Archive for the 'French Bulldog showing' Category

Ask the Breeder - French Bulldog Pups With Cowlick

patpearce May 18th, 2008


I have a question……

 

I recently saw two cream french bulldog females….they are litter mates with what I can only describe as a “cowlick” patch of fur located between their shoulder blades.  One is a large patch while the other is quite small…..what causes this “cowlick”, is it hereditary? 

 

Thank you

 

Pat writes -

I’m not sure I understand your question.  It the patch a different color hair?  or are you talking about a different pattern in the hair?  If it is a pattern like waves, and this is a young dog, then they will likely out grow the odd pattern.

I occasionally have pups with funny patterns in the hair on their back, but when they mature it all sorts itself out…

Pat

(editor’s note: I have had Frenchies in the past with this ‘cowlick’ type pattern in the coat, usually over the withers. I believe it’s simply a differing thickness and pattern in the hair. It’s not mentioned in the standard as being a disqualification, so I personally wouldn’t worry about it. You could, theoretically, thin the patch out via grooming). 

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Ask the Web Geek - Protecting my photos?

bullmarketfrogs March 19th, 2008

Protecting my photos?

Hi! I have web site and twice now people have stolen my photographs and put them on to puppy for sale sites. Puppy Find in particular! 

Is there an easy way to make sure this can’t happen? Is there a way to keep people from taking photographs off of my page?  I hate seeing my dogs listed as ‘for sale’, and then having to send all those emails asking sites to take them down!

Carol writes -

It certainly does suck, doesn’t it? I’ve been there, and I know how frustrating it can be to watch as some creep uses your dog’s photos to try to scam people. Feeling powerless is the most frustrating feeling in the world.

There are a few things you can do that will make it more difficult for people to steal your images - one involves the website on which your photos appear, and the other involves your photos themselves.

Web based protection

Inserting a small script called a ‘no right click’ script prevents people from being able to easily right click/save your photos. Dynamic Drive has several of them, which are inserted into the head tags on your web pages. You’ll need to insert them on every page where photos appear.

Link - http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex9/noright3.htm 

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work on most newer browsers - well, it does stop people from right clicking, but there are numerous other ways to steal photos, the most simple of which is a screen capture. Sorry, but there’s really no way around this at all.

That leaves us with image based protection.

Image based protection is also known as ‘watermarking’.  Watermarking is the process by which we add a text overlay to a photograph.

Here’s a sample -

Watermarked Photograph Samples

The image on the left has the watermark across the main content of the photo - not pretty, but usually effective.

The second image  has the watermark at the bottom of the photo, which is less conspicuous, but easily removed by cropping the photo.

The choice will depend on just how much security you require for your photos.

There are numerous pages detailing how to make a watermark, and the details depend on which photo editing software you use. Use this link to find generalized search results on watermarking, or add in the name of the software you use to edit your photographs.

Carol 

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Ask the Web Geek - Kennel Blindness?

bullmarketfrogs March 15th, 2008

Kennel Blindness

Hi I’m curious as to what people mean when they say someone is “Kennel Blinded”. I am buying my first show dog after owning a French Bulldog pet for almost four years. When I started calling breeders about a show dog they would ask me where I got my dog from. Someone said to me that the breeder of my pet Frenchie is “Kennel Blind”, and I was too embarassed to ask what this means. I know it wasn’t a compliment by the way she said it! I got the impression she didn’t want to sell me a show dog just because of who I got my pet from.

Why is that, and is kennel blindness so bad that it will make it impossible for me to get a showdog from anyone?

Carol writes -

No one you contact need be afraid that your pet’s breeder has kennel blindness - after all, it’s not catching, although it is quite common among show dog people.

Kennel blindness is a catch all term used to indicate that a breeder is oblivious to the faults of dogs that they themselves have bred - either willfully ignorant, or through sheer inability to separate emotions (I love Suzy, therefore she’s beautiful) from pragmatism (I love Suzy, but you could iron clothes on her back and she moves like she’s on crutches). Oddly enough, some of the most determinedly kennel blind among us can be ruthless critics of other people’s dogs.

It’s natural for us to favour our own offspring, whether two legged or four, but those who choose to breed dogs need to learn that love doesn’t need to be blind, at least not when it comes to show dogs. It’s a lesson that can take time to learn, and you’ll see that some of the best loved pets on a breeder’s couch are often dogs they’d never dream to take in the ring.

I don’t quite understand why anyone you’ve contacted about a show dog should care that your pet Frenchie’s breeder has kennel blindness. Likely, there’s some sort of simmering and long standing resentment there between the two breeders - a situation you’d do best to stay out of, by the way. Feuds between breeders are rarely pretty, and a novice show person doesn’t need to complicate their life any further.

Move on to another breed less resentful of where you got your pet from, and worry about kennel blindness when - and if - you decide to venture into the wild world of breeding.

Carol

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Ask the Trainer - French Bulldog Conformation Show Training

gollygear March 15th, 2008

Conformation Show Training

What training is needed before I take my French Bulldog girl to conformation, or is there any?

I want to start showing her but can’t find anyone to show her or answer my questions. I got her in the midwest and the southern Californian breeders where I live take no interest in me since I didn’t get my dogs from them. She is a year old now.

Do conformation classes teach her not to try and play with other dogs like she does now? How does everyone get their dogs to ignore the other dogs in the show ring? Part of me wants someone to just come get her and train her and show her and finish her but do people do that or does she need to have training before they will take her?

Thanks for your help.

 

Hope writes -

You’re about to enter a whole new world - Conformation Competition!

You and your girl should get some training before you enter the ring. There are many, many all-breed clubs. You should be able to find one in your area at the AKC website:

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cfm?action=conf&display=on

Many clubs and trainers do offer Conformation Classes. Aside from ring procedure, you will learn how to “stack” your dog, how to “gait” your dog properly, and how to show her off to her best advantage.

A little obedience training never hurts, either. It will help her focus on you, rather than the other dogs in the ring. If you decide to take an Obedience class, do inform the instructor that you are showing your dog in conformation so you can’t teach her to do an automatic “sit” when you come to a halt.

You could, of course, hire a professional handler to show your girl for you. If she lives with the handler you choose, he or she may train your dog for the ring. If you “deliver” her to the handler at the shows, you will be in charge of training although the handler should be able to help.

Best of luck!

Hope

 

 

Editors note: As Hope says, there are a few ways of going about this. You can -

Owner handle - this means taking the dog into the ring yourself . You will need to learn how to show, and you will need to learn how to train your dog to behave in the ring. As Hope says, you need to look into classes for this - check your local dog clubs, and the AKC.

Hire a handler, and do ring side pick up - this is when the handler picks the dog up from you the day of the show, takes her in the ring, shows her, then gives her back to you after showing. The dog continues to live at home with you. Your dog will still need to be trained by you to be handled in the ring.

Hire a handler and have the dog ‘live in’ - this means the dog stays with the handler while they are showing her. The handler will train her to behave in the ring, and handle her during shows. Generally they will also handle all the details of showing, such as entries and what not. The plus side to this is that your dog will come trained. The downside is that you won’t get trained - but standing at ringside, watching and learning, and talking to your handler can all help you to ‘pick it up’.

You can find a handler by asking around at local shows, especially outside the French Bulldog ring (Talk to people after showing, not before - no one likes talking before they go in the ring, as handlers and owners get nervous, too!). It takes a special kind of handler to take a Bull breed into the ring. You can also consult the PHA - the Professional Handlers Association.

Oh, and give those SoCal breeders a break - it might have nothing to with where you got your dog from, and everything to do with when you’re asking them for help. As I said, shows can be nerve wracking, and people aren’t always their most forthcoming when they’re getting ready to show. Why not join one of the on line Frenchie discussion groups, such as FrenchBulldog-L? There are lots of SoCal breeders on there, and perhaps you can arrange to have one of them meet you before a show and evaluate your dog.

Whatever you choose, good luck, and keep us posted!

- Carol

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Ask the Breeder - Frenchie Haircuts and Show Ring Trims

patpearce March 14th, 2008

Frenchie Haircuts and Show Ring Trims

I am a novice at showing my 16 mos. Frenchie. I need help on appropriate grooming. What are the typical grooming expectations and how to do them. My particular problems are whiskers, lengthy hair at the hind legs and shiny noses. I’ve used vaseline on the nose but is Vitamin E better? I’m not good at clipping the whiskers. What is a user friendly device to do that? Any help is appreciated. My next show is April 5.

Pat writes -

OK…. the minimum that most people do is whiskers and trimming the hair from inside the ears… This is of course after trimming nails and having the dog reasonably clean..

I try to bathe mine a few days or a week ahead of the show.. then on the day of the show go over the dog with a damp washcloth or paper towel as needed.. It gives the oil a chance to get back in the coat and give it a bit of luster…

Trimming the ears can be done a day or two before the show..I use a battery mustache trimmer.. to start - I let the dog look at the trimmer, then I turn it on and let them investigate, then I put the end opposite the blade in the ear so they can hear it and feel the vibration, and when that goes well, start to trim..- your goal is to get the hair out of the inside of the ear to give it a neater appearance and to make it look taller.. I trim the inside of the ear leather, and to the little line at the base of the inside of the ear The hair grows away from the ear- then the hair grows toward the ear that is the line…

I have attached photos of my Sunny - her left ear is trimmed, her right ear is not.

Sunny’s Left Ear   Sunny’s Right Ear

You can also VERY CAREFULLY use round tipped kids scissiors to trim the ears - it takes longer but if the nosie or vibration of the clipper is a problem, scissors work, but you must use care to NOT cut the tender skin on the ear.

Now the whiskers.

They should really be done the moring of the show, and again each dog reacts differently. I have had some that just lay there, and others you best be QUICK to get anything done.

Again I use the moustache trimmer, I trim the whiskers on the muzzle and any stray moles on the sides of the face and any unsightly hair on the chin - the whiskers in the coat (moles) I just trim enough so they don’t stick out of the coat.. The ones on the muzzle I try to get as short as possible - stretch the skin and get them at the root if possible… your object is ot have a neat look on the face. I leave the eyebrows.. If the whiskers aren’t pretty short they are prickly… again you can do it with a rounded scissior…. again be very careful NOT to cut the skin..

The hairy leg.. I’d use thinning shears until you get the amount of hair down you don’t want it to look trimmed, just so it isn’t so hairy - honestly I rarely trim legs or bellies or any of that. - but sometimes it neatens the look..

I wash noses from time to time, the crud or scale on the nose is mostly dirt (some have more than others) and then keep vaseline on it.. If you keep the nose clean it will go a long way to looking its best. (editor note - I actually like vitamin E - I think it makes noses super shiny, but you can also buy ‘nose butter‘, including this kind, made just for Frenchie noses).

I use a dremel to trim nails. I refer to this article - http://doberdawn.com. On the left side is the link to “How to Dremel Dog Nails”

If there are little holes in the coat from a scrape or whatever - there are products to cover those spots some… it is better to use less rather than more… and there are all kinds of tricks for this… and all kinds of products. Obviously if the coat is really rough you might want to hold off showing til the coat repairs itself..

I hope this helps some…

I would suggest that you find a person who shows Frenchies or a French Bulldog breeder in your area that will mentor you and show you some the things that need to be done… I could explain for an hour or show you in two seconds…

Good luck

Pat

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