The mission of TomKings Puppies has been the same for more than ten years: breeding the healthiest Frenchies and finding them the most loving homes. We felt it was time to help other ethical breeders around the world, so we selected our best French Bulldog studs and started our own French Bulldog Stud Service! If you’re a prospective Frenchie breeder or you’d just like to learn about French Bulldog stud service, this article is for you!
How does stud service work with French Bulldogs?
You probably already know this but let’s start with the basic terms: a stud is a male dog used for breeding, while a dam is his female counterpart. Dog stud service is the process of breeding a stud and a dam in heat, and it also involves a written agreement between the owners of both dogs discussing the terms of breeding. Since stud service is provided by the stud’s owner, they are also the ones providing the stud service contract.
Dog stud service can happen in two ways: naturally or through artificial insemination. Natural mating for French Bulldogs is problematic because of their narrow hips and short legs, so artificial insemination is the only ethical way of breeding Frenchies. Even though it is a costly procedure, artificial insemination has some significant advantages, the main benefit being convenience. Distance is not a factor when breeding two dogs this way, so the owner of the dam can find a suitable stud for their female Frenchie more easily. As the semen can be shipped all around the world, this also allows to avoid inbreeding and add new bloodlines, ultimately making the breed healthier.
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All responsible breeders will agree that the main goal of breeding French Bulldogs is to improve the breed. So, one should always keep that in mind and aim to choose the best possible mate for their dog. Both male and female Frenchies need to pass a number of health screenings and genetic tests to be able to participate in breeding. Appearance is just as important as health: combining and passing along the ideal French Bulldog breed traits should also be on a breeder’s mind before breeding two Frenchies.
How does artificial insemination work in Frenchies?
If you’re not an experienced breeder, you may wonder what exactly is the process of artificial insemination, so let’s start at the beginning. The first step is collecting semen from the male dog, which should be frozen and stored in a refrigerator if not used within a day. Properly stored chilled semen can be shipped worldwide and kept for many years!
Artificial insemination is always done by a licensed vet or breeder. During the process the vet inserts the semen of the stud in the uterus of the dam using a long tube. For the best possible results, a vet should do blood tests on the female Frenchie, and determine 2 or 3 days when the insemination should take place based on the progesterone level in her blood results. It is recommended that the blood tests are repeated every two days from the 7-8thday of the dam’s cycle, until it shows that the dog is fertile and ready for the insemination.
The basics of responsible Frenchie breeding
By now you’ve seen that breeding French Bulldogs is definitely not easy. It requires a lot of time, energy and money from breeders, so one must do some diligent research beforehand. Unlike in most breeds, Frenchie breeding involves some special methods, and artificial insemination is only one of them! Because of the Frenchie mom’s narrow hips and the pups’ big heads, having a C-section done on her is by far the safest method to deliver the pups. They are usually born 58-63 days after insemination, which means that from the 58th day someone needs to watch the mom at all times.
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When the time is near, the breeder needs to prepare a special whelping box for the pups with a heat lamp above it and a separate lockable cage or room for the mom. After the surgery, the female Frenchie needs some time to heal so it is the breeder’s sole responsibility to care for the pups in their first few weeks. They need to be fed every three hours and supervised constantly; they cannot be left alone with their mom as she might accidentally roll over and smother them. There are usually 5 or 6 pups in a Frenchie litter, but basically anything is possible between 1 and 10.
As the puppies get bigger and stronger, they need to be regularly checked by a vet to make sure they are developing well and to administer the necessary shots and health screenings. They need lots of space to run and develop healthy and strong muscles, as well as lots of attention and contact with humans to make sure they are friendly and socialized. When you consider all the above, it’s no wonder that the French Bulldog price is one of the highest among all dog breeds.
How to choose the best stud for your Frenchie?
If you’re ready to take on the responsibility that a pregnant French Bulldog and her pups come with, you may now wonder how do you go about selecting a stud for your female Frenchie. When looking to find the best French Bulldog stud, first you need to know what a perfect male Frenchie looks like. You can recognize them by having a short, stocky body, short legs, large head, short nose, small ears and short tail.
The next step is to identify any flaws that your female Frenchie may have as you’ll need to complement those with the stud’s characteristics to achieve the ideal French Bulldog look. This means that if your female Frenchie is larger in size, you should choose an extra small male and vice versa. The same goes for the other parts of the body: a long nose requires an extra short nose while long legs require extra short legs and so on. Read our article about the basic differences between boy and girl Frenchies.
When it comes to colors, it takes some diligent research on French Bulldog DNA to produce a desired color or pattern. Even if two Frenchies of the same color are mated there’s no guarantee that the puppies will have that particular color! There are also some important rules that every Frenchie breeder should follow. For example, merle French Bulldogs should only be bred to a dog with a solid coat color to avoid double merle puppies who often have sight and hearing impairment. A responsible breeder is aware of all these must-know rules.
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Health screenings that studs need to pass
It goes without saying that studs used for breeding must be in an excellent physical condition, so the breeder must have several health screenings and genetic tests done on their dog to prove that. French Bulldog studs need to have a negative test for the following conditions:
- Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) – a brain and spinal cord condition resulting in a progressive degeneration of the hind legs.
- Cystinuria – a kidney and bladder condition resulting in bladder stones in the urinary bladder.
- Chondrodysplasia (CDPA) – a skeletal condition also known as canine dwarfism.
- Canine Multifocal Retinopathy (CMR) – an eye condition which may result in vision loss.
- Congenital Hypothyroidism with Goiter (CHG) – a hormone condition affecting healthy development and growing.
- Hereditary Cataract (HSF4) – another eye condition causing a discoloration of the lens and ultimately leading to blindness.
TomKings Stud Service
We have already mentioned at the beginning of the article that improving the French Bulldog breed should always be an ethical breeder’s first and main goal. For the past more than ten years, we’ve been working hard to breed the healthiest Frenchies on the planet and find them the most loving homes all around the globe. Our breeding program has grown a lot over the past few years, and now we have reached another milestone: starting the TomKings Stud Service!
We felt this was an important next step to expand our mission: in addition to breeding the healthiest Frenchies we also want to help other ethical French Bulldog breeders achieve the same goal. That’s why we decided to select our strongest, healthiest and most beautiful French Bulldog studs who have passed all the necessary health screenings and genetic tests, and make their semen available for other responsible Frenchie breeders. They are also regularly checked by our vet to make sure their health is impeccable at all times. The list of studs is not complete: we’ll keep updating it as soon as our perfect male Frenchies reach full maturity!
By shipping chilled semen worldwide we can now assist breeders at any part of the world in adding new bloodlines to their breeding programs. Using our stud service, you can also have the semen of a stud with the desired characteristics, without having to purchase a male Frenchie. If you’re not sure which one of our studs would complement your female Frenchie best, we can always give you expert advice. As long as you support ethical breeding, we will also support you!
If you’re interested in our TomKings Stud Service, check out our French Bulldog studs with our stud service contract and feel free to contact us with any questions!
The article is based on the expert knowledge of the TomKings Puppies team who have been breeding French Bulldogs for more than 10 years on their farms. All the pictures in the post belong to them and their customers, and show puppies from their breed. Check their available French Bulldog puppies, or if you have any questions or comments let us know below the article.
