If you love French Bulldogs, I’m sure you’ve seen the ads for the “No Fad Colors” or herd the phrase for anyone breeding nonstandard color frenchies as “unethical”, “back yard breeders” or “greeder”. The use of the words “fad color” implies these are coat colors that are new or are only trendy and will go away after a while. Several sources have reported that blue French Bulldogs have been around since the early 19th century. I don’t think these “fad colors” are going anywhere. There are bad people doing bad things in every aspect of our society. You can’t group people breeding nonstandard into one category, just like standard breeders shouldn’t be grouped. I’ve seen bad breeding in both categories! Standard doesn’t equal quality and that narrative needs to stop. The media slander used by some standard breeders is in itself “unethical”. There is no research to back up the push, that nonstandard color French Bulldogs have health issues.
The things I heard on social media prior to bringing home my first frenchie (she was a blue brindle) gave me pause! It wasn’t until I did a lot of my own research and realized there wasn’t anything to back up the health concern claims. I went ahead with getting my blue pup! I like what I like, and I like BLUE! Later, I again did a LOT of research on tan points and merles and found no health issues associated with specific color. As long as breeding rules (Absolutely NO merle/merle breeding) are followed you don’t see an increase in genetic defect. There are sooo many non-standard French bulldogs now, that we would have seen some sort of negative impact on certain colors if there was one. It would have only taken a generation or two to visually/genetically see a problem. This is why you don’t breed two merle dogs together. You can see that with other species and breeding as well, for example Ball Pythons and the spider gene giving wobble. Personally, I think the addition of the new colors, when done right, has improved the genetic health of French Bulldogs. There is a larger gene pool which gives more opportunity to pick the best breeders. Rather than looking at color we need to focus on structure, which means proportion, eyes, noses, feet, etc.
The color of your pup has no effect on health, temperament or anything else other than passing those color genes to their offspring. Some “no fad” people claim that blues and merles have hearing, eye issues, skin issues or other. This is not the case with good breeding! It doesn’t mean it can’t happen, however it’s not more likely than another standard colors. I’ve seen dogs of every color with all sorts of issues. I’ve seen standard color French bulldogs that can’t breathe, walleyed, spine issues and allergies. The closest color/health correlation I’ve seen personally, working in the veterinary field, is white dogs seem more sensitive. I want to be clear; I’ve done no research on this. It just appears, especially in Pit Bulls, the white/light colored dogs had more seasonal allergies or food allergies. However, just because a dog is a certain color does not mean its predisposed to issues. The white color of the dog against the red inflammation of the ears or skin may just be easier to see and owners are alerted to a problem easier/quicker. A better indicator of health is looking at the parents! Always see the parents! Do they have a nice structure, allergy issues, not walleyed, breathing issues/closed nares, tight feet? Also, does the breeder seem knowledgeable and able to answer your health questions? Find a breeder that’s passionate about your breed. By having a quick conversation with your potential breeder, you should be able to spot someone that has done their research vs someone that’s a greeder!
This is a very touchy subject in the French Bulldog community. I wish color wasn’t as much of a focus with the breed. The major problem we are facing today is the health of the breed. Some countries are trying to ban brachiocephalic (flat faced dogs) breeds, mainly French Bulldogs, due to increasing health concerns. Let’s work together on changing the narrative that French Bulldogs are unhealthy by breeding healthy pups!