French Bulldogs at Stud in the 1920s
The common method of offering your French Bulldog at stud in the 1920’s was to place a ‘kennel card’ advertisement in one of the popular show dog magazines of the day. The ad would tout his accomplishments, mention his numerous champion get, and generally state his stud fee, which seemed to vary between $7 and $25 dollars. Bitches were generally shipped in by train, if they were not local.
Now, French Bulldogs offered at stud are handled much, much differently. Owners generally place an ad in one of the popular French Bulldog breed magazines. The ad touts the dog’s show accomplishments, mentions his numerous champion get, and states he’s available to ‘approved bitches’. OK, maybe not so different, but at least stud fee isn’t usually mentioned in print any longer. This is probably a good thing, since they can now vary from $850 to $2500, with bitches staying put at home, and the stud dog’s semen being flown to the bitch via courier.
Here are some kennel card ads from the 1920’s – click to view full sized. The ad for Never Never Land Kennels appeared in, of all places, the Yale Newspaper.