Ashlan Frenchies

We have based our French Bulldog breeding program on a combination of European and American lines. Our goal is to produce healthy dogs that are conformationally sound. We believe in a balanced French Bulldog that is healthy, that is family pet, and that can be competitive in the show ring.

All of our breeding stock are fully health tested for spinal deformities, OFA hips, Elbows, Cardiac, Patella, as well as DNA tested for Juvenile Cataracts, Cystinuria, Degenerative myelopathy (DM), and Canine Multifocal Retinopathy (CMR). Healthy French Bulldogs start from health tested French Bulldogs.

We feed ProPlan and strongly believe in feeding a food that follows the recommendations set by World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). We avoid insecticides and unnecessary parasite controls.

We follow Dr. Jean Dodd’s revised vaccination schedule, and request that our puppy buyers also follow it.

Our goal for all our dogs is to create a bomb proof puppy. We start our puppies with Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS). ENS is a prescribed series of exercises which each puppy goes through, every day, from Days 3-16, for 3-5 seconds each time. This exposes the puppy to very slight stressors - which have an optimal effect on the developing brain and immune system. Please visit Breeding Better Dogs to learn more.

We continue the puppies with a combination of Puppy Culture, Avidog, Rules of Seven and Twelve.

What is Puppy Culture?

Puppy Culture is a program developed by Jane Killion, professional dog trainer and breeder. It is a comprehensive, organized program for breeders to follow during the first weeks of a puppy’s life.

The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach him. By doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give your puppy the best start possible.

Prenatal Period:

Making sure that your puppy’s genetic material is excellent is only the beginning. The physical and emotional health of the mother will affect the health of her puppies. Since research has shown that puppies born to mothers that receive prenatal massage are more docile and enjoy being touched, we spoil our mothers with lots of affection and belly massages. A puppy’s predisposition to form deep and meaningful relationships begins even before they are born.

Neonatal Period: 0-14 days

Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) begins on day 3 and continues through day 16. Research shows that tiny struggles and stresses in appropriate small doses are actually good for puppies and will help them grow into strong, healthy well-adjusted adults. Benefits include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies once during the window of 3-16 days.

Transitional Period: 14-21 days

Behavioral markers are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period because every puppy is different and these timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds.

Critical Socialization Period: 3-12 weeks

Most people think of socialization as exposing their puppies to as many new experiences as possible while the puppy is young. While this is part of the process, it’s not enough. Our goal is to raise dogs that have the emotional intelligence to connect with you. Emotional intelligence can be taught to young puppies and one of the goals of the Puppy Culture Program is to teach breeders how to do this. There are 7 key things that will nurture the emotional intelligence of a puppy.

1. Communication – giving a puppy his own voice (Communication Trinity – (power up clicker, box game, manding), attention/distraction protocols)
2. Emotional stability – the ability to recover easily from fear as well as stress (startle recovery, barrier challenges, Volhard Aptitude Test at day 49))
3. Habituation – familiarity with the maximum number of things (Puppy Parties, sound protocols, habituation soundtracks and noises, meeting different people, dogs, other animals)
4. Enrichment – the view that novelty and challenges are opportunities for enrichment rather than things to be feared or avoided (novelty items, Adventure Box, off premises socialization)
5. Health – physical wellness and motor skills that will allow the puppy to develop in a neurologically and physically sound way (daily weight checks, grooming, vaccinations, deworming, proper nutrition, vet health checks)
6. Skills – learned behaviors which allow him to function in human society (recall, manding, simple commands, litterbox training, crate training, leash walking, resource guarding, bite inhibition)
7. Love – the desire to seek out the company of both dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences (shaping emotional responses, Happy and Calm CER (Conditioned Emotional Responses),daily cuddles with humans and mom)

Weeks 10-12:

Per Puppy Culture protocol, puppies go home with their families. This gives them two weeks in that critical socialization period to adjust to their new family’s lifestyle and be introduced to new people and experiences.

This is definitely an incredible amount of work, but it is 100% ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!!!!!! When you buy your puppy, you will be just as thankful as we are for this program!

Genetics play a huge role in creating the dog that is best suited for your family, yes. But you can do a lot with a puppy to help influence the dog that they will become during their early weeks of life.

Genetics play a huge role in creating the dog that is best suited for your family, yes. But you can do a lot with a puppy to help influence the dog that they will become during their early weeks of life.

As a breeder, we are always looking for educational opportunities to improve the health and well-being of our puppies, and to improve the overall quality of the puppies produced through our program. We, thankfully, hit the proverbial jack pot when we discovered Avidog.

Avidog combines science, art and over 40 years of breeding experience to create, develop and present puppy rearing courses, programs, and equipment for puppy owners and dog breeders. Their goal is to help people raise healthy, stable, and fit dogs. Since joining Avidog, we have added new standards and protocols to our breeding program; enhancing how we raise our puppies.

They combine Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI). ENS was discussed above. ESI is an Avidog concept. It exposes the puppy to one novel non-food scent each day, from Days 3-16, for 5 seconds each time. This stimulates the development of the nose and scenting abilities. For more information on ESI, check out this link (www.avidog.com/early-scent-introduction-for-neonate-puppies/)

Before the puppies go home they will have completed the Rules of Seven. And you will be required to complete the Rules of Twelve if your puppy goes home before 12 weeks. We believe socialization is extremely important and as such require that you attend a puppy or obedience class when you take them home and keep them socialized throughout their lifetime.

Our Rule of 7 was adapted from Dr. Carmen Battaglia’s guide for increasing puppy’s exposure. Dr. Carmen Battaglia created the Rule of 7’s as a guide to increase a puppy’s exposure. You do not have to follow it to the letter, but make sure your puppy is current on all shots before taking him out into a strange area. By the time a puppy is 3 months, make sure it has:

• Been on 7 different types of surfaces: carpet, tile, linoleum, concrete, wood, vinyl, grass, dirt, gravel, and wood chips.
• Played with 7 different types of objects: rope toys, plush toys, big balls, small balls, soft fabric toys, squeaky toys, paper or cardboard items, metal items, and sticks.
• Been in 7 different locations: front & back yard, basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom, kids room, living room, hallway, Vet’s office, groomers.
• Met and played with 7 new people: include children and older adults, someone walking with a cane or in a wheelchair or walker, someone tall, someone in a hat.
• Been exposed to 7 challenges: climb on a box, go through a tunnel, climb steps, go down steps, climb over obstacles, play hide and seek, go in and out of a doorway with a step up or down, run around a fence.
• Eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, human hands, pie plate, tin pan, frying pan, Frisbee, elevated bowl.
• Eaten in 7 different locations: crate, yard, exercise pen, basement, laundry room, living room, bathroom, back yard.

Each new, positive experience will help your puppy flourish into a confident companion. Allow your puppy to learn passively by letting them to explore on their own, but make sure he is 100% supervised and that it is a controlled environment. Do not use any harsh training methods with a puppy, because you will break the bond of trust. Training should be fair and fun.

We think all puppies should go through the puppy socialization called the “Rule of 7.” The rule of 7 is a technique we learned to help introduce our puppies to new environments and get them used to many different things they may encounter in their lives. Much like ENS (early Neurological Stimulation) the Rule of seven introduces the pups to small stresses that will help boost confidence, social behavior, and their train-ability.

Our rule of 7 works by introducing pups starting at 4 weeks of age to 7 new things they hadn’t had a lot of contact with before. Four days later we change these to 7 new items. So by the time you pick up your puppy they have been introduced to 49 different or new things/changes. When your puppy goes home they can be a cute, confident pup ready to trek across carpet, tile or wood floors, play with balls, squeaky toys and chase sticks and begin to work on obedience.

Make sure all experiences are safe and positive for the puppy. Each encounter should include treats and lots of praise. Slow down and add distance if your puppy is scared! By the time a puppy is 12 weeks old, it should have (Note: If your puppy is over 12 weeks, start right on these steps:

• Experienced 12 different surfaces: wood, woodchips, carpet, tile, cement, linoleum, grass, wet grass, dirt, mud, puddles, deep pea gravel, grates, uneven surfaces, on a table, on a chair, etc......
• Played with 12 different objects: fuzzy toys, big & small balls, hard toys, funny sounding toys, wooden items, paper or cardboard items, milk jugs, metal items, car keys, etc.......
• Experienced 12 different locations: front yard (daily), other people’s homes, school yard, lake, pond, river, boat, basement, elevator, car, moving car, garage, laundry room, kennel, veterinarian hospital (just to say hi & visit, lots of cookies, no vaccinations), grooming salon (just to say hi), etc....
• Met and played with 12 new people (outside of family): include children, adults (mostly men), elderly adults, people in wheelchairs, walkers, people with canes, crutches, hats, sunglasses, etc….
• Exposed to 12 different noises (ALWAYS keep positive and watch puppy’s comfort level – we don’t want the puppy scared): garage door opening, doorbell, children playing, babies screaming, big trucks, Harley motorcycles, skateboards, washing machine, shopping carts rolling, power boat, clapping, loud singing, pan dropping, horses neighing, vacuums, lawnmowers, birthday party, etc…
• Exposed to 12 fast moving objects (don’t allow to chase): skateboards, roller-skates, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, people running, cats running, scooters, vacuums, children running, children playing soccer, squirrels, cats, horses running, cows running, etc…
• Experienced 12 different challenges: climb on, in, off and around a box, go through a cardboard tunnel, climb up and down steps, climb over obstacles, play hide & seek, go in and out a doorway with a step up or down, exposed to an electric sliding door, umbrella, balloons, walk on a wobbly table (plank of wood with a small rock underneath), jump over a broom, climb over a log, bathtub (and bath) etc....
• Handled by owner (& family) 12 times a week: hold under arm (like a football), hold to chest, hold on floor near owner, hold in-between owner’s legs, hold head, look in ears, mouth, in-between toes, hold and take temperature (ask veterinarian), hold like a baby, trim toe nails, hold in lap, etc…
• Eaten from 12 different shaped containers: wobbly bowl, metal, cardboard box, paper, coffee cup, china, pie plate, plastic, frying pan, Kong, Treatball, Bustercube, spoon fed, paper bag, etc......
• Eaten in 12 different locations: back yard, front yard, crate, kitchen, basement, laundry room, bathroom, friend’s house, car, school yard, bathtub, up high (on work bench), under umbrella, etc....
• Played with 12 different puppies (or safe adult dogs) as much as possible.
• Left alone safely, away from family & other animals (5-45 minutes) 12 times a week.
• Experienced a leash and collar 12 different times in 12 different locations.

All pets are placed on limited, non breeding contracts. We will NOT ship, so priority is given to buyers willing to pick up their pups in person but we will sell to buyers that will use a puppy nanny. We rarely have show quality pups available for sale. Pups sold as show quality are placed on co-ownership only.

If you’d like to discuss the possibility of having one of our puppies join your family, please feel free to contact us.

Since we receive a lot of inquiries about puppies, it’s impossible for us to keep the email address and contact information of everyone straight; I recommend touching base with me on a regular basis.