Good Bloggie!

If you are a Frenchie person, you’ve probably clued into Martha Stewart’s cover for the month of May. She has her two Frenchies sitting in for the photo shoot. Making things very exciting for the photographer, no doubt!

Looks like they haven’t updated the website with the new cover today, but you can try here to view:
Martha Stewart Magazines

Another Frenchie-related Martha Stewart decorator item is one of her paints: French Bulldog Black. Which is rather odd, as solid black (that’s all black without a trace of brindle) is a disqualification in the ring, but maybe she’s thinking of the cute, snubbed nose of a brindle or black-masked Frenchie? If you wanted to be perfectly correct, you could add some faux bois spots and call it French Bulldog Black-Brindle. That would be a Good Thing, no?

Here’s a whole article about paint trends and how French Bulldog Black is a favorite of decorators. Which is as it should be.

EARTHY TONES REMAIN TOP FOR INTERIOR WALLS

Enjoy watching a Frenchie sculpture by Erick Cervantes develop from a lump of clay to almost finished. Start with the first entry of the blog in January and follow through to the end in March.
I love french bulldogs

Catch his talented pencil sketches and acrylic paintings, too!

And if you want to own some of his art, visit the on-line store where you can commission art of your own snorter, grab a towel, or a buy a T-shirt.
itty bitty bullies

One of the things about blogging, you start paying more attention to how you write and how long your text runs. Came across a link which compares blog entries against other bloggers, and it looks like our editing skills must be getting pretty good.

Created by OnePlusYou

A favorite game for our crew is Laser Tag. Not the kind where you suit up and go around shooting each other. The kind where you chase the little red dot around the corner, over the ottoman, up the wall, or wherever it takes you.

It’s a great way to give them some fun and exercise on a gloomy, rainy day, when they can’t go outside to play, or in the summer when it’s just to darn hot to let them stay out for long. Or anytime they just need some extra excitement or a non-food reward.

Most of our guys can see the red dot and love to chase it. We have one boy we aren’t sure if he can’t see it, or it’s just beneath his dignity to go after it.

Just be careful about running them close to corners of furniture or not giving them enough time to brake before reaching a wall. And, naturally, never point the laser light directly in their eyes.

Another warning: most Frenchies seem to like this game to the point of obsession. We keep our laser pointer on the corner of the counter. If we walk close to it, ears perk up and an expectant look crosses their face. Or if you are outside and the sun reflects off your watch causing light to bounce across the ground, suddenly you have a Frenchie running after it. Even flashlight beams can be fair game.

Most pet stores now have small laser pointers, but if you have Laser Tag addicts like we have, it’s worth the extra bucks to get a nice, easy-to-hold one from an office supply store.

If you decide to give it a whirl, let us know what silly tricks you and your guys come up with.

Follow-up: A very Frenchie-wise reader pointed out, if your Frenchie or dog has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or tendencies towards it, this could be a very bad game for them. So for those of you with an OCD-type dog, proceed with caution and limit the number of times you play this game with them, or don’t play this game with them at all.

Take a look at your Frenchie and that cute, snorty face. Did you know it’s being subjected to Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)? If you think French Bulldogs are immune, that BSL only applies to the bigger, (so-called aggressive) bully breeds, think again.

We recently experienced BSL against Frenchies in an unexpected way. The landlord of a potential home had enacted a ban against ALL bully breeds including Bull Terriers, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, anything with the word “bull” in it. (Most of our readers probably have a different “bull” word come to mind for this type of legislation.)

Frenchies are on the infamous “75 BSL Banned or Restricted Breeds” for the US and Canada. Not sure of the originating source, but here’s a link to the list:
The 75 BSL Banned or Restricted Breeds

If you’d like to educate yourself on the topic, here’s some sources to visit:
Anti BSL
Stop BSL
Lovedoesnotdiscriminate.com

This site keeps up with what state and city is effected and how. (Scroll down the page to see the list of states and cities.):
Rott-n-chatter.com

In 2006, Louisville, KY passed a BSL ordinance. Many people, clubs, and groups banded together to repeal it by contacting legislators and threatening a boycott of the big 2007 Kentuckiana Cluster of Dog Shows, one of the largest dog shows in the US. The ordinance was repealed this year.
Louisville Pets

The most current BSL event involves banning “bully” breeds from the PetsMart doggie day care centers:
Animal House Blog at Newsday.com

So keep a watch out in your community for BSL activity. It can sneak up on you when you aren’t expecting it and bite you!