About Must Be Frenchies
Must Be Frenchies is the result of many years spent living with, raising, and breeding dogs. I began breeding dogs in 1988 and brought home my first French Bulldogs in 2001, long before the breed became as popular as it is today.
Today, my husband Lonnie and I operate Must Be Frenchies together on our 40-acre farm in Missouri. Our days revolve around our dogs, puppies, property, and all the work that comes with them. After more than two decades with French Bulldogs, they are still very much a part of our everyday lives and our plans for the future.
How Must Be Frenchies Began
My start with French Bulldogs came when I had the opportunity to purchase five Frenchies from another breeder. At the time, French Bulldogs were nowhere near as popular as they are today, but I loved the breed. Those five dogs became the beginning of what would eventually become Must Be Frenchies.
As I gained experience with the breed, I became increasingly focused on the qualities I wanted to preserve and improve in my own dogs. I wanted French Bulldogs with correct breed type, stable temperaments, and the unmistakable personality that had made me fall in love with the breed in the first place.
One dog in particular would have a lasting influence on the direction of my breeding program: AKC CH Daystar's Tom Sawyer.
The French Bulldog Who Helped Shape Our Program
AKC CH Daystar's Tom Sawyer, an important foundation sire in my French Bulldog breeding program.
As my French Bulldog program developed, I had the opportunity to purchase an older AKC Champion male, Daystar's Tom Sawyer. Tom was the kind of French Bulldog I wanted to produce. He had the breed type I admired, a wonderful temperament, and, just as importantly, he consistently passed those qualities on to his puppies.
Tom became an important part of the foundation of my breeding program. Over the generations, I continued selecting for the qualities I valued while working to improve health, temperament, structure, and consistency within my bloodlines.
Even after all these years, I can still look at many of my French Bulldogs and see Tom in them. To me, that is one of the most rewarding parts of developing a line of dogs over generations. The dogs we have today didn't happen overnight. They are the result of years of breeding decisions, learning from each generation, and holding on to the qualities that matter most to me.
From the Show Ring to the French Bulldogs We Raise Today
Mobulls Sam N Sawyers Final Copy, a son of Daystar's Tom Sawyer, with professional handler Linda Williams after earning his AKC Championship.
Showing French Bulldogs became an important part of developing my breeding program. I wanted to produce dogs that represented the French Bulldog breed well and conformed to the AKC breed standard.
I did try handling my own dogs in the show ring a few times. I quickly discovered that I got far too nervous and was much better at breeding them than showing them! So I turned the handling over to professional handler Linda Williams, who did a wonderful job showing my dogs.
Over the years, I have bred or owned nine AKC Champions. I am proud of those accomplishments, but the show ring was never the end goal. As the generations progressed, I became increasingly selective about the dogs I kept in my breeding program.
Health and temperament became especially important. Dogs with health or temperament concerns were not used to carry my bloodlines forward. Over time, that selection helped me develop French Bulldogs that not only have the breed type I value, but also the stable, loving temperaments I want them to have.
Today, I still value correct French Bulldog type and the AKC breed standard, but I believe a beautiful French Bulldog also needs to be a dog that people can happily share their lives with.
A French Bulldog Should Behave Like a Bulldog
Arrow had never met these three movers before they arrived at his home. He was perfectly content to make three new friends.
Over the years, temperament has become one of the qualities I care about most. I have a very definite idea of how a French Bulldog should behave.
I want my Frenchies to be intelligent, easily trained, friendly, and confident. They should be calm rather than hyperactive and able to take the activity around them in stride. I don't want nervousness, aggression, or unpredictable behavior carried forward in my breeding program.
A good Frenchie should happily greet people, including strangers, and generally be pretty quiet. In my experience, they make lousy watchdogs. Anything strange that shows up is more likely to get invited in and entertained than chased away!
French Bulldogs are affectionate, but I don't think they need to constantly demand attention. Mine tend to quietly watch their people. When their people move, they quietly move along with them. They are happy simply being part of whatever is going on.
That calm, steady nature is what I mean when I say a French Bulldog should behave like you expect a Bulldog to behave. Personality matters, but I want that personality in a dog that is enjoyable and easy to live with.
Life at Must Be Frenchies
Our puppies grow up experiencing the everyday sights, sounds, animals, and activity that come with life on our Missouri farm.
Must Be Frenchies is something Lonnie and I run together every day. We were married on June 2, 2001, and while we have very different jobs around here, it takes both of us to keep everything going.
Lonnie probably has the harder job. We have 40 acres to maintain, and there is always something that needs mowing, repairing, moving, fixing, or cleaning up. He takes care of the property and gardens, keeps equipment running, and handles plenty of the everyday work that comes with having dogs and a farm.
He also has what we jokingly call his “Pile It license”—because when there is poop to pick up, he piles it over there.
But if Lonnie disappears for a while, there is a good chance I will find him outside sitting or lying in the grass with puppies crawling all over him.
My work is centered more around the dogs, puppies, and our puppy families. When a mom comes home after a C-section, I stay with her and the puppies around the clock for about the first four days. I stay up with them through the night and nap during the day while Lonnie watches them for me.
I also handle vaccinations, feeding, puppy photos and videos, our website, Facebook, emails, and most of the communication with families interested in our puppies.
Our Dogs Are Part of Everyday Life Here
Our adult French Bulldogs divide their time between our home and our kennel, with dogs rotating so everyone gets time in the house. Our mothers stay in our home, and our puppies are raised inside with us.
Our dogs also have 24-hour access to secure outdoor areas within our fenced property. On a typical day, you might find some stretched out in the sunshine while others have decided the air conditioning and a comfortable bed are a much better idea — usually with K-LOVE playing in the background.
This is also a working farm. We have sheep and chickens, tractors, bush hogs, and other noisy farm equipment. There is activity around the property, and our dogs are accustomed to the normal sights and sounds of the life we actually live.
What Makes Us Proud After All These Years
One of our longtime puppy families during their first visit to Must Be Frenchies in 2018.
After all these years, the thing I am most proud of is not the number of champions we have bred or owned. It is the families who continue to come back to us.
Some families have two or three of our French Bulldogs. One family has six. We have also had people come back to us after the Frenchie they purchased from us many years ago passed away from old age and they were ready to welcome another one into their home.
That kind of trust means a great deal to me.
I am also proud of the recognizable look that has developed within our bloodlines over the years. One returning customer once described our Frenchies as “curvy, rounded, and full-bodied,” and that description has always stuck with me because it captures the type I have worked toward.
But appearance is only part of it. I am especially proud of the stable, loving temperaments that have developed in our dogs. A beautiful French Bulldog is wonderful, but to me, the dog also needs to be pleasant to live with, steady in temperament, and genuinely enjoyable as a companion.
The same family years later, now sharing their lives with six French Bulldogs from Must Be Frenchies.
Our Puppy Families Often Become Friends
Senor Arturo Torres went to his new owner as a puppy, later became an AKC Champion, and somewhere along the way his owner and I became lifelong friends.
Placing a puppy with a family isn't usually the end of our relationship. Most of our puppy families stay in touch, and I genuinely enjoy hearing from them as their Frenchies grow up.
Families send us photos, updates, and sometimes some pretty hilarious videos that we enjoy sharing. We also hear about accomplishments and awards dogs we have bred go on to earn, and it is always special to see what they are doing years after they left us as puppies.
People also come back to us with questions. Feeding is probably one of the subjects I am asked about most often, but families also ask about things such as when to spay or neuter their Frenchie and general health and care concerns. I am always happy to share what I have learned through my years with the breed, while encouraging families to work with their veterinarian when medical guidance is needed.
Over the years, some of our puppy families have become very good friends. We have received thoughtful gifts, shared plenty of laughs, watched families return for another Frenchie, and stayed connected through many years of their dogs' lives.
Those long-term relationships are one of my favorite parts of what we do.
Still Looking Forward
French Bulldogs have been a major part of my life for more than two decades, and I have been fortunate to build a life around a breed I truly enjoy.
Someday, retirement will mean slowing down and raising fewer puppies, but I don't see French Bulldogs disappearing from my life. I expect there will always be a few Frenchies here keeping us company, following us around the farm, and reminding me why I fell in love with the breed in the first place.
Must Be Frenchies may become smaller someday, but my love for these dogs isn't going anywhere.