Did you know the French Bulldog was the 2nd most popular dog breed in the US, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC)?
Fantastic news for French dog owners and those who want to get one. Right?
Suppose you’re thinking of getting one and wondering which type of French Bulldog to get.
Worry no more. We got you covered.
French Bulldogs come in different colors, and in this article, we give the Grey French Bulldog a closer look.
We’ll look at its cost, coat variation, whether AKC approves it, and many other factors that make the Grey Frenchie so adorable.
What Is a Grey Frenchie?
The Grey French Bulldog is a dog breed known for its unique coloring that ranges from light gray to almost black.
This beautiful color makes it popular among other French Bulldogs.
The Grey Bulldog gets its name from its grey fur that the AKC refers to as mouse-grey coat due to its blue dilution (D/d) gene.
People often refer to this as the color blue. It has features that are often described as “pepper and salt.”
Their personality is often described as sweet, loving, and clownish; they thrive on attention.
Additionally, Grey Frenchies have adorable looks and friendly personalities, making them great family pets.
They are also good with kids.
What Are the Common Health Problems in Gray Frenchies?
It’s good to note that the recessive gene is a health condition that causes eumelanin to lighten but leaves the pheomelanin almost unchanged.
Most people believe that these genes cause the Grey Frenchie to have many health issues.
But on the contrary, the only condition that affects them is Colour Dilution Alopecia (CDA), also referred to as hair loss.
The Gray Frenchie’s other health issues are also common in all French Bulldogs.
However, CDA is not a severe condition and can be manageable with diet and good grooming.
Other health conditions that the Grey Frenchie and other French Bulldog are susceptible to are:
- Allergies
- Difficulty in breathing (Brachycephalic airway obstructive syndrome )
- Cleft palate
- Conjunctivitis
- Ear infections
- Pyoderma (bacterial skin infections)
- Diarrhea
- Otitis externa
Is CDA Curable?
No, CDA is not curable, but it’s manageable.
Every dog sheds their fur, and a Grey French Bulldog can shed more than other breeds because of the CDA condition.
Here are some tips for preventing excessive shedding:
Use of Prescribed Products
With the help of your veterinarian, you can use certain products to maintain the condition.
For example, you can use products such as shampoos, moisturizing rinses, Vitamin A, or topical ointments for managing infections, dry skin, and scaling.
If the skin infection is severe, the veterinarian can recommend antibiotics for your Frenchie.
Regular Grooming
Regular grooming helps your Grey Frenchie remove loose hair.
It also makes it easy to maintain dry skin and skin infections.
After grooming, apply the prescribed products and follow your veterinarian’s instructions.
Are Grey French Bulldogs Rare and How Much Do They Cost?
The Frenchie dog is a rare breed because it should inherit the dilution gene from both parents for it to be a Grey Frenchie.
If only one parent has this gene, it will not qualify to be a Grey French Bulldog.
Because of its rarity and popularity over the years, getting a Grey Frenchie Bulldog can be costly.
So let’s look at it this way: if a French Bulldog with standard colors is expensive, then it’s even more expensive getting a Gray Frenchie.
The cost for a purebred French Bulldog can range from $1,500 to $4,500 each.
The Gray Frenchie can also cost the same or higher than $4,500 depending on the breeder, age, and color coat of the Frenchie.
Puppies are more expensive than adults since most people love having puppies.
Be wary of cheap Frenchies as they may not meet the standards of being a Grey French Bulldog and be on the lookout for inflated prices.
Unfortunately, some breeders take advantage of the widespread fame and the increase in the Frenchies’ demand, so they sell at skyrocketing prices.
Gray Frenchies Coat Variations
The Gray Frenchie comes in five coat colors:
Blue Merle
Blue Merle is considered the rarest and most attractive among the Gray Franchise breed.
It’s marked by unusual fur color, with blue and white patches caused by the merle gene.
It has beautiful blue eyes even in adulthood.
The other Grey French Bulldogs have blue eyes when they are born.
But the color changes to brown, grey, or yellow when they are about ten weeks old.
Solid Blue
A Frenchie is said to have a solid blue fur color if there are no markings on the coat.
Therefore, it only has one color shade that is often referred to as blue or gray.
Solid blue color can range from light grey to almost black.
Blue Brindle
The Blue Brindle Frenchie has a gray/ blue coat color with brindle patterns.
The pattern becomes more evident when the puppy is around four weeks.
Blue Pied (piebald)
Although it’s easy to breed the Blue Pied Frenchie, it’s hard to predict its coat color when breeding.
This is because it comes in different coat patterns, which can be a mix of fawn, brindle, cream, white with large grey/blue patches.
The patches are mainly across the face, chest, head, and other body parts.
They mostly have white/cream legs.
For a Frenchie to pass as a Blue Pied, the white color should at least be 50%.
Blue Fawn
Blue Fawn is a rare Frenchie breed since it carries double dilution genes of blue and pied colors and two other fawn color genes.
It also has the brindle gene that causes the patchy look on the dog’s face.
The gene combination makes the Blue Fawn rare and expensive.
Why Are They So Expensive?
French Bulldogs are naturally short and have small hips.
These two features make it hard for them to mate naturally, meaning they use artificial insemination to conceive.
Also, because a Frenchie has a big head, the puppy may get stuck in the birth canal during delivery.
Therefore, a caesarian section is scheduled to avoid the risk of losing both the mother and the puppy.
The AI and CS are costly procedures that highly impact the cost of a Frenchie.
Additionally, the Frenchie produces only 1-2 puppies per litter.
On top of all these, getting genes from both parents to breed a Grey Frenchie makes the process harder.
Are Grey Frenchies AKC Recognized?
A Grey Frenchie has all the characteristics of a French Bulldog, except its coat color.
According to the French Bulldog Club of America, the acceptable colors for French Bulldogs are white, fawn, cream, or any combination of the preceding.
Markings and patterns should be brindle, black marks, black shadings, piebald, and white markings.
Solid black, white with black, black and tan, black and white, blue, blue fawn, liver, and merle are disqualifying colors and patterns.
These are also the standards set for AKC.
So even though AKC disqualifies the Grey French Bulldog color, you can still register it as long as it’s purebred and the breeder registered its litter.
Your breeder will provide you with the documentation needed for the registration.
The only thing that your Bully cannot do is participate in purebred dog shows.
Take Away
The Grey French Bulldog is among the best dog breeds to have around your house.
They are expensive because of their rarity but give you value for your money.
You can register them with AKC, and you’ll be given certification upon successful registration.
But even with the certificate, they cannot participate in purebred dog shows.