When you decide you want to buy a French Bulldog, you will find several breeders online. How to choose? How do you know if they are really reliable? We have often heard terrible stories from clients who went through some horrible process before they turned to us.

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How to find a responsible French Bulldog breeder?

We always recommend that you vet the breeder you find online, and don’t trust anyone simply because they have a large following, several good reviews, and a nice webpage. Unfortunately, these days any company can buy followers, reviews and testimonials to look credible. We are not saying they all do, but you cannot trust a company solely based on these factors. Instead, go through this checklist to be sure you are in contact with an ethical breeder who will give you a healthy pup.

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Are they willing to show you the pup via Skype/Facetime/Live?

Unethical breeders and brokers try to escape your request to show the Frenchie live because the pups are not around them. They might even show someone else’s puppies. They tell you that the pups are sleeping, or the vet is with them(as a note, I have happily still connected to social media at the Vets office, with puppies), and offer you to only send photos and videos instead. It’s absolutely fair to be able to see your pup several times before you decide to adopt him or her.

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Are they pushing you to decide?

A breeder should be able to recognize when a Frenchie matches a parent, and shouldn’t force a deal when they feel you hesitate. 

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How much information do they give you?

The breeder should be able to answer all your questions with specific, and helpful answers. They should help you with choosing the Frenchie right for your lifestyle, family size, living conditions. Ask all the details about their birth, vaccinations, food, and personality and listen if the breeder only says some general sentences you can find on any website.

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How do they talk about the pups?

It’s a very important factor, as they treat them the same way as they talk about them. Do they know the puppies by name, do they know their personalities, do they sound like they care? If they treat Frenchies like products, most probably they keep them in a kennel and think of them only as products.

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How does the breeder keep the puppies?

Ask all the details of how the pups spend their day, and what they do. You might think, it’s only the first months, and you will pamper yours, but the first period really counts a lot. If the pup is squeezed with his sisters and brothers into a small kennel, they cannot use their muscles and cannot grow as beautifully as opposed to being able to run freely. If they rarely see humans, they will be afraid of you, and you’ll need a longer period to socialize them.

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What do other clients say?

As with any other service you want to see the experience of other clients. And unethical breeders know it! So they will be the first ones to establish a large social media community, buy followers, and fake testimonials and reviews, and even have a few reference ‘clients’ who are happy to testify how satisfied they are. Apart from reading testimonials (in the case of many breeders they are true!), look for their clients, who post about their Frenchie on their social media profile, who use their hashtag, or who are in a dedicated group keeping in touch with each other. 

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Is the breeder ready to help after you have adopted your puppy?

As the pup will be a family member, it’s very important that you can still turn to the breeder, who spent the first weeks with him or her and who should have long years of experience with Frenchies. Ask before buying if you can turn to them after the adoption.