Frenchie Crime Wave

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170 – October, 2023

By Amy?Fernandez

At this point, everyone clearly recognizes the connection between breed popularity and the secondary repercussions stemming from that. There are a multitude of danger zones attached to that fate. Obviously, no breed can survive or evolve without an ongoing core of dedicated fanciers. That is essential in order to maintain a sufficiently viable and diverse population and ensure competitive momentum. More participation definitely brings genetic advantages. That level of serious commitment also tends to curb exploitation–to some degree. Okay, we know that, right?

We’re also well-acquainted with the devastating downside of popularity. When quantity overtakes quality as the primary driver, type inevitably diverges into extremes and the lid comes off of health and temperament issues that lurk in every gene pool. We also know all about the heartbreaking reckoning when that popularity bubble pops and breed clubs are left to confront the wreckage of hundreds of unwanted, poorly bred dogs and years of work to repair a carefully crafted gene pool. Repairing the breed’s reputation is an even bigger challenge. That’s pretty bad but ….(and don’t shoot the messenger) but as bad as that is, it can be way worse.

A few months ago AKC announced that, after 29 years of domination, the Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite breed. This slice of purebred statistics received an unprecedented amount of mainstream news coverage, which kind of leads up to the point. The insatiable demand for French Bulldogs had been an unmistakable trend for years. And the pet-buying stampede triggered by Covid lockdowns definitely amplified it.

It’s a great breed and breeders deserve tremendous credit for bringing it to its current level of quality because so many aspects of French Bulldog development represent a notable challenge. And for much of its history, its mere survival was a dodgy prospect.

Click here to read the complete article
170 – October, 2023

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Posted by AnthonyA on Oct 16 2023. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.