Bulls of Crown Ethan

 Ethan, aka ‘Marley’, is our sweet and sporty French Bulldog stud. Marley comes from very special bloodlines, his pedigree can be found here. 

Marley was medically screened at Dierenkliniek Eersel. This screening was far more extensive than the one from the Breeding Club (HBC) At the Breeding Club, a less strict screening is asked, but in addition, you need to get two ‘Good’ qualifications on dog shows. I really don’t care much about showing, but there are breeders who think it’s important.  After I got the okay for breeding Marley, I took him to a show in Eindhoven, where he got ‘Excellent 1’ and best male out of 4 males. A few weeks later, I took him to a show in Eindhoven, where he got the qualification ‘Good’ which is actually not so good. This shows that the taste of the judge is quite important. Sometimes a judge has bred a certain dog himself or he knows the owner of the dogs quite well. Even if your dog is a real beauty, sometimes you simply don’t have a chance of winning a show. 

I really know Marley’s strong and weaker spots. His health is perfect anyway. At the show in Groningen were other dogs of a different type, differently built, which the judge preferred. I don’t love Marley any less. To me, it’s just a confirmation that showing just isn’t my thing. The audience however, keep telling me that they prefer Marley over the cobby types. They really like him better and tell me he’s more beautiful, but I’m not stating that they’re right. I personally like the cobby types as well. Marley just looks a bit sportier. 

Next to the physical medical screening, I had his DNA checked on many genetic disorders. You’ll find the results on his page with health results and in a summary at the bottom of this page. Marley is clear with all genetic disorders that can be found in the DNA. The funny thing is that the laboratory also looked at his genetic traits and discovered that he carries the pied gene, so with the right female, he can produce pied puppies. 

During the screening in Eersel, he had a cardiovascular examination with an ultrasound. The specialized vet looked at the functioning of the heart valves and did many other measurements. Marley turned out to have a well functioning heart.

After that there was a physical examination and they looked at his nostrils, breathing, eyes, tear production, skin, coat, ears, tail and hips and he had a patellar luxation examination. So far, everything was okay. The results are on his page with health results and there’s a summary at the bottom of this page. 

The most exciting part was the next part, where he had to be sedated. I wanted x-rays of his windpipe, neck, spine, hips and elbows. HD- (hip dysplasia) and ED- (elbow dysplasia) x-rays had to be made in order to be judged by the Dutch Kennel Club (Raad van Beheer) and officially registered. Because French Bulldogs always have different hips compared to other breeds, I also wanted his hips screened with the Pennhip method. This way, his results can be compared with the results of other ‘Pennhipped’ French Bulldogs and it’s possible to tell if a dog will develop HD in the future or not. In fact, it says more to me than the official HD results, but this is the way our system works and I want to register all the results, good or bad. I’d like it to become a common thing to do for all breeders. 

The results showed that Marley has very good hips (just like his elbows, of which the results came later), In fact, the results were the best you could wish for, for any dog. The Pennhip results showed that he belongs to the group of dogs with the best hips and also the group that would be the best one to choose a dog from for breeding. 

Marley also had a so called ECVO eye examination, together with his sister Yara. It took place at a specialized clinic in Amsterdam and we received many compliments on our dogs from the people who were working there. They were delighted to see such nice looking Frenchies. So nice to notice that so many people love Marley and his sister. The results of the eye examination were good. Marley is clear from all kinds of eye problems like HC, PRA, entropion, ectropion and distichiasis. Again, the results can be found on his page with his health results. 

I think it’s important to breed for health. Looks are in second place. It’s still possible to breed according to the breeding standard if you work like this. I hope that in the future, you can only take your dog to shows when it has been medically screened or when it’s parents have been medically screened. 

A French Bulldog with a little bit of a nose isn’t healthier by definition, just like one without a nose would be unhealthier. There’s a lot more to it than that. It’s really kind of pointless to have a Frenchie that can run like the wind and then dies op epilepsy at the age of 4. I mean…

Marley has a very gentle personality. He doesn’t get angry easily and he’s kind to other dogs, people and small children. He’s watchful and likes to watch tv. He reacts to images of other animals, especially dogs. He loves to cuddle. He doesn’t have a very short back or a very short nose. He does know how to run fast and doesn’t have any breathing problems, not even when it’s hot outside. He has a lovely warm brown coat that becomes reddish in the sun. He can easily walk 5 kilometers next to my bike without heavy breathing. His eyecolour is beautifully dark brown and he has a cute straight tail which he uses a lot for wagging. When you say something he likes, he keep his head askew, just like his sister Yara does. 

I’m convinced that Marley is one of the most extensively tested (and with very good results) stud dogs in The Netherlands and maybe even in the world. He probably won’t beat the very short, flatfaced dogs you sometimes see at shows, although he did that once, much to the annoyance of the other Frenchie owners, so another reason why I don’t like shows. All those people asking me for a puppy….nobody wants a show dog. They simply want a nice loving puppy which they can enjoy for a long time. As a breeder, you shouldn’t have to fear phonecalls of the puppy buyers who have just lost their dearest possesion. As a breeder, you have a big responsibility. Puppy buyers have no idea. They just want a nice puppy. 

Marley is up for stud for medically screened bitches. You can use the protocol I used for Marley, but the one from the Dutch Breeding Club will also do or you can use your own form. I can provide you with a form in English if you like.  Stud fee is € 1000. I’m working with a Dutch stud contract,but if necessary, I can provide you with one in English or you can bring your own. Marley preferably breeds naturally, but artificial insemination might be possible with either chilled or frozen semen and worldwide shipping is possible. Ask me for prices. 

Just to make sure and for the breeders amongst you: if you think you’d like to use Marley for your breeding programm: it’s possible, but not just like that. I had him turned inside out and I’m not waiting for females that are actually not healthy enough for breeding. Of course, it’s your own responsibility, but all I’m asking is one x-ray of the spine. Not to make a judgement, if I could, but purely because I think it’s important to be critical in choosing the animals we select for breeding. Marley is clear on just about everything that can be tested, so I don’t care if a bitch carries PRA or HM or DM, because their puppies will never actually get it since Marley is clear. The whole idea is to know what we are doing. Testing is knowing. 

The results of Marley’s health examinations are here and down below you’ll find a summary.

• In general:
• Name: Bulls of Crown Ethan
• Date of birth: 28-08-2014
• Colour: Redfawn
• Weight: 14 kilos
• Sire: Lanzilo of You-Chuan French Bulldog Pro FCI
• Dam: Bulls of Crown Chaya

• Colour genetics:
• E Locus: Em/Em
• K Locus: Ky/Ky
• A Locus: Ay/Ay
• S Locus: S/sp
• D Locus: D/D

• Results health examinations:
• Cardio vascular examination with doppler: no abnormalities
• ECVO eye examination: no abnormalities
• Hip dysplasia: HD A, bone abnormailty 0, Norberg value 40, insufficient connection
• Elbow dysplasia: clear 0/0
• Patellar luxation: clear 0/0

• DNA:
• Degenerative Myelopathy: clear
• Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM): normal
• Cystinuria Type 3: clear

• MyDogDNA profile: 
• HC-HSF4 Hereditary Cataract: clear
• CMR1 Canine Multifocal Retinopathy: clear
• HUU Hyperuricosuria: clear
• MH Malignant Hyperthermia: clear
• Cord1-PRA: clear

• Results health test protocol:
• Tail: pintail
• Nostrils:large
• Murmur: none
• Throat anatomy:
• Elongated palate: no
• Thickened soft palate: no
• Enlarged tonsils: no
• Narrow trachea: no
• Trachea size: 10,5 mm
• Larynx: normal
• Tear production: good
• Hemivertebrae: 1
• Spondylosis: no
• Calcification invertebral discs: no