French Bulldog Pregnancy: Quick Handy Guide

The popular breed French Bulldog is the result of cross-breeding two different dog breeds. They’re not like any other breed of dogs, in fact, before the 1800s they didn’t even exist. This is why French Bulldogs are having a bit difficult to reproduce than most other breeds. Continue reading to find out what should you know about French bulldog pregnancy.

Are French Bulldog Pregnancy Different from Other Dog Breeds?

French bulldog pregnancies are almost the same as other dog pregnancies.

The only difference is that French bulldogs are a brachycephalic breed. They got bigger heads, which affects the process of birth.

How Long Do I Have to Wait Before The Pups are Born?

The average time is really 9 weeks. This covers the entire pregnancy from the moment of conception to the moment the mother dog gives birth to them. Although the birthdate doesn’t always fall on the 9th week, sometimes it comes early at 8 weeks, and sometimes it even reaches up to the 10th week.

This pregnancy period is the same with all dogs.

How many Puppies can a French bulldog have?

Just like all brachycephalic dog breeds, French Bulldogs don’t give birth to that many puppies.

On average, expect about 3 puppies. It could be as low as 2 puppies or as much as 4. If you’re lucky, you might even get five, but don’t get your hopes up too high. On rare occasions, people actually get 7 puppies. But that’s almost one in a million.

Of course, now it makes sense why this breed costs so much. Unlike other dogs like beagles or golden retrievers, Frenchies are hard to produce.

How Easy is Pregnancy for French Bulldog Female?

Just by looking at a Frenchie, you can see that its small body is not made for carrying large litters. If, on rare occasions, the mother ends up having 5 or more puppies, the odds of all of them making it pass a couple of days are low.

Downside is that there’s a chance that you can lose some puppies. Usually the smallest ones. But don’t panic, usually everything is fine. Frenchie mother will also have a hard time nursing puppies if number is high She will have to eat lot more to properly feed all the puppies. 

Is Caesarean the Only way French Bulldogs can give Birth?

The straight answer is no. Some Frenchies give birth naturally. Caesarean is just the most common way Frenchies deliver their babies and over time, people started assuming that it’s the only way to do it.

Just by looking at them, you can see that they have little bodies and big heads. This breed is engineered to look like this, and their babies develop their big heads in the womb. This makes it extra hard for mothers to push them out of the birth canal. That’s why the majority of female French Bulldogs give birth through C-section.

Natural birth is dangerous for both the puppies and their mothers. If any of the puppies get their head stuck in the birth canal, then there’s a 100% chance that it would die. This would also mess up their mother’s insides and damage her birth canal.

If you’re wondering, normal and planned French bulldog cesareans only cost around 500 dollars while dangerous and emergency C-sections cost about 2000 dollars.

You might consider having insurance for your Frenchie. We have lost of the best French bulldog life insurances here.

How do I Time the Artificial Insemination?

Female dogs do get their own version of a period. We call it being in heat.

When a female Frenchie enters her oestrus cycle, that means she’s in heat. This is the time that Frenchies are most fertile. It’s also the best time to perform artificial insemination.

For fully grown adult Frenchies, heat usually comes every 6 months. But this not the case for every dog. Just like with humans who have regular and irregular period cycles, heat patterns varies per dog. It takes a while before female French Bulldogs establish their heat patterns.

French Bulldogs mature at five months. At this age, they could already start having their oestrus cycles and could already get pregnant. 

Stages of a Frenchie’s Pregnancy:

• Proestrus– Think of it as the human equivalent of a period. You might see some blood come out of your frenchie. Don’t panic, this is totally normal. This stage could last up to 9 days.
• Oestrus– This stage is the one we constantly talk about in the topics above. This is the best time to perform the mating or the insemination.
• Diestrus-The actual pregnancy. This could last about 8-10 weeks.
• Anestrus-The resting stage. This is the point where your dog starts recovering from the pregnancy, and its body starts going back to its normal rhythm.

Can French Bulldogs Reproduce the Normal way?

Natural mating for Frenchies is not impossible. It just doesn’t happen to them as much as it does to other dogs.

Given the anatomy of Frenchies, males can’t even properly mount their females. Frenchies were engineered to look like the way they do and nature had no say as to how their bodies function and how their species evolve and survive. Getting females frenchies pregnant the natural way is not impossible, but it’s rarer than rain on a desert.

The most common way to breed the species is by artificial insemination and birth by C-section. This is how all Frenchies today came into the world.  It’s almost impossible now to correct the mating problem and let the species reproduce naturally.

How To Tell if French Bulldog is Pregnant?

If you have noticed that your Frenchie lady becomes lazier and eating less than usual, it’s possible that she is pregnant.

Same symptoms can’t indicate about illness, that’s why it is important to monitor your dog. Here are 6 important signs to pay attentien:

1. Decreased Activity. If your French bulldog female sleeps more and exhausts faster, it might be the first sign of pregnancy. Dogs that are usually very active and suddenly becomes lazy indicates that something is wrong with health.
2. Appetite. Depending on pregnancy stage and health specifics, appetite can variate. Typically, in early and mid-stage, Frenchie mothers eat less food. It is possible and normal if they are vomiting. Factors can change depending on hormones.
3. Discolored & Bigger Nipples. Pregnancy causes French bulldog’s mother’s nipples to grow in size during the early stages of pregnancy. Nipples can become darker. Veterinarians emphasize that some milk leaks are possible during pregnancy.
4. Behavior. When Frenchie female is pregnant, she is looking for comfortable and peaceful places to have a rest. Mother may look irritable when you pay attention to her.
5. Bigger Belly. The Unconditionally obvious sign of pregnancy is the size of Frenchie mother’s belly. It means that small Frenchies are growing in the mothers’ abdomen. Naturally, the weight of the dog grows with it.
6. Nesting Phase. In last weeks the mother will start to make here nest for puppies. It is natures instinct to make a comfortable place for coming babies.

Support for Healthy French Bulldog Pregnancy

Like all human and animal, females has to be in good health while are pregnant. The upcoming child takes necessary energy from mother to grow strong. Proper Frenchie diet is a crucial element in pregnancy. Feeding logic is simple: what eats mother, eats child. And you want to give all the best for a Frenchie puppy to born healthy.

Additional pregnancy health support despite proper diet are vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients to support the overall health of female Frenchies. Also called multivitamin supplements.

We advise you to give Frenchie mum appropriate supplements, like these:

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These supplements won’t cost fortune and lasts for a long time. It’s easier to give the best possible to Frenchie in the beginning than latter countless veterinary visits.

Vitamins like calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin E, Pyridoxine, vitamin b12, vitamin C are very important during Frenchie pregnancy.

Stay healthy and calm. Help your Frenchie female during special times.

How Do I Become a Grandma (or Pa) to French Bulldog Pups?

Even if you try to get two French Bulldogs of the opposite sex together, they just won’t be able to reproduce. It doesn’t work like that for their breed. Artificial insemination is the only way to go. You can, however, choose the male bulldog where the semen will come from, or you can just get frozen semen from breeders.

It’s not a process that you can do on your own. Let a professional take care of everything. French bulldog pregnancies can be very delicate. You need to time the insemination perfectly. Tests have to be done on the dog as well as a couple of examinations to make sure that the dog is ready and that the semen latches on.

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