THE FRENCH BULLDOG
About the French Bulldog:
A French Bulldog will grow to be 11-12” to the shoulders and typically shouldn’t weigh over 30lbs although there are some that do. The average life span is around 10-12 years.
We breed to maintain structure, temperament, and health. This breed is in the non-sporting group. The French Bulldog comes in a variety of colors, standard and non-standard colors. Standard colors are available to compete in AKC conformation events. Non-standard can compete in other sports such as Obedience, FastCat, Rally, etc.
They are a Brachycephalic breed which means they have shortened skulls and flat faces. Due to this some can have health issues pertaining to breathing, eyes, skin, and gastro. Certain precautions are needed to help maintain well being. Such as not letting them outside for long periods of time during extreme heat waves, keeping their wrinkles clean from yeast infections, and having them kept on a well balanced diet with good ingredients.
Finding a breeder who is in this to protect the characteristics of the breed in personality and structure is important. A lot of breeders out there are now mixing them with numerous other breeds to obtain certain physical attributes that are not helping them at all but rather hurting them.
French Bulldogs are known for their bat like ears and silly personalities. They can be very comical and outgoing. Typically good with other dogs. They shed minimally, and of course nails should be kept up.
Additional Information: CLICK HERE
Food to Feed:
Simply Nourish Salmon - rating
We feed Simply Nourish Puppy Salmon with our Litters.
You can order from:
* Use www.dogfoodadvisor.com to stay updated on any food recalls
Housebreaking
All dogs can be housebroken if you are consistent, as well as persistent in training them. There are two basic housebreaking techniques: crate training and paper training. Crate training teaches direct housebreaking. Paper training should be an intermediate step, unless you want your dog to continue to potty in a designated area indoors.
Paper Training: Cover the entire floor of a confined space with paper. Wait for your dog to use the paper, then replace the soiled paper. Once your dog seems to understand the paper concept, begin to leave a bare area without paper. The goal is to have only a very small area covered with paper.
Crate Training: When indoors keep your puppy in the crate or under very close supervision. Take your dog out frequently, and give your dog lots of praise for going potty. It won’t be long before your dog gets the concept of only eliminating outdoors
BE PATIENT!!
More Potty Training Tips:
Grooming
Typically a dog only needs a bath once a month. Bathing too often can remove natural oils, making the dogs coat and skin too dry. Brushing your dog can help to stimulate natural coat oils. The French Bulldog is low maintenance in grooming compared to most dogs. If nails are not done on a regular basis, their quick will grow out longer and longer. Once this happens, it will be harder to get them down to a reasonable length; but can be done after time.
Grooming Tips:
Oral Care:
There are products out there now that help to control tartar on a dog’s teeth.
Bones are another good option. Avoid anything baked or raw hide.
Ears and Wrinkles
Clean weekly or every other week to avoid yeasty infections. Especially the wrinkles.
For Wrinkles: Click HERE
For Ears: Click HERE
Nails
French Bulldog’s nails should not be heard clicking on the floor. Nails that are too long can later lead to issues within their feet posture.
Exercise
French Bulldogs can tend to be higher energy. They do not have a whole lot of exercise needs. Make sure you are careful with how much they run as to not over exert themselves. This breed is prone to heat stroke due to their short snouts and not being able to breath well.
ROUTINE CARE
Routine healthcare from an early age can help prevent disease, prolong the life of your dog, and improve the overall quality of life. Make sure to find a vet that is knowledgable in your breed.
Parasites:
Parasites: Gastrointestinal parasites are common in puppies. They are easy to treat if caught promptly. Left untreated they can cause serious harm.
HEARTWORM: The heartworm gains entry through the bite of an infected mosquito. Heartworms can be life threatening if left untreated. Veterinarians usually dispense preventative drugs whenever mosquitoes are active. A heartworm test must precede the medication. This can all be prevented if you keep your puppy on a regular heart worm preventative. Given once a month.
*Coccidiosis: The primary sign of Coccidia is diarrhea. The diarrhea may be mild to severe depending on the level of infection. Blood and mucous may be present, especially in advanced cases. Severely infected animals may also vomit, lose their appetite, become dehydrated, and in some instances die of the disease.
*Giardia: The usual sign of Giardia is diarrhea. It may be acute, intermittent, or chronic. Usually if infected with Giardia the puppy will not lose their appetite, but may lose weight. The feces are abnormal, pale, having a bad odor, and/or appearing greasy. Giardia prevents the proper absorption of nutrients, damages the intestinal lining, and interferes with digestion.
*Hookworms: One of the most common parasites in puppies. It can cause severe anemia and severe diarrhea. They attach themselves to the lining of the intestines and feed off of the host. The puppies gums will appear pale, they will become weak, and sometimes black tarry stools can be seen. Some pups infected will vomit, growth can be stunted, and their coat will appear dull. In severe cases the puppy can develop pneumonia as the larvae migrate through the lungs. They can become emaciated and die.
*Roundworms: Signs of roundworms in dogs are colic, lethargy, vomiting, abdominal swelling, abnormal feces, anorexia, coughing. Coughing occurs when the roundworms have migrated to the dog’s lungs.
*Tapeworms: Tape worms are flat worms that are segmented. A dog usually gets tapeworms from eating a flea. One of the signs is if your dog scoots his/her butt against the floor. This is due the irritation of the segments around the skin. The dog may also lick or bite the area.
*Whipworms: Small numbers of these worms won’t cause any signs. Larger numbers can result in inflammation of the intestinal wall. Large amounts of mucous are produced by the inflamed intestine. Sometimes a hemorrahage into the intestine can occur, resulting in anemia. The dog may also have a loss of weight and diarrhea.
Vaccines
Vaccines produce immunity to distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvoirus, and para-influenza. Your puppy will receive it’s first vaccine up to 8 weeks under our care, but need to have following shots up to the age of four months. After that an annual shot and rabies shot as required by your state law.
Diseases Vaccines Protect Your Puppy From:
*Distemper: a widespread, highly contagious disease. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, high fever, nasal discharge, coughing, and convulsions.
*Canine Adenovirus Type 2 (CAV2): is one of several viruses involved in the “kennel cough” complex. It is seldom fatal but can be a nuisance. CAV2 provides cross protection against CAV1. (Hepatitis)
*Leptospirosis (Lepto): causes kidney and liver damage, may also be transmitted to man.
*Canine Parainfluenza (CPI): an important virus in the “kennel cough” complex – a hacking cough lasting up to three weeks. Many kennels require vaccination for CPI before boarding your dog.
*Canine Parvovirus: symptoms include profuse diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, blood in stool and vomit. It is usually fatal.
*Canine Corona Virus: has symptoms similar to parvovirus and only a laboratory test can tell the difference.
*Bordetella Bronchiseptica: principal bacterial pathogen in infectious Tracheobronchitis. (Kennel Cough)
*Lyme Disease (Borrelia Burgdorferi): A tick born disease spread to dogs, humans, horses, and other warm blooded animals mainly by the deer tick. It can produce fever, lameness, lethargy, poor appetite, weight loss, seizures, and behavioral changes. It can be fatal.
*Rabies: infects all warm blooded animals, including man. Rabies attacks the central nervous system, causing death. Ask your local vet about the rabies laws in your area.
Related Health Issues/Life Expectancy
The French Bulldog is prone to ear infections, allergies, respiratory issues, hip dysplasia, conjunctivitis, heat stroke, cherry eye, hemivertebrae, intervertebral disc disease, and luxating patellars.
It extremely important that you don’t let your French bulldog get overheated. It is also important to note that most are unable to swim without some form of a life vest. DO NOT let your puppy or adult dog jump off of high places, they can tear an ACL, pop their patella out, or even compress a disc in their spine causing them to be paralyzed.
French Bulldogs have a life expectancy of under 10-12 years.
**Articles below are provided through www.PETMD.com**