French Bulldogsbred to breathe well

BOAS is brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome: the narrowed nostrils, long soft palate and crowded throat that make many flat-faced dogs work to breathe. It is the most important health problem in the breed, and it is inherited. I select breeding dogs for open nostrils, a little more muzzle, a neck with real length and a moderate build. Every breeding dog is also examined under the OFA Respiratory Function Grading Scheme, where a trained veterinarian listens to the airway before and after a three-minute exercise test. I only breed Grade 0 and Grade 1 dogs. That does not make BOAS impossible. It makes it much less likely, and it is why my contract shares the cost if a puppy of mine ever needs airway surgery.

Every breeding dog has an OFA respiratory function grade, OFA patellas, an OFA cardiac exam, an OFA eye exam, spine radiographs read by a radiologist, and a DNA panel covering CMR1, HUU, DM and JHC. Most also have OFA hips. Pied dogs have a BAER hearing test. You will find each dog's results on its page, including the ones that are not perfect, and every family gets copies.

Because that is how this breed reproduces safely. French Bulldogs have narrow hips and puppies with large heads, and most bitches cannot deliver without help. A planned C-section, timed with progesterone testing and done in daylight by a reproductive veterinarian with a full team, is far safer than an emergency one at three in the morning. Artificial insemination is standard for the same reason: the dogs' build makes natural mating difficult and risky. My bitches have no more than three litters and are spayed at their last C-section.

Fawn, brindle, cream and pied, which are the colors in the AKC standard and the colors my dogs carry. I do not have blue, lilac or merle lines, so I cannot produce those colors and I do not take requests for them. I price every puppy in a litter the same. Color and sex do not change what a puppy costs to raise.