French Bulldog is a small dog breed, used as companion or domestic dog. This breed is related to the American and English Bulldogs but it is believed to carry traits of Pug and Terrier breeds. The French Bulldog breed was accepted by the Kennel Clubs in 1906 (USA) and 1905 (UK). Prior to that, they were only considered a variety of the English or American Bulldogs. These dogs are typical companion dogs who love close contact with their human owners, they do not need much exercise but at least a weekly walk is recommended. Due to their breathing system, French Bulldogs can not live outdoors as they are unable to regulate the temperature. These dogs are getting well along with kids as well as other dog breeds. They do not bark much, so its easy to keep them even in an apartment with neighbors.
My French Bulldog blog contains important information that will make it easier to keep a French Bulldog. The information is written in an easy to understand form and is aimed at starting dog breeders. In case you already own a French Bulldog, please send me a picture of your pet so I can post it here on my site. Thanks for your visit.
French Bulldogs are a great breed for displaying in shows. They are docile, well behaved, obedient and very intelligent which makes them easy to train. You and your dog can have a lot of fun this way, meet fellow dog enthusiast (and fellow dogs as far as your pet is concerned), get to travel around, and generally enjoy spending some time together and strengthening you owner/dog relationship. But in order for this to be possible, your pet has to conform to certain standards prescribed by the American Kennel Club.
First of all, your dog must be well proportioned, none of its features should be over or under emphasized. He mustn’t weigh over 28 pounds; excessive weight is grounds for disqualification. He mustn’t be too fat or skinny and his height should be equal to the distance between his withers and the base of his tail. The dog’s eyes should be set far apart and dark in color, although light eyes are tolerated if the dog’s coat is also light.
Ears should be of the bat type – with a broad base and round tips. If ears are of any other type, or if they have been clipped, your dog cannot compete. As a matter of fact, any alterations to your dog’s body (like for instance tail docking) except for dewclaws removal will not be tolerated and will prevent him from taking part in a show. Nose is subject to similar rules as eyes, it should be black, but lighter noses are permitted if the dog’s fur is also of a light color. Dog should have an underbite, and its teeth mustn’t be showing when its mouth are closed.
Your pets tail needs to be short, held low, and either screwed or straight. If your dog’s back are obviously swayed he will be disqualified. Coats are usually fawn, brindle, white or any combination of the above. Most of the other possible colors are permitted except: liver, mouse and black, either solid or in combination with white or tan.
Apart from meeting these physical requirements your dog needs to be obedient, well behaved and to give out an impression of playfulness and affectionate and sociable nature. These characteristics will usually be present in a well trained and cared for dog, so you shouldn’t worry too much about them.
If you determine that your dog is in possession of all of the listed qualities there is really no reason for you to hesitate any longer. You might want to do some additional obedience training and make sure that he understands all of the essential commands perfectly, and you can start displaying him in shows to your mutual pleasure.
Alongside with proper training, care and paying close attention to your Frenchie’s health, the choice of the food you are giving him is one of the most important aspects of dog ownership and shouldn’t be taken lightly and without extensive research. Your dog’s health and happiness are strongly dependant on what you feed him with. Don’t be lazy or thrifty when it comes to this, you have committed to taking care of a living being and that is not something that should be done without the appropriate amount of responsibility and dedication.
Ideally you would feed your dog a diet that consists of completely natural and healthy ingredients containing large amounts of protein and vitamins. This might include but is not limited to: eggs, chicken meat, ground vegetables and turkey necks, yogurt or milk and occasional fruit if you determine that your dog likes it. Now, it is completely understandable if you don’t have the time or resources to prepare such feasts for your dog, that is why there are a lot of commercial foods that can be an adequate, if not ideal, substitute. But even if you focus primarily on them, don’t hesitate to occasionally treat your dog to a proper home-cooked meal.
If you can set some time apart for this, you can use the following recipe. The meal you are preparing should consist of around 80 percent of protein – for example, different internal organs such as liver or kidneys, combined with ground muscles and turkey necks; 5 percent fish; 10 percent vegetables and 5 percent various ingredient like eggs or yogurt. You can also add some oatmeal for carbs. This can take some time and effort to prepare, but it gives you peace of mind that comes with knowing that your Frenchie is getting only natural and healthy ingredients without any potentially harmful additives.
If you are not in the position to do this there are still a lot of other options. One of them is feeding your dog premade raw diet mixes. They come with all the minerals, ground vegetables and other supplements that your dog might require and you should only add the meat. This will save you a lot of time, as well as provide you with the balanced ratio of the nutrients that your pet requires. If you prefer not to have to add the meat yourself, you can just buy a pack of frozen raw food, it contains everything previously listed as well as the meat. Just defrost it and your dog will have a complete meal ready.
Kibble is probably the worst option, but even within this type of dry food there are distinctly better and worse options. Try to choose the ones that doesn’t contain grain or corn, as your, or for that matter any dog, is not really good at digesting them. Quite the opposite. Also, avoid buying food that contains meat from unnamed fish or animals or any type of extra fats.
Hopefully, this short overview has helped you in formulating a feeding strategy for your pet. If you intend to use commercial foods, do your research, there are plenty of dog enthusiasts out there who have tested a great number of pre-packed foods, their opinions and experiences will help you find reliable food brands.
Most breeds have a set of health problems commonly associated with them. These problems are often genetic, which makes the choice of breeder from whom you will purchase your dog very important. More responsible and knowledgeable breeders will take the genetic makeup of dogs they are pairing up into consideration, and that practice will significantly decrease the chances of their offspring suffering from such genetic disorders.
However, hereditary problems are not the only one that can frequently appear within a certain breed, some of the breed’s characteristics can also contribute in creating such breed-specific problems. With French bulldogs those characteristics are there flat faces and short muzzles. Animals with that type of head bone structures are called brachycephalic. Their short muzzles can make it hard for French Bulldogs to breathe properly. This also makes them risky to put under anesthesia, as their breathing might become too shallow to sustain them. You will often hear snorting from you French Bulldog, and that in itself is no reason for concern. If you, however, notice that they are doing it much more often than usual and that they are getting fatigued more often don’t hesitate to contact your vet.
This limited air intake also makes them quite vulnerable to heat stroke, as they cannot cool themselves off with deeper and faster breathing as other breeds do. Make sure that they are always sheltered from the heat, and by heat, you should consider everything that is above room temperature. If you leave your dog outside in the warm weather make sure that it has access to shade and a lot of fresh, cold water. If you see the inside of his ears are turning redder you should recognize that as a possible sign of an impending heat stroke and take immediate steps to shelter your French Bulldog from the heat.
Constricted nostrils are another common aliment of brachycephalic dogs. It is a defect present from birth and is characterized by soft cartilage that should be giving proper form to the nostrils. Its inability to do so results in obstructed breathing, which can in time even flatten the Bulldog’s chest. You can recognize this condition by nasal foamy or watery discharge. If you determine, or even suspect that your dog might be suffering from this condition contact your vet. If the condition is diagnosed the dog can undergo corrective surgery that should enable it to breathe properly.
French bulldogs might also suffer from some bone related problems, such as abnormalities with vertebrae, hip dysplasia or kneecap dislocation. These conditions might vary in severity and they are usually easily noticeable. Look for limping or unnatural posture in you Bulldog, if you notice that it is experiencing any type of discomfort while walking, take him to the vet. Some of these conditions are not progressive and may be ignored or even temporarily fixed by the dog stretching his legs, other will require surgery.
Generally, it is recommendable that you keep a close eye on your dog and report any significant and potentially telling changes in his behavior to your vet, they might sometimes be perfectly harmless, but in such situations it is much better to err on the side of caution.
It shouldn’t come to you as a surprise that puppies are much more vulnerable and fragile than older dogs, meaning that you need to be particularly careful with them, and if you’ve never had to raise a dog from its infancy thread lightly and cautiously. Get informed as much as you can before bringing the puppy home as there are some things in proper puppy care that mustn’t be overlooked if you want it to develop into a healthy dog.
You should make your house a suitable place for a puppy to live in, put a crate, or even better an exercise pen in one room which should be risk free for a little puppy – no electrical cables it could chew on, no openings in which it might get stuck and, generally, no dangers of any kind.
You need to know the exact age of your puppy as you will need to get him vaccinated and the vet needs to know how old the puppy is in order to properly administrate the vaccinations. Puppies are very sensitive to irregularities in their diets; make sure to feed them three meals a day. Two should consist of high quality protein rich food, and, if you notice that the puppy likes them, the third might even include fruit or vegetables, vitamins will do him good.
French Bulldogs are indoor dogs, and they are extremely sensitive to heat, especially while they are very young. Never expose them to high temperatures. If you notice that they are panting or that the insides of their ears are getting red you should immediately try to help them cool off. You should slowly try to get more and more people into their lives as that is how they learn to socialize and be accepting of strangers. And remember, if you treat them with love and care you will be repaid in kind.
