Good Bloggie!

Our hearts go out to John Travolta and to his family on the loss of their son Jett earlier this week. At the age of two, Jett contracted Kawasaki Disease after the family had their home carpets cleaned. Kawasaki Disease was a possible cause of lifelong seizures for Jett and his far too early demise. We wish the family well and hope the the media will let them heal in peace.

We’d heard the story of Jett contracting Kawasaki’s after carpet cleaning before and was just one of the many factors which came up during our research of whether to rid our house of carpet (or at least as much as we could). With Frenchies traipsing across our carpet (and all the other Frenchie-type things Frenchies are notorious for doing) we did a lot of carpet cleaning. Even to the point of buying our own cleaning machine. The up side of owning a carpet cleaner, is that we could/can pick and choose what chemicals (or not) to use when cleaning. The downside is, carpet is a host to mold, fungus, and other allergens, no matter how often you clean, or what with. And the fact that if there is a link to carpet cleaning and illness in humans, how far of a leap do you have to make to realize there could be a similar link to animals and carpet cleaning chemicals?

So with this, and with the hope for an easier to keep clean, better environment for us and our Crew, out went the bulk of the carpet and some old wooden parquet flooring, and in came slabs of porcelain. It’s been over a year now. We have seen an improvement in our allergy issues and in our Frenchies’. Not a complete cure, as living in Central Texas comes with a plethora of local allergies no amount of floor cleaning can remove, but a noticeable improvement. And with the addition of a chemical-free steam cleaner, we feel our cleaning chemical exposure has drop significantly.

For more on this topic, here is a link to an article with many good resources and suggestions for alternatives to carpeting:
Carpet Politics and Alternatives

And for more pet-related info to carpet cleaning, check the Itchmo Forums. Use the search term “Carpet Cleaning.”

If you have carpet, and can’t remove it, keep pets and children off freshly shampooed carpet for at least four hours. According to many sources, this is the critical time to avoid exposure to cleaning chemicals and when they can cause the most damage.

So while we and our crew can give a thumbs up to a tile floor, there is one part of our household that can’t: our dinnerware. It misses the softer carpeting and parquet floor. Maybe it’s time to move to stainless steel plates and bowls for humans?!

Was recently asked this by a shoe designer who has a whole line of Betty Boop inspired shoes. (More about her fun and sassy shoes later.)

Betty Boop was created back in the 1930s when Frenchies often had longer tails and rose ears weren’t uncommon. The bat ear had only been specified by the French Bulldog Club of America about 30 years earlier. It took other countries awhile to jump on the bat ear wagon.

Is it possible that Pudgy (or Pudge) is a brindle pied, rose-eared Frenchie? Take a look at Betty and Pudgy in the images below. (These images don’t show it, but Pudgy has a big spot on his back.)

Certainly gets you wondering where Max Fleischer’s inspiration for Pudgy came from. Short nose? Check. Cobby body? Check. Short coat, extremely cute and lovable looking? Check and check!

For more on Betty Boop, Visit her official site (where most of the images above originate), her Wikipedia entry, and a very dedicated fan’s site.

And the legal fine print: Betty Boop, Bimbo, Pudgy, and Koko are owned by, copyrighted by, and licensed trade marks of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE Inc. and FLEISCHER STUDIOS, Inc. All images of Betty Boop, Bimbo, Pudgy, and Koko are copyrighted by King Features Syndicate

Now what about those shoes? Convinced Pudgy IS a Frenchie and you’d like to have him decorating your tooties? Well today is your lucky day. There is a New York designer with a WHOLE line of Betty Boop shoes and they even look comfy as well as make a statement. The company brand name is Milkshake.

Here’s the line featuring Betty Boop and Pugdy:
Thought Bubble Collection

And a line called Bloom. Have to say, that color scheme is somewhat Ebullient!

Best of luck to Milkshake on the new shoe line and what a great question.

Yves Saint Laurent ’s passing happened a couple of months ago, but recently found this in-depth blog entry by Pet Sugar about his constant French Bulldog companion(s) named Moujik.

Hidden in the entry is a link to a short article about famous people in history and their association with Frenchies. Look below the big photo of Moujik for the words in blue “once saying”. Click these to read/download the PDF.

Link to blog entry:
Pet Sugar

Is anyone really surprised that one of the most influential fashion designers of the past century insisted on a French Bulldog as a pet? And pied Frenchie at that!

On a walk or out-and-about, people will often come over to meet one of our guys and spark a conversation about Frenchies. Many times you hear how they love the breed and always wanted a Frenchie of their own. If we mention we show, the quick response is “Oh. I’d only want a pet-quality Frenchie,” in a tone which implies they are willing to settle for second-best.

So you have to think, why do people think pet-quality pups should be less valuable than show-quality pups? Let me explain. If the only difference between a show-potential pup and a pet pup, are some conformation faults, what about the rest of the pup? The planning, the health care, the nutrition, the time spent by the breeder, the careful matching of pedigrees and body type to ensure the best match for a healthy pup. The socialization and training that goes into a quality pup with a personality YOU’D want to own?

When it comes to selecting your new four-legged, furry friend, would you want to get one that had been raised in a mass-breeding environment with minimal care, socialization, and hard goal toward profit from Breeder A, or one that had been essentially hand-raised by a caring breeder with an eye to the betterment of their line from Breeder B? And if Breeder A is selling a pup at price X, and Breeder B is selling their pup at the same or a slightly higher price, divide that by 10-12 years and compare how much per year the cost of that pup/dog will average. Not much difference is there? And if the pup from Breeder B has a better chance at a healthy life, and the breeder is there for you when you have questions, the value gets even better.

When our girl got her championship last year, did some fast and loose math. Of all the AKC Frenchies registered, only 3-5% go on to get a title. (If someone had hard facts on this, would love to see them!) That leaves the majority of Frenchies in the pet category. Not all Frenchie breeders show, and showing is not an absolute guarantee of a good breeder, however, it has certainly helped us. We’ve learned how to view a Frenchie by the breed standard, which lines are recognized for their quality, and have gotten to tap into the wealth of info available from other show breeders. But showing is a lot of hard work and can easily see why some would pass on showing. But even a non-show breeder should be trying to breed for health, soundness, and to the breed standard. Whoever you get a pup/dog from, they should know their lines, know any health issues within them, and be attempting to maintain their quality or improve it. After all, you do want a Frenchie that looks and acts like a Frenchie!

So pet or show, Frenchie or other breed, a pup deserves the same chance to excel in health and life, because while only a very few pups go onto show, they all go on to be a pet. And don’t you think you deserve that for yourself, and for your future new friend? Reward those who do care about the breed and breeding a healthy pet. Take the time to find a breeder who does health-testing on their dogs, nurtures their pups, and tries to produce a healthier pup so you can say with pride, “This is my pet and he/she is just the best!“

Does your Frenchie inspire you to use onomatopoeia? Alliteration? Break out in silly song or verse? Other rhetorical devices?

Do you sometimes feel you have turned into the Saturday Night Live character who mangled people’s names? (Snort Meister!)

Just how many nicknames do you have for your pooch? A couple, five, ten, twenty, lost count? (Sir Snorts-A-Lot) Isn’t it amazing how many nicknames your Frenchie inspires? (Lucy Lou Lou) You started off with a very dignified name, befitting his breed. A name such as Montaigne and it somehow morphs into baby talk. (Minty Monty Moo) Is this a Frenchie-exclusive affliction? Perhaps other breeds have their own trait-inspired nicknames? (Snort-a-lious, Smell-a-rama Mama)

The next time you find yourself coming up with yet another rhyming word for your Frenchie’s name, stop and think: perhaps the French Bulldog is just the muse you needed to put all those English and literature lessons into practice. That is, unless you speak French. And inquiring minds want to know: Does owning a Frenchie help with conjugating French verbs?

No wonder why Frenchies aren’t known for their obedience, what with all the silly names and nicknames. Could it be they are confused who’s being talked to? Of course, there IS that universal nickname they all love: Treat!