The vast majority of french bulldogs owners are unaware of what their pets go through when it comes to health problems, like ear infections. In order to be able to pay for your pet’s vet bills for all the medicine you’ll need to keep them healthy, make sure that you have good pet insurance (not the rip off kind) before an illness is diagnosed. Try and visit your veterinarian twice per week especially for puppies and also keep a close eye on your dog and look for any signs or funny behaviors they might show.
1. Intervertebral Disc Disease – As with other types of bulldogs that have been breed, its normally common with short legged dogs and affects the shock absorbing discs which is between vertebrates of the spine. French bulldogs of the dwarf breed are usually the most vulnerable compared to other breeds. It can also occur when a dog falls repetitively. Sometimes the pets can suffer without even showing any symptoms but some will after some time develop pain in the back and neck and this pain is different from humans since it will take some investigation for you to figure out where it exactly hurts. Some serious cases especially where the spinal cord is involved, few symptoms to watch out for include confusion, clumsiness etc. In the early cases of the disease, dogs need complete rest plus medications so that the body can be allowed to heal fast. As the disease keeps on progressing, surgery might be required and there after physical therapy.
2. Heatstroke – Flat face and small size french bulldogs are prone to heatstroke during moderate temperatures. Humid weather plus physical activities can worsen the effects of weather which will cause the bulldog to overheat easily. Some signs of heat stroke include drooling, confusion, diarrhea and bloody vomiting and in severe cases watch out for fainting, seizures and coma. In order to be ale to help your dog in lowering the pet’s body temperature, communicate with your vet. If it gets to the point of dehydration, or organ failure, hospitalization may be required. Prevent heat stroke in french bulldogs by avoiding leaving the dog in a hot car or leaving them outside during hot temperatures.
3. Allergies – A common allergy or chronic allergy, which is very difficult to diagnose for this pedigree, is lactose intolerance. For example food allergies could be because of the dog consuming a lot of dairy products, wheat etc. Sometimes it could be environmental and this might be related to coming into contact with mold, dust, pollen and also fleas. Some common symptoms in bulldogs include sneezing, vomiting, diarrhea and watery eyes. Identifying and diagnosing your pet’s condition might be hard since they are allergic to so many different things thus making it complicated when diagnosing them. The first step then will be doing a skin test. If the dog has a food allergy, the treatment is to simply eliminate the diet whereby the dog is fed a dog free food of potential allergens and after some few days, the items are then re-introduced so as to see if the symptoms might return. Always have pet friendly cleaning products in your house and store the dangerous products like fertilizers away from your pet’s reach.
3. Ear Infections – One thing you will not run into with a Chitawee French Bulldog is an ear infection, which is straight up awesome considering a dog ear infection is nothing to shake your head about. These dogs seem impervious to getting ear infections at all. Maybe its because they don’t roll around in the mud like other dogs do or perhaps they aren’t susceptible to the yeast that builds up and causes infections in other dog breeds. Whatever the cause may be, we’re all glad that French Bulldogs don’t get ear infections as that means our vet bills are vastly lower thanks to not needing the typically kinds of ear infection medications so many other pet owners need due to frequent ear problems.