Why We Chose a Frenchton

Jacques's first Easter Sunday

In my last post I talked about picking the right breed. As you can tell by the name of our blog, we chose a Frenchton. Jacques gets lots of attention for his good looks and gentlemanly swagger but lest you think us superficial, I should share the many other reasons we love this breed. Frenchtons are lovable and social dogs. They are loving and adventurous little clowns with lots of personality.

Jacques is 50/50 French bulldog and Boston terrier, though some are 75/25. His personality is little athlete by day (the Boston side), and cuddler by night (Frenchie side). We love both.

Frenchtons are a designer breed that's only been around for a couple of decades. The goal of the mix is to help mitigate some health problems - help the Boston terrier bulk up a bit and the French bulldog gain some physical stamina. Since it's a newer breed, some look and act more like Frenchies and others more like Bostons. (And in my view, some are much cuter than others!) The genetic stability of generations hasn't been created yet, so the characteristics vary from dog to dog.

General characteristics:

• This is a fun site showing what you'll get with each breed
• Size - 20-30 lbs
• Coats are fawn, black, white/black mix, red/white mix, blue and brindle
• Frenchton puppies can be hard to find, the cost is $900-$2500
• Super social and make a great family dog 

Health Issues 

There are some health issues to consider when it comes to Frenchies. Here's what we've seen:

Upside: The breed was created to reduce health problems and create some healthy genetic variety all around. Make sure the breeder you are working with is solid and has bred healthy dogs. Frenchtons have fewer eye issues than Bostons and reduced respiratory problems compared to French bulldogs.

Challenges: As is true with all dogs, there are still potential health challenges, some of which we weren't aware of when adopting a Frenchton. We paid $500 for a comprehensive vet plan from Banfield Pet Hospital (connected to PetSmart) and we're glad we did. We've been many times (Office visits, vaccinations and neuter/spaying are included, but medicine is still full price.) We haven't continued with Banfield because they tend to upsell a LOT, we lost some trust, but it was a great plan to start. 

• Respiratory Problems - The brachycephalic dogs (smashed-faced dogs) can have breathing problems. Many snore at night (which is pretty cute) and can struggle in heat. They are banned from traveling as cargo on most airlines. (That is a good thing! Putting dogs in cargo can be very damaging. Our little guy does great under the seat.) Some question whether it is fair for them to struggle with this through their lives for the sake of being adorable. We take good care of Jacques when it comes to breathing issues, including taking him out in the evening on hot days, and he has no problem running for hours on end at the dog park. We're careful with him in heat but we've never seen any breathing issues. 
• Eye Issues - Bostons are prone to eye issues. We haven't seen that yet, but cherry eye and other issues can be expensive to treat. 
• Skin Allergies - Allergies are common in Frenchies! From the beginning our puppy started scratching himself so hard it would leave scabs. We eventually paid $250 for an allergy test and found he had over 100 serious allergies including most plants and chicken! That's not terribly uncommon with this breed. We are doing immunotherapy now. The costs are adding up, but leaving him without help is not an option. I wish we'd been more careful to make sure our breeder wasn't breeding dogs with serious allergies. 
• Gassiness - For a while our puppy was SO gassy! Many Frenchies are allergic to chicken, and filler ingredients like peas. I decreased the amount of food I was putting out for him (went from two cans to one per day) and the gassiness went away almost entirely. 

Finally, here some answers to the big questions as they relate to Frenchtons:

• Do humans have allergies in your home? If they aren't severe, a Frenchton will work. Frenchtons are shorthaired and shed very little. We have some family members with allergies and they haven't had any problems. Frenchtons are not technically  hypoallergenic, but so far so good. 
• What are your living conditions? Frenchtons do fine in smaller spaces. We live in a condo with a tiny backyard and he fits right in with us here. We take him on a long walk every day and once a week he goes to doggy day camp or the beach - somewhere where he can run his energy down to a zero. It's been great. 
• What is your cleanliness level? We're on the clean side. Frenchtons shed very little, but they do shed. I have to clean up his hair every week and use the roller on the coach before people come over. I personally can't imagine the clean-up involved with a longer haired dog, this is enough for me. 
• Will you be gone on travel a lot? We travel a lot. We do a combination of things to take care of our dog. 1) He flies with us under the seat. It costs $250 but if it's a long trip, we consider it worth it. They cannot be stowed in cargo which is a good thing. Dogs can become very traumatized and even die from flying like a checked back. 2) Frenchtons do fine on road trips. Start driving around with your dog when it's a puppy. Jacques loves the car. 3) We use a site like Rover.com so he can stay in a home rather than a kennel, trade dog watching with friends or find a responsible 14-17 year old who likes dogs to watch him in their home. We pay $10/day and give them a healthy tip for longer trips. 
• Will your dog have companionship? Frenchtons need a lot of interaction. They are considered "velcro dogs". The nice thing is they don't attach to just one person. Jacques really loves us both. I work from home, so we hang in the day, except when I'm in meetings. My husband plays with him a lot at night and we give him walks and lots of love at night. 
• What's the climate like where you live? Generally, Frenchtons have similar needs when it comes to temperature as humans. If you need a sweater, they probably do too. The only difference is that they really don't do well in heat. It's hot where we live, so sometimes we have to save outdoor play and walk time for the evening. We also do some fun things like make pumpkin ice cubes for hot days. We have a backpack, and cute sweaters for our few cold months which gives him a job and some warmth. 
• How much exercise can you offer? Unlike most French bulldogs, Frenchtons are active dogs. Though Jacques is still a medium energy breed (nothing like a Dalmatian or GSP), he does have a ton of Boston terrier energy. We want him to get to enjoy that part of his personality, so in addition to his 30 minute walk every day we try to give him a trip each week to the dog park, to PetSmart for Doggy Daycamp or to someone's house to play with another puppy for most of the day. (If you have older kids who go out and run with your dog, that will go a long way in meeting the need.) Our goal is, in addition to daily walks, to help him drain his energy 100% once a week. 
• Is the timing right? We had been considering getting a dog for a long time when I got pregnant. Everyone told us, as new dog owners, we should not try to train a dog during that time. We dropped the idea until, sadly, I had a miscarriage. We knew we had at least 11 months or so to train a dog. That felt manageable. Getting a dog turned out to be doable and very healing for us in that time.  

Despite some challenges, we absolutely love having a Frenchton!