New Frenchie owner

[Frenchie_Levi]

Hi all. I have recently become a first time owner to a French bulldog called Levi. He is an energetic, 18 months old and a complete nutter. I previously had a beautiful blue staffy called Reggie, who sadly past away at the start of the year of old age. I have been interested in bulldog breeds for a while now, im just here for tips, tricks and advice.

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

Hi all. I have recently become a first time owner to a French bulldog called Levi. He is an energetic, 18 months old and a complete nutter. I previously had a beautiful blue staffy called Reggie, who sadly past away at the start of the year of old age. I have been interested in bulldog breeds for a while now, im just here for tips, tricks and advice.

Welcome!!
She is cute.


French Bulldogs are a incredible breed, amazing unique personalities.
Even with all their health issues they are prone to, I would definitely get another frenchie as they are so amazing dogs.

As for tips/advice:

The biggest thing for keeping them healthy and Prevent health issues is Good food! If you feed low quality dog food, it definitely is way more likely he will get health issues!!

Raw diet is best if you can and are open to it, but I know raw isn’t for everyone, so here is the most premium kibble brands:

-Natures Logic
-Carna 4

Both Carna 4 and Natures Logic is synthetic free and whole food based and also has probiotics in it too.

Natures Logic has NO legume and potato either which is great for yeast issues/allergies(common in this breed).

Rotate proteins to prevent food allergies and picky Eaters, so if you feed Natures Logic for example then rotate thru Sardine, beef, lamb, Pork, Beef/salmon, turkey, and red meat formulas, so you could rotate every bag is a different protein.

Rusty actually developed a allergy to pork from eating it 60 days in a row Without variety/rotating proteins, Now I rotate thru everything he isn’t currently allergic to in raw food and thats been really helpful to prevent new food allergies.

Chicken is the most common allergy. I just avoid anything chicken, same with grains.

Premium food is the BEST way to keep them healthy and prevent health issues. Also make sure treats are just as healthy as the Food.

What do you feed him????


Other things Frenchies are prone to:

-Allergies(see above for food advice to prevent food allergies)
-IVDD- Definitely recommend NO stairs and No jumping (if possible) as that makes them more at risk, Rusty has IVDD, it’s a terrible spine disease that’s often genetic. I help Rusty up and down the stairs and I will help him on and off couch and have trained him to NOT jump or do any stairs or jump on furniture.
-No walking them on a Collar as that pulls on the airway, and can cause spine issues too sometimes. I only recommend you walk him on a Harness.
I have a collar on Rusty for a name tag on it for safety reasons during the day but I do NOT pull on the collar and Only use a harness when walking him.

-Elongated Soft Palate and closed Nostrils(this is extremely common and can’t be prevented unfortunately, but thankfully there is a surgery to cut the soft palate and nostrils for a more open airway, this can often be done when you get him neutered)
-neuter I recommend waiting until 18-24 months to neuter as it can prevent some growth issues and prevent certain cancers and joint issues.
-eye issues- cherry eye can be common, and also allergies can also cause eye inflammation and infection.
- Keep his wrinkles and tail pocket clean, that can prevent yeast and bacteria infections.

They also don’t handle the warm heat weather or the cold weather so don’t walk them in the heat or when it’s extremely cold. They overheat easy and are prone to heat stroke, and once they have had heat stroke before, they are even more at risk.

For cold weather, I always put sweaters on Rusty, he has a couple winter jackets, and has a hat his ears go into to keep them warm, and has boots(so paws don’t freeze in snow), and he also has pajamas. Even when it’s cool out but not super cold, I do put a sweater on him, Rusty loves the sweaters and pajamas and all this clothes!! They definitely need to be warm when it’s cold outside as they don’t handle the cold weather great either like the hot weather.


Crate training is really helpful too as it’s a safe space for them. Rusty loves his crate and wants to sleep in it every night.

But it’s best to prevent the health issues thru premium food than to have them have tons of health issues and end up at vet all the time.
So having him on premium food(Raw diet OR natures logic or Carna 4 for dry food) and also taking the steps above like I mentioned such as no jumping and stairs and walk him on harness etc, is the best way to prevent many health issues.

What do you feed him???

If you have any other specific questions regarding health issues or food, just ask🙂

 

[2bullymama]

Welcome to FBN!! Your baby is adorable!