Whenever we place a puppy in a home we always discuss the 3 most common reasons why a French Bulldog puppy may have a loose stool when joining your home. Don’t worry the majority of time your Frenchies stool will be fine and even when loose it’s not typically an emergency.

The top 3 most common reasons a French Bulldog puppy may have a loose stool.

First, joining a new home is an environmental stressor even though he is going to be the spoiled center of attention and loving his new position in life. Just as people can run back and forth to the bathroom when stressed so can little puppies. This is their first time away from their siblings and meeting all of their new two-and-four-legged family members.

Second, giardia is everywhere and in everything and common in puppies and immune compromised adults. Remember your puppy has only been alive for weeks and still building up his immune system.  When your puppy leaves us he will have had two rounds of the dewormer called Panacur. This deworming also gets rid giardia as well. It is our best attempt for your puppy to not have giardia when coming into your home. Anything that poops on the ground such as deer, rabbits, birds, other dogs, etc… and then your puppy walks through it and licks his paw he could get it.

Third, coccidia can flare up when under stressful situations as well as picked up in the ground by anything that defecates there as well.

When you take your puppy to the vet within 48 hours of pickup for its puppy wellness check, your vet will take a stool sample. They will be able to tell you if either of these are present. Fortunately, the medications for these are fairly inexpensive (around $20). The important thing is you need to give the puppy every dose whether he likes it or not. The medications for coccidia tastes like syrup and is easy to give your puppy. The medications for giardia taste a little bitter and you will need to figure out a way to help your puppy get it down. If your vet recommends flagyl (other name metronidazole),  you can have it compounded to taste delicious but realize it will need to be compounded by a compounding pharmacy and will be a bit more expensive.  

What if my puppies stool has mucus or bloody?

Before your puppy leaves he is given DA2PP at 8 weeks old and if your puppy joins you after 12 weeks old then they will have an additional shot at 12 weeks old. The vaccination DA2PP covers Parvo. The chances that it is parvo is close to zero. Even when mucusy and even with some blood, it’s likely due to stress or your puppy may have eaten something he shouldn’t.

Do not change the food when brining your puppy home.

Changing food can be an additional stressor on a puppy. Many puppies do fine but some do not and end up with loose stools. We do not know how to predict which puppies won’t do well switching foods. As a result, we recommend keeping your Frenchie on the same diet for one month after bringing him to your home. Then if you’d like to change it, feel free to do so. Also, we have found that Frenchies stools stay harder on Royal Canin Small breed puppy food than other puppy foods. That’s why we use it and it’s also helpful in

Questions to ask yourself?

• Is my puppy active and acting normal?
• Is my puppy eating and drinking normally?

If the answer is yes to both questions, it’s likely not an emergency. If your, Frenchie is acting lethargic and not eating and/or drinking, it’s a sign something more serious is wrong and you should contact your veterinarian

I have seen this question repeated often, “Why is my French Bulldog itchy?” This is a question that can take several articles to explain. Let’s keep it as simple as possible and I’ll show you my opinion and where you can start relieving or preventing itchiness in your Frenchie.

1. Be mindful of chemicals your Frenchie is exposed to.

Your Frenchie spends the majority of his time in close contact to the ground. Chemicals you place on your floor and lawn will be breathed in and have direct contact with the skin potentially causing skin irritation and being absorbed into their system. If absorbed their bodies have to process and eliminate it. Your Frenchie could have skin irritation due to these chemicals. Just like humans every Frenchie is different. I highly recommend starting with your floor cleaner, laundry soap (doggie beds and clothes), and chemicals sprayed on lawns in direct contact with your Frenchie.

A great place to search for safer, cleaner products is the EPA safer choice website. https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/products

Products I like. (These are affiliate links on Amazon.)

Flooring and multipurpose cleaner: Odoban

Laundry detergent: Biokleen

I’m not going to pretend like I know the best lawn products because I have just chosen to ignore lawn care that involves spraying chemicals in my backyard where the Frenchies & kiddos play. I really don’t care about having the perfectly manicured lawn but I realize some of you do. If I were looking for lawn care, I’d google pet safe lawn care or for those who enjoy DIY pet safe lawn care products.

Add a UV light and air filtration system to your HVAC system.

We often feel safe within our homes that are well insulated keeping us comfortable all year long. But often our homes are also a site for trapping allergens making both us and our Frenchies feel sick with allergies. In my networking, I met Annette who started Perairapy  after relieving her pets allergies and hotspots with the addition of a UV light system and air filtration system in her home. You must read more about adding one to your home here (this states it’s for fostering but it can be used in your home). https://petairapy.com/animal-industry-solutions/pet-foster-homes/ You can also watch her story below. Again she targets professionals dog facilities but also has one just for your home.

Do no overbathe your Frenchie.

Dogs evolved with the dirt and there are microorganisms, minerals, etc… in the dirt that are beneficial for your Frenchies skin health. Think about the benefits of mud baths and clay masks for humans. Allowing dirt on your Frenchie is ok. When you overbathe them you strip them of the benefits of the soil. We recommend bathing your Frenchie no more than once a month. You can read more about how often to bathe your Frenchie here. https://thefrenchbulldog.com/how-often-should-i-bathe-my-french-bulldog/

Frenchies skin is three times thinner than yours. This means he is more likely to absorb what is placed on his skin. Because of this we also recommend using clean non-toxic shampoos when bathing. https://thefrenchbulldog.com/what-should-i-bathe-my-french-bulldog-with/

Why is my Frenchie itchy? Other reasons to consider.

These are just three things you can do to for your Frenchie to help relieve or prevent itchiness. Obviously, there are other things that can cause your Frenchie to be itchy as well such as:

• Overgrowth of candida yeast
• Food allergies
• Parasites
• Infections such as ear infections
• Fleas
• Hot spots
• Dry skin
• Weather changes
• Environmental allergies such as pollen
• Hormonal imbalance
• Anxiety
• Boredom
• Diet
• And others

We will slowly go through some of the other reasons why your Frenchie could be itchy. Not all Frenchies will have issues with being itchy. Please do not worry if you’re waiting on your very own Frenchie pup. This article is for those who want to prevent itchiness and help those out whose Frenchies might be itchy. I have found what is usually good for the earth is good for our us and our Frenchies. It’s a fun, interesting journey of discovering the best health and wellness pieces to add for optimizing our two and four legged family members health.

For many new and repeat puppy parents it’s an exciting time to help your French Bulldog puppy adjust to his new home. Your Frenchie will love coming to live in your new home and being the center of attention. Realize this is all new to him as he’s only live about 10 weeks of life. Everything will be new. Just as humans have different personalities so do Frenchies. Some are naturally adventurous loving all the new experiences. While some are more reserved and want to take all of these experiences slowly. Learn your Frenchies personality and adjust accordingly.

Tips for helping your French Bulldog puppy adjust to his new home.

1. Choose a potty spot. It’s a good idea to choose a particular spot indoors on a potty pad or outdoors that you’d like your Frenchie to potty at. Also choose your command such as “go potty” and stick with it.  Praise your puppy each time.
2. Introduce your Frenchie to his new home. This does not mean introduce him to your entire house the first day. It means introduce him to a small area. This can be a crate  surrounded by a playpen or an area blocked off by a baby gate. Let him familiarize himself with the area.  Show him where his food and water is.  Then introduce him to the areas of the house that are not off limits.
3. Introduce your Frenchie to his new family members. When you pick-up your Frenchie he will likely have met many of the family members. When at home introduce him to the rest of the immediate family crew and any pets. Realize he is learning the rules of the new house. Your other four legged family members will likely have their own rules as well. A growl is ok as that will be how they teach the puppy that it’s crossed the line. Biting and snapping at them is more of a concern that may need corrected.
4. Provide appropriate chew toys. Frenchies like to put things in their mouths. That’s how they learn and we say they are like toddlers in this area. Provide them with plenty of chew toys to keep them entertained. The water buffalo rope toy is one of our Frenchies favorites.
5. Keep a close eye on your Frenchie. Overuse his area the crate/playpen to keep him safe and help with potty training. This means if your Frenchie is not in your vision, place him in his crate or playpen. They are like toddlers and safety must come first.
6. Teach your Frenchie where it will sleep. You can choose to crate your Frenchie or allow him to sleep in your bed. Just realize consistency is key. If you allow your Frenchie in your bed, he will likely expect it for the rest of his life
7. Begin enforcing rules. Anything that will not be cute when an adult at 20+ lbs should be corrected as a puppy. This means if you don’t want him chewing on your hand or foot when older don’t let him do it now. I made the mistake on one of my first dogs as an adult in letting her run from me as a puppy. I’d chase her and scoop her up. Let’s just say it wasn’t so cute as an adult when she could faster than me. Be sure to praise your puppy for good behavior and avoid yelling or frightening your new puppy.

I have heard this question often, “What can I do to help my French Bulldogs ears stand up?” First, let’s have a little review. Most of the time we see Frenchies ears stand up between 5-10 weeks old. If you notice in the weekly pictures that your babies ears are not upright but the siblings are, there is no need to fret. Every Frenchie matures at a different rate just like a human baby. Chances are you will see them pop up before they come live with you. You may also notice they were up and the next week they flopped down. That is also normal.

What should I do to help my French Bulldogs ears stand up?

Sometimes their ears need a little help standing upright. There’s some very simple things for you to do.

1. Make sure you are giving them their daily scoop of multivitamin you received at pick-up. You can also order here. Calcium is in this mixture and may help with getting those ears upright.
2. When you are snuggling with your puppy massage its ear and hold them upright. Or tie each ear with a ribbon hair tie. Do not tie them too tight or use hair ties that will cut off circulation.
3. Attach bandaids at the base of each ear pointing them up at a 1 and 11 o’clock position. It may take one-two bandaids per ear depending on the size of the ears and bandaids. Do not leave your puppy with another dog as the ears may now look like chew toys. You can leave the bandaids on for a 1-5 days. Repeat as necessary.