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| Astrid & Arnold Hendriks |
Interview with mr. Arnold Hendriks (bred french bulldogs since 1968. prefix vd Zuylenstede) by Alen & Manuela Lulic Galovic. This article was originaly published in Croatian Kennel Club magazine "Moj pas" on Croatian language
- The
story of how you started breeding French bulldogs is really
interesting and, to me personally, fascinating. Can you tell us the
story for those who do not know it?
- After
10 years in a sporting career as a racing cyclist, I became happily
married and had, at that time, two (later three) darling children. We
also wanted a little dog, like so many other young families.
To
me it also had another meaning. My father had been a very good
breeder of German Shepherds before World War II. Because of the War,
everything had been destroyed and my father had no courage to rebuild
again, so I wanted to take up his hobby and breed dogs. My father
advised me not to start on a popular breed but to choose one which
needed to be renewed in our country. My choice became the French
Bulldog.
My
first acquaintance with a French Bulldog was at my Aunt’s who
possessed one. He was a strong and active male, very friendly and
playful dog. By chance
I
read an add stating: “For sale two French Bulldog females aged 2
½ years old”.
I
went together with my father to view and we were astonished to see
the two dogs sitting in a chicken house, hairless, their skin felt
like leather and was in a bad condition. I felt so sorry for them and
thought they had to leave there immediately so I bought them. I took
good care of them and after about five or six months their hair grew
back and they looked beautiful.
I
had become a member of the Dutch French Bulldog Club in the meantime
and learned that a famous French Bulldog breeder lived in the
vicinity. We met and when he saw my dogs he informed me that they
came from a fine bloodline. My bitches were in good condition and I
decided to breed with them. They soon became with young, one having
eight and the other one nine puppies.
With
the sale money from the puppies I bought a beautiful young pied
female Blanche v.d . Molenstal from the best Dutch breeder Mr.
van Doorn. With Blanche I started my show career. At our first show,
the Winner in Amsterdam 1969 she became Winster and Best Bitch.
Blanche
won several shows and again Winster in 1970 in Amsterdam and eventual
Dutch Champion.
Out
of a litter of Blanche I bred a nice male called Boulotte. He won
several prices and was noticed by Prince Ratibor from Germany, who
liked him very much and was surprised that such a beautiful dog had
been bred in the Netherlands. He invited me to visit Germany, which I
did.
Whilst
there I discovered at the shows that the beautiful dogs of Prince
Ratibor had been bred from a certain English bloodline. He imported
French Bulldogs from England around 1965 out of the Lancefield Kennel
of Mrs. Muriel Walker and the Selholme Kennel of Mrs. Hugh
Baker.
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| Hendriks's children with frenchies 1972. |
During
my holiday in England I visited Mrs. Hooton`s Little Coombe Kennels
in Exeter. She had a young male, aged seven months, for sale called
Topsham Mc Tavish. He had a bloodline from both parents of
the male Bomblitz Edward Bear and that was just the type I was
looking for. I didn’t have to think twice; McTavish came back to
Holland with me. Mac as we called him, won several prices and won BIS
at the Dutch Clubshow in 1976 out of 125 French and English Bulldogs.
He was Junior Winner in Amsterdam 1974, Winner 1976 and Dutch
Champion.
In
1975 I imported Quatt Pollyanna, a beautiful brindle female aged one
and a half. As her ear had been damaged I could not show her, but she
was from a good bloodline. I had bought her to combine with McTavish.
Out of the first combination I bred Dutch
Champion Amorous Belle v.d. Zuylenstede and
Queen Annabelle v.d. Zuylenstede.
Daughter
of Amorous Belle was Dutch
Champion Girly v.d. Zuylenstede.
Daughter of Queen Annabelle was Dutch Champion Alicella v.d.
Zuylenstede Winster 1979 and BOB 1980.
Out
of the second combination of McTavish & Pollyanna came the
beautiful pied male International Champion Chico v.d. Zuylenstede.
Out
of the combination Chico & Alicella came the fawn
female Chemera v.d. Zuylenstede. Unfortunately, this colour was not
recognized in Europe so I couldn’t show her but I kept her and
mated her with an imported male called Brickett Jacarinda, son of
Gangour Oss.
With
this combination I bred Zappa v.d. Zuylenstede, which I sold to a
family in Germany. This beautiful male has only been shown once at
the Bundessieger, where he was awarded reserve Champion. In that
time, I had sold more beautiful dogs to people who wanted pets and
were not interested in showing.
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| USA: Hendriks & American Champion Charlotte vd Zuylensteden |
- When
you started breeding French bulldogs, they were very rare breed. How
do you explain the enormous growth of their popularity?
- On
every street corner you can buy nowadays a French Bulldog. Today's
breeders benefit from the dogs of previous generations. Many famous
people also have a French Bulldog. David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic,
Lady Gaga, Sharon Stone etc. They appear in films and television
programs “William”- Bringing down the house, “Stella”- Modern
Family. On top of that breeders also ask high prices for a puppy. I
think that also goes along with the breeding of the contemporary
French Bulldogs.
- What
kind of problems did you encounter with the first litter? What were
the most common health problems? Were these puppies born naturally?
- The
first litters I bred, with the two sisters, were born naturally. They
were caring mothers and the puppies ate independently after 4 weeks.
I have never experienced this again. With Blanche vd Molenstal, the
beautiful pied female I wanted to breed her first litter after she
became Dutch Champion. Her pups had to be taken with Caesarean
section. Her breeder, Mr van Doorn had already told me this when I
bought her. The chance that she could naturally give birth was small.
4
weeks before the delivery I went to see, who I thought, was the best
veterinarian at that time. We talked about the possible caesarean
section so he could take it into account.
When
the time came I called the clinic but the wife of the doctor answers
the phone. She told me that her husband was not there at the time and
that I had to come to the consultation hour that afternoon.
Well, of course I
could not wait for that. The female was already pressing but without
result. I had to hurry. I called my own veterinarian who called the
University clinic for companion animals in Utrecht. He checked if it
was possible to come with my female for a caesarean. When I arrived,
a student took the female and told me to come back after 4 hours…
When
I finally came in after a long wait, they brought me a bag of 3 dead
pups and the mother still under heavy narcosis. They told me “sorry
but luckily we managed to save the mother during the operation”.
All and all it had taken too long and because of the full narcosis of
the mother, the pups suffered and died.
I
was severely disappointed and I wanted to prevent this tragedy for
the future. I talked with my veterinarian about it.
At
a next pregnancy with Blanche, my veterinarian did the caesarean
section in new way. He told me that he would contact the university
and present them new procedure. The newly graduated veterinarians now
carry out the caesarean section on this manner.
- How
did the breeders at that time deal with the problem of bitches who
were having hard labour? I suppose there were not many veterinarians
who performed a caesarean section at that time?
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| World Champion Lancelot vd Zuylenstede (World Dog Show Amsterdam, 1985.) |
|
- In
the years that followed, there were many problems with caesarean
sections. The older vets had no experience with the new way of
operating the French Bulldog. The breed was not as popular as today.
Many puppies and mothers died in the 70’s to the 90's because vets
had no experience of operating French Bulldogs, especially in the
countryside. Breeders told each other which vets performed well with
cesarean sections and where you could best go. After I came to live
in France, I have never lost so many dogs.
- Tell
us something about the colours of the French bulldogs. Fawn French
bulldogs have long been unauthorized in Europe and you have had some
of the first fawn champion dogs. Do you expect one day for Blue
French Bulldogs to be accepted just the same? How do you explain
their enormous popularity?
- When
I started breeding, the French Bulldog colours were according the
standard; light brindle, dark brindle with white breast, pied with
dark brindle plate and mantel checke (3/4 dark with white legs)
Because
I was breeding with English lines, there was FAWN in the 5th
or 6st generations in the pedigree. In England this colour was very
popular. In 1944 Ch Mark of Millhouse, Cherub of Silpo and Keysoe
Ambassadeur out of American bloodlines, inherited the fawn in
England. Because England was not a member of the FCI, as the American
Kennel Club (AKC) have their own Kennel Club rules, this colour was
allowed in the breed.
In
1994 the Fawn colour was accepted by the FCI. My fawn male Louis
Louis vd Zuylenstede won BOB at his first show in Rouen, France.
There
were not many fawn colours in Europe at that time. A brother of Louis
Louis vd Zuylenstede, Felipe vd Zuylenstede was sold to America and
later his son returned to Germany. "Coeur de Pantoufle"
Unfortunately this male was not approved for breeding in Germany, he
got a breeding ban. The male was later sold to a breeder in the
Netherlands and she has done many studs with this male. Many
descendants of this male were born in Eastern Europe. In the pedigree
of almost every fawn there is my male Felipe vd Zuylenstede.
I
myself see it as a big problem these bad colours. Especially if
pedigrees are given to these dogs, but I am convinced that serious
breeders will avoid these wrong colours from their bloodlines.
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| Roquefort vd Zuylenstede: The First French Bulldog of the European Continent to become an American-Canadian Champion (he become American and Canadian Champion within thirty days) |
- What
do you think is the biggest problem of French bulldogs today?
- There
are too many problems with dogs that are anxious with breathing.
Also nervous dogs with stress. These dogs should be excluded from
reproducing.
- What
is your biggest concern about today's breeding, what are the
characteristics are neglected
and which are better than before?
- I
think that the pied
French Bulldogs, bred with one eye black and one eye whit out
pigmentation around the eye and the eye angle, should be crossed with
a dark brindle dog. To avoid this characteristic problem for the next
generation. Pied dogs inherit this fault. A too black colour French
Bulldog without any brindle is also a fault, black is dominant. It is
difficult to breed back the brindle colour. It is important to breed
the tail back, more attention must be paid to this. The tail is an
extension of the spine. A good roach back reduces a steep
hindquarters and will improve the movement. Breeders should pay
attention to these faults in the breed.
When
I started breeding there were not many French Bulldogs in Europe
except in Germany, and England. After 2000, the East Europeans have
seriously mixed in the show and breeding programs. This was an asset
to overall kynology in Europe and the rest of the world. It brought
more competition and interesting interference with good types. By
means of the internet, breeders can now find each other more easily
and you have access to the pedigrees, many generations back.
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| Girly vd Zuylenstede |
- If
you could pick up some specific dogs that you think are important to
the breed, which ones are those French bulldogs?
- I
can not name specific names. In all those years there were always new
breeders with new dogs, new names but on the pedigree you can see
that the background of these dogs originated from Daulokke, de la
Parure, A'vigdors, Kingfriend lines. These breeders all made use of
each others bloodlines nice type of dogs. I will of course forget to
mention other good breeders. I have respect for breeders that go for
quality not for quantity.
- Do you think that the world of kynology was once more fair?
- I
think that certain people everywhere are not good, so also in the
kynology. It
is well known that over the years people such as board members,
members of breed clubs and certain judges are influenced,
unfortunately at the expense of the breed. I find this very
unsporting.
- Do
you fear that dog breeding in the future will be endangered by an
animal activists or someone else?
- Yes,
I think that in the future problems will come from different sides
regarding the progress of breeding problem breeds. There have already
been several TV programs in the Netherlands that have paid attention
to it. Activist animal rights organizations want a breeding
prohibition of the short-sighted breeds. Even a stop of dog shows
like the Amsterdam Winner show, one of the oldest dog show in Europe!
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| Judging in France (Longchamps 1998.) |
- Are
you afraid that breeding French bulldogs could be banned for
allegedly frequent breathing problems?
- In
the Netherlands it might be a problem. The committee and some
breeders of the Dutch French Bulldog Club have to defend the breed
soon in front a tribunal.
- What
was most important to you in breeding? What would you say today to
the breeders?
- My
goal was to breed the French Bulldog to become a healthy breed with
improvements through precise breeding according the standard. Always
health as the most important indicator. With a small population of
dogs of about 5 to 6 dogs I manage to do so as good as I could over
50 years.
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| Judgin in Zagreb, Croatia, 2018. Toy Breeds Specialty: Hendriks and Puppy BOB Obi Van Kenobi Totegnac |
No part of the interview or photographs may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated, or transmitted in any form or by any means now or hereafter known, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
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