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Breed guide · Dogs
He was bred to sit on a lace maker's lap. I keep him out of the August sun.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Room to room all day, and they settle best when they are touching you.
What's going onFrench Bulldogs were bred to keep someone company, and they take the job seriously. Wanting to be near you is normal. Panic when you leave is something else, and worth a conversation with your vet.
At home
Keen at the door, then ten minutes out they stop and will not move.
What's going onIt looks like stubbornness. Often they are out of breath, not tired. Let them stop, and tell your vet if it keeps happening.
At home
Snoring through the night, snorting when excited, a grunt every time they lie down.
What's going onIt is easy to find it funny. It is also the sound of air squeezing through a narrow airway. Noisy breathing while they rest awake, or snoring that is getting louder, is worth a word with your vet.
At home
They learn fast when it suits them, and look straight at you while they ignore the cue.
What's going onThey were bred for company, not for taking orders. Short sessions and small rewards work better than repetition, and keep them from getting out of breath.
At home
A minute racing round the flat, then they collapse on the floor, panting.
What's going onThe burst is normal. Watch how long they take to get their breath back. If it is slow, noisy or getting slower, tell your vet.
At home
Belly down on the kitchen tiles, back legs stretched out like a frog.
What's going onThey are pushing heat out through their belly into the cold floor. If they sleep sitting up, or with their chin propped high, they may be working to keep their airway open. Film it and show your vet.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their brief
Built for: Company and a lap, never a job.
In Dubai: Company in a flat, which suits them.
Their cooling
Built for: Panting, through a short nose and a narrow airway.
In Dubai: A summer that runs from May to September.
Their walk
Built for: Play in bursts, then a rest.
In Dubai: Walks ended by their breathing, long before their energy.
The snoring and the flop on the cold tiles are their body managing that gap.
You cannot give them a longer nose. You can plan their day around the one they have, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the health risks for a French Bulldog at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Heat is the thing their body handles worst, and heatstroke can come on during an ordinary walk.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Heat is the thing their body handles worst, and heatstroke can come on during an ordinary walk.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark only, and keep it short. When they sit down, let them. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Carry water. Never leave them in the car, even with the engine running.
Extra weight around the neck and chest narrows an airway that is already narrow. In a Frenchie, half a kilo makes a real difference to their breathing.
Every age, most of all 2 to 7 years
Why
Extra weight around the neck and chest narrows an airway that is already narrow. In a Frenchie, half a kilo makes a real difference to their breathing.
What to do
Weigh them every month and write it down. Measure meals with a cup and count treats as food. From above you should see a waist, and you should feel their ribs without pressing.
A collar pulls on the part of them that already struggles.
Every age
Why
A collar pulls on the part of them that already struggles.
What to do
Use a harness that sits across their chest, not their throat. Keep a collar for their tag if you like, and never clip the lead to it. Refit the harness as they grow, and again if their weight changes.
They will keep playing after their airway has had enough, because they are enjoying themselves.
Every age, most of all under 2 years
Why
They will keep playing after their airway has had enough, because they are enjoying themselves.
What to do
Two or three minutes of play, then a rest. Stop while they still want more, and before their breathing gets loud. Tug and hide-and-seek indoors suit them better than fetch outside.
Snoring and sleeping sitting up are easy to laugh at, and easy to miss as signs that their airway is working too hard.
Every age, screening at 12 to 18 months
Why
Snoring and sleeping sitting up are easy to laugh at, and easy to miss as signs that their airway is working too hard.
What to do
One night, film two minutes of them asleep, sound on. Watch for snoring, pauses in their breathing, waking with a start, or sleeping with their chin propped up. Show the video to your vet. Between 12 and 18 months they should be screened for BOAS (the flat-faced breathing problem), because if surgery will help, earlier is better.
Most French Bulldogs swim badly. Their front end is heavy, their legs are short and their nose is short.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Most French Bulldogs swim badly. Their front end is heavy, their legs are short and their nose is short.
What to do
Fence the pool or keep them out of the pool area. Near water, on a boat or at the beach, put them in a dog life jacket with a handle and keep hold of it. Do not throw toys into the pool for them.
Lying flat on the tiles is how they get heat out. In a warm room, they have nowhere left to put it.
Every age, more so every year from 7
Why
Lying flat on the tiles is how they get heat out. In a warm room, they have nowhere left to put it.
What to do
Keep their room air-conditioned from May to September. Leave them a tiled spot or a cooling mat, and water in two places. If they always end up on the same cold patch of floor, move their bed next to it.
The folds on their face trap moisture and infection. Paw licking, scratching and head shaking are often the first sign of skin or ear trouble, and they look like habits.
Every age, eyes most of all from 6 months to 2 years
Why
The folds on their face trap moisture and infection. Paw licking, scratching and head shaking are often the first sign of skin or ear trouble, and they look like habits.
What to do
Every day, wipe their facial folds with a vet-approved antiseptic wipe, then dry them. Once a month, clean their ears with a vet ear cleaner. If they rub or squint at an eye, or you see a red lump in the corner of it, contact your vet.
French Bulldogs are prone to disc disease in the spine. Jumping off the sofa, again and again, adds up.
Every age
Why
French Bulldogs are prone to disc disease in the spine. Jumping off the sofa, again and again, adds up.
What to do
Put a ramp or step up to the sofa and bed, and lift them down. Carry them with one hand under the chest and one under the back end. If they suddenly will not jump, yelp when you pick them up, or hide and shake, contact your vet the same day.
They learn fast when it suits them. Long sessions leave them panting and bored, and the treats add up.
Every age, easiest under 2 years
Why
They learn fast when it suits them. Long sessions leave them panting and bored, and the treats add up.
What to do
Two or three minutes, indoors in the cool. Tiny rewards, taken out of their daily food. Say a cue once, reward what you like straight away, and stop while they are getting it right. Teach them early to be lifted and wiped. They will need both for life.
Two of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
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Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Two kinds of breeding
Since the boom in demand, Frenchies come from two kinds of breeder. Careful breeders have their dogs' breathing graded on a scale from 0 (no signs) to 3 (severe), and breed from the dogs who breathe best. Others breed fast, for the look.
Colours
French Bulldogs come in white, cream and fawn, on their own or together, often with brindle, white patches or a black mask. Blue and merle were once rare and are far more common since the boom. Whatever the colour, the question that matters is how the parents breathe.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with a baseline BOAS screening of their breathing. Keep play to a few minutes at a time and indoors in summer, because puppies overheat fastest.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the flat ready
Give them an air-conditioned room with a tiled spot or a cooling mat, and water in two places. Put a ramp up to the sofa and bed, and a gate across any way to the pool.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder how both parents breathe, and whether their breathing has been formally graded. Two Frenchies from the same street can breathe very differently, and it shapes their whole life.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
Keep them in the cool from May to September. If their snoring gets louder, film two minutes of it for your vet.
Before they were yours.
1835 to 1860
Once bull-baiting was banned in Britain in 1835, some breeders bred the bulldog smaller, as a companion rather than a fighter.
What they still carryThe lap. Their need to be near you starts here.
1850 to 1890
The little bulldogs took hold in France. Shopkeepers, café owners and butchers in Paris kept them, and they became the bouledogue français.
What they still carryThe comedian, a dog kept to be enjoyed rather than to work.
1896 to 1912
American fanciers showed the breed at Westminster in 1896 and fixed the upright bat ear. The American Kennel Club recognised them in 1898, and in 1912 the UK Kennel Club named them French Bulldogs.
What they still carryThe ears they have now, and a breed first defined by how it looks.
2022 onwards
In 2022 the French Bulldog became the American Kennel Club's most registered breed, and held the top spot in 2023. In the UK, the University of Cambridge and the Kennel Club now grade how well Frenchies breathe.
What they still carryA lot of Frenchies bred fast, which is why two can breathe so differently.
Today
In the UAE a Frenchie lives in a flat or a villa, as company, in a city where summer runs from May to September.
What they still carryA dog who handles heat badly, which is why their whole day is planned around the cool.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Frenchie suits you, so might these.
English BulldogThe same kind of dog: the bulldog the Frenchie was first bred down from, much heavier, with more wrinkles to keep clean.
Boston TerrierAnother small dog from bulldog stock, with bat ears too, on longer legs and with a little more bounce.
PugThe same easy-going, affectionate nature and quiet voice, in a smaller flat-faced dog with a curly tail.
PekingeseA similar small size and the same need for a cool flat, under a long coat and with more reserve around strangers.
