About Le Epitome Kennels

More Than 30 Years of Breeding Experience

Olivia Potter is the breeding specialist behind Le Epitome Kennels. She has more than 30 years of experience breeding and raising brachycephalic companion breeds, with a strong practical understanding of puppy development, temperament, mating, pregnancy, whelping, maternal care and long-term family lines.

Alistair manages much of the company’s legal, financial, administrative, systems, compliance and business-development work. Major breeding, welfare and placement decisions remain a shared responsibility.

Our kennel history dates back to our New Zealand Kennel Club registration in 1997, when the kennel operated under the spelling Le Epitomy Kennels. The name was later updated to Le Epitome as the programme and business developed.

Today, Le Epitome Kennels Limited is a registered New Zealand company and is registered with Dogs New Zealand and the Master Dog Breeders and Associates. Buyers deal directly with Olivia and Alistair through this official website and our published business contact details.

A Broad, Multi-Generational Breeding Programme

Le Epitome Kennels currently has 27 dogs across our French Bulldog and Pug breeding programme. This gives us a broad pool of established and developing family lines from which to make careful, selective breeding decisions.

Our Pug programme now extends across three generations bred by Le Epitome Kennels, while our French Bulldog programme extends across four LEK-bred generations. This continuity allows us to assess not only individual dogs, but how health, breathing, structure, temperament, reproductive traits and other characteristics develop and repeat through related families over time.

The value is not simply in having more dogs. It is in the depth of knowledge built by retaining, raising and following related dogs across multiple generations. This gives us a clearer understanding of each family line than could be gained from assessing a single dog, one litter or a newly introduced bloodline with little local history.

A broader programme also gives us more options when planning a mating. We can consider several potentially compatible dogs rather than breeding from the only male and female available. This helps us manage relatedness, avoid over-reliance on one sire, preserve valuable qualities and move away from traits or outcomes we do not want to continue.

The number of dogs alone does not guarantee genetic diversity. We consider pedigrees, DNA results, relatedness, heterozygosity, physical health, temperament and long-term family records together. Having a broader breeding population gives us greater scope to use that information responsibly.

Because we maintain established lines within our own kennel, we can develop and evaluate those families over several generations without depending on a newly imported bloodline for every next step. We still introduce outside genetics selectively when they offer a genuine benefit to health, temperament, structure or genetic diversity.

Scale brings responsibility. Our aim is not to produce the greatest number of puppies. It is to maintain enough genetic breadth, historical knowledge and mating choice to make better-informed decisions for the future of our dogs and the families who welcome them.

French Bulldogs and Pugs Raised as Part of Our Family

Our puppies are raised inside our home and within the normal rhythm of family life. They experience people, children, adult dogs, household sounds, visitors, outdoor spaces and age-appropriate supervised exploration.

We begin gentle environmental learning very early. Rather than relying on force, we arrange the puppies’ environment so that calm handling, human connection, appropriate toileting and confident exploration become natural and rewarding choices.

Our rural Waikato property gives the dogs room to experience fresh air, grass, changing surfaces, water, natural sounds and the everyday activity of a working family home. These experiences are introduced according to each puppy’s age, development and vaccination status.

Visit our French Bulldog and Pug gallery to meet our dogs and see candid moments from life at Le Epitome Kennels.

What We Select For

We assess the whole dog rather than selecting on appearance or DNA results alone. Our breeding decisions consider:

• breathing, nostril structure, heat tolerance and recovery after normal activity;
• stable temperament, confidence, resilience and companion suitability;
• structure, movement, body condition, patella, hip and spinal information;
• eye, skin, ear, dental and general veterinary history;
• fertility, mating ability, pregnancy, whelping, maternal behaviour and recovery;
• DNA disease status, colour and coat genetics, relatedness and genetic diversity;
• family history, previous litter outcomes and feedback from owners of related dogs; and
• the individual dog’s quality of life and whether breeding is genuinely appropriate for that dog.

Colour and coat type are important parts of our programme, but they do not override health, welfare, function or temperament.

Distinctive Colour and Coat Lines

Le Epitome Kennels is known for distinctive coloured French Bulldogs and Pugs. Our programme includes established and developing lines carrying colours and traits such as chocolate, blue, lilac, rojo, Isabella, new shade, tan points, brindle, fawn, cream, intensity modifiers and long-haired or fluffy coat.

Genetic inheritance is never completely predictable from appearance alone. We use colour and coat DNA information to improve mating accuracy and describe puppies honestly, while recognising that every litter can produce its own combination of traits.

Learn more about our coloured French Bulldog programme and our coloured Pug programme .

You can also view our upcoming and available French Bulldog and Pug litters .

Health, DNA Testing and Long-Term Records

DNA testing is one layer of our breeding programme. It can provide useful information about identity, parentage, known inherited disease variants, colour and coat genetics, relatedness and genetic diversity.

DNA does not prove that a dog is physically healthy, comfortable, functionally sound or suitable for breeding. Major concerns in French Bulldogs and Pugs—including breathing, patella, hips, spine, eyes, skin, reproductive function and temperament—also require physical observation, veterinary assessment and long-term record keeping.

We record available laboratory results, hereditary status where appropriate, physical and veterinary findings, reproductive outcomes and health information reported from puppies we have placed. These records help us identify patterns and make more informed mating, retention and retirement decisions.

Genetic diversity is considered alongside health and function. Heterozygosity results can provide useful information about genetic variation, but a high score is not a guarantee of health and does not replace assessment of the individual dog.

Learn more about our French Bulldog and Pug health-screening approach and our use of DNA and genetic information .

Natural Mating and Whelping Where Safe

We value natural mating, healthy pregnancy, maternal ability and natural whelping wherever these are safe and appropriate for the dogs involved.

Reproductive function forms part of our assessment of soundness. Repeated difficulty mating, carrying a pregnancy, whelping or recovering from a litter may affect whether a dog or line continues within our programme.

Veterinary welfare always comes first. Artificial insemination, caesarean delivery and other intervention may be used where there is a genuine medical or welfare reason, or where carefully selected imported semen provides access to an otherwise unavailable bloodline. Intervention is a tool when needed, rather than an outcome we treat as the automatic default.

Our broader approach to reproductive function is explained on our French Bulldog and Pug health-testing page .

French Bulldog and Pug Puppies Raised Raw-Fed

Raw feeding is a long-established part of how we raise our dogs. Olivia has fed raw for more than 20 years, across more than ten generations of dogs.

Our puppies are introduced to raw food from the beginning of weaning. New owners receive practical information about feeding, storage, hygiene, gradual dietary change and maintaining consistency during the settling-in period.

Our recommendations reflect the practices and observations developed within our own kennel. We recognise that individual dogs may have different nutritional or veterinary needs and encourage owners to seek appropriate veterinary advice where a health concern arises.

Puppy Preparation, Veterinary Care and Owner Support

Before collection, we guide new owners through home safety, feeding, settling in, toileting, vehicle travel, early learning and routine puppy care.

Each puppy receives age-appropriate veterinary care, worming, vaccination, microchipping and a pre-sale veterinary examination before handover. Our Sale and Purchase Agreement also requires the new owner to arrange an independent veterinary examination shortly after collection.

Puppies are introduced to environmental toilet conditioning from a very young age and leave us familiar with a consistent toileting routine. They are still young animals, so continued repetition, supervision and patience remain essential after moving home.

We provide practical support before and after collection. Our aim is not simply to complete a sale, but to help each family begin their life with their puppy feeling informed and prepared.

Read our French Bulldog and Pug puppy Frequently Asked Questions or learn about joining the Le Epitome Kennels waiting list .

Visit and Verify Le Epitome Kennels

Suitable prospective buyers are welcome to visit our Waikato home by appointment. Where practical, visitors may meet available puppies, see how they are being raised and meet some of our adult dogs.

Visits must fit around the welfare, safety, health and routine of the dogs. Very young puppies may not be available for handling, and not every adult dog will necessarily be present at the time of a visit.

Puppy scams often rely on copied photographs, stolen breeder details, urgent payment demands and sellers who avoid normal verification. We encourage buyers to take their time, communicate with us directly and confirm that they are using the contact details published on this official website.

Buyers are welcome to ask about the puppy, parents, feeding, health checks, contract, collection and transport arrangements before proceeding.

Visit our contact page to speak directly with Olivia about our dogs, puppies and appointment availability.

Transport and the Le Epitome Community

Le Epitome puppies live with families throughout New Zealand, Australia and overseas. For approved homes outside Waikato, we can discuss suitable third-party road or air transport options.

Transport decisions take account of the puppy’s age, vaccination status, health, weather, journey length and the safety of the proposed handover arrangements.

Read more about our puppy transport and collection arrangements .

Many owners also join the Le Epitome Family Facebook group, where they can share updates, connect with other owners, arrange local play dates and follow dogs from related lines as they grow.

You can also read reviews and updates from Le Epitome puppy owners .

Established, Registered and Accountable

Le Epitome Kennels Limited is an established New Zealand company. Buyers are dealing with real people, a real business and a breeding programme that stands behind its dogs, its processes and its legal obligations.

Puppy sales are completed through a written Sale and Purchase Agreement setting out the puppy’s details, payment terms, veterinary requirements, buyer responsibilities and applicable protections.

We encourage prospective owners to ask questions, read the agreement carefully and make sure they are comfortable before committing to a puppy.

Our Goal

Our goal is to raise beautiful, confident and well-adjusted French Bulldogs and Pugs with sound structure, stable temperaments and the distinctive Le Epitome presence people recognise in our dogs.

We want each puppy to leave us curious, connected and ready to become part of family life, with new owners who understand the responsibility they are taking on.

Health, welfare, function, temperament and confidence come first. The beautiful colours are the cherry on top.

Find Your Future Le Epitome Puppy

View our upcoming and currently available French Bulldog and Pug puppies , apply to join our waiting list or contact Olivia directly .