New Frenchie Momma

momma2Rex · Mar 12, 2018

I should preface... I pick up my new guy in 4 weeks. His name is Rex and he's 4 weeks this week... (I'm counting down the days). I will be a new Frenchie owner but have previously owned an English Bulldog, his name was Chewy. I lost him at the young age of 8 this past December after a long battle with Cushings Disease. To say a part of my heart died that day would be an understatement. He was my best friend. Moving forward... My kids yearned for a 'more energetic' dog but my heart was still with the bully breed so here we are! Compromise, right?

I'm curious to hear from fellow owners your thoughts on Vaccines, Raw fed diets (or just homemade and store bought as well) and general wellness for your babies. What have you found works, doesn't work, etc...

I have extensive knowledge of the English (more so than I ever anticipated) but I'm curious to hear from you all about how you love and care for this sweet little breed.

We are very excited about our new adventure... Our house hasn't quite been the same without our big stinky bulldog around so we are ready to dive head first into bringing Rex home and getting him started on the right foot.

I look forward to using this site as a resource! I would have been LOST without resources while treating Chewy's illness. It truly was a blessing and made his illness far less painful for him and I both in a lot of ways.

Frenchie Grrrl · Mar 12, 2018

Welcome to FBN!! Looking forward to seeing pics of Rex - I'm sure you can't wait to bring him home.

I'm a big fan of raw feeding - I'm currently feeding a premade raw grind and raw or dehydrated raw treats.

If I could go back to the puppy stage, I think I would work with a homeopathic vet and use nosodes when my puppy was young, titer, and then only minimal and delayed vaccinations (if any - probably only a single rabies). I wish I had not done the series of puppy boosters. However, I'm sure I am in the minority here.

mattcantwin · Mar 13, 2018

4 weeks to wait, well worth it for a Frenchie.

Congratulations!

Cbrugs · Mar 13, 2018

Welcome! Sorry to hear about the passing of Chewy.

You will just love having a Frenchie, they are such clown dogs. And since you have experience with an English Bulldog, that will be helpful. I have my Frenchie (Jax) who will be 5 next month and I have a 1 year old English Bulldog (Louie). With having both, my personal experience is that I have to clean and wipe Louie much more than Jax. But Jax has environmental allergies so he can be high maintenance as well.

Jax gets fed raw 100% and Louie gets Zignature kibble in the am and raw in the pm. The raw I feed is a commercial brand so it's already balanced with the correct meat/bone/organ ratio and it's already ground up.

Both my guys are vaccinated and neither have had any kind of adverse reaction.

2bullymama · Mar 13, 2018

Welcome to FBN! So very sorry for the loss of Chewy... I know that pain all to well!

I currently have a Frenchie and an English... I recently (about 3 months ago) switched to 100% raw sourced locally and delivered to my home frozen. The difference is awesome... all of our Bulldog (Lambeau) issues are gone... seasonal flank alopecia, gland leakage, ear infections -- nothing exist any longer. Our Frenchie, Chelios, is reaping the benefits, he had little issues, but looks great (coat and higher energy level).

Cheli does have spinal issues which we treat with Movoflex and once a month laser session... he lives a normal life, just have to monitor jumping and limit going down stairs.

as for vaccinations... they get what is required for where we live and have never had any issues. Heartworm/flea/tick -- we use Sentinel and Vectra 3D

Alice Kable · Mar 16, 2018

:smileywelcome: to FBN!!! I am sorry for your loss of Chewy. We have had 6 English Bulldogs starting in 1984, usually 2 at a time, and they just don't live long enough. We still have #6, Ruggles, a healthy 11 year old. Prior to him none of them made it to 10. We decided to switch to Old English Bulldog and ended up with Buster whose mama is Old English and his dad is a very sneaky Frenchie. Yup, a breeder mistake so we got a large refund and an awesome pup! You will love having a Frenchie!!!

momma2Rex · Mar 20, 2018

Thank you for the warm welcome! Only 3 weeks to go until he's home! I get to meet him for the first time this weekend, I am taking his crate, his bed and one of my t-shirts to his breeder so they can familiarize him with what he will be coming home too. He's a healthy chunky butt right now and growing! I have spoken to a few Vet's (the Vet I trusted for years with my Chewy... well... we've had a falling out) I feel like I'm interviewing them! But knowing what I know now... I want to be 100% sure that I am trusting the right person.

For those that feed Raw & Kibble... I wasn't sure about feeding a puppy Raw... did you guys start them on Raw immediately? I want to make sure that he gets enough calories/fat/protein to ensure proper growth. Chewy was only on Raw after his diagnosis... I always had him on a grain free etc... high quality kibble and he had natural supplements to warrant off chronic ear infections and allergies but I didn't start 100% Raw until his health demanded it. Realizing the benefits of it now... I'm wondering if I should start Rex on it from the get go.

Does anyone here use Raw Goat's milk? I've heard wonderful things about it for a pups developing immune system...

Frenchie Grrrl · Mar 20, 2018

A lot of people just go raw without a transition, but since you have time to research, maybe look into joining a raw feeding group on FB.

I feed Answers raw goat's milk. I've seen them recommend using it to transition a dog to raw. Gradually, over about 4-5 days increasing the amount of milk and decreasing the amount of kibble, and on the last day switch to their frozen grinds and just use the raw goat's milk as a supplement.

What kind of raw were you thinking about using? Frozen grinds? DIY? Dehydrated "raw?"

Cbrugs · Mar 20, 2018

momma2Rex said:
Thank you for the warm welcome! Only 3 weeks to go until he's home! I get to meet him for the first time this weekend, I am taking his crate, his bed and one of my t-shirts to his breeder so they can familiarize him with what he will be coming home too. He's a healthy chunky butt right now and growing! I have spoken to a few Vet's (the Vet I trusted for years with my Chewy... well... we've had a falling out) I feel like I'm interviewing them! But knowing what I know now... I want to be 100% sure that I am trusting the right person.

For those that feed Raw & Kibble... I wasn't sure about feeding a puppy Raw... did you guys start them on Raw immediately? I want to make sure that he gets enough calories/fat/protein to ensure proper growth. Chewy was only on Raw after his diagnosis... I always had him on a grain free etc... high quality kibble and he had natural supplements to warrant off chronic ear infections and allergies but I didn't start 100% Raw until his health demanded it. Realizing the benefits of it now... I'm wondering if I should start Rex on it from the get go.

Does anyone here use Raw Goat's milk? I've heard wonderful things about it for a pups developing immune system...

You definitely want a vet you are 100% comfortable with and one that is knowledgeable with bulldogs.

I did not start Jax on raw but when I did switch him over, he went cold turkey and did not have any issues. Louie, my bulldog, who gets kibble in the am and for the last 2 months has been getting raw in the pm didn't transition either, I just started giving him raw at night and no problems.

You can definitely start a puppy on raw. For puppies, I believe the amount to feed is 2% of their expected adult weight. If you Google raw feeding calculators, a bunch will come up that can help you. Of course every dog is different so they are just guidelines. There is a raw feeding group on FB dedicated to bulldogs that always has great information and helpful members.