New UK Frenchie owner

[Louis mum]

Hi, I am a new Frenchie owner, have just joined the site, although have been reading your good advice and comments for a while now. We have had Louis for four months now, and he is the best thing that ever happended to us (although our two cats have taken some time to come round to that way of thinking!). We previously owned Staffords and wanted to get a dog that was still just as characterful, but not as boisterous, and we have found our match in Louis. He is a handsome, cheerful and laid back boy, who loves walking and playing and giving people the 'Frenchie stare' which is the most hilarious thing - we still laugh now when he fixes his beady little eyes on you and won't look away until you cave in and give him what he wants! We have had some issues fixing his diet and have experienced what many other owners have in the way of spontaneous puking from time to time, with which this site in invaluable. I have a very good realtionship with Louis' breeder in that I can call her with questions often, but it is great to have this forum at your fingerips. So, thanks for all your advice and I just hope that in time I can be as helpful to new frenchie owners as you have been to me. appicon
At some point over the weekend, I will take the time to get some pictures of Louis on the site so that you can all see my handsome boy!!

[J20]

Welcome i'm in London and find the site invaluable

I hope to have Frenchie No2 soon as i love them soooo much. We had English Bull Terriers before but i think i'm hooked. I still talk to my breeder 21 months down the line, which is great.

Once again welcome from a fellow Brit appicon

[Louis mum]

Not far from you guys, I am in Kent. Have noticed since joining that there is another similar name to me, only it's Louie's Mom - hope she doesn't mind :( Chose the obvious one for me without knowing.....

So how long have you been Frenchie keeper for??? As you know we have only had Louis for a short while, but he is addictive!:lol:

[Louis mum]

I am in West Kent, so not far from you guys! Sorry if you get two similar posts, this is the second time I have answered you as it seems that some of my posts appear really fast, and some don't - is this because I am a new member or something??

Anyway, are you guys members of the FBCE? If so, do you go to their events?

[Charloot]

I'm in North West Kent, pretty near Bluewater. I am a new owner too, my two babies are just 3months now. I'm not a member of FBCOE but I used to go to the shows when I was looking for a puppy but had some bad experience with breeders who messed us around quite a bit so we don't any more.

[Louis mum]

Hi Charloot!! We got our Louis from a breeder we met at a show, we have had a very good experience, but I am little wary of the dog club/show thing. I know that they have the breed's best interests at heart, especially our breeder, she is very protective over her animals and her lines, which is a good thing, but often I think it sometimes makes things difficult for people to become involved. I don't think it is always intentional, but it can be quite intimidating, especially if you are not interested in showing, but when we went, everyone was great.appicon

Swissmodern - We are going to a party in a few weeks, but it will be the first event we have attended as members, so I will have a chat with our breeder then about how best to introduce new visitors/members as I don't want to upset anyone!! Will let you know. I didn't know that there were other clubs - as you know, I am quite new to all of this;)

[J20]

I am in West Kent, so not far from you guys! Sorry if you get two similar posts, this is the second time I have answered you as it seems that some of my posts appear really fast, and some don't - is this because I am a new member or something??

Anyway, are you guys members of the FBCE? If so, do you go to their events?

Hi i'm not a FBCE member, i was going to join so i could find out more about the breed etc, as i have only ever had English BullTerriers. By a fluke i found a breeder that is on the FBCE committee. I hope to be getting my 2nd dog from him soon. If your not going to show then i don't now see the point.
I was going to join so that if i had any problems i could ask some one in the know! but my breeder is very good and also i have this forum, appicon so unless your going to show i don't see the point. Evan if your not a member you can still email them with problems and they do answer.

Some breeders say they are too clickey and i know one lady who is a breeder who is not a member but shows her dogs at their shows.

[J20]

I'd rather attend other shows like "Discovery dogs" this weekend at Earls Court.
It's good fun and the kids enjoy it to. As well as having every breed of dog you can think of and a few you've never seen before, there are lots of new gadets, toys etc to buy for your baby. You can get rather carried away :eek:

so if you've never been, it's worth a visit.

[Charloot]

Yes I heard about the show at earls court because they had a part of it at crufts this year, which i went to to meet some breeders. Might give it a look but a Pugs and Kisses has opened at Bluewater so I have been spending my days drooling over their products! :p
I wasn't insulting breeders at all even i know i haven't met them all and i can only speak from my experience. We got Boris from a very nice lady who is just starting her breeding programme so we got in there early you might say!
We need to do a meet up soon Boris and Lola get quite confused that most of the dogs near us are Labs!
Looking up all the time must be tiring!

[J20]

Yes like you i was joining but don't see the point now. I will attend a show one day, perhaps the Windsor one as it is not far. Pug and Kisses, :confused: never heard of them. Are they on the web

[Charloot]

They are but not a very good site.... its so expensive that all I can do is look (dog beds for £300! Not with two puppies under 4mnths!) But the clothes are sooo cute.

[Louis mum]

I'd rather attend other shows like "Discovery dogs" this weekend at Earls Court.

Wow, didn't even know about that! Can you still get tickets or is it one you can just rock up to?? We are out for a friends 40th on Saturday night though, so don't fancy my chances much, but would like to give it a go.appicon

I think it seems that we are all on the same page about clubs, I have heard tales of very cliquey breeders too, but I guess in a way that's a good thing - we still have our Frenchies, so they can't be all bad!!;) Will still go to the party in a few weeks though, as it will be the first time our breeder has seen Louis since we got him, so it will be good to get some feedback, but we are not into showing I must admit. Would rather take him for a stroll in the woods, so he can watch and halfheartedly pretend to chase squirrels!!

[J20]

Wow, didn't even know about that! Can you still get tickets or is it one you can just rock up to?? We are out for a friends 40th on Saturday night though, so don't fancy my chances much, but would like to give it a go.appicon

I think it seems that we are all on the same page about clubs, I have heard tales of very cliquey breeders too, but I guess in a way that's a good thing - we still have our Frenchies, so they can't be all bad!!;) Will still go to the party in a few weeks though, as it will be the first time our breeder has seen Louis since we got him, so it will be good to get some feedback, but we are not into showing I must admit. Would rather take him for a stroll in the woods, so he can watch and halfheartedly pretend to chase squirrels!!

Yep it's a good day out, you can buy tickets on the door. Unfortunately you can not take your doggie. We chose Saturday as we thought most people will be at the Lord Mayor show this Saturday. We went on the Sunday last year in the afternoon they did sell a lot of things off cheaper. Don't forget to measure your baby before you go. We chatted and petted the dogs on the Frenchie stand and the Lady on the English bulldog stand breeds frenchies.
If you go you'll have a good time, but if your in need of food & Drink i would take your own as it's quite expensive, £1.80 for a small bottle of water:eek:

[Louis mum]

We can't go on Saturday as Ivan works :(

Will have to wait til the next one so that he can book the day off. Have fun though and let me know if you picked up any extra nice goodies!

[Charloot]

Most likely to be Sunday for me as I have to get someone to watch my devils! Must remember to measure them as I could never guess at it!

[J20]

We can't go on Saturday as Ivan works :(

Will have to wait til the next one so that he can book the day off. Have fun though and let me know if you picked up any extra nice goodies!

Try Sunday if you can. :)

[Louis mum]

Try Sunday if you can. :)

Will try, but don't know if we'll be able - I hadn't realised until you said that we can't take our little monsters with us:(

Seeing as himself works on a Saturday, Sunday is our 'family day' and we like to go for an amble in the woods and laze around all together, so would have to get someone to take Louis for us.

Otherwise, do you guys meet up at all?

[J20]

Went on Saturday, it was good. Met the lady on the Frenchie stand who told me that the Lady on the Bulldog stand gets some of her Frenchies from her.
These were "show" dogs. They were all female and so much smaller than mine :p They were like little fat barrels with smaller ears.

Why is it that no two frenchies look the same. There heads were smaller being girls and some had bigger heads than their bodies. But i could of taken them all home :rolleyes: Spent a fortune as usual but his worth it.

Try and go next year it is good.

Swissmoden, has your Zooplus Timberwolf food arrived yet? I'm still waiting:(

[J20]

Yep i did not add the Kirk matter of fact way about them. When i asked about things she did answer me in a "don't you know that" kind of way.

She said that she knew my breeder and that her dogs had taken part in several shows. She did tell me her Kennel name but i'd for got by the time i reached the Pugs!! :D

[Louis mum]

Hey guys/girls,

Didn't make it on Sunday, but not for any noble reason - got blind drunk at a friend's birthday party on Saturday night and regretted it all day!!!!:cool:

From what you said perhaps it was a good idea I didn't go - I can't bear rudeness at the best of times, let alone hungover!!!!! Must admit that I am a bit apprehensive as to what reaction Louis will get at this FBCE do at the end of the month - I am sure he won't be one thing or another (you know, tall enough, fat enough, bug-eyed enough) but I don't think I much care. I have a great realtionship with my breeder, she takes the pee out of me for being a worrywart, and we love,love,love our little boy and he seems very happy and ears back waggly-bottomed.

Would definitely love to hear if you are planning a get together, would be nice to meet some normal (not too normal I hope) Frenchie owners and just have a gas about food, habits etc:o

[J20]

Hey guys/girls,

Didn't make it on Sunday, but not for any noble reason - got blind drunk at a friend's birthday party on Saturday night and regretted it all day!!!!:cool:

From what you said perhaps it was a good idea I didn't go - I can't bear rudeness at the best of times, let alone hungover!!!!! Must admit that I am a bit apprehensive as to what reaction Louis will get at this FBCE do at the end of the month - I am sure he won't be one thing or another (you know, tall enough, fat enough, bug-eyed enough) but I don't think I much care. I have a great realtionship with my breeder, she takes the pee out of me for being a worrywart, and we love,love,love our little boy and he seems very happy and ears back waggly-bottomed.

Would definitely love to hear if you are planning a get together, would be nice to meet some normal (not too normal I hope) Frenchie owners and just have a gas about food, habits etc:o

These breeders are not FBC members, you do not have to be to take part in shows. :) Hope the head is ok by now ( Hic)

[J20]

They had the banners on the wall of FBC though...?


That's what i thought but the Bulldog lady was the one who said she got her
Frenchie from that woman on the Frenchie stand, and they thought they were "funny" at the FBC:confused: Who cares my baby is a champ to me

[Charloot]

I went on Saturday too!
When I told the woman on the French Bulldog stand that I already had two babies first thing she asked was what line are they, not even asking how old they are or what they look like! She was very rude to me saying she never even heard of the breeder I got Boris from (turning her nose up and trying to get around us to talk to a woman who wanted to know what breed the dogs are) she even suggested I get rid of one of my babies because they would fight each other to the death! :eek:
Thought the Frenchies were very odd looking, not at all like my pups' parents!
On a good note thought I bought them Puppia harnesses from Elmo's Wardrobe (pink flowers for Lola and Combat one for Boris), they look so cute!
Oh and a Batman hat from another stand!
Yes we need a meeting!:D

[J20]

I went on Saturday too!
When I told the woman on the French Bulldog stand that I already had two babies first thing she asked was what line are they, not even asking how old they are or what they look like! She was very rude to me saying she never even heard of the breeder I got Boris from (turning her nose up and trying to get around us to talk to a woman who wanted to know what breed the dogs are) she even suggested I get rid of one of my babies because they would fight each other to the death! :eek:
Thought the Frenchies were very odd looking, not at all like my pups' parents!
On a good note thought I bought them Puppia harnesses from Elmo's Wardrobe (pink flowers for Lola and Combat one for Boris), they look so cute!
Oh and a Batman hat from another stand!
Yes we need a meeting!:D

How can she say that when she had 6 girls all together ?? Lots of people have more than one baby. She held herself in high regard and I think the FBCE are better off with out her :mad: Did she even give a reason why :confused: what a cow

[wee]

Ooh dear...

I went to Discover Dogs on Sunday and the frenchies were sort of cute but not as cute as my babies of course. Nor were they particularly mad for people like most frenchies.

The woman was friendly, not snobby or insulting, but not very interested either. I went on to the staffies pretty quickly for my fix of licky licky.

I remember one year, when we had an english bulldog, the woman on the bulldog stand told us we'd ruined our dog because he was tall and skinny rather than looking like a low level foot stool like her champion specimens. They can be very off-putting there, which is not really what it's about.

Up for another London meet, yes indeed. Poppy is all grown up now and a complete tart so it will be fun. She spends all her time dancing on her back legs at passersby begging for lurve so we'll need to be somewhere relatively person-free...

[Charloot]

Nope she didn't give a reason, she said all her girls fight and her friend had to give one of her girls away because they were fighting too much!
Don't worry I am not even considering it!
Did you see the boy Staffie? He was huge! And very black. Quite different to the one I used to have.
Poppy sounds just like my Lola, the back leg dancing for a tummy rub is her specialty!

[Louis mum]

Well, we are off the the FBCE do on Sunday, first time our breeder will have seen Louis since we picked him up, and I must say, after all that I am quite worried!!! Not about our breeder, she will probably just say he is a bit skinny (he's not) and we are exercising him too much (he loves walking, what can I say?) but she will see that he is happy and well cared for and so won't be worried but, I am a little apprehensive about 'the board', given the feedback the Frenchie woman at Discovery got......oh well, we love our boy and if they don't that's their porblem I suppose.:p
Louis got some new toys last weekend, one of which is a squeaky rolled up newspaper type thing, which he loves because he found his previous squeaky toy an bit hard to squeak, he runs aroung squeaking his head off with this one!!!! Then Ivan bought him a toy duck (which quacks instead of squeaking) and he is in heaven!!!! It's quite big and fluffy so he bites into it and scoots it all around the floor - he's so funny.:D

[J20]

Well, we are off the the FBCE do on Sunday, first time our breeder will have seen Louis since we picked him up, and I must say, after all that I am quite worried!!! Not about our breeder, she will probably just say he is a bit skinny (he's not) and we are exercising him too much (he loves walking, what can I say?) but she will see that he is happy and well cared for and so won't be worried but, I am a little apprehensive about 'the board', given the feedback the Frenchie woman at Discovery got......oh well, we love our boy and if they don't that's their porblem I suppose.:p
Louis got some new toys last weekend, one of which is a squeaky rolled up newspaper type thing, which he loves because he found his previous squeaky toy an bit hard to squeak, he runs aroung squeaking his head off with this one!!!! Then Ivan bought him a toy duck (which quacks instead of squeaking) and he is in heaven!!!! It's quite big and fluffy so he bites into it and scoots it all around the floor - he's so funny.:D

FBCE members are fine the woman at Discovery is not a member. Have a great time and let us know how it went. Can you see if Paul who is on the committee is there. He is really nice and that's where my new baby is coming from. Tell him Hetana Taboo says hello. :D

[Louis mum]

Cool, will try and seek him out!!! I am starting to worry, as from reading this board, no-one seems to stop at just one Frenchie and I fear that I am going the same way - watch out Mr Bank Manager, here it comes!!!!!;)

[Charloot]

I must be the worst with getting two though, I saw Lola on the Saturday and thought it would be mean to turn down the other breeder I had agreed to see on the Sunday. Well we all know how that turned out!
Wouldn't trade them for the world!
I know what you mean about squeakers, Boris has a dumbell type thing that has a really loud squeaker and he LOVES it! But Lola is just not impressed, especially if she is a bit sleepy, she'll just give him a look as if to say 'WHY does that amuse you?' And do a very loud sigh! :lol:
I was on Paul's list, he seemed a very nice man!