A puppy from us comes with a one year health guarantee from any genetic problems. Each puppy will be examined by my vet that has known us and our dogs for over 25 years (one of our dogs comes to the vet office everyday) at 6 weeks. They will be able to leave here at 9 weeks old. They will have their 1st set of puppy vaccines before they leave. They will be started housebreaking at between 5 and 6 weeks old. We want anyone who gets a puppy from us to have a great start. We treat every puppy like one we are going to keep. We have veterinarians that own our dogs along with many references.
We feed all our dogs Fromm Salmon Al a veg dog food along with either raw or we cook for them each day. The raw is very good for them, they seem to do very well on it better than the dry but it's not always practical to feed raw food. Bulldogs tend to gulp what they eat and can't chew well with the type of bite they have. We mix the dry which is tiny pieces with yogurt and the raw chicken or whatever we cook for them twice a day. Vegetables such as sweet potatoes, baked potatoes (with no skin incase of choking) and spinach are very healthy to mix into the food too. We have fresh eggs from out chickens they get mixed in the morning somedays also.
All of our dogs get marrow bones from the butcher or grocery store (not the bones in pet stores). Bulldogs are chewers, they do very well on the marrow bones. Cooking them can make them break easily so we give them raw (the marrow can be taken out of the middle with a knife so to much of the marrow isn't eaten, it is very greasy and might upset their stomachs). This keeps their teeth clean along with helping with chewing. Plastic and man made material bones they sell are not a good alternative for chewing. Plastic is made with chemicals which are not good for them and teaches them that plastic is for chewing (Like TV remotes, retainers, ect.) Bulldogs can choke on rawhides and are not a good alternative for chewing.
If you have never had a bulldog this is a good thing to know. Some of the treats they have for dogs like biscuits, are to big and because they don't chew I have had a few get stuck in throats, so I break them in very small pieces. I also do this for other treats that might cause a problem for dogs that don't chew their food well.
Over feeding a bulldog puppy or feeding to much at one time can lead to throwing up and acid which can than lead to sinus infections or pneumonia. We have found that omeprazole (generic for prilosec or prevacid) helps with acid that over eating can cause. We measure what each of our dogs get and feed puppies 3 to 4 times a day, adults eat 2 times a day with treats before bed and inbetween meals. More small meals a day and at least a treat (cheese works well, a piece of cheese melted on bread works very well also) before bed help with reduction of acid in their system from an empty stomach. To many hours inbetween eating causes acid in dogs stomachs.
Health Guarentee
Feeding and Helpful hints for health about Frenchies.
I get so many questions everyday about these guys that I thought it might be helpful to add some facts that I know from living everyday, almost every minute for a few years now with my silly and loveable Frenchies.
They are chewers, especially in the first year of life. They need to have bones to chew on, even then as puppies you need to watch they don't chew corners of your woodwork or furniture. I give mine marrow bones from the grocery store or butcher and give them to them raw. They are aggressive chewers and enjoy them as adults too. It will keep their teeth clean and gums healthy.
When the weather is humid, they should be kept from over exerting. Hot sun is also not good for them. Summer weather is fine if it isn't humid and the sun is not afternoon sun.
If your hot and sweating then the dogs are also. They have smashed faces so it's harder for them to cool off, it's best to keep them in air conditioning during very hot or humid weather.
Stenotic nares and elongated palates are common in bracycephalic dogs. Breeding dogs without these problems are a big help in reducing them but does not mean they will never happen in any brachycephalic (breeds with wide flat heads) dog. Keeping your dog from getting obese and not letting them over exert in very hot and humid weather is important to their comfort as it is more difficult for them to get air.
They are not the easiest puppies to housebreak. They are wonderful once they are 8 months to 12 months old. Patience and lots of time spent is needed during the first year to make sure they are housebroke right. They are small dogs and sometimes are to busy playing to remember to go outside even if they were just out. All mine are wonderful and trustworthy but it did take upto a year to get them done right on most of them. Once they are trained they are great about it.
Some of the Frenchies are very cuddly, some are not as puppies. They can be to busy to sit with you until they are 1 year old. After that they will never get off your lap or off your pillow! Bulldogs are not for everyone but if you decide that you want to be a bulldog owner you will never love a pet more.
A good tip is something I learned from an English bulldog show breeder. Squirt some lemon juice in the mouth of a bulldog if they have a lot of phlegm in their throat. The lemon juice in a plastic lemon works well. The more extreme of a face the more chance of having that which can make them throw up. The lemon juice cuts the phlegm.
Frenchies are a lot of fun and full of love. It does take time and patience the first year to train them but then you will have the best, funniest, cutest dog you could have after that. It is best to know some of this going in to getting a puppy so you can enjoy every minute of it!
If your puppy gets a red swollen area under the eye especially between 3 and 6 months old that is called a cherry eye. When the puppies are growing and teething it can cause the lining below the eye to swell and pop up. If you see this and get to your vet quickly your vet can put eye oinment with a steroid in the eye that reduces the swelling, it works well and quickly so that the inflamation reduces and the red tissue goes away. It most often never comes back and isn't a problem.
Hernias are common in many breeds, also in French bulldogs. They can be fixed easily at the time of spaying or neutering.
Stenoic nares are also one of the common issues with this breed being brachycephalic, this can also easily be fixed at the time of spaying or neutering.
VACCINES
Vaccines that are not needed can be very harmful and even deadly to your dog. Puppy vaccines can last a lifetime just like children get vaccines as babies or very young that last someone's entire life. Vaccines every year or even every 3 years can cause auto immune issues, allegies and blood disorders all that can lead to death with in a few hours or weeks of vaccines that were to many for their systems to handle. Sometimes a dog gets ill within 4 to 6 weeks after another set of vaccines are given that they don't need.
PLEASE ask your veterinarian about a TITER blood test to see if immunity is still there for the vaccines they need. (this goes for your pet cats as well). This is a safe way to see if they are needed before putting them into their bodies which may seriously harm them. Better to check than for it to be to late because they already had something they didn't need. This INCLUDES the Rabies vaccines which can also harm or kill your dog if they already have the immunity in their systems from a previous vaccine. It is to much on their immune system.
More things to know about French bulldogs