Are French Bulldogs Prone to Health Issues

Health Issues with French Bulldogs

Are you thinking about adopting or buying a French bulldog? That is great! French bulldogs are one of the best dog breeds out there, and trust me, I am not just saying this! According to the March 16, 2021 annual ranking of AKC dog breeds, frenchies are now the second most popular dog breed in America! Kicking German Shepherds out of there number two spot! (I LOVE German shepherds too, don’t get me wrong!)

Like anything in life, it is important to do your research before commuting to anything.  Although French bulldogs are great pets, they do have some health issues that owner should be aware of. I am going to explain to you in this article some of the most common health problems for the breed in a easy to read, simplified manner. Let’s get started!

Quick bullet facts!

• Male frenchies have a slight disadvantage of developing the common health issues
• Health issues tend to appear when the dogs are between 2 and 3
• Roughly 73% of all frenchies show/have these common health problems

Ear Problems

Perhaps the cutest feature of the frenchies, the ‘bat ears’, lead to some health concerns for the breed. Due to the geometry/shape of their ears, germs and debris can get stuck in them which can lead to infections. Ear infections are not comfortable for us humans, and are defiantly not comfortable for you fluffy friend and can cause severe pain to your pet! The most common ear problem for the frenchies are middle ear infections (Otitis externa)

Symptoms

• Head shaking
• Scratching
• Discomfort for the pup
• Odor or dark discharge
• Swelling

What to do?

To prevent ear infections, try and keep up to speed with your dog’s ears and keep them as clean as possible! If infection does occur, contact your local vet for an appointment. Your vet will most likely thoroughly clean your pups ears with a medicated ear cleaner. Your pup should be free of infection within a week or two!

Gastroenterits

That’s a spooky word, don’t ask me how to pronounce it! Gastroenteritis refers to “inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract”, in other words, the stomach and intestines. “It can be caused by infection with bacteria, viruses, parasites, medications, or even new foods.”

Symptoms

• Vomiting and diarrhea
• Dry heaving after eating/drinking
• Blood in vomit & poop
• Depression ;(
• Loss of appetite

Potential Causes

• Dietary
• Ingesting a toxin
• Stress and/or anxiety
• Diseases and/or parasites

What to do?

This can be fatal for your pup. If your Frenchie is showing symptoms, contact your vet immediately to schedule an exam! If your dog pukes or has diarrhea for a day, stop and take a breath! This doesn’t meant your dog has HGE! Dogs are dogs! Just keep an eye on your pup, and if it continues on, bring them to your local vet.

• Another health issue is Colitis. This shows similar symptoms as those mentioned above and follow the same actions detailed in the What to do? Section above.

Eye Problems

Conjunctivitis

We all used to joke about pink-eye back in middle school! Well, our fluffy friends are susceptible to pink eye too! Known as Conjunctivitis, this is an infection which the ‘conjunctiva’ of the eye, which “is a membrane covering the eyeball and lines the eyelid becomes infected and inflamed.

Symptoms

• Discharge from eye (clear or green)
• Whites of eyes turn red or pink
• Swollen eyes
• Pawing at effected eye
• Squinting

Potential Causes

• Foreign bodies entering eye
• Allergies
• Injury
• Dray Eye
• Canine Herpes
• Parasites
• In RARE cases, by tumor or cancer (requires surgery)

What to do?

You guessed, call your local vet! They will most likely examine the cause of the issue (foreign body, allergy etc.) Depending on the cause, they may be prescribed allergy drugs, antibiotics, or eye drops.

Cherry Eye

Cherry eye is another common eye problem. This occurs when “they experience a prolapse of the third gland in their eyelid.” This can happen to just one or two eyes.

Symptoms

• Pawing at eye
• Red and dry eye
• Swelling
• Excessive tearing

Potential Causes

• Up for debate, some say it is congenital disorder and others disagree. However, it is found in frenchies at a much higher percentage than other dog breeds.

What to do?

Don’t be alarmed! It is not fatal! Although not necessary, some treatments involve surgical or non-surgical methods such as:

• Massage Techniques
• Anti-inflammatory eye drops
• The tucking method (surgical)
• The imbrication method (surgical)
• Removal of third eyelid gland (surgical)

Skin Issues

Skin fold dermatitis

Frenchies adorable face wrinkles can cause skin fold dermatitis. “These same issues occur in the armpits, neck, and vaginal area”.

Symptoms

• Itching, scratching, or biting
• Redness, crust, sores
• Red and dry eye

Potential Causes & Cures

               This is typically caused by moisture getting stuck in between the skin folds. This is preventable and curable by keeping the skin folds dry and clean daily!

Food and Environmental Skin Issues

The allergies related to food are genetic for frenchies and just like humans, effects won’t be visible unless exposed to the allergen (i.e. if a human is allergic to peanuts, and avoids peanuts, they won’t swell up!)

Some common allergens are the following

• Beef
• Chicken
• Soy
• Pork
• Dairy

As you can see, selecting the appropriate food for your Frenchie can be important!

Just like humans, environmental allergies only effect your pup when exposed to them. Some of these environmental allergies include

• Pollen
• Mold Spores
• Dust Mites

Symptoms

Skin issues symptoms related to food/environmental allergies include

• Flaky dry skin patches on body
• Sores and hot spots
• Excessive itching, biting, or scratching at effected areas
• These affected areas typically happen on the face, legs, hind legs and paws

What to do?

To lessen the effect of environmental allergies, you can “use hypoallergenic shampoo… and hypoallergenic wipes” on the affected area of the puppy.

For the food allergies, this can get a little tricky and expensive! You can try feeding your dog a hypoallergenic food, but as expected, this can be costly. You can attempt to determine what specific food your dog is allergic to by an elimination diet, but this can be time consuming and tricky.

Allergy supplements are an option too!

Breathing Issues

This may be obvious to most but, frenchies are flat faced dogs, which is also known as ‘brachycephalic’. Frenchies have short facial bones “but the same amount of facial tissue as a dog with a normal muzzle length. So there is more tissue inside the dog’s mouth than the muzzle has space for, sometimes blocking the airway so severely that surgery is needed to save the dog from respiratory distress.”

Frenchies have very narrow nostrils, which in return leads to breathing problems. If a dog “cant oxygenate himself, he cannot effectively cool himself down so he easily overheats.”

What to do

• Keep dog at normal weight
• Control the amount of exercise
• Keep dog away from hot summer heat.
• Avoid stressing the pup out!

Upper Respiratory Tract (URT) Infection (The dogs common cold)

A URT infection is the equivalent of the common cold for us humans. Another common name for this infection is kennel cough.

Symptoms

• Snorting and sneezing
• All around breathing problems
• Dischargers for the nose and eyes
• Unintentional weight loss
• Foaming from mouth
• Fever or Cough

Potential Causes

It is similar to how we can catch the common cold or COVID

• Airborne droplets (can be from a dog barking)
• Direct contact (Dog sharing toys or kissing each other)
• Contaminated Surfaces

What to do?

Some cases may go away on their own but consult with your local vet. Some vets may recommended the following:

• Antibiotics
• Cough medicine
• Nebulizers
• Vaporizers

Conclusion

Don’t be alarmed! French bulldogs are great pets and these health issues are for the most part preventable! We are ethical breeders and all of our dogs go through a 4-panel health test at minimum prior to breeding. In addition, all of our dogs visit the vet prior to breeding to ensure they are in good health. We aim to create healthy puppies and help limit any disorder that can be avoided by smart ethical breeding practices.