FRENCH BULLDOG (Bouledogue francais)
: Mrs Peggy Davis.
: France.
: 28.04.1995.
: Companion, watch dog, pleasure
dog.
. : Group 9 Companion
and Toy Dogs.
Section 11 Small Molossian Dogs.
Without working trial.
: Probably issued,
like all the mastiffs, from the Epirus and the Roman Empire molosses,
relative of the Bulldog of Great Britain, the Alans (tribe of the Middle
Age), the mastiffs and small type mastiffs of France, the bulldog we
know is the product of different crossings done by enthusiastic breeders
in the popular quarters of Paris in the years 1880.
During that period, the Bulldog being a dog belonging to butchers and
coachmen of « les Halles » (market place), he soon knew how to conquer
the high society and the artistic world by his particular appearance
and character. He then rapidly propagated himself.
The first breed club was founded in 1880 in Paris. The first registration
dates from 1885 and the first standard was established in 1898, year
in which the « Societe Centrale Canine » of France recognized the breed
of the French Bulldog. The first shown dog was from 1887. The standard,
modified in 1931, 1932 and 1948, was reformulated in 1986 by H.F. Reant
and R. Triquet (F.C.I. publication 1987), then in 1994 by the committee
of the Club of the French Bulldog with the collaboration of R. Triquet.
: Typically a small
size molossian. Powerful dog for its small size, short, compact in all
its proportions, smooth-coated, with a short face, a snub nose, erect
ears and a naturally short tail. Must have the appearance of an active
animal, intelligent, very muscular, of a compact build with a solid
bone structure.
: Sociable, lively,
playful, sporty, keen. Particularly affectionate towards his masters
and the children.
: The head must be very strong,
broad and square, the skin of the head forming almost symmetrical folds
and wrinkles. The head of the bulldog is characterized by a contraction
of the maxillary-nasal part; the skull has taken up in width that which
it has lost in length.
:
Skull : Broad, almost flat, forehead very bulging. Superciliary arches
prominent, separated by a particularly developed furrow between the
eyes. The furrow must not extend onto the forehead. Occipital crest
is hardly developed.
Stop : Deeply accentuated.
:
Nose : Broad, very short, turned up, nostrils well open and symmetrical,
slanting towards the rear. The inclination of the nostrils as well as
the snub nose (i.e. upturned) must, however, allow a normal nasal breathing.
Muzzle : Very short, broad, with concentric symmetrical folds coming
down on the upper lips (length of muzzle about 1/6 of the total length
of the head).
Lips : Thick, a little loose and black. The upper lip rejoins the lower
lip at its middle, completely covering the teeth which should never
be visible. The profile of the upper lip is descending and rounded.
Tongue must never show.
Jaws : Broad, square, powerful. Lower jaw shows a broad curve, terminating
in front of the upper jaw. The mouth being closed, the prominence of
the lower jaw (prognathism-undershot) is moderated by the curve of the
lower mandibular branches. This curve is necessary to avoid a too important
shifting of the lower jaw.
Teeth : The lower incisors must never be behind the upper incisors in
any case. The arch of the lower incisors is rounded. The jaw must not
show lateral deviation, nor torsion. The disposition of the incisoral
arches should not be strictly delimited, the essential condition being
that the upper and the lower lips rejoin to completely cover the teeth.
Cheeks : The muscles of the cheeks are well developed, but not prominent.
Eyes : Lively expression, set low, quite far from the nose and especially
from the ears, dark coloured, quite big, well round, slightly protruding,
showing no trace of white (sclera) when the dog is looking straight
ahead. Rims of eyelids must be black.
Ears : Medium size, wide at the base and rounded at the top. Set high
on the head, but not too close together, carried erect. The orifice
is open towards the front. The skin must be fine and soft to the touch.
: Short, slightly arched, without
dewlap.
:
Topline : Rising progressively at loin level to slope rapidly towards
the tail. This conformation which must be sought after, is the consequence
of the short loin.
Back : Broad and muscular.
Loin : Short and broad.
Rump : Oblique.
Chest : Cylindrical and well let down; ribcage barrel shaped, very rounded.
Forechest : Wide.
Belly and flanks : Drawn up without excessive tuck up.
: Short, set low on the rump, close
to the buttocks, thick at the base, knotted or kinked naturally and
tapering at the tip. Even in action, must stay below the horizontal.
A relatively long tail (not reaching beyond the point of the hocks),
kinked and tapering is admissible, but not desirable.
: Forelegs vertical and
parallel seen in profile and from the front, standing well separated.
Shoulder : Short, thick, with a firm and visible musculature.
Upperarm : Short.
Elbows : Close to the body.
Forearm : Short, straight and muscular.
Pastern joint - Pastern : Solid and short.
: Strong and muscular, hindlegs
a little longer than the forelegs, thus raising the hindquarters. The
legs are vertical and parallel as seen both in profile and from behind.
Thigh : Muscled, firm without being too rounded.
Hock joint : Quite well let down, neither too angulated nor certainly
too straight.
Hock : Solid and short. The French Bulldog should be born without dewclaws.
:
Forefeet round of small dimension, i.e. « cat feet », well set on the
ground, turning slightly outward. The toes are compact, nails short,
thick and well separated. The pads are hard, thick and black. In the
brindle subjects, the nails must be black. In the pieds (caille = brindled
fawns with medium white patching) and fawn subjects, dark nails are
preferred, without however penalising the light coloured nails.
Hindfeet well compact.
: Free movement, the
legs moving parallel to the median plane of the body.
: Beautiful smooth coat, close,
glossy and soft.
:
Uniformly fawn, brindled or not, or with limited patching (pied).
Fawn brindled or not, with medium or predominant patching.
All the fawn shades are admitted, from the red to light brown (cafe
au lait) colour. The entirely white dogs are classified in « brindled
fawn with predominant 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.
: The weight must not
be below 8 kg nor over 14 kg for a bulldog in good condition, size being
in proportion with the weight.
: Any departure from the foregoing
points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the
fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Nose tightly closed or pinched and chronic snorers.
Lips not joining in the front.
Depigmentation of the lips.
Light eyes.
Dewlap.
Tail carried high, or too long or abnormally short.
Loose elbows.
Straight hock or placed forward.
Incorrect movement.
Coat (hair) too long.
Speckled coat.
:
Incisors visible when mouth closed.
Tongue visible when mouth closed.
Stiff beating movement of the forelegs.
Pink spots on the face, except in the case of brindled fawns with
medium white patching (« caille ») and fawns with limited or predominant
white patching. (« fauve »).
Excessive or insufficient weight.
:
Colour of nose other than black.
Hare lip.
Dog with lower incisors articulating behind upper incisors.
Dog with permanently visible canines, mouth being closed.
Eyes of two different colours (heterochromatic).
Ears not carried erect.
Mutilation of ears, tail or dewclaws.
Taillessness.
Dewclaws on hindquarters.
Colour of coat black and tan, mouse grey, brown.
: Male animals should have two apparently
normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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