History of French Bulldog in Timeline
1835
From the beginning of the nineteenth century, bulldogs were bred in the United Kingdom for purposes other than traditional blood sports such as bull-baiting, which were banned in 1835. By the middle of the century there were miniature bulldogs, most weighing around 7–11 kg (15–24 lb).
1893
This new Bulldog breed arrived for the first time in England in 1893, with English Bulldog breeders in an uproar as the French imports did not meet the new breed standards in place by this time, and they wanted to prevent the English stock from crossbreeding with the French. The Kennel Club initially recognized them as a subset of the existing Bulldog breed rather than an entirely new breed. Some English breeders in this period bred the French Bulldogs in order to resurrect the Toy Bulldog. On 10 July 1902, at the house of Frederick W. Cousens, a meeting was held to set up a breed club in order to seek individual recognition for the French breed. The adopted breed standard was the same one which was already in use in America, France, Germany and Austria. Despite opposition from Miniature Bulldog (the new breed name for the Toy Bulldog) and Bulldog breeders, in 1905, the Kennel Club changed its policy on the breed and recognized them separate from the English variety, initially as the Bouledogue Francais, then in 1912 as the French Bulldog.
1896
Americans had been importing French Bulldogs for a while, but it was not until 1885 that they were brought over in order to set up an American-based breeding program. They were mostly owned by society ladies, who first displayed them at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1896. In the following year, the judge at the dog show, George Raper, only chose winners with "rose ears"—ears that folded at the tip, as with the standard for Bulldogs. The ladies formed the French Bull Dog Club of America and created a breed standard which preferred the "erect bat ear" type. In the early 20th century, the breed remained in vogue for high society, with dogs changing hands for up to $3,000 and being owned by members of influential families such as the Rockefellers and the J. P. Morgans. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed quickly after the breed club was formed, and by 1906 the French Bulldog was the fifth most popular dog breed in America.
2003
Today the French Bulldog is commonly kept as a pet: in 2020, it was the second-most registered dog in the United Kingdom, and the fourth-most in the United States. They were rated the third-most popular dog in Australia in 2017. In 2019, in the United Kingdom, the French Bulldog had a total of 33,661 registered dogs. By comparison, the Labrador Retriever had over 36,700 dogs and the Cocker Spaniel fewer than 22,000. In 2013, the American Kennel Club (AKC) ranked the French Bulldog as the 10th most popular breed in the United States, enjoying a sharp rise in popularity from 54th place a decade before, in 2003. In 2023, the French Bulldog overtook the Labrador as the most popular breed of dog as ranked by the AKC. Before 2023, Labradors had held the top spot for 31 years.
2011
A study of the deaths of 30,563 dogs of different breeds in the United Kingdom in 2016–2020 found the French Bulldog to have a life expectancy at birth of 4.53 years, the lowest by a large margin of all breeds in the study, which found an average for all dogs of 11.23 years. This same study indicates that the low life expectancy for French Bulldogs is possibly influenced by the increasing number of French Bulldogs present in the UK, increasing from 2,771 KC registered individuals in 2011 to 39,266 individuals in 2020, skewing the general population to be very young on average and biasing the data. A Japanese study of pet cemetery data found the French Bulldog to have a life expectancy of 10.2 years, the lowest of all breeds in the study. A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 9.8 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.
2013
In 2013, a UK Medical Study reviewed the health of 2228 French Bulldogs under veterinary care in the UK. The study found that 1612 (72.4%) of these French Bulldog had at least one recorded health issue: The most common disorders recorded were ear infections (14.0%), diarrhea (7.5%) and conjunctivitis (3.2%). Skin problems were the most commonly reported group of disorders (17.9%).