All Charlie, All the time.

I will continue to post Charlie pictures up here but did also want to share some information I’ve gathered along the way since the process of picking a breed & a puppy was a stressful but exciting one for us! Charlie lives with us in Brooklyn. She’s a great dog for an apartment and obviously feels like the best choice we could have made now but for your benefit here are some upsides & challenges to the breed from our experience only:

Upsides!! 

1) SIZE. Charlie is particularly small for the breed, weighing just 12.5 pounds and pretty much full grown. During our search we were told to expect a dog between 15-25 pounds but she’s clearly smaller and we have certainly run into some monster frenchies in the neighborhood that are almost 35 pounds! Nonetheless, the breed is typically nice and small which is great for apartment living BUT she is muscular & sturdy so she doesn’t feel like a wimpy chick dog (my boyfriend’s main concern during our search), is super fun to play with, and strong enough to handle kicks tugging on her ears or whatever comes her way.

2) PERSONALITY. This is the #1 upside for me. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into when we started our search. Frenchies were almost immediately ruled out because of some of the negatives I’ll touch on, most of all price. But let me tell you, this girl’s spirit is simply priceless. She is a true lover, she will kiss dogs, cats, people & especially babies (not all parents love this…). She is always happy, never moody. She has never done anything vindictive. She is sweet and yet sassy at the same time. I do feel some of these things are helped by proper training & attention but that’s for another post. Almost every frenchie we run into in this neighborhood, though they may vary in size, have bright, playful, loving & affectionate personalities. 

3) MOOD BOOSTER! This probably is just an extension of #2 but this dog has helped make my relationship stronger with my boyfriend because she keeps us both so happy regardless of what’s going on in the rest of our lives. I can be super stressed and come home huffing & puffing and moaning about my day and then I open the door and BAM! Charlie is kissing me and welcoming me home and so excited to have me in her company. She is hilarious and sweet and keeps our moods in check. It’s hard to be sad or too stressed or depressed with that face around the house or when she wags her whole body to greet me hello.

Challenges:

1) PRICE & EXPENSES. Let’s just say there are high barriers to entry into the Frenchie owner community. For starters, we found it difficult to find a Frenchie from a reputable breeder that cost less than $2500. You can get some from puppy stores for less but that introduces a TON of issues, puppy mills aside that I won’t get into here. You don’t want the cheapest puppy, shipped from a puppy mill in the middle of the country because even though you may be saving a few hundred dollars to start, there’s no end to how high medical bills can pile up. When we paid for Charlie it HURT and it took a lot of time to get us to accept the price. Now, however, we feel like it was a major investment in our lives and we would do it again in a heart beat if we knew this is the lovely girl we’d end up with.

2) HEALTH ISSUES. You will, without doubt, read all about the health issues frenchies have. For starters, they have to be born via c-section. I had a hard time with this when we first explored the breed and I almost ruled them out again because of this fact. It’s certainly something you should be aware of not only for the moral challenge this introduces but also because it’s representative of the various challenges associated with the breed’s build. I strongly encourage you to speak to your breeder at length about the health history of the parents. There are very healthy frenchies and very sick frenchies. Some are in pain all the time. Issues range from problems with their eyes, allergies (almost every frenchie we know has some sort of allergy), skin sensitivities, hip dysplasia, breathing problems, norting, farting, etc etc. I’m happy to answer any specific questions about Charlie’s health but overall she is in pretty good shape. She looks healthy, she breathes well, she’s nice and muscular. We haven’t had allergy issues yet that we know of (I think she may have a chicken allergy but it hasn’t been confirmed). That being said, when Charlie was sick recently we had her x-rayed to make sure she didn’t swallow something & were told she has a fused vertebra & arthritic hips already (she’s almost 1 yr old). So, she looks pretty healthy & acts healthy but you should know that health challenges are part of this adorable package. You should be ready to deal with some of these challenges both emotionally & financially since vet bills can get expensive. If you do get a frenchie I strongly encourage you to get pet insurance before any problems arise!

3) SHEDDING. My boyfriend & I wear a ton of black. I mean, 90% of our outfits are black and yet somehow we ended up with a cream puppy! I thought the short-haired breed would be lower maintenance, and it is to some extent. She doesn’t need a ton of brushing & doesn’t need to be groomed. HOWEVER, her hair is everywhere. In our couch, on our floors, all over our clothes. We are constantly vacuuming and we always have a tape lint brush on hands at all times! I suggest leather furniture for starters, as well as leather interior in your car. It’s almost impossible to get her hair off our couch or car because its short & stiff. She feel soft to the touch but that hair is everywhere! This is probably also a consideration if someone in the house has allergies.

I could go on & on but will leave it here for now as our introduction to the pros & cons of Frenchies. Feel free to reach out with specific questions!