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Fancy Talk
Interview with Karen Cram Karendon French Bulldogs
Fancy Judging
Northern California French Bulldog Specialty by James Dalton
Fancy Overview, II A look back on Bandog Frenchies and linebreeding
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74 French Bulldogs and Agility Fancy Details
by Michelle Hrnchar
Healthy Fancy 94 The Man About Town: The Stud Side Of The Story
The Frenchie Fancy 2015 - The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, images, photographs or other materials. By accepting and publishing advertising the publisher in no way recommends, guarantees or endorses the quality of the services of products within those advertisments. The information contained in this online and print magazine is for general information purpose only. The information is provided by us and our collaborators, and while every efford is made to provide information which is both current and correct, we make no representations on warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliavility, suitability or availability with respect to the online magazine or the information, products, services or related graphics contained within the online magazine for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will Frenchie Fancy be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loos or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising for loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this online and print magazine.
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next issue: dec 2015 Post FBDCA NATIONAL ISSUE!
f ancy beginnings
Hello, Frenchie Fancier, and welcome to the TENTH edition of The Frenchie Fancy! This is many people’s favorite time of the year: The FBDCA National Specialty approaches, and the best Frenchies in North America and even from other continents are about to be gathered in Kentucky, USA! But you don’t have to wait until you get to Louisville, you can take a peek at what’s to come on the next few pages of Frenchie Fancy! We have an UBER exciting issue for you: Michelle Hrnchar has prepared an article with everything you need to know about Agility and Frenchies! If you are not familiar with it, a lot of the sport is about to start making sense to you after you read her article. Lori Hunt talks about stud dogs and reproduction, and Patty Sosa of Bandog Frenchies continues on with the second part of her article on her breeding program and line breeding. We also have a specialty show coverage with a write up from Breeder Judge James Dalton from his recent assignment in Northern California. Our stunning cover dog is Rogue, and our interview is with the long time breeder and exhibitor Karen Cram, of Karendon French Bulldogs! Anyone who has been to a national specialty and some of the best specialty shows in North America has seen Karen show off her beautiful Frenchies, so if you’ve never had a chance to talk to her, you can read all about her this time around! The Frenchie Fancy is a worldwide publication dedicated to all things French Bulldogs. We believe that there are no borders
nowadays. Breeders are able to find ways to combine their efforts no matter the distance, and we encourage this collaboration. You can order your Frenchie Fancy magazine hard copy online, or purchase a full year subscription with a special price! For more details, please access our website: www.FrenchieFancy.com Our next issue will be our Holiday edition with post FBDCA National Specialty brags and 2015 achievements, so get on board! Sit back, relax and enjoy some of the very best French Bulldogs of the world! See you all soon,
Fernanda Barlow, Matthew Dover, Vivianne Mello The Frenchie Fancy Team
Send us a message! info@frenchiefancy.com www.frenchiefancy.com | facebook.com/frenchiefancy
FRENCHIE FANCY Creative Director Vivianne Mello info@frenchiefancy.com
Photography Fernanda Barlow Lena Salmina Olga Nikolaeva
Advertising Director Fernanda Barlow ads@frenchiefancy.com
Marketing Director Matthew Dover mkt@frenchiefancy.com
Distribution
EUROPE
AUSTRALIA
Ana Jagtiani (Spain) Anna Denisova (Italy) Bitten Oldereide (Norway) Magnus Berglin (Sweden) Sarah Ventham (UK) Jakko Broersma (NL) Toni Saira (Finland) Daniela Akkad (Austria) Tove Rasmussen (Denmark) Mourning Chang (Taiwan)
Kelly McClelland UNITED STATES
Contributors James Dalton Lori Hunt, DVM Michelle Hrnchar Patricia Sosa
Matthew Dover (East) Fernanda Barlow (West)
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FANCY advertisers ARGENTINA BLOIS, Sergio & Rafael (AVLIS&BLOA) ........................... 51 CICCALE, Romina (CIMABULL) ................................. 18, 19 MAZZONI, Roberto (NAMASKAR) ............................... 50 AUSTRALIA DAVIDSON, Liz & Michael (D’ACCORD) ......................... 37 WATSON, Paul & Alisa (AVENIR) .................................... 36 BRAZIL BORGES, Monik & Sergio (SM CHEROKEE) ............... 64, 65 BRITTO, Marcio (BULL RANCH) ..................................... 26 FILHO, Luiz Martins .................................................. 26 MENEZES, Claudia & Alex (DICAR) ................... 52, 53, 112 ROCHA, Alex & Ronny (NOVIZALA) .............................. 106 SANTOS, Junior (BULL RANCH) ................................... 26 CANADA BERREY, David (HOMEWOOD) .................................... 80 BREWER, Carey (ATALA) ........................................... 78 CRAM, Karen (KARENDON) .................................. 68, 69 MCINTYRE, Anne (FOXMOOR) ................................... 29 ROCKFORD, Richard (ARISTOCRAFTS) .................... 98, 99 CHINA LUO, Viva & Ng Roy (OVERTOP) ............................... 12, 13 COSTA RICA YIN, Siben (SAINT HONORE) ......................................... 92 COLOMBIA GALVIS, Jairo (VILLA GLORIA) ................................. 70, 71 ZULUAGA,Walter (LEON GEROME) .................................. 86 ECUADOR SOTOMAYOR, Juan Carlos (SECUTOR) ................... 84, 85 ENGLAND FRIEND, Darren & Natalie (KINGFRIEND) ...................... 43 SMITH, Linda (BELLICOSE) .......................................... 97 JAPAN YAMANAKA, Kazumi (COCO VIALATTE) ......................... 87 MEXICO KUECHEL, Erwin (KUVIBULL) ......................................... 63 PERU BELMONT, Alexia ..................................................... 113 POLAND KLUSEK, Agnieszka (SLICE OF LIFE) ..................... 72, 73 RUSSIA NIKOLAEVA, Olga (LE NAIN ADORABLE) ............ 104, 105 SITNIKOVA, Tatiana (FRUSTYLE) .................................. 81
THAILAND PHRUKWATTANAKUL, Viruch (NAPACHAI) .................... 25 UNITED STATES BARLOW, Fernanda (CARAMURU) ............................... 34 BERRY, Pat (PETITE CHERIE) ........................................ 29 BURVEE, Diane (QAZARA) ............................................. 41 BUTTERFIELD, Shannon (FANTASIA) ..................... 48, 49 CATON, Joe (SAFARI) ......................................... 108, 109 CATON-MUSTO, Kathy (SAFARI) ........................ 108, 109 COVALUCCI, Billy (CAMPCOVO) ................................ 66, 67 DALTON, James (FABELHAFT) .......... 15, 16, 35, 114-116 DEBRUHL, Teri ............................................................. 35 DENNY, Nicole (PINNACLE) ................................... 30,31 DOVER, Matthew (BELLA LUNA) ........................ 66,67 FAGIN, Teddy ................................................................. 7 FORGIONE, Karen (DIAMOND RIDGE) ..................... 44-47 FOX, Sandy (FOX CANYON) ......................................... 28 HAMMAN, Blake (LA BETE) ................................. 10, 11 HOLMES, Kamila (HOLMES PRIDE) ................................. 42 HELMS, Olivia .......................................................... 47 HULICK, Marion (SHORE) ............................................. 46 HUNT, Lori (ASSISI) ............................................ 60-62 LEU, Matt & Connie .............................................. 90 MATTINGLY, Debra & Kenneth ................................ 8, 9 MCCARTHY, Barbara (BANYAN) .................................... 32 MIKLOS, Jana (LIONHEART) ................................ 44, 45 MILLER, Stephen (PECHE MIGNON) ................. 8, 9, 27 MOORE, Kim & Kevin ............................................. 111 MOORE, Linda (CONCHARTY) ............................... 88, 89 NEIDIG, Dr. David & Jill (BELLA RIDGE) ......................... 79 NEMET, Fran (MY SHADOW) ........................................ 107 NORRIS, Jane (FULLA BULL) ..................................... 7 NOWICKI, S.John (ADORE) .......................................... 55 PARSCHAUER, Lucy & Ken ................................ 114, 115 PATTON, Kevin (DAMARI) ........................................... 55 PETERSON, Carrie (TIKIBULL) ........................... 102, 103 PHOTOS, Pete (LA BETE) ................................... 10, 11 RAMOS, Jennifer (DOLCE) ................................. 100, 101 SCHETTINO,Lorene,Lorraine &Vincent (SHADY HARBOR) 79 SCHMIDTBAUER, James ...................................... 30,31 SCHOTT, Monica (HOTSCHOTT) ................................... 78 SHAW, Patricia (DIVA’S) ........................................ 10, 11 SIEGMAN, Elena (ROCKYDELL) ...................................... 80 SINIBALDI, Gus .................................................. 82, 83 SMITH, Robert (PECHE MIGNON) ....................... 8, 9, 27 SOSA, Patricia & Luis (BANDOG) .................................. 59 TEAGUE, Deborah (HARLEY’S RIDE) ........................... 93 WALKER, Hannah (FENIX) ....................................... 88 89 WHITON, DAnn (CAROUSEL) ......................................... 54 WILSON, Theresa (KOTUR) .................................... 90,91 WOLFINGER, Linda (LWOLFRANCH) ................... 109, 110 VENEZUELA ARRAEZ, Luiz & Selika (COMBRAY) ..................... 32, 33 CELIS, Diego (MOKAODC) ................. 14-17, Back Cover
this issue’s stats > Frenchies from 17 countries, in 116 pages.
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First, we’d like to find out about your start in the breed. How long have you been breeding Frenchies? What was your start like? Who did you first contact? What lines did you end up getting into? When my son, who is now 36, turned 10, I wanted to get back into showing dogs. I had owned and shown English Setters in the 1970’s and wanted to get back to the Show Ring but realized I needed a smaller dog to fit my lifestyle. After some research, I started looking for a Boston Terrier. While searching for a Boston, I met a French Bulldog and it was “love at first sight”. As they say, the rest is “history”. I purchased my first French Bulldog in 1990 and have been breeding French Bulldogs since 1994. When I started in French Bulldogs, I did not have a mentor. Fortunately, I have “an eye” for a good dog, understand canine anatomy and structure, have a BSc. in Molecular Biology (with a minor in Genetics) and have an “unquenchable thirst” for knowledge.
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the ancy talk interview with karen cram karendon french bulldogs - canada If you have ever been to a FBDCA National Specialty in the United States, chances are that you have spotted her. She’s always surrounded by beautiful Frenchies and sporting lovely outfits (usually leopard print ones!). If you’ve had the opportunity to talk to her about Pedigrees, you know how passionate she is about our breed. Get to know Karen a little more in the next few pages!
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My first French Bulldog was a brindle male which I purchased for showing in conformation. Unfortunately, he did not turn out to be the quality I required so I neutered him and he lived for 13 years as a treasured pet. I then purchased a cream female, Joseé, who was very successful in the Show Ring and finished her Canadian and American Championship in less than a year. She completed her American Championship by winning Best of Winners for a 5 point major at the Independent Specialty in 1993 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Joseé was a grandaughter of Am. Ch. Jaguar’s Creme de la Creme. Shortly after acquiring this young girl, I met Dr. Richard Meen, Kishniga Reg’d. who bred and owned Am/Can. Ch. Kisniga’s Benvenuto, a Ch. Colonel Trusardi De La Parure son and Ch. Omar Sharif De La Parure grandson. I learned a lot from Dr. Meen and my first litter was sired by Benvenuto - a combination of American and European bloodlines.
FANCY TALK - Karen Cram “Karendon”
What dogs were relevant back then and how would they compare in type to today’s French Bulldogs? Some Frenchies who were relevant at that time were Ch. Omar Sharif De La Parure, Ch. Colonel Trusardi De La Parure, Ch. Cox’s Goodtime Charlie Brown, Ch. Kishniga’s Benvenuto and Ch. Sonlit Daring Esprit. In my opinion, if these Frenchies were alive today, they would still be competitive in the Conformation Ring.
What is a dog that you owned or bred that you feel best fits your idea of the Standard? There have been several dogs that I bred over the years that fit my ideal of the Standard. The most recent one which I bred and currently own is a young male, GCh. Karendon’s Enviabull, who exemplifies my ideal of the breed standard. Is he perfect, of course not; however, he embodies many of the ideal qualities which are so important in French Bulldogs. This young boy is particularly exciting as he represents generations of “tail male” linebreeding on my bloodlines. I am excited to showcase this young male who, I believe, has an exciting future ahead of him, both in the Show Ring and as a contributor to my breeding program.
What dog was the most influential in your breeding program and why? The most influential dog in my breeding program, who I produced in 1994, was a brindle male, BIS/BISS/Can/ Am/BIS Bermudian Ch. Karendon’s Joyau De France, CD. He was that “once in a lifetime” dog and over the past 21 years, many of the top French Bulldogs in North America, have BIS/BISS/Can/Am/BIS Bermudian Ch. Karendon’s Joyau De France (Phoenix) in their pedigrees. Together with his great niece, a black masked fawn female, Ch. The Diva At Karendon, I have built a 12 generation breeding program. I currently have frozen semen on 8 of my French Bulldogs ranging in age from 8 to 21 years. By utilizing frozen semen, I am able to go back and bring dogs forward without using outside stud dogs and thereby linebreeding on those dogs which I have produced over the past 21 years. This ensures that I do not breed too closely but I maintain the linebreeding qualities I have focussed on for many years.
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If you could breed to any French Bulldog, alive or dead, who would you use?
If I could breed to any French Bulldog, it would be Ch. Colonel Trusardi De La Parure. I have frozen semen on a Trusardi grandson which will be the closest I will come to breeding to him.
What is your process for evaluating a puppy for its show potential? When do you start? At 8 weeks of age, +/- 3 days, I perform a hands-on evaluation of each puppy, using “The Puppy Puzzle Technique”, developed by Pat Hastings. I have been using this technique for the past 15 years and I have found it to be a reliable and accurate indicator for puppy selection. Since employing this technique, I never keep puppies until 6 or 7 months to decide which one to keep. I make my selection at 8 weeks +/- 3 days.
What would you say Karendon French Bulldogs are known for? Karendon French Bulldogs are known for their bone, substance, pretty expressions and excellent movement. We are proud to state that we have consistently had excellent patellas for 10 generations.
You show both in Canada and the United States regularly. Do you see any major differences in the Frenchies being shown in both countries? Due to the influence of European bloodlines on North American Frenchies, I see very little difference in type between U.S. and Canadian Frenchies. However, due to the fewer numbers of French Bulldogs exhibited in Canada, than in the U.S., the European influence is more noticeable in Canada.
How do you choose a stud dog for your bitches? When planning a breeding, do you place more importance in type or in pedigree? When choosing a stud dog, I consider phenotype and genotype equally and I practice the “tail male” and “tail female” method of linebreeding. I like my girls to be 24 to 25 lbs., a little longer in back with a lot of bone and
substance but still look feminine. Due to the fact that my bitch line is from a strong “tail male” line, my average litter size is 7 to 8 puppies and on one occasion, I produced a litter of ten puppies. On the other hand, I like my boys to be short backed, 23 to 25 pounds, more compact with excellent bone and substance. Through linebreeding, I keep my size down, my bodies compact and, by balancing virtues and faults, I keep faults to a minimum. The average lifespan of my French Bulldogs is 12 to 14.6 years.
In all your years of breeding, what has been your favourite breeding that you’ve done? My favourite breeding over the years was Ch. Omar Sharif De La Parure to his great grandaughter, Ch. Karendon’s Premiere Edition. I repeated this breeding twice. I have frozen semen on an Omar Sharif De La Parure grandson and I have plans to undertake a breeding using this frozen semen imminently.
What has been your biggest or most memorable win you have had with your dogs at a show? My most memorable U.S. win was at the U.S. National Specialty in Sacramento, California in 1999 with a father/son team. I owner handled BIS Can./Am./BIS Bermudian Ch. Lick’s Cool Hand Luke to Best Opposite Sex (to Best of Breed, Ch. Obsession De La Parure) and Luke’s son, 9 month Can./Am. Ch. Karendon’s Creme Brûlée (Tristan) won Best of Winners. Tristan went on to finish his American Championship in the following two days with three five point majors. My most memorable Canadian win was finishing Canadian Champion, Karendon’s Ringmaster with Best of Winners at the 2010 Canadian National Specialty in Trois Rivieres, Quebec and winning Best In Show the next day at the All Breed Show, owner handled.
What dog in current times not of your breeding catches your eye? A young dog currently being shown in the U.S. who catches my eye is BISS GCh. Chambord’s I’ll Not Be A Gentleman (Rogue). This dog has lovely bone and substance, is beautifully balanced and expertly presented by his breeder/owner.
Would you like to become a Breeder Judge? Why (not)? I am working on becoming a Breeder Conformation Judge. My judging assignments have included Sweepstakes at several Regional Specialties in the U.S. as well as many Sweepstake assignments in Canada. To date, I have fulfilled all of my judging and ring stewarding assignments.
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What is a goal that you would like to achieve with your breeding program? When I started breeding French Bulldogs in 1994, I set long term goals that I wanted to accomplish and/or consistently achieve over a 20 to 25 year timeframe. The most important goal was to produce a sound, healthy, full-of-fun French Bulldog that reflected the strengths of my individual breeding program and carried my “signature”. I also had other goals with respect to my involvement in French Bulldogs. 1. To consistently be among the top French Bulldogs in Canada and win Best In Shows and Best In Specialty Shows, owner/handled; 2. To win with my French Bulldogs at U.S. National Specialties. Over the years, I have won Winner’s Dog, Best of Winners, Best Opposite Sex and Best Puppy In Sweepstakes at American National Specialties, all owner/handled; 3. I would like to judge French Bulldogs and I am currently working on that. Over the past several years, it has been both an honour and a privilege to be asked to judge French Bulldog Sweepstakes in the United States and All Breed Puppy Sweepstakes in Canada.
What advice would you give to a French Bulldog breeder starting out now? My advice to new breeders starting out is “don’t expect instant gratification”. Money will buy you a dog but it won’t buy you the knowledge which is obtained from research, hard work and practical experience. Be realistic, learn from your mistakes and be prepared to work hard for many years to achieve your goals. Dream big - “If you can conceive it, and you can believe it, then you can achieve it.” - Karen E. Cram
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f ancy judging
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FRENCH BULLDOG CLUB SPECIALTY MAY 15, 2015 - CALIFORNIA, USA
written critique by judge MR. JAMES DALTON - FABELHAFT FRENCH BULLDOGS pictures by FERNANDA BARLOW - FRENCHIE FANCY MAGAZINE
BEST IN SPECIALTY SHOW - GCH QAZARA TI AMO
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BEST OF WINNERS - BANDOG N TEXAS STARS COME TO THE GARDEN
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would like to thank the officers and members of the Northern California French Bulldog Club for inviting me to judge their 2015 Specialty Show. I would also like to thank the exhibitors who entered under me and so graciously accepted my placements and awards. Also to my ring steward for keeping my ring running smoothly! Last but not least to my old friend Jackie Druker for taking such great care of me during my stay. It was lovely to see friends old and new! In general I was pleased with the overall quality of the exhibits in particular the lovely line up of specials competing for BOB. My main winners were as follows… WINNERS DOG / BEST OF WINNERS BANDOG N TEXAS STARS COME TO THE GARDEN A quality young brindle male who was just under one year old. Well balanced outline, nice bone and angulation with a good top line… Getting harder to find... Which he held on the move. Presented beautifully to showcase his qualities. It was a pleasure to award him best of winners today. RESERVE WINNERS DOG MONET’S THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT Lovely young pied boy with lots to like. Nice expression and good substance.
WINNERS BITCH VERITAS SHOOTING STAR ASTERIA Lovely young brindle bitch who won a strong bred by class. Beautiful head and ears, balanced outline with good bone and substance for her size. Moved well for her owner handler. I was pleased to award her winners bitch today. RESERVE WINNERS BITCH / BEST PUPPY BARKNBWILD’S STEADY AS A ROCH A beautiful well made brindle puppy of the type I like. Lovely head, good front and top line and a stylish mover. It was a very close call today for WB, but she was not quite as settled in the challenge! AWARD OF MERIT CH FULLABULL I’M A SOUL MAN A lovely substantial brindle male and son of my Select dog. This dog has many qualities including a lovely head and ears, good silhouette with a correct top line which he held on the move. AWARD OF MERIT GCH DK’S KINDLE ON FIRE Lovely pied boy who caught me eye as soon as he entered the ring. Very good bone and substance, sound mover, good outline.
AWARD OF MERIT GCH HIGHWOODS GUILTY PLEASURE
BEST OF BREED GCH QUAZARA’S TI AMO
Nice quality brindle boy, beautiful head, compact body shown to perfection.
The first time I have had the pleasure to see this beautiful brindle bitch “in person” and she did not disappoint. Breeder-owner-handled she is quite simply a breeder’s dream. She caught my eye immediately upon entering the ring. She possesses one of the most stunning but feminine heads I have ever seen with wonderful nose placement and layback, gorgeous dark eyes, perfect well placed ears and a melting expression. An equally beautiful body, perfectly balanced with an excellent front, good feet and angulation, a correct top line with curves in all the right places as called for in the breed standard giving her a flawless silhouette. Moved well at her own pace maintaining a beautiful silhouette and never put a foot wrong especially free stacking in the final lineup. Today she simply could not be denied and it was my pleasure to award her BISS. Bitches of this type and quality rarely come along and should be treasured not just by breeders and owners but by the fancy.
SELECT DOG GCH FULLA BULL SOULJA BOY Beautiful brindle male I have long admired. Lovely breed type, good body and always gives 100%… It was lovely to see him compete today with his son who pushed him hard in a strong line up. SELECT BITCH GCH LEBULL’S REVERIE JAUNTY ALOUETTA Beautiful top quality brindle bitch I had not seen before. Lovely head, excellent front, balance and in lovely condition. BEST OPPOSITE SEX / BEST VETERAN GCH LEBULL’S NEW HOPE WOOLY BULLY I was so pleased to see this eight year old brindle male enter the ring like the king he is! At eight years old I have never seen him look better. A top quality dog in every respect who for me just exemplifies correct breed type. Beautiful head with soft expression. Gorgeous correct silhouette both standing and on the move. Beautifully shown on a loose lead. A standout in any line up, anytime, anywhere who will always command attention. Such a pleasure to see him in my ring today.
Respectfully submitted,
-- James Dalton M.DES (RCA)
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READ PART 1 OF THIS ARTICLE ON FRENCHIE FANCY ISSUE 6, JULY 2014.
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the ancy overview, II by PATTY SOSA, BANDOG FRENCH BULLDOGS - USA
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here I left off last time was really my beginning. That was almost 30 years ago, and I still study and learn each and every day. If you remember nothing else, remember you will never learn it all. You might get lucky, and at times when you think you have failed, you need to look at the decisions you made and have an escape plan. Frenchies I feel are a very hard breed, even with line breeding, since they do not always breed true and they do change very much until they are around 12 months of age. Another big factor is that the breed has a weight disqualification. Over 28 lbs and they cannot be shown. This does not mean that there is not a place in a breeding program for a dog that could be over the standard. You must take into account, how much over and how big are the dogs you will be working with. Just because a dog might be large, does not mean he will produce him or herself. But just remember, it will be there in the background, and when you least expect it size can creep up. I personally would rather be working with a dog that is on the larger side than a smaller dog. I feel you can become too small very quickly if not careful. Again as we look back at the standard, we do want a dog with heavy bone, good muscle, and a very balanced dog that does have a pear shape. Not to mention a large square head. But everyone reading this already knows that, as we all have our breed standard memorized by heart, right? Back again to almost the beginning. I had my plan mapped out, I had a half brother/sister dogs who were sired by Ch Cox’s Goodtime Dandy Andy, who was a son of Ch Adams Unique Physique. I was very fortunate
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to have had the opportunity to buy 2 dogs that were half brother/sister so my plan could move forward. So on June 28th 1989, I was blessed with a litter of 5, and 1 little boy caught my eye from the minute he was born. That special guy turned out to be BIS BISS Ch Bandog’s Earnin Respect. It was actually a time when Frenchies were not very popular as far as being group placers, never mind Group, or Best in Show winners. He went on to do some very nice winning. More important than his wins, he opened the doors for other Frenchies to be recognized. So many judges would say, that he was reminiscent of Amanda West’s dogs. I am sure many are now saying that this is self-serving, but it is once again to say that anyone can do it. Another part of the equation is, being at the right place at the right time. That goes both ways though. At the time Earnie was being shown, there was a Wire Fox Terrier by the name of Ch. Registry’s Lonesome Dove shown by Michael Kemp, who was on fire. Unfortunately, she was at almost every show we were at. She went Best most of the times we won the Group, although we were awarded Best twice over her. Now back to breeding. I had had several litters, finished quite a few, but also was smart enough to know not all of those finished dogs should be included in a breeding program. I believe it was at this point that I decided I would once again start the quest to bring in some new blood. Studying honestly what I had, what I wanted to fix (I breed every litter in order to “fix” something ) I wanted to try and get the perfect dog. Remember, this was at a time when there was no shipping of chilled semen, and Vets were just starting to freeze semen. Still hands tied a good bit, to secure the safety of our bitches.
I then looked to long time breeders Bud Niles and Ed Bingham of Balihai fame. I was fortunate to obtain a lovely brindle boy, Balihai Roxie Sasha. His sire was the beautiful BIS Ch Taurustrail Fearless, out of Balihai Keeana’s Roxie, who was sired by Ch Roquefort V D Zuylenstede. Moving into a realm that was very new to me. Foreign dogs! Once again I did a half grand brother/sister breeding on Balihai’s Quad. That gave me what really would become my foundation bitch, Ch Bandog’s Joy To The World (aka Tia). Dinah, who was my first Frenchie, was then bred to our Ace son and produced our Ch. Bandog’s One In A Million, our loving Gambit. Gambit was not a large dog, about 25 pounds, but a dog who could produce well beyond our expectations. With this said, after using him a few times, with our breedings they were ok, but nothing earth shattering. We usually do not breed out much as we feel a great responsibility that until we have an idea of what a dog will produce, we do not like to put him at stud. We did an outcross, with some really nice results, and a few more outcrosses with really nice results. We figured out at this point that he was at that time a good producer, but not with our own linebred dogs; but very strong when outcrossed. There was a place for him in our breeding program, but not at this time. I figure it has taken us about 7 years between great dogs to breed something special. This is with very limited breeding. Looking back to see if I can come up with a formula, I know we have made many mistakes
along the way. I would look back and say, why did I neuter that dog, or spay that bitch . It happens to us all. Another point I would like to touch base on is what I call “cleaning house”. All Frenchie breeders know that frenchie girls have small litters, 3-5 on a good day. They are also generally born with a will to die. Either they are super easy, or really difficult. So we need to take a moment and wait for them to age a little so we can start deciding who to keep. Nothing really spectacular, but why do a breeding if not to keep something to get ahead. Remember, 10 steps forward, not backward. I am not sure about you, but I can only keep so many dogs at one time. Some of you might have ordinances as to the number of dogs you can legally keep. Really hard to have a breeding program. But on top of that the fact that with c sections, most girls will have 2-3 litters if we are lucky. With an average of 3 puppies a litter, that will give us 6-9 puppies from one bitch in her
PEDIGREE FOR CBIS BISS CH BANDOG’S EARNIN RESPECT - “EARNIE” Winner of 3 American National Specialties and 13 All Breed Best in Shows
PEDIGREE FOR CBIS BISS CH BANDOG’S EFEEL THE MAGIC - “PARKER” Producer of several group winning get from the classes. Sire of multi BIS and BISS dog
and received again, good results. The moral of the story is, many things do skip a generation, and that’s why studying pedigrees is so very important.
lifetime. We all will have our forever dog’s, but to be a breeder and move along with any progress, we must clean house. Every litter we have we look at what we have and decide, are the up and comings better than what we have right now? What do they have to offer as far as pedigrees and producing? The dog or bitch with the most ribbons do not necessarily make the best puppies closest to the standard. This makes me think of our Ch. Bandog’s Jump For Joy. I can still see her at 4 months old, running around the backyard. Luis would ask “which boy catches your eye”? I would say, “that little bitch keeps getting me to look twice”. I never thought twice about Specialing, or even considering to special a bitch. A few years later, and many ribbons to add, Joy had accomplished so much. We only bred her twice, 2 boys, and 1 girl in the first litter. The second litter was 3 girls. Out of 6 puppies, we kept 3. One boy, his sister, and a girl from the second litter. None were ever shown, so she produced no champions. She never produced as well as herself. So you ask “ok, where is this going?”. I would have thought “wow, she was just a fluke, guess we did not find the best dogs for her”. Nothing clicked. One litter was an outcross, but on a dog not tightly bred himself. The other breeding was the product of a half brother and sister with a common sire and their dams were half brother and sister, again a common sire. This gave us our Parker, aka Bandog’s Feel The Magic. He was never shown or has left our home (except to go to the Vet), but has turned out to be a great contributor to the breed. Getting back to the other 2 girls we kept, once again we did a half brother sister on the dam this time,
I bring up so many of our experiences since this is what each and every one of you will experience as breeders. This was a part of our breeding lives that was extremely restricted due to very limited gene pools, and still the early days of frozen semen. Many of us still liked doing the side by side dog breeding method, shipping of semen was still not used much. The world of breeding was beginning to open doors with an explosion as far as opportunity and chances to be taken. Today our breed has so much to be excited about. We have the internet, frozen semen, air travel, and more exposure to learn and experiment. More people are doing dual sire breedings with success. Semen can now be shipped, and lives up to 10 days, hence aleviating the dreaded Sunday/Monday breeding We are sophisticated also in our approach to using progesterone as a breeder’s best tool, both in breeding and delivering of puppies. Freezing semen also has become more sophisticated, so we are much more guaranteed when we decide to use what we are saving that it will indeed give us the next step! With this being said, I opened my line up to bring in some foreign blood to also take advantage of taking the next great leap. Eyes closed and a lump in my throat I went in two feet first, and boy did I take the plunge! That was 5 years ago and I am still working on incorporating some hand picked (with great discretion) outcrosses. So now we have to consider, are the Bull breeds more difficult to consistently breed good dogs? Has the internet influenced your breeding decisions? One topic I would love to address is, what are the “secrets” that other successful breeders (not frenchies) live by? Have you ever wondered if they have a breeding formula? Until next time! Patty Sosa
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f ancy details FRENCH BULLDOGS AND AGILITY
written by MICHELLE HRNCHAR As
o n e o f t he most exciting spectator sports in dog competition, agility is probably familiar to many. In the United States, the American Kennel Club (AKC) agility is most prevalent competition venue, and is where one is most likely to see a French Bulldog competing. AKC prides itself on being the agility venue “for all breeds”; in fact has a yearly Agility Invitational to showcase for the top 5 dogs of each breed. There are also French Bulldogs competing in other organizations in the US - Canine Performance Event (CPE) agility & North American Dog Agility Competition (NADAC) both list French Bulldogs with Championship titles in their systems.
Although agility is easy to watch and appreciate, understanding its structure and title system is the quite complicated. Since it is becoming more common to see these titles listed with a French Bulldog’s registered name, this article will attempt to give a summary what those titles mean and how much training & showing goes into obtaining them. Since AKC titles are the most commonly encountered, discussion here is limited to that venue only – with no disrespect meant to the other venues and the amazing dogs who compete in them. AKC agility has two divisions, “Regular” and “Preferred” - the latter allowing owners to opt for a slightly less demanding physical experience for their dogs, with lower obstacles and more allowed time for completion of the course. In each division there are two main classes: Jumpers with Weaves (abbreviated JWW) with obstacles of various types of jumps, weave poles and tunnels, and Standard (Std) which also includes “contact” obstacles that the dogs must climb over/across (A-Frame, Dogwalk, See-Saw & a Pause Table). Dogs compete based on their height, measured at the highest point of the shoulder. The lowest jump height is 4” and the highest is 26”. Frenchies are seen most prevalently in the 8” height, both Regular and Preferred divisions. There are a few 12” jumping Frenchies, although few have the physique to compete at this height. Dogs of all breeds compete equally against each other, with the only distinction of breed recognized in annual rankings. AKC allows dogs with regular registration as well as Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL designation) to compete in agility, with mixed-breed dogs registerable with AKC as “Canine Partners”. Each agility class & division is titled separately, and has levels of increasing difficulty. As levels progress, the courses become longer in yardage with more obstacles, as well as requiring more complicated navigation. Faults are assessed for dropped bars, missed/wrong obstacles, missing the yellow area of contact obstacles, or being over the allowed time. There are fewer faults allowed for a run to still be considered “qualifying” as the levels progress. At the upper level, no faults are allowed. It is not required to actually win any classes in order to progress – it’s all about qualifying scores. The initial three levels of AKC agility require 3 qualifying runs to earn a title (listed as Regular/Preferred divisions with corresponding titles): - Novice Std (NA/NAP) & Novice JWW (NAJ/NJP) - Open Std (OA/OAP) & Open JWW (OAJ/OJP) - Excellent Standard (AX/AXP) & Excellent JWW (AXJ/AJP)
Upon completing the Excellent titles, a dog is considered “Masters” level and will continue to be awarded titles to designate the number of legs earned. These superecede & replace those titles as detailed above: MX/MXP, MXJ/MJP – 10 legs, Preferred titles only are repeated (MXP2, is 20 legs) MXB, MXS, MXG, MXC (Std) and MJB, MJS, MJG, MJC (JWW) – 25 legs respectively, repeated after the
Audra (CH MACH Justus Uptown Girl)
progression is completed ( for example, MJS2 would be 150 Masters’ JWW legs) MXPB, MXPS, MXPG, MXPC and MJPB, MJPS, MJPG, MJPC - as above, Preferred division titles. Once a dog is in Masters’ level, they can begin to earn points towards their Agility Championship - MACH in Regular division, PACH in Preferred. Requirements for a
Photo courtesy of: Rich Knecht Photography
MACH/PACH are set forth to test both a dog’s consistency and speed at the top level of competition. In order to earn the championship a dog must have 20 “Double Qualifying” (abbreviated QQ) scores, which means qualifying in both Standard & JWW classes within the same competition day. Also required for MACH/PACH are 750 “Speed Points”, earned by successfully completing the course in less than the allowed time. Depending on a dog’s running speed, anywhere from 1 to as many as 30 (for a fast dog on a Standard course) points in a single run. It would take a minimum of 20 competition days to earn a MACH/ PACH, although in reality most dogs take showing regularly over several months or even years to complete the requirements for the championship titles.
In addition to the regular classes, AKC has added two “games” to allow competitors to have additional opportunities to run their dogs. They are FAST (Fifteen & Send Time, titles NF/NFP, OF/OFP, AF/AFP, MXF/MFP), and Time To Beat (title abbreviation T2B/T2BP). Each separate class and/or division suffix title is listed after a dogs’ name – so it is easy to see how dogs who compete in agility can accumulate quite a lengthy list of titles from one venue alone! There are also some new classes called “Premier” which AKC has recently added as an additional level of difficulty for the most ambitions competitor. As the games, they are optional classes, only available to dogs competing at the Masters’ level and not involved in the MACH/PACH titling requirements. From national competition to a small local trial, French Bulldogs are no longer the extreme rare sighting that they
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were even five years ago. Every year there are more agility titles listed for the breed, with prominent dogs inspiring others to try agility. According to annual AKC reports, there were thirteen Frenchies running at the Masters’ level during 2014, and many more earned titles at the lower levels of agility competition. These dogs are great ambassadors for the breed, showing the fancy that French Bulldogs can be healthy & athletic as well as embodying the breed standard. In fact there is now a dual-champion within the breed (CH MACH Justus Uptown Girl RN MXG MJB NAP NJP NFP, “Audra”). To date there are seven agility champions from the breed – four dogs and three bitches having the Regular division title and one dog in Preferred. Currently the highest agility titles earned by Frenchies are MACH5 in the regular division (MACH5 Brutus CDX RE MJB3 MXC2 OF, “Brutus”), and in the preferred division PACH4 (MACH2 PACH4 Daulokke’s
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1 - MACH2 Drama Queen d’Assisi BN RA MXC MJC MXF T2B2 CGC “Carmen” (Owned by Michelle Hrnchar & Lori Hunt) Photo courtesy of: Cathi Winkles Une Valliant Grosse CD RAE2 MXB2 MJS2 MXP17 MXPG2 MJP12 MJPC PAX4 XF OFP T2BP, “Soren”). As these highly successful dogs’ names show, all those titles add up to create quite the string of letters after their names! For an extensive listing of all agility titles, as well as other titles and breed firsts, there is a Google spreadsheet that is maintained by Andrea Morden-More DVM. Please visit the “French Bulldog Performance History” at https://docs. google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AneekNp2SBDsdDZU Vk90UjU1RW RCdy1TYUxfUUdYcUE#gid=1 Frenchies might not be as unusual to see in the agility ring as they once were, but they will always be crowd favorites! Whether a novice dog at their first trial or an experienced champion, one thing remains true – running a Frenchie means there is a good chance that a handler will be upstaged by their dog! The flying frogs are here to stay!
2 - MACH2 Drama Queen d’Assisi BN RA MXC MJC MXF T2B2 CGC “Carmen” Photo courtesy of: Dave Rice/CSPN Photography 3 - MACH5 Brutus CDX RE MJB3 MXC2 OF CGC (Owned & handled by Michelle Hrnchar, the #1 Regular division dog for the last 3 years (12” class)) Photo courtesy of: Cathi Winkles 4 - MACH2 Drama Queen d’Assisi BN RA MXC MJC MXF T2B2 CGC “Carmen” Photo courtesy of: Dave Rice/CSPN Photography 5 - MACH5 Brutus CDX RE MJB3 MXC2 OF CGC Photo courtesy of: Dave Rice/CSPN Photography 6 - MACH2 Drama Queen d’Assisi BN RA MXC MJC MXF T2B2 CGC “Carmen” Photo courtesy of: Dave Rice/CSPN Photography 7 - Addison Montgomery RN AX AXJ MXP5 MJP3 NFP T2BP CGC (#1 Preferred dog, onwed & handled by Teresa Duren) Photo courtesy of: In Motion Photos 8 - PACH4 Soren (now retired but highest Preferred title) Photo: (c) Barry Rosen, www.barryrosen.com 9 - “MACH5 Brutus CDX RE MJB3 MXC2 OF CGC Photo courtesy of: Dave Rice/CSPN Photography
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f ancy health
MAN ABOUT TOWN - THE STUD DOG’S SIDE OF THE STORY written by LORI HUNT, DVM . photography by LENA SALMINA - WILA HOGS
Anyone in dogs knows the value of a great stud
dog. You may have owned one yourself, or aspire to own a great boy one day… but nevertheless we all know them. Those dogs that we need to keep our lines going, or the great one that’s just right for that special outcross, or the boy with that certain trait your bitch is lacking… They are important to each breeder for various reasons and at different times in their breeding careers. A stud dog’s health is of great importance to the breed at large. If you stand a dog at stud, you have a HUGE responsibility on several levels and one’s personal ethics definitely come into play. You are accountable to the breed in many ways, which include the breedings you accept, and the ones you don’t, and the ones you should have. A good stud dog manager will allow breedings that will better the breed, or better the direction of the bitch owner’s program, thus bettering the breed as a whole. This is done by accepting bitches in good health, temperament and breed type; and being cognizant of the kind of rearing the puppies will receive and the kinds of homes that will be selected for the resulting puppies. We must not forget that a big part of that responsibility lies in the health of the male, overall and reproductively - the latter being the focus of this article.
Counting the Swimmers… Does he have enough? Now let’s get into the nitty gritty of owning a stud dog. It is highly likely that some or all of the following is true: the dog has achieved his championship, has a pedigree to back it up, has been health screened for various genetic diseases present in the breed, and has a recent negative brucella canis screening. Now he is ready to be a “man about town” and entertain the ladies! Lucky Guy! As with bitch’s, optimum breeding age for a male is 18 months to 5 years of age. This is the time in his life during which his fertility is at it’s peak; meaning his semen count and concentration are highest as well as he has peak motility and least abnormal sperm (morphology). Before and after this age, of course, conception is possibly, but his fertility is less than perfect. A normal stud dog is his prime should have a minimum total sperm count of 200 million to 2 billion per ejaculate. This number is dependent
on breed, size and age. A very rough guideline is 1 million sperm per 1 lb of body weight (or 2.2 million sperm per 1 kg); for example, a 25-pound dog should be in the 250 million total sperm range. That being said, generally this minimum is well exceeded by young healthy dogs. A male is considered to have normal fertility when he has a minimum of 70 % normal morphology and 70% normal motility. Morphology is the shape and structure of each
individual sperm. This is calculated by looking at least 200 individual sperm on high magnification (40X or higher), counting normal vs abnormal and calculating a percentage. A reproductive veterinarian who is skilled in evaluating these subtle differences between normal and abnormal sperm should do this evaluation. Motility is defined as the number of sperm in an ejaculate that are moving in a rapid forward direction. Sperm that are going in circles, backwards, or meandering forward at a lazy pace are not considered normal. This also should be done at high magnification and an estimate of percentage is made. This often takes comparing many samples to get comfortable with calling something 60 % vs 80% and so on.
in not only total count but also an increase in abnormal morphology and motility due to testicular degeneration and/or prostatic disease, both normal processes occurring with age. On average it takes 100-200 normal motile sperm introduced to a bitch during her fertile period to result in a pregnancy. So here’s a question, can a male with a TC of 300 million and 50% normal morphology and 50% motility be considered fertile? The answer is NO, his adjusted count is only 75 million normal which is unlikely to be enough to get a bitch bred. Therefore you must know your male’s current quantity AND quality are when checking him for breeding soundness!
Once percentage of normal morphology and motility are calculated, we can now calculate the number of sperm that are actually capable of fertilizing an egg. This is a simple multiplication of total count (TC) times % normal morphology times % normal motility. An example: TC 500 million sperm per ejaculate X 75 % morph X 75% motility = 500 X 0.75 X 0.75 = 281 million normal sperm that are capable or impregnating a bitch. This number becomes especially important as the dog ages and we see decreases
Swimmers on the Go – Shipping Semen Now that you know your boy is virile, you would like to see him be proven with puppies on the ground. A lovely bitch across the country has asked for his hand in marriage… What should you do to ensure that his sperm make the journey is good shape? When you are having him evaluated, you can ask for a “test chill” of his semen. The collecting veterinarian will take a small amount of semen and add the extender, refrigerate it overnight and then see how it looks the next day. This is an excellent way to see if your boy’s sperm will extend well enough to ship. More often than not, semen and extenders mix just fine… but every once in a while, a certain extender may not be a good fit for your male. It is awful to discover that on the receiving end of the shipment when money has been spent and timing is crucial. Chilling semen does decrease it’s motility and an result in more abnormalities so it is important to be sure there are still enough good swimmers to do their job when re-warmed. So if you decide to make your male available by shipped semen, a test chill will prevent a lot of frustration!
Frozen Semen Freezing semen has offered a huge advancement in canine reproduction, and can be an excellent tool for all breeders. It allows us to have litters sired by dogs long after they are gone or neutered. It can allow us to go back and recapture a trait we have lost in our line over the years or afford us the opportunity to breed to a dog in a foreign country. Freezing semen is best done during a stud dog’s prime fertility. The mistake most often made by breeders is waiting too long before freezing! They have a phenomenal stud dog and they wait until he years past his prime to try to freeze semen… You will remember I said that chilling semen decreases its potency slightly, but freezing really does some damage. If you wait until a dog is past his prime, he is experiencing testicular degeneration, possibly prostatic issues and his count is already compromised. By the time you adjust for morphology, motility and damage due to freezing there may not be enough surviving the freeze process to be worth saving. So if you think you have the next great stud dog, freeze him while he is young, most likely BEFORE you even know he is a great one!
Routine Maintenance of the Stud Dog I have mentioned testicular degeneration and prostatic disease in the previous sections. How can we know
whether these things are occurring and what can we do, if anything, to prevent them? The simple answer is to have your boy checked about every 6 months. He should have a full physical exam and a breeding soundness exam (BSE), including palpation of his prostate, testicles, scrotum and spermatic chords. If you intend to use him for breeding, then he should be collected and have a full semen evaluation, as outlined above. This is especially important for male dogs over 5 years of age. Dog over 5 years of age begin experiencing testicular degeneration. This is seen on physical exam as a softer, possibly smaller testicle, which can cause a decline in the testicle’s ability to produce normal sperm. There is no magic drug to stop this but you will know if the dog is still able to sire litters. Also, if you start to see a significant decline is fertility you may decide to have his semen frozen while you still can, if you haven’t done so already. Prostate disease also begins around 4 – 5 years of age. Some reports describe more than 60% of males over 4 years of age have some form of prostate disease. Two of the most common issues are prostatitis and benign
prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), accounting for 90% of all prostatic disease. Prostatitis can be acute or chronic and by definition is inflammation of the prostate gland, which can be sterile or infection. Often times, we see prostatitis secondary to BPH. BPH is a hormonal influence on the prostate’s growth, resulting in a prostate that is larger than it should be, sometimes double or triple normal size. Both prostatitis and BPH are treatable, at least temporarily. BPH is only curable completely by castration, which results in up to a 50% decrease in size within 3 weeks post castration. Obviously in breeding males this is not our first choice. There are medicines available that can help reduce the size of the prostate and increase fertility temporarily. You can treat it, breed him and/or freeze him and then the best thing for your companion will be to neuter him for his long-term comfort.
Go Forth Young Man… Now you are armed with knowledge to preserve and monitor your stud dog’s reproductive health! Now it’s time to let those boys shine… May he be stud dog of the year!
FREEZING SEMEN IS BEST DONE DURING A STUD DOG’S PRIME FERTILITY. SO IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE NEXT GREAT STUD DOG, FREEZE HIM WHILE HE IS YOUNG, MOST LIKELY BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW HE IS A GREAT ONE!
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