WELCOME TO OUR SITE
Welcome to the home of Smokey Valley Farm and Kennel and The Miniature and
Novelty Sheep Breeders Assoc. and Registry.
We are located in a peaceful wooded Valley in Lewis County, near the
small riverside town known as Toledo, a place with a Logging and Riverboat
history. Bald Eagles, Blue Heron and Canadian Geese
are a daily site along with the many Elk and Deer a place many long to find and
few have the chance to live.
We are World Wide known successful French Bulldog Breeders, as are our
famous English Toy Spaniels and our sometimes lesser known Miniature Australian
Shepherds. Show/breeding exhibitors, obedience workers and folks just wanting a
wonderful pet in their home seek out our World-Class French bulldogs, English
Toy Spaniels and Miniature Australian Shepherds.
Our Farm is a wondrous place where several Old World Heritage Breeds of
Rare and Miniature small Sheep graze the fields all carefully cared for by us
alone now as our three children are now grown.
We hope you will take the time to go through our site and see what we
have worked on for all the many years since 1976. This is our life's work and
love. We hope you will see that in the MANY photos and information provided for
anyone interested. My husband has outdone himself putting it all together and
doing it all himself, to inform everyone of the love you will have and get from
these wonderful dogs and little sheep. I'm so proud of all he has done to share
it all with others on our web site. All photos on our site are of our animals
and all the candid's were taken by our family.
Our dogs French Bulldogs, English Toy Spaniels and the Mini Aussies have
been shared with other successful breeders and have started other breeding
programs here in the USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, Spain, Hungry, China, Mexico,
Philippines, Brazil,
Argentina,
Czech
Republic,
Colombia and more.
Our Rare Miniature sheep too are sought by others breeders of the unique and
rare heritage small family farm livestock helping save them for the future.
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French Bulldog
French Bulldog Members in good standing of the French Bulldog Club of America.
We caught the Hunter for Mom ( Elk 2007 )
Smokey Valley's Double O Seven (James)
French Bulldog Puppies For Sale
French Bulldog National Specialty Awards
French Bulldogs Secrets Exposed
Show Wins 2005-06 (French Bulldogs)
Show Wins 2007-08 (French Bulldogs)
New Page 1 (Frenchie with Antlers)
Show Pictures (French Bulldogs)
B Show Photo's (Past French Bulldog Champions)
C Show Photo's (Past French Bulldog Champions)
Snow 2004 (Kennel / Farm pictures)
Sales Contract (French Bulldog)
Book For Sale (French Bulldog)
Link Page (French Bulldog Sites - Breeders)
French Bulldog Video (Video's)
ANTIQUE PICTURES (French Bulldog)
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English Toy Spaniel
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Sheep Rare Miniature and Toy Smokey Valley Farm
Miniature and Toy Cheviot Sheep
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Origins of the French Bulldog
While the main source from which French Bulldogs has been evolved is now very generally agreed upon much however is still unknown and probably will continue to remain in the realm of conjecture which in view of the present status of the breed would be now most interesting to have clearly revealed. This lack of specific details as to this breed seems all the more remarkable from the fact that it's development spans such a comparatively brief period of time and not beyond the memory of men who lived in the country justly credited with having been the place of its origin. That no one in France has come forward who can speak with authority because of knowledge of and familiarity with the formative period in the production of French Bulldogs plainly proves that the beginning of the breed excited no interest worthy of serious consideration and that its process in modeling were left almost wholly to the uncertain element of chance. It does not indicate more strongly than attitude of indifference or of positive neglect.
No single individual has more persistently and intelligently endeavored to gather authoritative information on the subject of the origin of French Bulldogs than the well known English writer C. Jemmett Browne. During the period of the existence of the French bulldog Magazine, several years ago, he contributed to this publication a series of articles mainly pertaining to this controvertible and somewhat perplexing subject. His painstaking research and exhaustive investigations furnish the most illuminating and satisfactory explanation to account for the existence of this breed that, up to that time had been published.
Much of the material Mr. Browne collected and incorporated in his articles was obtained from living witnesses of the facts related or from those whose identification with French bulldogs extended practically over the entire period of their known existence. Some of these individuals have since passed away and it is likely had Mr. Browne not taken the pains to personally interview them what they alone could tell would never have been recorded. In this respect especially he rendered as service that has made every lover of the breed his debtor.
Among the earlier theories advanced to account for the existence of French Bulldog which is now given small credence, was once dignified by serious consideration because of the character of its sponsors. The claim they espoused was that Spain was entitled to the credit of being the home of the breed and that the Dogue de Bordeaux, or Spanish bulldog, was the original source from which it was developed. This theory was rather generally supported by the French at an early day in the history of the breed, while not a few Englishmen supplemented this belief by calming that even the English bulldog as well as the French Bulldog, owed their origin to the Spanish bulldog. even the principal authority in France in all matters pertaining to dogs and that occupies the position that the American Kennel Club does in America, the Society Central pou L’Amelioration des Races de Chiens en France, published a statement saying: “The French bulldog according to all probabilities is of Spanish origin.”
In the spirited controversy that for a time raged over this matter considerable prominence was given to the subject because of the long held opinion that the English bulldog was indigenous to England.
The discovery of a bronzed plaque, dated 1625, showing the head of a dog with an inscription “Dogue de Burgas Espana,” was largely the basis for the support of the Spanish theory as to the origin of English bulldogs.
This breed of large dog had several of the characteristics that gave reason for believing they might have been the distant progenitors of the present day French Bulldog. They lay in the fact that they had erectly carried ears, and possessed a slightly rounded skull. This was somewhat pronounced in that portion directly above the eyes and extending nearly across the head a part of the skull best designated in a dog as forehead. In this feature they differed from the typical English Bulldog the latter having a well defined groove or furrow running through this portion of the head, which begins at the stop between the eyes and extends well up in the skull.
No one who has ever made a superficial investigation of this subject now seriously contends that the Spanish Bulldog figures in the creation of French Bulldogs. This is the universal opinion of fanciers of the breed in every part of the world.
With this exploded theory out of the way let us proceed to the more sensible and logical one, that is now so generally accepted that the French bulldog owe most of their creation to the English bulldog. The breeding operations which resulted in the establishment of the breed were largely if now wholly, consummated in France and therefore the name they bear is not an inappropriate one or now seriously contested anywhere.
It should be remembered that during the last one hundred years or more that the English Bulldog has radically altered in type. Between 1870 and 1880 there were a complete change in its form, the big heavy weight, rather course dogs became the fashion while the lightweights became practically extinct until revived several years later, by importations of the small, Toy Bulldogs the French had produced.
The only medium through which anything like a correct idea can be gained of the character and appearance of English bulldogs existing in “England a century or more ago or even down to the period when the French Bulldog was being created can now only be obtained from prints, drawings or paintings that have preserved of them. These earlier modes of perpetuating likenesses of dogs were naturally somewhat expensive and therefore it is fair to presume that dogs so illustrated were prominent and typical dogs of their day. They reveal how great has been the change in their formation and general appearance form the type we now associate with this breed. They clearly show they had some likeness and many points in common with the French bulldog as we know it today. In actual they looked then more like the French of today then the English of today do.
In the mid 1800’s the Toy Bulldog came in vogue in England and a dog named Nottingham Frank, whelped about 1849 and owned by William Tupper of England was a noted English champion of about 22 pounds. Other Toy Bulldogs of this period and especially so of a later date, weighted even less than Frank many at only about 10 pounds. At this time many miniature specimens of this character in head properties and ears were being imported to France and the inference is reasonable that they were among the earlier ancestors of the French Bulldog.
About the middle of the 1800’s especially in the early sixties, the English bulldog had to such an extent begun to deteriorate in size, that dogs under twenty pounds frequently outnumbered at the shows their more normal sized brethren. Lovers of the old heavy weigh dogs became alarmed over what they considered a lamentable deterioration in the breed. In a catalogue of one of the larger London shows of this period that sixty odd dogs were entered in the Toy Bulldog division at the Ashburnham Hall Show in 1863, the weights were for dogs over and under 18 pounds, while at the Manchester Shows of 1865 and 1866 the classes were for Toy Bulldogs over and under 12 pounds. These toy specimens mainly with tulip or rose ears, became very popular in England an owing to their number could hardly be considered as freaks although in some instances weighing less than 10 pounds.
About the time of the greatest popularity of these Toy Bulldogs in England, many of the lace workers of Nottingham emigrated to the coast towns of Normandy and it is well established fact that many of these small Bulldogs were taken to France by these workman. Later the importation to France of these dogs which before were common in London, Birmingham and Sheffield for many years. Were so great that they practically became extinct in England.
There appears to be no doubt that the French bulldog originated in England and is an off shoot of the English bulldog, not the bulldog one see's on the show bench today but the tulip-eared and short under jawed specimens which were common in London, Birmingham and Sheffield in the early fifties.
They became the rage in Paris and the English dealers did a rare business in them. Many having a standing order with breeders to commission for the purchase every bulldog that did not exceed twenty pounds in weight and a large number went across the water. Details of this kind conclusively prove that the fashionable Toy Bulldog of today is English in its origin.
Among the earlier dogs secured in France were Le Petit Corporal , Gloucester Migonette and Tich. All were purchased in 1897 and brought to American by Mr. Harrison.
These dogs went on to be shown in New York and when bred produced several winners of the time.
These dogs were procured from the very humblest of owners and very cheaply. This was at a time when these dogs had not even acquired the name of French Bulldog nor had a standard been set.
Mr. Harrison and a Mr. Krehl continued the importation of these dogs for sometime.
These fancies as well as those in England naturally selected the dogs with rose ears as they were the ones most desired in the English market and the ones that most nearly resembled the English bulldog. At this time they were simply called toy and or miniature bulldogs and both the rose and lesser seen bat eared dogs were shown together. Both ear types were shown and benched together and the English Kennel Club provided a class for these dogs which was placed among the bulldog section reserved for dogs not exceeding 20 pounds. The breed had at this time no regular or official name by which it was known.
When the French however began to label these Miniature Bulldogs that they unquestionably had been instrumental in creating, as “French bulldogs,” it was met in England with ridicule and derision, especially when the name was applied to the specimens with the Bat ears.
With that one point being the most unusual and most unlike an English bulldog feature of this breed distinguishing them from any other breed of dog.
Several breeds have naturally erect ears and it is also true at an early period the English bulldog possessed them or more often those that dropped halfway from the point and known as tulip ears which accounts for this feature appearing as frequently as it did in the Toy Bulldogs. But ears on these dogs and all others with erect or semi-erect ears with the exception of those on the French bulldogs were tapering and came to a more or less sharp point at the ends nor were they set on the skull in the same way, which in it's correct form distinguishes this feature in French bulldogs. The well rounded form at the top, which gives the ear an appearance not unlike the shape of the ears of a bat is found on no other type of dog, and that looking from the front shows so much of the orifice.
To the French must be given credit for having made the breed with its special head features and head qualities, distinct from the English bulldog. But in other equally important respects American fanciers hold that these dogs only reach their highest degree of perfection when in its reduced form, in proportion to their size, that they resemble the body confirmation, bone and general outline the attributes that names them bulldog. If modify these qualities so as to approach anything like terrier form takes away from them any sensible reason for listing them as Bulldogs, and would chiefly take away from the breed which they chiefly owe their origin, regardless of whatever prefix may be attached to their name.
It is regrettable that neither France or England has been in complete accord with American Fanciers as to what should constitute true French Bulldog type. The right however of sincere and devoted supporters of this breed, such as that of the American fanciers have proven to be truly tenaciously and ought not to be seriously questioned, especially when it is revealed what an important part they have taken in their preservation and development.
France, England and America, the three countries that have contributed most to the establishment of this breed are not however in common agreement as to the qualities that should distinguish this breed. An effort along this line was mad in 1911 and while modifications in original standard were made at that time the parent club in America were not wholly satisfied thus, for the time at least destroying a chance for the adoption of a standard all three countries could approve. To this day there is not a uniform world-wide standard though it is nearly so.
The evidence presented in the foregoing pages, pertaining to the origin of French Bulldogs is believed to establish beyond all reasonable doubt the main factors that account for their existence.
While what may be lacking in minute details, as to minor points it would be more satisfactory to know more about such knowledge is not important. As its absence in not essential way effects the general conclusions arrived at. The important fact is that a distinct breed has been established that can be reproduced in form and general characteristics as true to a well recognized type as can be obtained by any other existing breed today.
Exurbs for this article taken from The French Bulldog book published by The French Bulldog
Club Of American and The French Bulldog Club of New England 1926.
French Bulldogs in the United States
Important influences American Fanciers had on the Preservation and Development Of...
When Americans took up the cultivation of French Bulldogs they could hardly be said to have attained any degree of prominence in any country outside of France. True, in England, they had begun to attract attention, and a limited market for them, especially those with rose ears, had been created. In a much lesser extent, they begun to find homes in Germany, where the late Max Hartenstein had taken up there breeding, while later in Belgium and Russia, as well as here and there elsewhere in Europe, a beginning in there acquisition had taken place. This was the condition of affairs when American fanciers in large numbers began the accumulation of these dogs from France.
There association with the breed began at a critical period in its history when, even in the home of its origin, they had received but scantly recognition, and in other European countries had met with slight encouragement. In popularity they had gained no foothold of consequence, and as a result, possessed commercially but little value. Where it ought to have been protected and fostered it received little consideration and were in fact neglected and ignored and at the dictate of outside influence was fast becoming completely changed in type. With no genuinely interested or responsible sponsors, and no organized efforts to promote its perpetuation as a distinct type of dog, the future of the breed appeared far from promising.
That the conditions as stated above, in connection with French Bulldogs at this time, is not exaggerated, is amply proven by the experience of George N. Phelps, an early American convert to the breed, upon his visit to France in 1896. Being abroad when the first specimens of this breed were shown in New York at the West Minster Show, but impressed by the reports he had heard of them, and knowing something of these dogs during his residence in Paris in 1888 and 1889, he determined to obtain a number upon returning to France in the spring of 1896. Upon arriving in England he first called on the proprietor and editor of the London Stockkeeper, and the fountain head of knowledge concerning canine matters abroad, and of any Toy bulldogs in particular, as well as being the annual judge of these dogs at the Paris Shows. With what info and letters of introduction from these men he proceeded to France.
In a letter to the American Stockkeeper, published about 15 years later, he gave the results of his first quest for French Bulldogs in Paris from which the following extracts are taken:
“When I interviewed Mons. Boutroux, regarding the origin of the French Bulldog, and to ascertain from whom I could obtain some representative specimens, he replied, with the habitual French shrug, that I could obtain the information I was seeking from the charcoal burners and street sweepers of Paris and that the society of the long name took no interest whatever in the breed as it was only to be found among the canaille of the city. Mons. Boutroux has had a change of heart
in the interim, for he is now the (about 1910) secretary of the French Bulldog Club of France, of which Prince Wagram is honorary president and James Gordon Bennett the active President. “Dr. Newbury views naturally coincided with those of Mr. Krehl, and after scouring the city with him, and finally selecting two bat eared dogs, Babot and Ninette, I knew he was firmly convinced of my being gold bricked when I paid $50 for the pair.”
