EXERCISING
-Avoid jumping exercises with your Frenchies or Bostons, such as: jumping on and off beds and couches, jumping off flights of stairs and general hopping around / jumping exercises in general. These vertical movements might help increase the pressure on bone marrows and while young, they might cause some sort of malformation of their members. Also note that they might cause degeneration of their discs. When in doubt, pick your Frenchie up and never encourage any kind of jumping behavior. This is very serious.
HEATThe French Bulldog and Boston Terrier are extremely sensitive to heat and might overheat in a very short time, being in serious risk of suffering a heat stroke and dying. In hot days, closely observe your Frenchie / Boston. NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES LEAVE A FRENCH BULLDOG ALONE INSIDE A CAR and avoid going out during the hottest days and times. A panting dog with the inner parts of their ears red are signs of risk of heat stroke. In case of emergencies, wrap your dog on a wet towel and use a fan to cool it off. You can also offer him ice chips to suck on. Do not offer them ice cold water, or put them in a tub filled with ice water!
Read more about Heatstroke.
EARS
-To reduce a chance of an ear infection, we clean our Boston Terrier - French Bulldog ears at the very least weekly with an ear cleaning solution. We also protect their ears when we give them baths to prevent water from getting in.
FACE
-The French Bulldog head is covered in wrinkles and folds, especially close to their noses and eyes. The Boston Terrier sometimes could have some wrinkles around the muzzle, they too should be cleaned often.
Clean the area once a week, or whenever you feel it is necessary. We use cotton balls with mineral baby oil or coconut oil. Gently rub on all wrinkles to remove all dirt from these areas. After cleaning, dry them well with a cotton ball and remove all oil. You can use a q-tip to reach difficult areas.
We also like to hydrate their noses with coconut oil or nose butter. For more extreme dry noses or any boo boos, we also use the boo boo butter or natural lanolin ointments (the breastfeeding aiding kinds).
EYES
- One of the most common problems of the breed might be "Cherry Eye". The repositioning of the eyelid is extremely simple and if done quickly avoids an unnecessary surgery. The eyes of the frenchies and the bostons deserve special attention. Because they are a Brachycephalic Breed (pushed in noses), their eyes are more exposed, and might be targets of eye lesions. Always take care of games that are close to pointy plants and be wary of scratches around the area.
In case of eye ulcer suspicion, avoid treatments with eyedrops that contain corticoids, and immediately look for a vet that is an optometry specialist. Constant eye tearing might also be a sign of a problem. Talk to your optometrist vet in case you think your Frenchie / Boston is producing a large amount of tears. If you have a lighter colored Frenchie, tear stains might happen. Cleaning the area frequently might help to minimize the problem.
VACCINES & WORMING
-We recommend not giving more than one vaccine at a time. We like to delay the Rabies vaccine until our puppies are at least 6 months of age, if possible. Check with your trusted Veterinarian.
We DO NOT recommend vaccines that contain Leptospirosis. Numerous brachycephalics have had severe reactions to those kinds of vaccines. Our puppy vaccine is the DAPPV (Distemper + Adenovirus + Parvovirus + Parainfluenza).
By 9 week old, your puppy has been wormed extensively and very often, but it may be the case that you will need to worm your puppy some more, after all your baby is still a growing puppy. Wormers are very cheap, always check online before getting them at your vet. Ask your vet about heartworm preventative.
CRATES
- For crates we use the precision size 200. There are many other options for crates, just jake sure you get the 24 inches size.
GROOMING
-Try to keep nails always short. You can use a nail clipper if preferred but we like and recommend nail grinders such as dremel, on the lowest/medium speed. Don't forget to get styptic powder for any little accidents. It helps any little bleeding to quickly stop. If you get your puppy used to the dremel from the start, then he will learn to be ok with it.
TRAVELING
- For traveling by planewe use the Large Sturdibag Pet Carrier. They have many colors to choose from and it's by far the most confortable carrier I've ever found for dogs because it's squishable and expands to it's sides.
Don't EVER travel with your dog in cargo, always have your pet with you in cabin.
Read about how do we travel with our precious pets.
SPAYING AND NEUTERING
-Talk to your veterinarian about the best time to spay or neuter your puppy. Please follow our Anesthesia Protocol.
-- Read about BRACHYCEPHALICS
-- Read about HEATSTROKE
-- Read about PARASITES
-- Read about GARDENING
-- Read about FIREWORKS