All posts in French Bulldog Stuff

Pierre in Korea is Looking for a Home

by frogdogz on August 23, 2011 in French Bulldog Rescue, French Bulldog Stuff with 3 Comments
pierre-south-korea

We all know that homeless French Bulldogs are becoming unfortunately common in the United States and Canada. In Europe, as well, homeless French Bulldogs in  need are skyrocketing. It had never occurred to me that the same might be true in a place like South Korea, but an email I received this morning changed all of that. It was from Corrie Gillet, a volunteer at the Korean Animal Protection Society, a group located in Daegu, South Korea.

Corrie was writing on behalf of Pierre (or “Prince Pierre”, as she calls him), a homeless Korean French Bulldog with a heartbreaking story.

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French Bulldog History – The Toy Bulldog, Pt 2

by frogdogz on August 15, 2011 in French Bulldog Stuff, Historical Frenchies with 1 Comment
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Miniature and Toy Bulldogs, 1904. From ‘The New Book of the Dog’. Full sized here.

 Part One | Part Two

Since the early history of the French Bulldog is indelibly intwined with that of the Miniature or Toy Bulldog, I thought it would be interesting to reproduce one of the best histories ever published on this extinct breed.

In 1907, Robert Leighton published “The New Book of the Dog“, one of the most exhaustively comprehensive examinations of modern British dog breeds. In it, he devotes several chapters to the history of the “Bull Breeds”, including the Bulldog, the Toy Bulldog, and the French Bulldog.

This is the chapter on Toy Bulldog history, taken from that book, and written by Lady Kathleen Pilkington.

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French Bulldog History – The Toy Bulldog, Pt 1

by frogdogz on August 12, 2011 in French Bulldog Stuff, Historical Frenchies with 1 Comment
miniature-bulldogs-1904
Toy Bulldogs, 1904, taken from “The New Book of the Dog” 

 

The foundation of the French Bulldog as a breed is perhaps one of the better documented canine breed histories. Instead of being shrouded in mystery, or allegorical stories, ours is a fairly pragmatic tale – some Bulldogs were born small, and some people liked them that way. Some Bulldogs were born with ‘tulip ears’, and some people liked them that way.

At the intersection of these two states of being arose the French Bulldog, which was both small and tulip eared, while the former gave rise to the Toy Bulldog. As a separate breed, Toy Bulldogs faded away around the 1930s, while the French Bulldog continued to thrive, albeit in a small way, for many decades.

In 1907, Robert Leighton published “The New Book of the Dog“, one of the most exhaustively comprehensive examinations of modern British dog breeds. In it, he devotes several chapters to the history of the “Bull Breeds”, including the Bulldog, the Toy Bulldog, and the French Bulldog.

This is the chapter on Toy Bulldog history, taken from that book, and written by Lady Kathleen Pilkington (more to come on this stellar Lady later).

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French Bulldog History – Beware of Drunken Firemen

by frogdogz on August 11, 2011 in French Bulldog Stuff, Historical Frenchies with No comments
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Tessa in her favorite patio chair

Many years ago, I had an office in the Yorkville area of Toronto, which was one of the very first Toronto neighbourhoods to get a Starbucks Coffee. I had a daily ritual of going to Starbucks for a coffee at the start of my work day, and would of course bring Tessa with me when I went. Initially, I brought her inside, but a manager one day told me that Public Health would no longer allow dogs inside the coffee shop, and that Tessa would have to wait outside.

Tessa was already used to sitting on the patio at Starbucks, where she would sit at her own chair. She loved to people watch, surveying the sidewalk and making friends with the other patrons, many of whom, at that time, had never seen a French Bulldog before.

Within a month or so, Tessa was on a first name basis with half of the regular patrons, who grew used to seeing her sitting outside on her own, in her chair, while she waited for me to come outside. Occasionally, someone would offer her a piece of biscotti, or part of their scone, and one day, she sat on the lap of James Woods, who admired her ears and her beautiful eyes.

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