Designer dogs are amazing. By carefully breeding, pups or many colors, characters, and traits are produced and soon find their way into our hearts and homes. The terms can be a little confusing, though. What is a triple carrier French Bulldog, for instance?
While that term has two meanings, in most cases it refers to a French Bulldog that has 3 rare color traits in their DNA – specifically, blue, black, and chocolate genes. This is highly desirable for breeders, as pairing a triple carrier male and a triple carrier female will produce a litter where all pups are one of these rare colors.
Today we’ll talk more about Triple carriers so that you’ll learn about their breeding basics, how to ensure a genuine triple carrier, and also when the term is a BAD thing. Read on to find out more!
Triple carriers and their 3 rare colors
When you hear the term ‘triple carrier’ in the positive sense, then that person is referring to a French Bulldog that carries 3 rare color traits – Blue, Black, and Chocolate. The reason that this is highly desirable is that you can take another triple carrier and you are pretty much guaranteed to get a rare color litter.
This is certainly profitable for breeders and helps to reduce the overall cost of breeding Frenchies, which can definitely cost a pretty penny. Below you’ll find an approximation of the average cost of these 3 colors in a French Bulldog pup:
- Blue – Both Blues and Blue Fawns cost around $6500 per pup
- Black – Black French Bulldog pups have the lowest price on this list at $4500, which is still well above the average $2800 for a ‘standard’ colored Frenchie.
- Chocolate – Like Blue, Chocolate is a rarer color and fetches a higher price, at around $6500 per pup.
While some argue that Triple Carriers are technically only ‘double carriers’, they cite the reason as being that blue is just a form of black. This is not the case with French Bulldogs, however, as there are specific genes associated with the blue color.
Thus, a French Bulldog can carry black without having blue, and with the blue, black, and chocolate genetic sequences being separate, a triple carrier genuinely possesses 3 specific color traits.
Triple carriers vs. Quadruple carriers
Now, you may have seen advertisements for ‘quad carrier’ French Bulldogs which are purported to have not 3, but 4 rare color genes that they carry. The breeder that is selling one of these dogs will tell you that they have the genes for the colors blue, black, chocolate… and lilac. So, that’s 4, right?
Wrong!
While Lilacs are definitely a beautiful color for Frenchies, there is not a specific genetic sequence which isolates in the form of a ‘lilac gene’. That’s because the Lilac color is produced by a combination of both the blue and the chocolate genes.
So, while a Lilac certainly looks different from both a Blue and a Chocolate Frenchie, from a color standpoint this is simply a mix and not an actual color gene. Think of it this way: Let’s say you have a paint set that includes the primary colors of red, blue, and green.
You can mix together red and blue to make a new color – purple – but that doesn’t mean that your paint set comes with 4 colors built in. From a breeding perspective, a ‘quad’ is just a triple carrier with a little sly marketing.
Why do Lilacs sometimes cost more than triple carriers?
The high cost of the Lilac breed plays a big part in the popularity of all of those ‘quad carrier’ ads that you see, but there is more to the Lilac breed than their smashing good looks.
From a breeder’s perspective, Lilacs are desirable because ALL of their offspring will carry blue or black genes – guaranteed. As dog breeders like to specialize in certain colors and even have favorites of their own, both triple carriers and lilacs are valuable in their own right.
In all fairness, while lilacs usually DO cost more, it’s actually not always the case, as some prized triple carriers have gone for as much as $10,000. It’s all about aesthetics and carefully-cultivated good looks!
Where do I find a triple carrier French Bulldog?
If you love French Bulldogs and have been thinking about becoming a breeder, then a triple carrier sire and dame will ensure that all of the pups in each litter will be one of the 3 rare colors. To do this, you are going to need to find a reputable breeder and this can take a bit of homework on your part.
Thankfully, the American Kennel club has made this quite easy with a search option on their website to find a local club breeder referral officer. Note, this may or may not be an actual breeder, but they are officially aligned with the AKC and can steer you in the right direction.
You can access this resource here.
Once you find a breeder, you still want to make sure that they are registered with the AKC for good measure. There are a lot of novices out there and some of them are amazing – but definitely not all of them. Checking with the AKC helps to protect you by ensuring that you go with a properly registered breeder.
To do this, check the AKC website or you can call them directly at (919)233-9767, and after you verify the breeder’s bona fides and check for complaints, then you should also check with the Better Business Bureau just to cover all of your bases. This will help to ensure that you get the breeding pair you’re paying for!
How do you know you’re getting a real triple carrier?
To further ‘hedge your beds’ when it comes to ensuring that you are actually buying a real ‘triple carrier’, all that you’ll need to do is to ask the breeder that you are considering business with to share the paperwork from the parents and from their litters.
This is effective because the American Kennel clubs requires that a breeder must register the entire litter before they can register individual pups. While the AKC only considers all brindle (including brindle and white), fawn, and white as being purebred French Bulldogs, breeders can still register other colors of pups.
By checking these registrations, then you will see that there is paperwork to back up the breeder’s claims that the breeding pair you are considering is a genuine triple carrier. If you purchase the dogs, you’ll need to ask the breeders permission to get copies of the papers as well.
A properly certified and registered breeder should have the necessary authority to issue you the proper papers and – this is important – permission for breeding them. Some breeders may not grant you the right to breed dogs from their carefully-cultivated bloodline and can make things difficult if you do it anyway, so be sure to check!
Watch out for the ‘puppy mill’ version of a ‘triple carrier”
There is a very small, but real possibility that you might hear the term ‘triple carrier’ with a different meaning. French Bulldogs will typically have 2 heat cycles in a year, but not ALL of them.
Some French Bulldogs will have more and since the pregnancy only lasts for up to 68 days, these French Bulldogs could conceivably have 3 consecutive litters within a year. When a dog does this, then it is also sometimes called a ‘triple carrier’ and it’s a rather ghastly scenario for the poor dog.
Birth is particularly hard for this breed, as they are Brachycephalic – which refers to the flat shapes of their heads. Due to their head shape and build, a C-section is often required when a French Bulldog has a litter, and so 3 litters in a year is dangerous for the mother’s mental and physical health and considered to be cruel.
It is only recommended that you breed a French Bulldog ONCE in a year and no reputable breeder is going to breed their French Bulldog 3 times a year – so if you hear the term being mentioned in this fashion then you are talking to a ‘puppy mill’ breeder and should steer clear of them.
Some final words on triple carrier French Bulldogs
Today we’ve answered the question ‘what is a triple carrier French Bulldog?’ so that you’ll have the information that you need to locate these rare and valuable dogs. As stated, they have blue, black, and chocolate genes, and you’ll want to make sure that you check the breeder’s certification and their paperwork.
This will help to ensure that you are working with a reputable breeder. Finally, if you hear the term with no mention of specific color traits then you need to be wary – ‘triple carrier’ has one unscrupulous meaning out there, as well, and it’s a term that’s used by unsavory puppy mills.
We hope that you’ll use what you’ve learned today to your advantage and we wish you the very best!
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