TRANSLATION : Mrs Peggy Davis.
ORIGIN : France.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 28.04.1995.
UTILIZATION : Companion, watch dog, pleasure dog.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs.
Section 11 Small Molossian Dogs - Without working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : 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 « Société 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.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : 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.
BEHAVIOUR / CHARACTER : Sociable, lively, playful, sporty, keen.
Particularly affectionate towards his masters and the children.
HEAD : 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.
CRANIAL REGION :
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.
FACIAL REGION :
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.
NECK : Short, slightly arched, without dewlap.
BODY :
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.
TAIL : 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.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : 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.
HINDQUARTERS : 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.
FEET :
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.
GAIT / MOVEMENT : Free movement, the legs moving parallel to the median
plane of the body.
COAT
HAIR : Beautiful smooth coat, close, glossy and soft.
COLOUR :
• 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 (café 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.
SIZE AND WEIGHT : 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.
FAULTS : 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 and its effect upon the health and
welfare of the dog.
• 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.
SERIOUS FAULTS :
• 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.
DISQUALIFICATIONS :
• Aggressive or overly shy.
• 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.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be
disqualified.
N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully
descended into the scrotum.
