TIPS TO KEEP YOUR FRENCH BULLDOG HAPPY AND HEALTHY
Helps Bulldogs too!
Our Top Frenchie Must Haves
These are 110% genuinely the products we have tried and tested along with hundreds of others that haven't done a thing - and these are the ones we swear by and keep stocked come hell or high water. We are an Amazon affiliate and are pleased to be able to recommend our favourites to you -
We want you to know they're GREAT and have helped our rescue pups become itch, nausea, pain and cough free throughout their many medical issues... and back to being happy!
Got recommendations to share?? Let us know, we are always excited to try new products that could help and share them with our network!!
The best product we have found to stop reverse sneezing in its tracks. We keep it in for emergencies at all times (and so do Grandma and Grandpa!) Our girls love the taste (molasses-y) which makes it easy to feed on food or straight down (they run to grab it!)
We love Ecover Zero for our endlessly itchy pups - we have done our best to remove all chemicals from the kitchen, replacing all our cleaning sprays with their Zero range and all our laundry detergent too. Itchy skin is often related to allegens / contact dermatitis, and harsh chemicals like bleaching your floor or using standard detergent to wash dog beds, sofa covers etc, really can exacerbate it.
Ecover's laundry detergent combines well with their cleaning spray to help reduce itchy skin in allergic dogs who are sensitive to chemicals and harsh ingredients. Not the cheapest but worth a go if struggling and they offer big refill versions to help bulk buy if like us you wash a lot of dog beds!
We absolutely couldn't live without these ultra well fitting knickers which stay put, are comfy, fit like a dream and wash endlessly well, never leaking and not requiring the use of pads. Perfect for IVDD incontinence, heat or toilet challenges, the M fits our small girls perfectly, tail hole not needed but otherwise spot on and much more secure than others!
If you don't have to avoid chemical sprays, we find HG can always be relied upon and their all sofa odour killer is ideal for sofa accidents which are all too common in a rescue dog household! Nifty tip - take your sofa cushion covers off if removeable, wrap the cushion in removals cling film and recover. So much easier to clean without any accidents soaking in and this will help no end! Bicarb of sofa left sitting overnight then hoovered off followed by white vinegar also works (but smell is...vinegary).
If your pup, like ours, suffers from anything like ingrowing hairs, ear infections, eye ulcers, lumps and bumps etc, these extreme magnifying glasses are invaluable to help you track down the source of the problem and really see what is going on and deal with it carefully. Has a handle usbc rechargeable bright light in the front to help you see.
A french bulldog does love to get an eye ulcer and these can be super painful and need to be treated swiftly. If like us you regularly battle eye ulcers/scratches, these corneal repair drops are absolutely a god send, they actually heal the cornea (unlike other lubricating eyedrops that can't do the same thing). We try to combine with an antibiotic eye ointment from our vet but if you catch the ulcer at first wince and do this throughout the day every few hours, we find it often shifts an early stage ulcer within a day or two before they can develop. If not - straight to vet as can get nasty.
A tried and tested cheap basic to keep in the cupboard for when upset tums hit, these can calm down a momentary wobble if your friend has eaten something they shouldn't (poop usually in Chowder's case I'm afraid), or switched food too fast. See our digestive section for more tips and products we find work really well for this, including best calming foods and supplements.
Nothing much beats coconut oil, but if your pooch suffers with cracked nose / hyperkeratosis / sore paw pads, this balm is the only one we have found that actually both works and doesn't seem to make things actively worse by trapping oil/dirt in the problem area. It feels like very soft melty beeswax, smells lovely and has been a good general balm for paws and nose.
Struggling with itchy hot infected ears or itchy nether regions? These pads, by the same brand as the foam and wash we like, is essentially Hibiscrub (the antifungal wash used in surgical settings) but infused into easy to grab and wipe pads which are very handy to keep in. Nothing clears grubby ears faster in our experience.
Problems with seborrhoea or stud tail can cause your dog to be miserably itchy and this shampoo we tracked down is formulated specifically for these issues - we find it beats anything else to really break down the oil gland issues and keep things dry and under control. Easy squeeze bottle also helpful.
If your dog is dealing with stiff joints or early stage collapsing trachea chondroitin and glucosamine can support their joint mobility and can act to strengthen the supporting cartilage around the windpipe - we found in our chihuahua this with months of use totally stopped her tracheal collapse coughing issues. We find these tablets easy as whilst large they can be easily broken in half, and our dogs eat them as they are as they love the chicken flavour!)
Our dogs have been through a lot of surgery, had lumps and bumps and all kinds of skin issues. If you, like us, deal with situations in which skin healing/
regeneration is required this retinol serum is watery/lightweight and acts as a moisturiser that promotes skin cell turnover to encourage rapid healing. Product intended for human use, we have never had any issues on our pooches.
The equivalent of washing your dog's skin/paws in hibiscrub with none of the fuss/water, if your pooch suffers from fungal issues/allergies/itching skin/ itchy paws, this convenient foam by the excellent Douxo does the same job with none of the battle. Just pump the foam, whack it on the paws/under arms etc, and off you go. The easier, the more likely you are to keep up the routine!
A human hayfever drug (Clarityn essentially), this over the counter tablet is a decent placeholder to deal with itchiness if your dog is having an episode. It is also useful to keep in for emergencies when you have a brachy dog, in case of bee stings which can prove fateful if you don't get an antihistimine in fast. Check online for dog dosage advice or ask your vet.
Another great placeholder for hibiscrub washes with easier application, if your buddy is dealing with fungal itch issues, this clear gel is quick and easy to apply and stays put with minimal mess / fuss.
Our final recommendation from Douxo (we are not sponsored by them!!), if your dog has fungal itch issues this is the only shampoo other than hibiscrub that we find really deals with it well. Again, a hibiscrub alternative that is formulated for pets and seems gentler on their skin whilst remaining effective. Used as a weekly shampoo with the foam / pads used to tide you over in the meantime, it makes for a good regime.
Another human product, if you have a dog who has had surgery and whose wounds are totally healed but scarring remains, Bio Oil is great for scar healing, is gentle and is really effective when you keep up the application at getting wounds to settle down. Don't apply to any wounds that are open, wait for all healing over to complete and then use this to help soften and blend the area and minimise itching and irritation.
A good all round mainstain to keep in your cupboard, this age old antibacterial powder is great to dry out weeping/bleeding/raw wounds. If your dog has open minor wounds, sores, lumps that bleed, this power will dry them off, keep them free from bacteria, and settle the skin down. Healing is much faster and skin is calmed.
Pumpkin is well known for upset tums, but in case you run out of a tin of pumpkin (which is worth keeping in but can be hard to track down at short notice), we find keeping a pot of pumpkin powder handy is a convenient alternative that also seems to work very well (much like slippery elm) but perhaps in a more controlled way than the very fibrous canned pumpkin itself. Just add some water to your dog's kibble/wet food and add a teaspoon in.