Buldogue Francês
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY
Probably arose, like all the Great Danes, from the Molossians of Epirus and the Roman Empire, a relative of the Bulldog in Great Britain, the Alans of the Middle Ages, the Great Danes and Lesser Great Danes of France, the Bulldog we know is a product of different crosses made by passionate breeders in the popular districts of Paris in the 1880s. At that time Halles' strong dogs – butchers, coachmen – and soon conquered high society and the world of artists for their physique and particularly for their character. It then propagated rapidly. The first club of the breed was founded in 1880 in Paris. The first record dates from 1885 and the first standard was established in 1898, the year in which the Central Canine Society (French Kennel Club) recognized the French Bulldog as a breed. The first dog of this breed was shown in early 1887.
GENERAL APPEARANCE
The type is that of a small molossoid. Powerful dog for its small build, short, stocky, compact in all its proportions, short-haired, with a flat nose, erect ears and naturally short tail. He should have the appearance of an active, intelligent, very muscular, compactly built dog with a solid bone structure. No point is exaggerated compared to the others, which could destroy the overall harmony or give the dog a gender or movement misshapen appearance.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS
The length of the body, measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock, is slightly greater than the height at the withers. The length of the muzzle is about 1/6 of the total length of the head.
BEHAVIOR / TEMPERAMENT
Companion dog, sociable, cheerful, playful, possessive, active.
HEAD
It must be strong, wide and square, the skin that covers it forms, without excesses, symmetrical folds and wrinkles.
CRANIAL REGION
Skull: Broad, almost flat from ear to ear, forehead domed. Prominent superciliary ridges, separated by a pronounced sagittal groove between the eyes. The groove does not extend to the forehead. External occipital crest very little developed. Stop: Pronounced.
FACIAL REGION
The head of the French Bulldog is characterized by a shortening of the maxillo-nasal portion, as well as a slight to moderate backward inclination of the nose. The nose is slightly upturned.
Nose: Black in color, broad, flattened, with well-opened, symmetrical nostrils turned obliquely backwards. The slope of the nostrils as well as the upturned nose should allow for normal nasal breathing.
Muzzle: Very short, broad, with concentrically symmetrical pleats.
Lips: Thick, a little loose and black. The upper lip joins the lower lip in half, completely covering the teeth. The profile of the upper lip is descending and rounded. The tongue should never be shown when the dog is at rest.
Jaws/Teeth: Jaws broad and powerful. The lower jaw (mandible) projects in front of the upper jaw and curves upward. The lower incisor arch is rounded. Jaws should not show lateral deviation or twisting. The spaces of the incisor arches must not be strictly delimited, the essential condition is that the upper and lower lips close tightly, covering the teeth completely. The lower incisors overlap the upper incisors. Incisors and canines sufficiently developed. Complete dentition is desired.
Cheeks: Well developed.
Eyes: Clearly visible, with an alert expression, set low, well away from the nose and ears, dark in color, rather large, rounded and showing no white traces (sclera) when the animal is looking straight ahead. The edge of the eyelids should be black.
Ears: Medium in size, wide at the base and rounded at the tip. Set on top of the head, not too close together, carried erect. The pavilion faces forward. The skin should be thin and smooth to the touch.
NECK
Short, powerful, slightly arched, without dewlap, it widens towards the shoulder.
TRUNK
Topline: Progressively ascending, but not excessively, from the withers
up to the level of the loin. This conformation, called carp (“dos de carpe”), is a characteristic of the breed.
Back: Broad and muscular, solid and without slackness.
Loin: Short, broad and arched.
Croup: Well sloping.
Chest: Cylindrical and well let down (slightly below the elbows), very well sprung ribs, called “barrel”. Wide open chest, inscribed in a square, when viewed from the front.
Underline and belly: Retracted, but without much tuck-up.
TAIL
Naturally short, ideally of sufficient length to cover the anus, low set on, almost straight, thick at the base and tapering towards the end. A twisted, knotted, broken or relatively long tail, but not exceeding the hocks, is acceptable. It is carried low, even in action, and should not rise above the horizontal.
PREVIOUS MEMBERS
General appearance: Regular upright when viewed from the side and from the front.
Shoulder blades: Should be well oblique.
Arms: Short, thick, muscular, slightly curved.
Elbows: Close to the body, without looseness.
Forearms: Short, straight and muscular.
Carpus: Solid and short.
Pasterns: Short and slightly oblique when viewed from the side.
Feet: Round, compact, small, called “cat's feet”, turned slightly outwards. The fingers are tightly clenched, the nails short, thick and black.
HINDQUARTERS
General appearance: The hind legs are strong and muscular, slightly longer than the forelegs, thus raising the hindquarters. The uprights are straight when viewed from the side and from behind.
Thighs: Muscular, firm.
Hocks: Well let down, neither too angulated nor straight.
Tarsus: solid.
Metatarsals: Short.
Feet: Round, very compact, turning neither in nor out.
Outside.
MOVEMENT
The limbs move parallel to the median plane of the body, both when viewed from the front and in profile. The movements are free, powerful and regular.
SKIN
No looseness.
COAT
Hair: Short, close, shiny and soft, without undercoat.
Colour: Fawn, brindle or not, with or without white markings. Coats without white spots.
Brindle: Fawn coat with moderate transverse streaks of dark brindle giving a “tiger” appearance, the strongly brindle coat must not hide the fawn background mask. A black mask must be present. Limited white spots present or not.
Fawn: Uniform coat, light fawn to dark fawn hue, sometimes showing a fading color in the sloping parts, with or without a black mask, the masked coat being preferred. Limited white spots present or not.
Coat with white spots: Brindle with moderate or intense amount of white spots: so-called “quail”, the white patch being ideally distributed over the whole animal.
Some blemishes on your skin are tolerated. Fawn with moderate or intense amount of white markings: so-called “fawn and white”, the white patch being ideally distributed over the whole animal. Some blemishes on your skin are tolerated. For all coats, the nose is black, never brown or blue. Totally white specimens (completely invasive white patch), except with black nose and lid edges, are admitted, but not
sought because of the risks associated with deafness.
SIZE / WEIGHT
Height at withers: Males: 27 to 35cm; Females: 24 to 32cm, with a tolerance
1 cm more or less.
Weight: Males: 9 to 14kg; Females: 8 to 13 kg. A tolerance of 500 g above
of the upper limit is accepted if the specimen is very typical.
ABSENCES
Any deviation from the terms of this standard must be considered a fault and penalized in exact proportion to its severity and its effects on the health and well-being of the dog.
“Quail” color heavily mottled.
Fawn color and heavily speckled white.
For the fawn color, very pronounced dorsal stripe that extends towards the back.
“White sock” in brindles and fawns.
Clear nails.
SERIOUS FAULTS
"Hypertype", exaggeration of the characteristics of the breed.
Muzzle too long or too short.
Tongue apparent, mouth being closed.
Clear eye (prey eye).
Horizontal topline from withers to loin.
Excess depigmentation on the lips, nose and lid edges
which should never be completely depigmented.
Pincer bite.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS
Excessive aggressiveness or shyness.
Any dog showing any sign of physical or behavioral anomaly must be disqualified.
Lack of type: Insufficient racial characteristics that make the dog as a whole not sufficiently resemble its congeners of the same breed.
Completely closed nostrils.
Lateral deviation or twisting of the jaw leaving the tongue permanently visible.
Dogs with lower incisors articulating behind the upper ones.
Dogs with canines (tusks) permanently showing even with the mouth closed.
Heterochromic eyes.
Other truffle colors than black.
Ears not carried erect.
Anurism and ingrown tail.
“Ergô” on the hindquarters.
Inverted (“cow”) hock.
Long, hard or woolly coat
Color not conforming to those described in the standard, including black, black with
fawn marks and all dilutions of black, with or without white spotting.
Size and weight outside accepted limits.
breathing difficulty
Deafness.
GRADES
Males must have both testicles, of normal appearance, well descended and accommodated in the scrotum.
Only clinically and functionally healthy dogs of typical breed conformation should be used for breeding.