A couple of years ago I was looking for a French Bulldog. I came across Driscol's website. I emailed and Sheila emailed me back stating she had a show quality litter for sale. We also had several phone conversations, something that put me at ease. Sheila told me how all her dogs were house dogs, all were AKC, all were family members. She also promised that all pups were leash and house trained and show potential. I was only searching for a pet but was attracted to the fact that she evidently produced very high quality pups and that her dogs were all house dogs.
Being new to the world of purebred dogs, I thought I had found a mentor. I sent the deposit to secure my new puppy and waited for him to be old enough to come home to us. She sent photos weekly, which reassured me.
When my puppy arrived, right away I noticed discrepancies. The puppy, when held up, stuck his legs straight back. I was told by several more dog savvy people than me that this is sure sign of lack of socialization. House trained? Not even close. Not even crate trained. In fact he preferred to go in his crate. When I emailed Sheila about this she stated that she had been really busy during this litter and had not done all the training she usually did. Still, he was cute and as I paid a lot of money for him, I had hope.
When my pup was 6 months old, he still was not housetrained and still preferred to go in his crate. When a local park hosted a French Bulldog show, AKC, we took him there. I talked to several exhibitors there who assured me that he was not show quality, not even close. They told me it is nearly impossible to know what a pup will grow up to be if you do not 1. Line breed or 2. hold a pup until it is at least 7 months of age. When I told them who I had gotten the puppy from, they had "heard" of her. Nothing they had to say was positive and in fact 2 of them had some pretty bad stories.
When I contacted Sheila about her stating this pup was show quality, I was told that all show breeders are difficult ( I am stating it much nicer than she did) and was pretty much blown off and I felt pretty stupid by then. She was blunt and not at all friendly. I decided to do some descreet investigating. Because none of the people wanted to be named, I will not name them but I have talked to buyers who feel as I do. In addition I have seen photos of dogs in tiny crates (her dogs I am told but cannot verfify this) in a room in her house, not IN her house. I have also heard of collapsing noses and really bad hernias which need repairing. Recently I have been told of bad knees and "weak hindends". Some of these stories come third hand and I am not sure of the true owners of these dogs. In addition I found a story at www.stonehillfrenchies.com pertaining to Driscol's Blue Genes. I have also watched Sheila's for some time and have found she always has pups for sale. Litter upon litter and she states they are all show quality, house and leash trained. She charges a lot of money for each puppy.
My own dog is now grown. He got larger than the standard permits (I have leairned a thing or two about a thing or two by now), spotted to much and far too stout. He has an elongated pallate as well. We love him for sure but I do feel as if I was mislead. I do understand that purebred dogs have a higher rate of issues and his pallate is not as serious as the story at the link above. But I feel that after the pup was shipped, she was not available for assistance. When I would email and gently voice a concern, I was met with temper and made to feel stupid. Which is why I stopped. I feel that she told me my pup was show quality when she really has no idea. I also have found out that no pup is house trained at such a young age.
I very much wish I had done my homework. If you are buying a purebred and spending the money I did, please do your homework.