Being a brachycephalic breed that is fairly short and compact with a screw tail. The “Frenchie” is prone to the associated problems these conformational characteristics will bring. Despite their small stature, the strength of the Frenchie holds it in very good stead. The strength of bone and generally good ligament strength makes them pretty tough.
The French Bulldog is unlikely to break any bones or injure themselves, even though they play fairly hard. So don’t worry! Chasing and playing with bigger dogs is also no problem. The French Bulldog is also incredibly agile, able to spring up onto sofas, chairs, beds etc in a single bound usually without having to back off and take a run at it. When In play, French Bulldogs often jump up in mid-air, turn 180 degrees and come down facing the other direction!
Frenchies do tend to overheat quiute quickly though, so make sure you have water and are able to cool them down if they start panting hard! As they are fairly easy going, they don’t generally start fights, but are quite willing to give an opinion on who they are backing and will line up in support. When lifting a Frenchie, you should be careful to shift the majority of the lift to just behind the shoulders due to the front-heavy head and chest of the breed.
As they trust you totally, they are very good at throwing themselves forwards in your arms – be prepared and have them securely held at all times. The breed was developed to be a comical and affectionate companion – whether you wish to put affection before the humour is your decision! These are incredibly easy going dogs and are very easy to live with, once the stubborn little darlings are fully house trained!
They are good natured and easily spolit!. This should not extend to you being unable to hold them for an ear clean or nail cut – some discipline is needed. You will need to be firm at difficult times with your French Bulldog – teach them early on when they are young otherwise it won’t sink in. The Frenchie is on the whole, a reasonably healthy breed and lives between 12-16 years of age, and usually has a good old age with minimal diseases