illegal.
In 2014, the country outlawed the breeding of brachycephalic (short-snouted) dogs such as French bulldogs, but the proposed legislation would ban owning the dogs entirely.
Perkes, a small-business owner from Hertfordshire, sees the logic. “It feels harsh but until we stop the issues are just going to get worse, so yes, I’d support a ban on them here too,” she says.
She bought Frank in 2013, for £1,500, from a local breeder with a good reputation.
It started so well. “He was well-trained, well-behaved, great entertainment, great with kids, friendly and lovable,” she says. The couple were so smitten that they added the other three French bulldogs to their household.
She had heard that French bulldogs have breathing issues because of their short snouts but until she experienced their distress, overheating and panting, she “didn’t know how bad it was”.
It’s expensive too. Every few months, she has to take them to the vet, which means hefty bills that start at £45 and rapidly rise.
Brachycephalic dogs are characterised by their small frames, short snouts and bulbous eyes.
However, the same features which owners find aesthetically pleasing can cause some problems in some cases.
Many struggle to give birth naturally due to the mismatch between their narrow pelvises and their offspring’s large heads and, as Perkes discovered, can suffer breathing issues. Despite this, Perkes adores her dogs and wants to do the best for them. While she wouldn’t get more French bulldogs, Perkes is not about to give hers up. So what can be done? Perkes took them to the Cambridge Vet School for a proper physical assessment. Vets recommended two of the dogs needed surgery to have their nostrils widened, and one would need his soft palate reduced, with a bill of several thousand pounds.
Eye problems are also common in brachycephalic dogs, whose eyes can be so large that their eyelids can’t close. The dogs’ lack of snout means they are more likely to bump their eyes into things.
“All of our dogs have had eye ulcers,” says Perkes. “It tends to be once they get to about six or seven, that’s when we see the issues. I’d say the eye problems have been worse than the breathing issues. Frank had two eye ulcers in 2021 and one last year,” she says.
“With his first ulcer, they had to call out a specialist from Cambridge Vet School to treat it. The second ulcer wasn’t as deep but took 16 weeks to heal.”
Many owners have blamed The Kennel Club’s strict breed standards that are said to encourage unhealthy facial features in brachycephalic dogs, though in a statement to The Daily Telegraph, spokesman Bill Lambert refuted this. “Breed standards describe a dog’s characteristics and are reviewed and informed by ongoing breed-specific health data, and are explicit that any conditions or exaggerations which are detrimental to health should be avoided – but they aren’t a reference point for the majority,” said Lambert.
“We urgently need to see people choosing dogs not just because they like the way they look, which is often driven by celebrity and social media, and instead find responsible breeders who use the tools available and prioritise health, as described in the breed standard. We continue to work with vets, welfare organisations and breed clubs to urge would-be owners to ‘stop and think before buying a flat-faced dog’, and to curb the increasing numbers of rogue breeders filling demand for these dogs.” This is a similar position to the one taken by the Blue Cross, which advocates for cracking down on rogue breeders.
Since 2020, the pet charity says its vets have treated over 5,000 brachycephalic animals with breathing operations, eye-injuring repairs and emergency C-sections.
“Numerous health problems have stemmed from a vicious cycle of overbreeding to meet the astronomical demand for flat-faced breeds such as French bulldogs and pugs,” said Becky Thwaites, head of public affairs at Blue Cross: “We’re calling on the Government to crackdown on irresponsible breeders.”
Marc Jeffreys, a breeder who operates Blue Frenchies UK in Manchester, refutes the suggestion that responsible breeders are to blame.
“We do five tests on both the parents before we’d consider breeding from them,” he says. “There are DNA tests which can test for hereditary conditions like cataracts. We also get all our dogs tested by certified British Veterinary Association and get the dogs BOAS-graded which has to be done by a Cambridge-trained vet to make sure their breathing is healthy. Finally, there’s a test from the French Bulldog Club of England stipulating we have to get a vet to check the dogs’ ears and skin folds and grade them.”
Jeffreys feels that the likes of The Kennel Club could do more to deter the issue.
“The thing is, it’s their fault,” he claims. “They don’t do enough checks. If the mum and dad are registered, they will happily register the puppy without doing further checks. They aren’t making sure that people are doing all these health tests. The Assured Breeders Scheme makes sure breeders have to do the tests and meet the standards I mention, but The Kennel Club aren’t thorough enough for other breeders.”
Perkes is sticking by her dogs – she just wishes they could have a happier life.
