Frenchies Rule Ok

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98 – June, 2023

By Sarah Montague

If the title means nothing to you, you were not part of a street gang in 1930s Glasgow; or an English football hearty in the 1970s. And, it means exactly what you’d imagine—on top, and with attitude.

But you are an attentive member of the fancy, so it will not have escaped your notice that in a tectonic shift worthy of the creation of the North American continent, in 2022 the French Bulldog overtook the Labrador Retriever as America’s top dog. In a press release dated March 15th, the American Kennel Club announced “There’s a new top dog in town.” The Lab reigned supreme for 31 years, but the Frenchie has been steadily climbing, moving from 14th in 2012 to number 1 in 2022. The release also notes that registrations have increased over 1,000% in that time period.

SOME HISTORY:

WHO BRED THEM (AND LOVED THEM) FIRST*:

The Labrador Retriever has a complex history, originating first in the Canadian Northwest in what is now known as Newfoundland as a prototypical water dog, originally called the St. John’s Dog. But three 19th-century English noblemen helped shape the breed, and its destiny. The name Labrador was bestowed on the breed by the Earl of Malmesbury, who mistook one Canadian province for another when he imported some dogs for duck hunting on his estate. And modern Labrador bloodlines, and standards, were established by The Duke of Buccleuch and Earl of Home in Scotland.

Frenchies, on the other hand, were populist from the get-go. They derived from the English Toy Bulldog, favored by mill workers in the North of England, and when the economic tide shifted, moving to Belle Epoque France where they were the fond companions of the working class and the demi-monde—lace makers, artists, and ladies of the evening (sort of Les Miz in dog form). However, like a canny courtesan, Frenchies eventually moved up the social ladder, attracting the attention of Russian nobility (unfortunately, a member of the Romanov family, so that didn’t turn out well), American magnates (one was sailing on the Titanic, so that didn’t turn out well) and droves of flush tourists who brought them to these shores.

NUMBER CRUNCH

Click here to read the complete article
98 – June, 2023

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