About Us – Zandstra's Frenchtons

Who We Are

And why we breed Frenchtons and no longer European Boxers

Who We Are

We are a family farm in Sand Lake. We previously lived in the city and decided we wanted to be more self-sufficient and have room for our dogs to run, and stay debt-free. Our farm is considered “small” at only 87 acres, but we have zero mortgage or loan on it!

**We JUST finished (still work to do on the inside) our new house build AND puppy room fall 2026!

Our dogs know the boundaries of the property, and have no desire to leave it. They are free to roam at their leisure!

We grow hay for horses, maple syrup, and sometimes meat chickens and cows! Beginning in Spring of 2022 we started a u-cut Christmas tree farm, which will be ready to open about 2028!

Erik works at his full time job as an autobody painter (best in the state), and I run several businesses and the farm from home!

Puppies are NOT our primary income (unlike most breeders). We breed Frenchtons because we adore the breed and hope to see it one day added as an official AKC recognized breed! Money from puppy sales is used to purchase more baby Christmas trees and forward fund the start of the U-Cut Christmas tree business. So we breed Frenchtons to spread joy to families and we grow Christmas trees to provide families with fond memories together! It’s a win-win!

We had a combined total of 6 kids, but now are down to only 1! And we are also Grandparents!

Why We Breed

A list of why we chose Frenchtons and European Boxers

Frenchtons Are Small

They are similar to boxers in appearance, but more intelligence and a COMPACT size!

NO more Sofa Eaters

Frenchtons will NOT chew up your furniture while you are gone. They prefer children’s toys and wood . . .

Family Fun

Both boxers and Frenchton LOVE to play, and could run all day if you let them! Both are shorter nose breeds, so don’t over exert them.

Trainability

Both are very easy to train, and eager to please. Frenchtons may question your command from time to time as their keen intelligence lends them the ability to make well thought out decisions.

Guard Dogs, Big and Small

Both take pride in guarding their home and humans, and will defend against enemies in all sizes!

Loyal

Boxers and Frenchtons are both exceptionally loyal dogs. Frenchtons tend to pick 1 person as their “human” and will follow this person everywhere. Boxers aren’t as picky and eagerly accept attention from anywhere.

Life Span

Boxers tend to live to be 12, although European lines can live past 14 years! Frenchtons being smaller, tend to live 12+ years with few health issues larger breeds posses.

No Shed

Both breeds have little shedding, with Frenchtons having the least amount of lost hair.

Friends are Everywhere!

Unlike boxers, Frenchtons view other animals as friends (not dinner). They can often be found snuggled up with a pile of cats, or trying to herd groups of animals. Boxers on the other hand, tend to want to EAT animals of all sizes and MUST have strict training to avoid that.

Our Goals as Breeders

We are moving away from breeding European boxers simply because we’d really like a breed that we can trust around ALL of our animals. European boxers in particular, have a high prey drive, and take PLENTY of patience and training . . . something we are short on with all of our farmwork.

For us, Frenchtons are a better fit. We always joked it would be amazing to breed miniature boxers, and Frenchtons are nearly that (minus the “eat anything that moves” desire).

Our goal is to breed HAPPY, HEALTHY, puppies that go on to enrich the lives of all those caring for them. We love hearing from our puppy families and getting updates on how they are doing.

We don’t exist simply to sell dogs, but rather, we see it as giving others the chance to enjoy this breed as much as we are! That’s why we are staying a SMALL breeder, and only producing 1-2 litters a year.

Our dogs are our family – we do not re-home them after they are done breeding. Because of this and looking toward the future, I will begin adding carefully selected puppies into guardian homes. Our goal is to eradicate IVDD from the breed by breeding out CDDY. To do this and to prevent birth defects most face, I will be adding in outside blood to our lines.

Our next stud and next puppy will be kept in guardian homes BUT ALL PUPPIES WILL BE RAISED IN OUR PUPPY ROOM. I will be very strict on this as many things can go wrong when puppies are young. So that means a female living off site will join us as part of our family during her last 3 weeks of pregnancy and until the puppies are 6 weeks old (moms wean them at 4 weeks). She will be treated with the same love and care as our in home dogs and her family will be allowed to visit her during this time.

Our township limits the number of dogs you can keep UNLESS you are running an outside kennel (which we will not do). So this is a better option.

We love the look of French Bulldogs, but their lack of play and athleticism didn’t make them a good fit for our family. We are ALWAYS outside, moving around and working. For us and MANY others, Frenchtons have proved to be the perfect fit – they are with us in EVERYTHING we do and have no trouble keeping up!

They love babies, kittens, chicks, and really are the BEST overall breed for most families.

CLIENT FEEDBACK

"I have always wanted a French Bulldog but it was so random that I found your post for the puppies. Your beautiful family, faith and of course Carl and Ginger made my decision . . .I just LOVE Wilhelmina btw she is my baby . . . Thankyou for her."

Jenny MayMichigan

"Just wanted to give you an update on Craig. He is the sweetest and doing well! LOVES the snow and loves being at the office with me every day. He has a lot of friends!"

KristiMichigan

"Hi, it's Duffy. I had my 'boy surgery' last Friday but I'm doing great. Mommy says I'm a piglet cause I now weigh 14 lbs. Most days I'm tearing through the house or picking on my big sister. Mommy says I'm extra cute when I'm sleeping."

Duffy (Kelly)Michigan