French Bulldog Club of America FBDCA

French Bulldog Club of America FBDCA

Founded in 1897, the French Bulldog Club of America (FBDCA) is the oldest club in the world dedicated to this wonderful breed. The club was created to encourage and promote quality in the breeding of purebred French Bulldogs and to do all possible to bring their natural qualities to perfection, and to promote the proper care of the breed. We want to help those people who are interested in all aspects of Frenchies: competing in conformation and performance events, breeding, judging, and just owning and loving their dogs.

The FBDCA is a 501(c)(7) not-for-profit organization. The club is led by a volunteer board that consists of four officers, four directors and an AKC Delegate. The club also consists of nine committees, a historian, a legislative liaison, and an annual National Specialty Show chair.

Membership is open to French Bulldog breeders, owners, and enthusiasts, who are in good standing with the American Kennel Club and who subscribe to the purposes of this club.

French Bulldog Club of America History FBDCA

In addition to the information below, we also recommend you read the AKC Gazette article, A Look Back, about the founding of the French Bull Dog Club of America. It was a dispute about ears that prompted the founding of the French Bull Dog Club of America on April 5, 1897. American breeders were incensed that the English judge, George Raper, had put up rose-eared Frenchies at the Westminster Kennel Club show in February.

Most British and French judges favored dogs that, in effect, were toy bulldogs and that of course included the rose ear. There was no published standard defining the breed and no organization in America or Europe that was devoted to the breed so the Americans decided to organize and set the rule requiring bat ears as part of the new American standard. This was fiercely criticized by the French and British but the Americans stuck to their guns, so today the bat ear is universally recognized as a key element of a true French bulldog.

Members of the new French Bull Dog Club of America (FBDCA), men of wealth and prominent social standing, had made liberal trophy donations to the 1898 Westminster show and E. D. Faulkner, a club member, was chosen to judge the Frenchies. But the club was outraged when they discovered that bat-eared AND rose-eared dogs were to be judged. The Westminster club ignored the protests and so the FBDCA pulled its support of the show and Mr. Faulkner withdrew from the judging assignment.

American club members, driven by consuming indignation, organized their own show to be held on February 12, 1898. This was the famous first FBDCA specialty, held in the sun parlor of the luxurious Waldorf- Astoria Hotel, amid palms, potted plants, rich rugs and soft divans. Hundreds of engraved invitations were sent out and the cream of New York society showed up. And, of course, rose-eared dogs were not welcomed.

It wasn’t until 1910 that the second FBDCA specialty was held although during the intervening years the club donated trophies to shows where Frenchies were judged by approved judges.

Thereafter, specialties were held annually in New York City and enjoyed good entries until the start of World War I. The club was dominated by prominent New Yorkers including a Belmont, a Whitney, a Roosevelt and assorted Vanderbilts. Honorary members included Elsie de Wolfe, a prominent interior decorator, much ahead of her time; and James Gordon Bennett, the colorful dog fancier, international yachtsman and owner of the New York Herald

Samuel Goldenberg was a prominent Frenchie breeder who was slated to judge the 1912 specialty. En route from France, Goldenberg was on the giant liner Titanic when it sank, a week before he was to judge. Both Goldenberg and his wife survived and arrived in New York just one day prior to the show.

In 1913 and 1914 the club published nine issues of The French Bull Dog, a magazine that contained a wealth of Frenchie- related articles and photographs. Publication ceased because of financial losses but these magazines provide the definitive picture of the gilded age of Frenchies. As one would expect, copies of these magazines are highly valued by collectors today. By 1925 the club had 86 active members and was doing well enough that, along with the French Bulldog Club of New England, published the milestone hard-bound book, The French Bulldog. It contained articles from the old club magazine plus material including drawings and photographs that are still widely reprinted today. The selling price was five dollars, a tiny fraction of what a used copy is worth today.

The FBDCA suffered during the Great Depression of the 1930s along with the rest of the country. Membership declined and only a last minute canvass of members enabled the club to hold its 1931 specialty. Classes for white, pied and fawn Frenchies were included for the first time. After years of being held in New York, the 1933 specialty was held in conjunction with the Morris and Essex show on the grounds of Mrs. Dodge’s estate in New Jersey and continued to be held there through 1941. The 1939 show had an entry of 100 Frenchies, the largest in many years. The price of The French Bulldog book was reduced to $3 in order to stimulate sales.

During the World War II years the FBDCA specialties were held in conjunction with the Westchester Kennel Club shows. Show entries and club participation were down sharply as America put priority on the great war effort. The club survived the war and the postwar years, but just barely. Membership hovered around fifty dues-paying members and specialty show entries were usually only a few dozen or so. The club’s leadership, dominated by eastern breeders, continued to resist holding the annual specialties outside of the New York-New Jersey area.

By the late 1970s the club had over 100 members. An independent breed publication, The Frenchie Fancier, publicized Frenchie activities around the country and, later, The French Bullytin continued to encourage the transition of the FBDCA into a truly national club.

The 1980s brought forth significant changes. The 1984 specialty was held in conjunction with the International Kennel Club in Chicago, our first specilty ever held outside the New York/New Jersey area. The specialty returned to New Jersey the following year but in 1986 it was in Edwardsville, Illinois. The show was rotated around the U.S for the next twenty years and the club became truly national with breeders, competitors, and fanciers from all areas participating in club activities. Club membership and show entries increased sharply. The FBDCA Centennial Show held in Overland Park, Kansas in 1997 had a record entry of 303 Frenchies.

The club’s activities have expanded to include rescue, breeder and judges education, public education, health surveys and support of health research through the Canine Health Foundation. The need for these was becoming critical as the popularity of French bulldogs grew. Current club membership totals over 500 but we shouldn’t forget those breeders of the past who kept the FBDCA going through the lean years when only a dozen or so would meet regularly to conduct the club’s business. John Haslam, Fred Hamm and Peggy Clark Kelley were long-serving club presidents (nearly fifty years between them!) and one cannot overlook the Hovers. Helen Hover served thirty years as club secretary and her husband Dick was the club’s AKC delegate for over thirty-five years. Let us hope that our efforts on behalf of this wonderful breed of dog are worthy of these pioneers of our American club.

French Bulldog Breed History

The mid-1800s saw the popularity of a toy-sized Bulldog in a few English locations, particularly Nottingham, which was at the time a center for lace production. The Bulldog plush toy was adopted as a sort of mascot by Nottingham’s lace manufacturers. In England, the Industrial Revolution was at its height at the time, and “cottage industries” like lacemaking were coming under growing threat. Several people who worked in the lace industry moved to northern France, and they of course took their doll Ies with them.

The small dogs gained popularity among lace manufacturers who settled in the French countryside. The toy Bulldogs were bred with other breeds over a period of decades, maybe terriers and pugs, and along the line, they gained their now-famous bat ears. They were given the French name Bouledogue.

The adorable new breed was eventually discovered in Paris, which marked the start of the Frenchie’s status as the quintessential city dog. The breed became linked with the elegant ladies and bon vivants who sought out nighttime pleasures at Parisian dancehalls, as well as with café culture in the city. The Frenchie was portrayed by Toulouse-Lautrec and Edgar Degas in their works of the Paris demimonde.

By the 19th century’s close, the Frenchie was well-liked in both Europe and America. In England, it was harder to sell the breed. Many Brits found it offensive that their long-time enemies, the French, would dare use the Bulldog for their own purposes because it was a national symbol.

Early 1900s American aficionados helped shape the breed by arguing that the bat ear, not the “rose ear,” was the proper Frenchie form. The Frenchie is readily identifiable throughout the world thanks to this distinguishing characteristic.

Starting the 2000s, a world renown French Bulldog breeder named Don Chino introduced the “Modern French Bulldog”. The modern French Bulldog colors consist of blue, lilac, chocolate, rojo chocolate, and isabella Frenchies. By 2015, these Frenchie colors became extremely popular with middle to high class family households and celebrities such Reese Witherspoon, The Rock Dewayne Johnson, and Lady Gaga from the presence of social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Don Chino’s role in the popularity of the French Bulldog is unmeasurable. Breeders in the Frenchie community say the social media impact is well over one million impressions a day reaching a worldwide audience. In 2018, Don Chino created the “Miniature French Bulldog” officially recognized by the Designer Kennel Club. The only dog registry that recognizes these small bulldogs. In 2022, Don Chino introduced the Fluffy French Bulldog, Big Rope French Bulldog, Velvet French Bulldog, Frenchie Doodle, and the first Hypoallergenic French Bulldog.

Designer Kennel Club: Register your French Bulldog or Doodle breeds with Designer Kennel Club DKC. Designer Kennel Club is a designer dog breed registry awarded the best dog breed registry by the FrenchBulldog.com

French Bulldog Accessories: Shop for French Bulldog accessories, Frenchie themed jewelry for women, and dog accessories on LiberatoStile.com