The Parisian Ratter: The Surprising History of the French Bulldog

The "Parisian ratter" is less of a breed and more of a nickname. The French Bulldog started as a small English toy bulldog, carried to northern France by Nottingham lace workers. It was then crossed with local dogs, probably including the rat-catching dogs that coachmen kept in their stables. Paris did put some of these early bouledogues to work in rat pits, but that part of the story comes from club histories and period anecdotes rather than hard records, and nobody bred Frenchies purely to hunt rats.

Our 13 cool facts about French Bulldogs is the short version. This is the deep dive, with the myths sorted from the evidence.

Where did French Bulldogs come from?

England, oddly enough. After bull-baiting was banned in the 1830s, bulldogs moved into the show ring, which even had "Toy Bulldog" classes.⁵ The French Bull Dog Club of America (FBDCA) describes this smaller, lighter dog as weighing about 12 to 25 lb (roughly 5.5 to 11 kg). It was a favourite in the English Midlands, especially among the lace makers around Nottingham.³

When machines took over the lace trade, many of these workers emigrated to northern France with their dogs, and the dogs spread from Normandy to Paris.^3,5 English breeders also sent over dogs they considered too small or "faulty", such as those with upright ears.¹⁰

Paris takes over

The breed's official FCI standard, written by France as the country of origin, says the bulldog we know today came from crossings made by keen breeders in the working-class quarters of Paris in the 1880s. According to the standard, it was the dog of "Parisian market porters, butchers and coachmen" before it won over high society and artists.¹

The Club du Bouledogue Français (the French breed club) calls it the only breed that originated in Paris, and notes that Paris butchers were buying small English bulldogs as a fashion from the late 1700s.² Nobody recorded the crosses carefully, so the exact recipe is still argued over.^2,10

Were French Bulldogs bred to catch rats?

Not really, but the story has a grain of truth. The French club says the chien ratier (ratting dog) was common in the Paris faubourgs. Coachmen valued it most, because it kept their stables clear of rats, and these ratiers often had prick ears and brindle coats. The club says breeders crossed them with English bulldogs and describes bouledogues at Paris rat pits (ratodromes) in the 1870s and 1880s, and one killing rats for paying customers at a rat market during the 1870 Siege of Paris.²

So some early Frenchies did work the rat pits. But:

• The evidence is anecdotal. It comes from club history and period stories, not breeding records. The FBDCA and American Kennel Club (AKC) histories barely mention ratting.^3,5
• Ratting was a sideline. The breed's Paris ancestors were working-class companions and, sadly, fighting dogs, not terriers bred for generations to hunt vermin.²
• The English side was a companion. The toy bulldog that crossed the Channel was a lace maker's pet, not a ratter.³

The honest answer: Frenchies probably carry some ratting-dog blood, but "Parisian ratter" is a fun bit of history, not a job description.

Is the "French ratter" a separate dog breed?

No. Ratier is simply French for a rat-catching dog, a job rather than a breed, and we couldn't find any recognised breed called the "Ratier" or "Petit Ratier". The ratiers of old Paris were stable dogs, not a standardised breed.² Real ratting breeds do exist, and you may be thinking of one of these:¹²

• Prague Ratter (Pražský krysařík): a tiny Czech dog, recognised here but rare (one Dogs Australia registration in 2025).¹¹
• Rat Terrier: an American farm terrier.
• The Spanish ratoneros, such as the Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz.
• Our own Tenterfield Terrier, which is on the ratter list too, with 336 Dogs Australia registrations in 2025.^11,12

Belle Époque Paris: cafés, courtesans and artists

By the 1890s the bouledogue had moved into Paris nightlife. The AKC describes Frenchies at the side of Montmartre's belles de nuit, and pictured with courtesans on risqué postcards of the era.⁵

The best-documented art link is Toulouse-Lautrec. Madame Palmyre, who ran the bar La Souris, owned a bulldog called Bouboule, and he appears in Toulouse-Lautrec's 1897 lithograph À la Souris, now held by the V&A in London. By accounts the museum quotes, Bouboule was jealous and bit customers on the calves.⁸

Degas is often mentioned too, and the AKC names him among the Montmartre artists of the day,⁵ but we couldn't find a specific Degas painting of a Frenchie, so treat that claim as unconfirmed.

By around 1900 the breed was a craze well beyond France. The French club lists society ladies, aristocrats, the King of England and the Tsar among its fans.² The AKC adds Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia and her Frenchie Ortipo.⁵

How the Americans gave Frenchies their bat ears

Early Frenchies had either folded "rose" ears or upright "bat" ears. Wealthy Americans brought the dogs home from France, and society ladies were showing them at Westminster by 1896.³ In February 1897, English judge George Raper placed rose-eared dogs at the Westminster show, which infuriated the Americans. On 5 April 1897 they founded the French Bull Dog Club of America and wrote a standard that allowed only bat ears.⁴ When Westminster planned to judge both types in 1898, the club pulled out and held its own bat-ears-only show at the Waldorf-Astoria on 12 February.⁴ The AKC recognised the breed that same year.⁶

The French and British criticised the American standard at first, but the bat ear won.⁴ Today's FCI standard disqualifies ears not carried erect.¹ Prick ears were already prized in Paris, so the Americans locked in a look rather than inventing it.²

The Titanic Frenchie: Gamin de Pycombe

True, though the name often gets mangled. Gamin de Pycombe was a champion French Bulldog born in January 1910. Robert Williams Daniel, a first-class passenger, bought him in England, reportedly for £150.^5,9 Daniel survived the April 1912 sinking. Gamin was last seen swimming in the water, and Daniel later claimed US$750 for him. Of about twelve recorded dogs on board, only three survived: two Pomeranians and a Pekingese.⁹

French Bulldog history timeline

When	What happened
1830s	England bans bull-baiting. Bulldogs move into the show ring, including a "Toy Bulldog" class.5
Mid-1800s	Nottingham lace workers lose their trade to machines and take toy bulldogs to northern France.3,10
1870s–1880s	Bouledogues are reported at Paris rat pits and at a rat market during the 1870 Siege of Paris (according to the French club).2
1880s	The breed takes shape in working-class Paris. An early club forms in 1880, the first registration follows in 1885, and the first show entry comes in 1887.1
1890s	Belle Époque fame. Toulouse-Lautrec draws Bouboule at La Souris in 1897.5,8
1897	The rose-ear row at Westminster. The FBDCA is founded on 5 April and makes bat ears compulsory.4
1898	The FBDCA holds its Waldorf-Astoria show and the AKC recognises the breed. In France, the breed gets its first standard and is recognised by the Société Centrale Canine.1,4,6
1902–1912	An English breed club forms in 1902. The Kennel Club recognises the breed as "Bouledogue Français" in 1905 and renames it "French Bulldog" in 1912.10
April 1912	Gamin de Pycombe is lost on the Titanic.9
After WWI	About fifty years of decline. Only about 100 AKC registrations in 1940.3
2022–2025	The Frenchie is the AKC's most popular breed four years running.7
2019–2025	Dogs Australia registrations fall from 3,131 to 675.11

French Bulldogs in Australia: boom, then a sharp drop

We couldn't find a reliable record of the first Frenchie to reach Australia, so we won't guess. Registrations with the Australian National Kennel Council (now Dogs Australia) rose from 918 in 2010 to 4,122 in 2016, a 349% jump. At the time, the Australian Veterinary Association urged buyers to think about the long-term health costs of flat-faced dogs.¹³

Then the tide turned. Dogs Australia figures show 3,131 registrations in 2019, 2,103 in 2022, 901 in 2024 and 675 in 2025. By our count of that table, the Frenchie slid from 4th most-registered breed in 2019 to about 15th in 2025, behind Golden Retrievers, Labradors and Staffies.¹¹ Registered puppies are only a fraction of dogs bred each year,¹³ so plenty of Frenchies still trot along Aussie footpaths. The US has gone the other way: the Frenchie was the AKC's number one breed every year from 2022 to 2025.⁷

How history explains the modern Frenchie

Temperament: bred for company

Both halves of the Frenchie's family tree were people dogs: a lace maker's toy bulldog on one side, a Paris tradesman's sidekick on the other. The FCI standard describes the breed as "sociable, lively, playful, possessive, and keen companion dog".¹ If your Frenchie shadows you from room to room, that's the history showing (and it's part of why Frenchies often do well with kids).

Is there still a ratting instinct?

We found no research showing that modern Frenchies have a stronger prey drive than other small dogs. Chasing a squeaky toy or a lizard is ordinary dog behaviour, not proof of rat-pit ancestry. A century of breeding for companionship counts for far more.

The flat face and BOAS

The short muzzle Paris loved is also the breed's biggest health problem. Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) happens when the soft tissue in a shortened skull is too big for the airway and blocks the flow of air. RSPCA Australia describes it as lifelong and often progressive. Snoring and noisy breathing aren't "cute" quirks; they're signs a dog is struggling to breathe.¹⁴

A large UK study of vet records found French Bulldogs had about 31 times the odds of a BOAS diagnosis and 42 times the odds of narrowed nostrils compared with other dogs. The authors suggested breeding towards a more moderate shape.¹⁵ Dogs Australia has signed on to the UK Kennel Club's Respiratory Function Grading Scheme, which tests Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs for BOAS. Affected dogs can struggle to cool themselves, which puts them at high risk of overheating.¹⁶

In practice: buy from breeders who health-test (ask about respiratory grading), keep walks to the cool parts of the day, and see your vet about loud breathing, collapse or exercise intolerance. Heatstroke is an emergency, so go straight to a vet. Our guide to keeping a French Bulldog cool in summer has tips for Australian conditions.

FAQs

What is a Parisian ratter?

It's a nickname, not a breed. It points to the rat-catching stable dogs (chiens ratiers) of 19th-century Paris that were reportedly crossed with English toy bulldogs, and is now applied to the Frenchie itself.²

Where did French Bulldogs come from?

From English toy bulldogs taken to northern France by Nottingham lace workers. The breed was then refined in working-class Paris in the 1880s.^1,3 Americans later standardised the bat ear.⁴

Were French Bulldogs used as ratters?

Some early ones were. The French breed club describes bouledogues in Paris rat pits in the 1870s and 1880s.² The evidence is anecdotal, and the breed was mainly a companion rather than a dedicated ratter.

Is the "French ratter dog" a real breed?

No. "Ratier" is simply French for a ratting dog. Breeds with a real ratting history include the Prague Ratter, Rat Terrier and Australia's Tenterfield Terrier, but none of them is a French Bulldog.^11,12

Did a French Bulldog die on the Titanic?

Yes. Gamin de Pycombe, a champion Frenchie owned by first-class passenger Robert Williams Daniel, was lost in the sinking. Daniel survived.⁹

Why do French Bulldogs have bat ears?

Upright ears were already common in France, but the French Bull Dog Club of America made bat ears compulsory in 1897 after a dispute over rose-eared dogs at Westminster. The bat ear became the international standard.^1,4

References

1. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. FCI-Standard N° 101: French Bulldog (18 September 2023).
2. Club du Bouledogue Français. Le bouledogue français, ses origines.
3. French Bull Dog Club of America. History of the French Bulldog breed.
4. French Bull Dog Club of America. FBDCA history.
5. American Kennel Club. Behind the Breed: French Bulldog history.
6. American Kennel Club. Breeds by year recognized.
7. American Kennel Club. The most popular dog breeds of 2025.
8. Victoria and Albert Museum. Chez Madame Palmyre.
9. Wikipedia. Animals aboard the Titanic.
10. Wikipedia. French Bulldog (history section, citing Coile 2005 and Leighton 1907).
11. Dogs Australia. National Animal Registration Analysis 2018–2025.
12. Wikipedia. Ratter (dog).
13. Newcastle Herald (5 January 2018). The rise of Australia's café latte dog.
14. RSPCA Australia. The conversation we need to be having about brachycephalic dog breeds.
15. O'Neill DG, Packer RMA, Francis P, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C (2021). French Bulldogs differ to other dogs in the UK in propensity for many common disorders: a VetCompass study. Canine Medicine and Genetics.
16. Dogs Victoria. Respiratory Function Grading Scheme (February 2026).