How to Breed French Bulldog Puppies: A Beginner’s Guide
Alex Vicente • Updated on February 7, 2023
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- Not a substitute for professional veterinary help.
Having cute Frenchies running around the place is the ultimate dream of every aspiring breeder.
Yet, to reap that joy, you must learn how to breed French bulldog puppies properly so that the process goes as smoothly as possible.
Breeding healthy and happy Frenchies can be quite the challenge for a first-timer because this dog breed is prone to several health concerns due to its unique anatomy.
Luckily, we may be able to help you out by offering you a step-by-step guide on the entire breeding process.
Ready to dive in?
Table of Contents
Step 1: Do Some In-Depth Research on the Parents’ Illness History
One of the most important roles of a dog breeder is to make sure that the female and male Frenchies are healthy so that their offspring have minimal chances of becoming ill.
Besides ensuring the future parents have a good health history, make up your mind about the physical characteristics and personality traits you want in the puppies.
This will result in French bulldogs that have the best of both worlds!
You should also pay attention not to choose two dogs that are closely related not to pass on unwanted genes to the baby French bulldogs.
Once you settle on your most suitable candidates, you can finally kick-start the actual mating process.
Step 2: Let Your Male and Female Frenchies Mate
Of course, before you put your chosen French bulldogs in the same room to mate, you must ensure that the female is ovulating first.
But how can you tell?
Easy.
Calculate five days into her cycle, that’s when she’ll start ovulating.
If you want to be extra sure about this, taking your female French bulldog to the vet to confirm her ovulation is always a good idea.
After that, introduce your future mommy and daddy Frenchies to each other and let them mate.
Note that it will be your responsibility as a breeder to monitor the mating process with care to ensure there’s no aggression that could lead to injury.
You might also need to hold the female in place during intercourse so that she doesn’t stumble or get hurt.
In addition to that, you may be required to interfere if you detect any aggression from either party.
If that ever happens, you’ll have to put both dogs on leashes to direct their behavior as you see fit.
Step 3: Check With the Vet Periodically During Pregnancy
After you confirm that your female French bulldog is pregnant, you must take her to the veterinarian on occasion to see how the pregnancy is going.
The vet will run tests and do an ultrasound to monitor how the baby Frenchies are doing.
As the date of delivery is nearing, you’ll finally have details on how many puppies to expect.
Also, the vet will let you know if there will be any potential issues with the birth and give you some advice on how to act when the big day comes.
Step 4: Keep a Close Eye on the Pregnant Female for Symptoms of Labor
Now that your female Frenchie can give birth at any moment, you must be able to understand the signs that she gives you to prepare for this event.
Here’s everything to watch for:
- Excessive panting
- Vomiting
- Restlessness and irregular sleeping patterns
- Loss of appetite
- Constant shivering
- Whining
- Retreating to a far corner of the house
When you notice those signs, get ready for the birth of your French bulldog puppies within 12 to 24 hours.
Step 5: Monitor the Birthing Process and Get Involved Only When You Must
In most cases, you won’t have to interfere with the birthing process if everything goes according to plan.
The following points explain how the natural birthing of French bulldog puppies should go:
- Puppies come out at 10 to 30-minute intervals
- The mom bites off the umbilical cord and rips the placental sac from around each puppy
- The female licks each baby over and over to boost their breathing and stimulate their circulation
Yet, if the dam doesn’t do any of those things, you’ll need to give her a hand:
- Tear open the placental sac to help the puppies breathe
- Cut the umbilical cord using a clean pair of scissors and tie the end off with thread
- Gently wipe away any fluids on the noses and mouths of the puppies
- Rub each puppy again and again to give their circulation a push
Step 6: Always Be Ready for the Possibility of a C-Section
One thing that all French bulldog breeders are aware of, as you also should, is that, more often than not, a Frenchie won’t be able to give birth naturally.
The reason behind this is that this dog has a big head and narrow hips, so a female can struggle to give birth on her own.
With that in mind, how would you know if your female Frenchie will need surgical involvement to get those little puppies out?
Just monitor how she’s doing during labor.
If she remains at that stage for more than an hour, you’ll have to put her in her crate and sweep her off to the vet to get an emergency C-section.
Step 7: Take Proper Care of the Mother and Puppies
The last step you should take is to create a safe haven for the mother and her babies to rest and bond with each other.
Bring a box that’ll fit them all comfortably and place it in a room next to a good heat source to keep the dogs warm.
Remember that the box needs to have tall walls to keep the puppies from sliding out.
Besides that, you must do the following to ensure the puppies grow healthily during the first few weeks of their lives.
- Make sure the puppies can find their way to their mother’s nipples
- If they’re struggling, direct their mouths to their food source until they get used to it
- Consider bottle-feeding the puppies if they’re constantly hungry or don’t know how to feed on their mother
- Ensure the puppies are urinating and defecating
- If the mother doesn’t lick them to encourage it, gently rub a cotton ball dipped in warm water against their genitalia
To Wrap It Up
Learning how to breed French bulldog puppies can seem hard in the beginning.
Yet, if you follow our steps closely and monitor your dogs’ behavior from start to end, it should be much easier.
Happy Frenchie breeding!
About Alex Vicente
Dog Lover, Founder & Chief Editor at Paws Insider
I’ve been rescuing dogs since a very early age. I got my first dog when I was 9 years old and I remember how he, out of a litter of 6 puppies, started running towards me. He’d just chosen me. Ever since then, my love for dogs only grows stronger and I want what’s best for them. My mission is to let our readers know about the best products in the market for our best friends, as well as providing guides and tips on how we can take better care of them.
