A Frenchton Bulldog is a BREED IN DEVELOPMENT – originally decided on a mix between a Frenchie and a Boston, with the “set ratio” at 75% French Bulldog, 25% Boston Terrier. Frenchtons were created to ALMOST be a throwback to the original Frenchie lines – back when the breed was FIRST being created. In it’s early years, Frenchies were a combo of several breeds including the Toy Bulldog and a now extinct breed of terrier – hmm . . . sounds a bit like a FRENCHTON?

The great creators of old (ok, so 20+ years ago isn’t really OLD unless you are 30 or younger . . . ) loved their Frenchies, but realized the breed HAD ISSUES. Lots of issues. And that was BEFORE the big Frenchie boom in the 2020’s when Frenchies just got CRAZY!

After some thought and consideration as to what other breeds looked SIMILAR but best complemented many of the orthopedic issues they faced, they chose the obvious solution: Boston Terriers!

Sadly, they didn’t have genetic testing 20 years ago, so they had NO WAY OF KNOWING both breeds were at risk for many of the same GENETIC issues. However, they DID have OFA testing and they knew what issues Frenchies faced, and what issues Bostons faced – most notably hip displasia in the Frenchie and heart defects in Boston Terriers. They also knew that Frenchies had a decent rate of suffering from IVDD while Bostons has few if any cases of it.

Unlike OTHER CROSSED BREEDS, this one wasn’t done “for fun”. It was created to be a BETTER DOG – an actual breed that could potentially BREED OUT many issues faced by either breed.

Today, we have the extra advantages of more THOROUGHAL OFA testing on things like BOAS and SPINES, BUT ALSO GENETIC TESTING! Now we can see the faulty genes a dog may carry and chose a BETTER PAIRING.

NOT ONLY THAT, but now we can ACTUALLY BREED OUT IVDD! The CDDY gene that causes IVDD was discovered by UC Davis Labs around 2020, and soon after adopted into their Frenchie panel (5-way Panel). I found out in 2024 and had ALL of our dogs tested, with the NEW GOAL TO ERRADICATE CDDY (and IVVD risk) from our lines! CURRENTLY WE ARE THE ONLY BREEDER WORKING TO BREED OUT CDDY (either Frenchie OR Frenchton breed).

What Should You Expect?

BEHAVIOR

This can be a loaded question since it really depends BOTH on your breeder AND the % of the mix. The more Boston blood a dog has, the more energy they will have. Similarly, the more Frenchie blood a dog has, the LESS ATHLETIC and more STUBBORN they can be.

That’s why 75/25 was set as “the perfect combo”. It was a Frenchie with ENOUGH BOSTON BLOOD to thin them down, give them athletic ability AND allow their minds to be obsessively malleable – in other words, it created the “ideal dog”!

Much of the “bad behavior” I would say, starts WITH THE BREEDER (unfortunately). This breed is WICKEDLY smart and ALWAYS learning, from DAY 1. That means they are ALWAYS LEARNING – either good behavior or BAD BEHAVIOR. In the wrong hands, this can create a TOXIC DOG – a dog that has learned BAD BEHAVIOR and once learned it’s VERY difficult to re-teach correctly. Potty-training is the perfect example. Go on ANY Frenchton Bulldog Facebook group and ask people HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO POTTY TRAIN A PUPPY? And 95% will say 6 months OR MORE (many will say they are years down the road and STILL not trained).

I know. I’m on ALL of them.

When done correctly, a Frenchton can EASILY be potty-trained outside by 9 weeks old – but the breeder must do the MAJORITY of the work! Frechtons must be taught as very young puppies where potty happens and how to get there! This is why we were VERY CAREFUL when planning our new puppy room – I wanted an area that fit this objective PERFECTLY!

Frenchtons DO have less issues than Frenchie OR Bostons overall, but STILL NEED TO BE CAREFULLY SELECTED.

Frenchtons LOVE TO PLAY and often have a favorite game. They are known for getting bored easily and making up NEW GAMES. Things like hide and seek, which hand is the food in, and more.

Frenchtons LOVE EACH OTHER – they do well as a group and should never be “alone”, so some sort of friend whether human, dog or cat is PREFERRED and they will become FAST FRIENDS with cats!

Frenchtons tend to choose ONE HUMAN as their favorite and everyone else in the house will be second. This person they obsess over, follow everywhere, sit with, and freak out when they come home. With that said, they will take ANY attention they can and tend to MOB strangers!

Frenchtons are a happy, eager, friendly smaller dog breed and many get along great with small children and pets, often guarding them and keeping harm away.

Frenchtons CAN be dog-aggressive, so try to socialize them early on to prevent any possible future issues.

Due to their ease of training, they make great show dogs and can be amazing agility competitors!

HEALTH

As mentioned earlier, Frenchtons tend to suffer from FEWER health issues than their relatives. When bred correctly, you can achieve a dog with NO hip dysplasia, no heart defects, no testable genetic issues, no luxating patella, little to NO breathing issues and NO IVDD (CDDY).

Currently out of 77 puppies produced here since 2020 (date 7/3/2026), only TWO have come down with IVDD. In my book, that’s 2 too many! So we are working to breed it out of our lines. Our hips and spines are already great, along with elbows, and luxating patella numbers are few and far between. A handful have had to have BOAS surgery (half only the nares). Once we get rid of the IVDD then we can focus on the less destructive issues.

With their greater athletic ability, they have a greater drive to run and jump. Some of our puppies run MILES every day, and others can catch frisbees mid-air. Frenchtons DO NEED TO STAY LEAN to keep stress off their joints, so make sure to feed them a higher protein diet. If they run lean, be sure to choose a food with higher fat %!

Due to their activity level, a joint supplement starting age 8 months is a great idea (studies are showing promising result from the green lipped muscle). Pet insurance is ALSO not a bad idea!

Sometimes Frenchtons can have food sensitivities to things like chicken. We suggest feeding a lamb-based diet as it’s high in protein and still had a decent amount of fat. other choices are fish, pork or beef. When in doubt, READ THE LABEL!

We also DO NOT SUGGEST A GRAIN-FREE DIET as studies are showing a major correlation to stomach cancers and digestive issues.

In regards to medicines, you will need to talk to your vet about SURGERY. Whether spaying/neutering or emergency situations, vets need to know there are medicines that can be specifically given to Frenchies to prevent them from aspirating during surgery. AKA DYING!

Also be aware that topical AND pill form flea and tick meds can cause seizures and reactions in Frenchtons. We suggest natural oil type treatments (that’s what we use).

Frenchtons can suffer from GAS and VOMITING. I find a dab of greek yogurt in the food in the morning HELPS A LOT! I’ve tried the fancy, expensive probiotics and had NO LUCK.

LASTLY . . . .

MERLE.

Everyone is on the merle FREAK OUT. Merle is NOT dangerous NOR does it cause ANY health issues. WE DO NOT BREED MERLE TO MERLE. Our merle comes from Carl, who is HARLEQUIN MERLE Mh 272 tested through UC Davis (all dog testing available under our dog section). Harlequin merle typically throws WHITE instead of half diluting the base color, but it CAN look similar to a M/M dog.

There is a wonderful group on Facebook devoted to the study of the merle gene, and if you are concerned or curious, I suggest joining the group!

Contrary to what many claim, merle actually HAS been in the breed from over 100 years ago, a few fringe photos show what clearly looks to be a merle frenchie (tan points were also common then). That’s not to say that NEW MERLE blood wasn’t later added, but it did once have it’s day in the breed.

REGARDLESS, FRENCHTONS ARE NOT FRENCHIES. We do NOT hold by their color standards. We currently do NOT have a breed standard for color, but that will come in time (like most breeds, color takes a back seat to conformation).

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