How much does a French Bulldog puppy cost?
And other frequently asked questions

You have done all of your research on our website, the AKC website and talked to Frenchie owners. You have dreamed about French Bulldogs and having one to call your own. Now you feel like you are ready to take the final step and find a reputable breeder to make your dreams come true! But there are still a lot of details that you may not know.

If you got this far, I congratulate you for not trying to get a puppy from a pet store or a puppy mill. Frenchie breeders that have the best interest of the breed at heart are heavily involved with the breed. That means that they show in AKC events, are members of the French Bulldog Club of America, and adhere to a series of standards when planning their breedings. Those standards include health testing, studying Pedigrees, talking to long time breeders and having mentors, studying genetics and keeping updated with new protocols that are always being renewed and revised.

When planning a breeding, a reputable breeder always takes into consideration all of those factors, as well as the parents. Is the combination aiming to improve the breed? Is the breeder actually mating the two Frenchies with the intention of keeping a puppy or two for themselves or one of their AKC breeder friends? Are both parents' temperaments sweet, good natured and goofy as a Frenchie should be? Those are some of the main goals that a good, reputable breeder will have when planning a breeding.

Other important facts that you should know about Frenchies and breeding them:

IT STARTS YEARS BACK...
When considering a Frenchie to be added to a breeding program, we make sure to have a well rounded Frenchie that meets the AKC standard. That means that they will look and behave like a French Bulldog. Conformation and temperament are two key ingredients to "make a French Bulldog". In order to prove that a given French Bulldog is a typical example of the breed, breeders will take them to AKC events to be evaluated by judges and experts.

MEASURE TWICE (or three times...), CUT ONCE
Each potential breeding that we may have planned, has been carefully studied by us and our close AKC breeder friends to check all of the boxes. Usually we have our breedings planned for years before they finally happen!

CHUNKY BEARS
Because of the French Bulldog peculiar anatomy (big heads and short, wide bodies) they are not good candidates for a natural birth. At VIXBULL, 100% of our births are made via caesarian section at our trusted reproduction vet. Also, because of their chunky bodies, smushed in faces and the fact that we must always protect Frenchies' backs, 100% of our breedings are done via Artificial Insemination with Progesterone level screening / timing.

PRECIOUS GEMS
This may be anecdotal, but most French Bulldog breeders will experience a "lower number" of puppies. With us, the average is litters of 2-3 puppies. There are larger litters on occasion for sure, but this is what we have experienced through the years.

NEW TO MOTHERHOOD?
Coming home from the vet is always a joyous time for us, but it is also very stressful. The hard work begins then. We put our life on pause to help mama take care of babies. FOr the first month of their lives, we will be up around the clock every 2 hours, and sometimes more often than that if there is a baby needing some intensive care. After the first month, the babies are stronger and the mother usually knows what to do, so we will space out the feedings a bit more. All of this intensive care is exhausting, but as you can imagine, rewarding! But we could not possibly do it more often than 1-2 times per year.

PICK ME, PICK ME!
Yay! We got through all of that process and we may now have a puppy that we do not need for our breeding program. We will now take the time to go through our waiting list and see where the puppy will be better placed. It's important to remember that all of our puppies are placed with pre selected families who agree to a spay/neuter contract.

QUALITY, SUPPORT AND DEDICATION
As you can imagine, if by the end of all of that process we have a baby who is ready to go to a good family, our costs will have added up to a small fortune. That explains why flat faced breeds, such as English Bulldogs, Pugs, Boston Terriers and in our case French Bulldogs, cost more than the average puppy that is bred naturally and does not require a surgical delivery. We have found that currently the average cost for Frenchie puppies is $5–7k. We advise you to stay away from breeders who charge a LOT more or a LOT less than that. In order to reduce prices, are they not health testing their Frenchies? Where are the parents coming from to begin with? Are they not taking the puppies to the vet, are they not getting vaccines? Are they going to behave and look like a Frenchie? And what is the breeder going to do if (knock on wood) your Frenchie has a problem? Are they going to offer guideship and support, or are they going to leave you to deal with it on your own?

RARE? DON'T YOU DARE!
Grey, black & tan, liver, "merle", or any cute names that they might invent to sell (blue, lavender, chocolate, blue eyed...) are all DISQUALIFYING COLORS. That means that by the FBDCA AKC Breed Standard, which is like the blue print for our breed that any reputable breeder should be following while planning a breeding, does not allow those colors and they are seen as FAULTS. In fact, did you know that the merle coat color does not naturally occur in our breed? It is a result of other breeds being mixed with French Bulldogs. And when you start mixing other breeds, you don't know what other problems you may be adding to the gene pool, whether it be temperament variations or new health problems. And if you are OK with not knowing, why not then adopting a pet in need? They will be the best dog that you can get with an "unknown" behind them, for sure. But if you do like French Bulldogs, you must do for a reason. For the essence of what they are. That core essence is what breeders who protect the breed are trying to preserve for generations after! What's more: Color breeders will usually ONLY look at the colors they can get and market as rare, instead of the three pillars of a good breeding program (temperament, health, conformation). They will let go of health. They will not care as much for temperament. And conformation will be discarded very fast so that quickly that cute puppy could grow up to behave and look very differently from a Frenchie, with poor health to boot. We get weekly emails of people who have been tricked into getting a French Bulldog that was a so called "rare" color, and the sad thing is that it almost seems like a scam. So please DO NOT buy a "rare color" French Bulldog.

READY, SET...
Our puppies are usually ready to go anywhere between 10-14 weeks of age. Sometimes, we will hold on to more than one puppy from a litter who we are watching as a show prospect. That means that they are both very similar and we haven't made up our minds on which one to keep yet. Other times, while we are holding on to a puppy, it ends up being on the smaller side or too big for its age in order to be shown. Because we have a small and selected breeding program, we can't afford to have anything other than the highest of standars when keeping our babies, so sometimes those older puppies will be made available for the right homes. The advantage of getting an older puppy are numerous! Usually they will have some training as far as crate training / potty training / leash training. They will have more vaccines to them and will be more mature as far as temperament and size, so you will have a better idea of what they will look like / their behavior than if getting a little bitty puppy.

JETSETTERS
We are located near New Orleans in Louisiana. The nearest airport is MSY. New families can meet us at the airport, drive to us or we can make the trip to meet them pending our availability. We never, ever ship cargo. When we travel with our Frenchies, we have them in the car with us or in the airplane cabin. Frenchies are a brachycephalic breed and they can't control their temperatures very well. We are more than happy to give you tips and guidance on how to travel with your new Frenchie, having done that ourselves successfully many times for over a decade now. Most of our Frenchies are placed out of state. That's why we say, don't settle for a nearby Frenchie breeder just out of convenience.

THE ARRIVAL
Our French Bulldog babies come pre spoiled, with their first multi way shots, updated deworming protocol, and have been seen by our Vets a handful of times by the time they get to their new families. They are also carefully socialized by our friends and family. They are in the presence of music, movement, TV noises and (well behaved) kids. We are happy to answer any questions before or after your baby's arrival and will continue to be there for you throughout their life! We are a very tight knit community of reputable breeders, and I always say that if I don't know the answer to something, I am positive that I know someone who does!

READY FOR VIXBULL
After everything that you have read here, if you would like to be a part of our waiting list and be informed when we have a VIXBULL FRENCH BULLDOG litter, we would like to ask you to have a bit of patience. It might take a while to get to you. Please remember that the more specific that you are as far as gender and coat color, chances are that it may take longer to get to you. Feel free to fill out our application with your information, and we will get back to you quickly about our upcoming puppies, or if we have any available soon.