What makes a Fluffy so fluffy?
We are often asked if the Fluffy French Bulldog is a different breed of French Bull dog or what was mixed with the breed to produce the Fluffy version. The Fluffy Frenchie is simply a long haired version of the traditional French Bulldog. Fluffy French Bulldogs are very rare because, in order to be a visual fluffy (this is a fluffy where you can see the long hair) it needs to carry 2 copies of a recessive gene. A French Bulldog can present with traditional colors or rare colors as well as a traditional coat or the rare fluffy coat. Because many of the rare colors as well as the long coat are not recognized by AKC as being correct breed standard, these colors and coat type become even more rare as breeders of competition show dogs specifically try to breed these traits out. If you are interested in learning more about the genetics involved with this breed specifically color and coat, this is a great link to follow:
Fluffy French Bulldog DNA.
Fluffy History
Angora French Bulldog, 1933
Because Fluffy French Bulldogs have become more sought after recently, many believe this must be a new development to the breed. Many also believe that, because it is “new” it must have been achieved by mixing another longed hair breed in with the French Bull dog, like the Pekinese. However, long haired French Bulldogs have been around for nearly 100 years. A photo of a Fluffy French Bulldog appeared in a book: Le Bouledogue Francais, in 1933. The dog in the photo was labeled as an Angora French Bulldog. Over the years, because this trait was considered as undesirable, breeders that inadvertently produced a pup that had a coat color, pattern or length that was not to AKCs breed standard culled that dog from their breeding program, had them spayed or neutered and sold him/her as a pet. One such male gained some recognition in 2015. His name was Fozzy, however, he too was neutered.
Fozzy the Fluffy Frenchie
To the best of my research, Kim Evans is the first to purposefully produce Fluffy French Bulldogs with 2 litters of Fluffy Frenchies born in 2017. Kim found Mia, a Fluffy Frenchie born in France in 2016 and flew to France to retrieve Mia.
Mia, imported to the US from France
Since then, despite AKC still frowning on the rare colors and longer coats, there have been more breeders around the world purposefully producing these precocious, irresistible, adorable fluffy babies. What is not to love? All of that personality that we have been captivated by in this breed and now, even more floof! Fluffy French Bulldogs have such a soft, silky texture to their beautiful locks that it is easy to see how they have captivated so many around the world. When we decided to include Fluffy genetics in our breeding program, it was of the upmost importance to us to be sure that we did not compromise health, structure and temperament. We found it difficult to find quality breeding stock here in the US. The breeders who make the effort to do genetic testing, breed for correct build and structure, and take into consideration health, temperament and character are also cull any “incorrect” dogs from their breeding program, spaying and neutering them and sell them to pet homes only. Conversely, breeders who are either unaware of the breed standard in regard to color/coat length, or simply disregard the AKC standards also usually disregard all of the import genetic testing, careful consideration on character and temperament, and correct proportions and structure. We were so excited to find breeders in Europe who consider health/genetic screening mandatory and still appreciate the beauty of these rare colors and coat lengths. It made it possible for us to have our cake and eat it too!