Tag Archives: French Bulldogs

There’s no people like dog people

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I (Hope) just got back from a week celebrating dogs. French Bulldogs in particular – it was the French Bulldog Club of America 2017 National Specialty.

There was competition in conformation (the beauty pageants of the dog world), barn hunt (dogs sniffing out rodents), obedience, rally obedience, agility, and even lure coursing.

Hope and Torque

Hope and Torque in conformation.

Frenchies aren’t generally known for their athletic prowess or trainability, but our dogs strutted their stuff and we had a wonderful time.

My dogs and I competed in several events, and, measured in “wins,” weren’t particularly successful. We came home with a couple of ribbons – but those aren’t the reasons we went.

The “Nationals” are our yearly chance to catch up with friends from around the country, and the world. We share a common bond – loving all the quirky looks, personalities, foibles and bizarre sounds that make up French Bulldogs.

Some of those friends are long standing. Others are new. And some fall into a unique 2st century category – people I’ve “friended” online and never met until this week.

Virtual friends are now actual. And it’s the community that our dogs create that make dog clubs invaluable. We’ve already started planning more get-togethers, a couple days a year isn’t enough.

For that bubble of time, we’re just friends having fun with our dogs. The pressures of “real life” are a step removed. Truthfully, I don’t even know what some of my “Frenchie friends” do in real life. Or whether they’re married, or have children. I know nothing about their politics, religions, or professions. I do know we all like to share a laugh, a meal, and our love for our dogs.

If you could use a chance to relax and just have fun with your dog, look for a dog community near you. There are meetups around for every kind of dog; by size, breed, maybe even color. There are clubs for every possible dog event or interest.

You may find you and your dog discover hidden talents you never knew you had. You’ll definitely find friends among the best people ever – dog people.

National Specialty dog shows are for everybody!

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louisvillelogoI took Torque and Teddy to the French Bulldog National Specialty show in Louisville last week. We had a wonderful time, caught up with our Frenchie friends, competed in Rally, Obedience, and Agility, met new people, admired hundreds of gorgeous dogs, drank a little too much, slept a little too little, made some new friends, learned even more about Frenchies, donated some money to the Club at the raffles, helped a little bit at the Chicago French Bulldog rescue booth, spent a little bit too much, enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

If you ever have the opportunity to go to your breed’s national specialty show – do it! Here at the shop we’ve recently met a woman with a Samoyed puppy. She was debating whether to go – even though her boy is being shown in conformation, she’s not doing it and he’s not ready for any other type of competition. At our urging, she did go – and had a wonderful time. Most people never have other chances to meet people who share their love for their breed.

You might wonder what you’d have in common with those people – after all, dog shows have a cliche reputation of beings snooty, or cliquish, or not for us regular folk. Contrary to what the movies would have us believe (it’s really not like Best In Show), most dog people are terrific; willing to share what they know and meet fellow “fanciers.” We finally get to see, live and in person, the people we’ve been “facebook friends” with for years.

If it’s within driving distance — go!

Different as night and day

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torqueandtedTorque, at 10 months old, is bigger than Teddy now. They weigh about the same, but Torque’s a little bit taller, a little bit longer, and not as wide – yet.

And Torque’s big-boy personality is settling in. He’s a happy, goofy, friendly, silly, clownish French Bulldog – pretty much all the descriptions of the breed that you read. He loves people and dogs, loves going places and doing “stuff.” He gets a little bit over-enthusiastic, but he listens well and calms down beautifully.

Torque loves toys and playing fetch. He loves chewing on his chewie toys, but he can also put them aside, relax and take a nap – even on the days he’s with me here at the shop.

And his easy-going personality could not be more different from Teddy.

Teddy is intense. He worries. He has no interest in toys. He occasionally chews on something – and when he does, it’s not released until destroyed, or taken away.teddys_toy1

How we train our dogs changes based on what works for each one. We have to adapt our methods for the dog we’re working with. Torque thinks a toy and a game of tug is marvelous. Teddy think food is the only payment worth working for.

The one exception to Teddy’s “don’t care” attitude about toys is plastic of a very particular texture. He loves the bottles that my contact lens solution comes in. I don’t even remember how I discovered this weird little factoid. But some days it’s the only toy he’ll play with. We’re dog trainers – we go with whatever works.

Not too big, not too little, just right!

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kissabletedWhen we were kids our mom would take us to the International Kennel Club show every year. It was one of the biggest dog shows in the country and one of the only ones where the dogs were “benched” – which meant that the dogs and their owners/handlers, whenever they weren’t actually showing, stayed in an assigned spot most of the day and the public could wander around, look at the dogs, talk to the people, and really learn about the world of dog shows.

We loved it. We’d spend hours admiring the dogs and asking a billion questions of the owners. (Another highlight was real fudge from one of the vendors.) And, as it turns out, years later, one of the wonderful dog owners who’d spent time telling us all about her Brussels Griffons, had become a Griffie friend – and we hadn’t realized the connection.

When I was a little girl my favorite breeds to admire (before we had a dog of our own) were Irish Wolfhounds and Bull Mastiffs. And Great Danes. And Scottish Deerhounds. These giant breeds just drew me like no others. As I learned more about dogs, and after we got our first Boston Terrier when I was nine years old, I realized it wasn’t to be – our house is small, our yard is small, and perhaps most importantly – we’re small people.

Even if we had a big enough house, a decent-sized yard, and the giant breeds didn’t break your heart with their unfairly-short life spans, I know now I’ll never own one. The what-ifs would haunt me. If something happened, there’s no way I could lift a 100 plus pound dog to get it to emergency care. There’s no way that I could control an animal that size if it “took off” on me during a walk. And even the best-trained dogs can have their moments.

I have found my perfect breed and I always intend to have at least one French Bulldog (or more!) by my side. They’re the right size and the right temperament for me. And, when I need to, or want to, I can lift and carry them. And squeeze them and hug them and cuddle them. Even if they don’t much like it.