According to a news release from the American Kennel Club (AKC), more French Bulldogs were registered with the organization than any other breed of dogs in 2022. The AKC – and thus every news agency that published some version of the news release – characterized this fact in the same way they do every year: by saying the breed is now the “most popular” breed in America.

The AKC stopped releasing the numbers of dogs that the organization registers each year some years ago, so it’s impossible to know exactly how many French Bulldogs were registered last year, or how many more of them were registered than Labrador Retrievers – the breed that had the most registrations each year for the previous 31 years in a row. But Labradors tend to have large litters; five to 10 puppies is typical for a Labrador litter. French Bulldogs typically have two to four puppies (and almost always by caesarean section), so there must be a LOT of French Bulldog breeding going on.

Well, now I’ve looked at Craigslist.com, which “prohibits” pet sales; according to its terms of use page, though “rehoming with small adoption fees [is] ok.” Wow! So much rehoming! And I guess I wasn’t aware of how much “small adoption fees” have gone up! Dozens and dozens of Frenchie puppies have been posted for “rehoming” in my part of the state just within the last few days, for $1,500, $2,000, $2,400! And many of them are AKC-registered, how nice!

Sorry for the snarking. I have to admit that I find the news about the increasing popularity of these adorable little dogs to be sad – even more so since I’ve discovered how ubiquitous their breeders are. I’m sad because I know how much suffering many of these dogs experience: French Bulldogs are prone to spinal problems (such as intervertebral disk disease – IVDD), hip dysplasia, and patella luxation; brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) and heatstroke (because they can’t pant hard enough/exchange air quickly enough to cool themselves); allergies, which contribute to skin-fold dermatitis and pyoderma (due to wrinkly skin); ear infections (due to small ear canals), conjunctivitis and corneal abrasions (due to bulging eyes) – and, of course, an increased incidence of death during delivery if their cesarean section surgeries aren’t performed at the appropriate time.

All of the brachycephalic dogs have been trending toward increasingly flat faces, and the French Bulldog is no exception. The May 2023 issue of Cornell DogWatch lists the many symptoms of BOAS – frothing at the nostrils, snoring in sleep, snorting, gagging, noisy breathing, exercise and heat intolerance – that are typical for brachycephalic dogs, and details how surgery is needed to correct the anatomical defects that causes this suffering.

I’m fairly certain that few people who buy these dogs are aware of how much they should be expecting to save for veterinary bills.

The popularity of these dogs also has led to a great number them being stolen, from homes, cars (when left alone as well as in car-jackings), and from individuals. I just read an article in the New York Times about a 76-year-old man who bred and sold French Bulldogs who killed by two other men in the parking lot of a KFC in Bishopville, South Carolina; the two men arranged to meet the breeder there, purportedly to buy the French Bulldog for $2,500. They stole the dog and shot the breeder to death. It seems like this is what happens when dogs are such a valuable commodity (their small size increases their vulnerability, no doubt).

I like the French Bulldogs I have met. They tend to be clownish and playful, and fairly undemanding of their owners. While it’s often reported that they can be difficult to train, their smaller size means that even kids or elderly people are able to walk them without too much trouble even when they pull on leash. They aren’t barky, though they can be quite vocal with cute squeaks and moans when they want something.

I’m sorry they have gotten so popular.

When off-leash dog parks first began to be a “thing” a couple of decades ago, I was thrilled. At the time, I lived in a city of about 70,000, and the presence of large, securely fenced areas for dogs to run off-leash was a huge benefit to me when I boarded untrained dogs who needed a ton of exercise. Twenty-plus years ago, there weren’t yet crowds of people and tons of reactive dogs at the park; at most, I’d tend to see 10 to 20 dogs in the several-acre park – soured only once or twice a year, say, by a serious dog fight or scary interaction between reactive dogs.

There was one really nice park, with sandy soil, faucets for water, double “airlock” gates, and a separate area for small dogs; and a smaller space at the end of town that had single gates, no water, and weedy, rough footing. When I had a social butterfly of an energetic dog staying with me, I’d of course go to the nice dog park. When I was caring for a rowdy adolescent dog who was reactive or had poor social skills, I’d drive farther to take him to what I called the “bad-dog dog park” – I only ever saw other people who also had reactive or flat-out dog-aggressive dogs there. We could recognize each other by our over-alert, defensive behavior: our rush to leash our dogs and leave if anyone else arrived.

I actually came to appreciate the bad-dog dog park much more than the nice dog park, for the simple reason that hardly anyone went there, and I could almost always find it empty for at least 20 or 30 minutes to allow whatever reactive dog I happened to be caring for to burn off some serious steam – chasing balls or Frisbees, and playing vigorous, growly games of tug – without putting any other dogs at risk, or undermining work I was doing with those dogs to teach them not to become reactive to other dogs.

Paws, a yellow Labrador who belonged to a fellow editor friend, was one dog who I regularly brought to the bad-dog dog park. I often boarded Paws when his family went on vacation or just out of town for the weekend, and sometimes provided daycare for him when his family was particularly busy. Paws didn’t have an aggressive bone in his body, but he had been somewhat deprived of social opportunities when he was a puppy, and he had the rudest body language of any dog I knew. He was so excited to meet other dogs that, if given an opportunity, would fly toward the other dog at 100 miles per hour, slamming into them half the time because he didn’t turn on the afterburners soon enough. When a dog would understandably take exception to being slammed into at top speed, or would feel that it was necessary to slow Paws’ roll by growling or snapping at him, his excitement (arousal) level would be so high, that he’d often react with an honestly scared, defensive growl or snap back – and a brief scuffle might quickly ensue.

If, by some miracle, the other dog was friendly and confident enough to burst into a running, chasing, or wrestling game when Paws came in like a runaway freight train, there was no happier dog than Paws; that was his sincere wish. But meeting a large, strong, confident, happy playmate was rare; Paws hardly ever met one of those. That’s why I often made the trek with him to run and play at the weedy, crappy park that we usually had to ourselves.

Eventually, though, dog parks became so popular, that even the remote, scruffy, waterless dog park became nearly constantly populated with other social, friendly dogs – meaning that they were no longer appropriate places that I could bring Paws or other reactive dogs to. And around that time, I moved away from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Today, I have my own two-acre, securely fenced “dog park” of sorts. There are lots of places I can take my friendly, social dogs for off-leash hikes, because we practice snappy recalls constantly. However, when I’m caring for a dog (a friend’s dog, or a foster) whose recall is not yet reliable and they need exercise, I have enough fenced space to throw balls (even with a Chuckit!) and run a dog enough to get them tired. Buying a property like this, and spending thousands to have its perimeter fencing completed, was a long-time goal for me and I’m so happy to have it.

A company founded to connect dog people

What are people to do if they need (but lack) a safely fenced area to exercise their dogs, but have a dog-reactive dog – or just a dog who is afraid of or particularly vulnerable to other dogs? There is a company that has stepped up to help connect people like me, who have safe and private places for dogs to play, with people who need – and would pay to reserve time in – such a space! Sniffspot is a company that links people who have space for dogs to play with people whose dogs need places to play. It’s kind of like AirBNB for private dog parks.

People who have space that they’d like to make available (for a fee) to other dogs owners can sign up to be Sniffspot hosts. An app makes it possible for people to reserve and rent the space in half-hour increments. The software ensures that the rental is private – no other users will be present at the same time. Sniffspot collects payments from the users (from $5 to $15 per hour, per dog) and distributes the payments to the hosts at the end of each month. The company also requires that users submit vaccination records and attest that the dogs have flea/parasite prevention on board, and provides $2 million of liability insurance and $5,000 of damage protection to the hosts.

Hosts are asked to answer a long list of questions about their property: its size, terrain, fencing, proximity to dogs or other animals, etc. They also submit photos of the amenities offered; between the property descriptions and photos, users can get a good idea of whether the space will suit their dogs. Hosts can make their property available for as little or as much time on as many days as they want, but all rentals are private, to prevent unwanted interactions (users can rent some properties for private playgroups). I might consider signing up to be a host at some point.

Our dog-training contributors often recommend that owners of reactive dogs, or dogs who are selective about their play partners, look for securely fenced places to take their dogs to run or play where there are no other dogs. We sometimes hear the complaint that such places are difficult to find, but now we have an answer to that grievance: Sniffspot is the perfect way to find places like this – not a “unicorn” request after all.