What's the price of a French Bulldog puppy? Why are Frenchies so expensive?

French Bulldog's price ranges quite a bit depending on their color. A French Bulldog can cost from $3000, all the way up to $10,000.

Why are French Bulldogs so expensive?

To put simply, French Bulldogs are difficult to breed and raise.

Very few French Bulldogs can breed naturally due to their narrow hips which makes mounting a real difficulty and therefore French Bulldogs tend to be artificially inseminated which means progesterone testing, waiting for ovulation and blood tests. For the safety of the mother, French Bulldogs need C-sections because of the puppies relatively large head and shoulders in comparison to the size of the birth canal, this means temperature taking is crucial on a daily basis and knowing when the ‘right time’ is to birth the babies.

If babies are birthed too early their lungs may not be properly developed which risks the life of the puppy. It may also mean the mother’s milk will not drop/lactate which leaves owners bottle feeding puppies around the clock. If puppies are birthed too late this may also risk the life of the puppy as they may crossover in the birth canal or detach from the placenta which can mean suffocation. Just like human beings, complications may arise during the birth of puppies, late night or early dawn emergency C-sections can also be necessary.

Is this all worth it just to breed a French Bulldog?

To a dedicated and passionate French Bulldog breeder, it is worth every little bit of trouble. Another reason why French Bulldog needs so much care in their first 8 weeks is that C-sections may impact the natural “mother instincts” of the birthing mother, this translates into bottle feeding ever 2 or 3 hours and stimulating puppies to use the bathroom if they cannot do this on their own. French Bulldogs also have fewer pups than other breeds, for example, Labradors can have up to 10 puppies per littler whilst a French Bulldog usually has 3-4 per litter.

The below are some examples of the costs and time it consumes for breeding alone, all examples shown do not capture costs and time raising and caring for the adult French bulldogs:

• Progesterone Testing to determine ovulation, this can occur daily
• Vaginal smears/Cytologies
• Artificial Insemination
• Stud Fees
• Natural Holistic Nutritional feed including grass-fed meat, supplements, vitamins and home cooking
• C-Sections which can cost up to $2,500 per emergency
• 24-hour care of a newborn which can include bottle feeding, tube feeding, stimulating puppies so they can go to the toilet and cleaning
• The mother’s care and removal of stitches/staples
• Tireless nights looking after the puppies
• Cleaning and laundry
• Bottle fed babies
• Petrol and time spent traveling to and from the vets for health check-ins
• Costs for spinal and heart murmur scans
• Vaccinations, deworming, spading, wellness exams
• Registration Fees (AKNC or AKC)
• Operational set up for adult houses and maintenance
• Staff
• Admin and documentation

A reputable breeder sacrifices a lot of time to breed, nurture and raise their French Bulldogs. Passionate breeders do not do it for the money and majority of the time all the money goes towards raising the French Bulldogs, making sure they’re living in comfort, they’re healthy, vaccinations all up to date and to ensure not only babies but adults live in clean, safe conditions. Passionate breeders tend to say that their lives revolve around their dogs and Unique French Bulldogs is a true testament to that.

Some breeders find it extremely difficult to take a vacation because they’re constantly worrying about their fur babies. Yearly expenses in maintaining French Bulldogs could easily translate into a healthy deposit on a brand new house (Sydney or Melbourne) or a shiny new sports car not to mention the amount of time invested in vet visits, travelling to and from pet shops, find the best harnesses for French Bulldogs, researching quality nutrition, comprehensively answering questions from all customers around the world whilst making sure all your dogs are well looked after - this is a 24/7, 365-day job! Sleep is unknown to most French Bulldog breeders.  

Another big factor that plays a part in the cost of a French Bulldog is also about supply and demand.  French Bulldogs have slowly grown their fame and popularity over the past few years with a lot of celebrities showing off their prized dogs but even families are racing to adopt a French Bulldog due to their pleasant nature. Like any breed it’s important that adoption is from a reputable breeder but even more so for a French Bulldog! You see, French Bulldogs can be predisposed to health problems IF they are not bred properly and now that non-standard colors have become all the rage (including Merle and Lilac) high quality bred Frenchies are hard to come by.

Even though French Bulldogs are selling for thousands of dollars all across the world the ANKC (Australian National Kennel Council) says that a reputable breeder will do well to break even.  There are puppy mills and other disreputable breeders out there that may sell you a French Bulldog for cheaper (unfortunately, even many pet shops buy their dogs from puppy mills where the dogs are repeatedly bred, poorly socialized if at all, and rarely see the outside of a cage). As with everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

In relation to colours, please note the reason that blues, blue-fawns, and chocolates (and even more so, the extraordinarily rare black & tan and blue & tan Frenchies) are more expensive than standard colour French Bulldogs is that they hold rare genes and high in demand (and also because they are unique and beautiful) they are created by recessive genes, which are naturally occurring but not common in French Bulldogs, which means that they must be inherited from both mum and dad.

Remember, reputable French Bulldog breeders don’t do it for the money, they do it because they love it.