What we wish we knew...

One of the most popular dog breeds, French Bulldogs come packed with massive personality, and abundance of cuteness, as well as a host of health care needs. Their playful nature and innate curiosity can cleverly disguise their mix of health needs and quirks . Understanding their health and care needs is crucial for ensuring a happy and healthy life for your Frenchie. This post explores one health care issue we WISH we knew before Frank entered our world. While it would not have changed our hearts or minds, it would been helpful to have been prepared!

Here's to hoping it helps you!

Understanding the French Bulldog Breed:

Over heating

French Bulldogs are a mighty force of nature packed into a small container. Muscular with distinctive bat-like ears, they are known for their affectionate nature and adaptability. However, their unique physical characteristics also make them prone to certain health issues. Overheating is perhaps the most serious of these concerns - if not the most serious as it is a regularly occurring issue that requires planning, careful attention, and a whole lot of patience!

French Bulldogs are brachycephalic (brak-ee-suh-fal-ik) which means they have short noses and flat faces. This lack of face space can lead to several breathing difficulties, especially in hot weather or during exercise.

A dog's main mode of cooling is by panting. Panting allows for the evaporation of moisture from the tongue, nasal passages, and lungs, which helps lower body temperature. When a dog pants, the airflow across the moist surfaces of its mouth and respiratory tract creates an evaporative cooling effect, similar to how humans sweat. But since dogs have limited sweat glands, they rely on panting as their main source of air conditioning. Panting helps to dissipate heat.

Most breeds have a disproportionately longer/larger nasal tract which helps them to turn down the heat. Not the Frenchie. The smashed faced nature of the brachycephalic Frenchie complicates their ability to cool themselves by panting. If panting is the a/c for dogs, the short snout of the Frenchie is akin to a clogged filter: not as much air can pass through the moist glands to aid in the cooling process.

Hence, Frenchie's overheat QUICKLY! And coupled with their tenacious personality, this is a BIG PROBLEM!!!

Here are some easy ENVIRONMENT altering tips to help your Frenchie keep his/her cool while on walks:

1) Keep it simple - Frenchie's need regular exercise for sure! But they do not need to train for an Iron Pup on the daily. Short, regular walks, not runs, are a better way to help your Frenchie keep fit and cool.

2) Timing - Like most of life's endeavors, timing is everything. We have found walking Frank in the morning before 1000 and in the evenings after 1800 seems to help him chill... literally! Avoiding the hottest times of the days reduces the stress of labored smashed face breathing and helps Frank to get some of his energy out.... hard stress on the some!

3) Plan your route - Taking a stroll with your strong willed snorter can be a struggle for all! Plan a treelined or grass laden route when possible. The shade offers a quick and integrated respite to help cool your companion and the grass a means of wicking away extra sweat. You will soon notice how your Frenchie LOVES to low crawl through the grass. Though they likely are convinced they are working on their Special Forces tactics, the low crawl grass strategy is natures way of helping the Frenchie to cool down.

Frenchie's cool from the underside up. The cool sensation from the the soft and/or damp grass on their less furry areas acts as a natural way to beat the heat and cool down. It is similar to their fondness for lying spread eagle - gut down on a cool tile floor... awkward to look at for sure - but a fully functional and natural means of beating the heat for your Frenchie.

Frank is a master class in all things Frenchie. Every post, website, doc blog, video, book, article, etc... we read about the breed, Frank checks all of the boxes. On the one hand, it's reassuring to know the quirky characteristics our snorty little sidekick exhibits are completely normal. And on the other hand, or is actually the same one... hmmmm, we wish we would have been a little more in the know before he entered our pack!

Knowing what you can do to help your little critter overcome the overwhelming and completely expected episodes of overheating can help you overhaul your adventures and make life - especially walks - safer and more enjoyable for all.

Frank-the-Frenchie passed out after a walk... to the mailbox!!!