This breed is the one where prevention actually pays. Most of what shortens a bulldog’s life is not bad luck, it is a known breed problem that was left to get worse, and most of the work that stops that happening needs no veterinarian, no appointment and no prescription. It needs you, a few minutes most days, and knowing which few minutes matter. That is what this page is for, and everything on it is grouped by what you can do at home, what is worth paying for, and what has to be done surgically and on time.
By age By condition The six basics Topicals and supplements Surgery timing What it saves you
Health and preventive care for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs go beyond traditional medicine, influencing every aspect of their physical and mental well-being, from puppyhood to adulthood and into their senior years.
Five things properly is the right instinct, and it is better than forty badly.
Keep him lean. If I could change one thing about how bulldogs are raised it would be this. Weight is upstream of the joints, the back, the breathing and the heat tolerance, and an overweight bulldog is a dog fighting his own anatomy every day.
Get the folds and the ears into a weekly routine now, while he is small and thinks everything is a game. A dog who was handled from eight weeks lets you clean a tail pocket at four years. A dog who was not will need sedation for it.
Get the airway assessed properly, not reassured about. “He is just a bulldog, they all breathe like that” is how an elongated palate becomes an emergency at six. If something needs repairing, there is a right time for it and it is earlier than most people are told.
Watch the heat from his first summer, not his first bad day.
And write down what you see. The owners who catch things early are not the observant ones, they are the ones who kept a note.
Everything below expands on those, and the age pages at the top take it year by year.
Bulldog Preventive Care: Genetics
Bulldog puppies are prone to a variety of breed-specific medical conditions that can significantly impact their quality of life and life expectancy.
Some of these health issues may lead to severe illness, prolonged suffering, or even a tragic and premature end.
Without proper preventive care, these conditions can worsen over time, often resulting in costly medical treatments and reliance on potentially harmful prescription medications.
Implementing preventive care not only enhances a bulldog’s quality of life but can also extend their overall lifespan.
Preventive Care in Bulldogs: Early Start
Bulldog preventive care should begin as early as possible, ideally, the very day you welcome your new puppy into your home and family.
In some cases, starting early can prevent costly and painful medical conditions. More often, maintaining optimal health and conditioning requires a consistent commitment to prevention that continues through adulthood and into the senior years.
Effective bulldog health care demands long-term maintenance and lifelong dedication. Depending on your bulldog’s needs, this commitment may involve daily attention for some aspects of care and weekly effort for others.
What prevention actually buys you
Owners hear “preventive care” and think of an annual bill. It is worth being concrete about what is on the other side of it. An ear canal that has been rinsed weekly for five years is an ear I can still examine. An ear that has not is often a surgical problem by then, and end stage ear disease is a procedure, not an ointment. A tail pocket kept clean is a wipe. A tail pocket left alone for a year is an infection, a course of antibiotics and sometimes surgery.
That is the whole argument. The same condition costs you a few minutes a week at one end and a general anesthetic at the other, and in a flat faced breed every general anesthetic is a risk you would rather not spend. The cheap version and the expensive version are the same disease caught at different times.
Bulldog Preventive Care: Savings & Convenience
#1 Bulldog Care Savings: Owners
Most bulldog health and prevention measures do not require a veterinarian, a hospital visit, or a trained licensed professional, nor do they require prescription medicine (Rx).
Bulldog health and prevention can be implemented by you the owner and most times do not require prescription medication
#2 Bulldog Care Savings: @Home
Health and preventive care can be easily managed at home, often without the need for a medical facility. Most practices are simple to implement, require minimal time, and do not demand any special expertise.
To support you, we provide straightforward “how-to” videos, concise and easy-to-follow prevention tips and warnings, as well as user-friendly manuals for bulldog maintenance and preventive care.
#3 Bulldog Care Savings: Bully Therapeutics
Prevention and maintenance for English Bulldogs and French Bulldogs can be achieved with inexpensive bully topicals and supplements.
Dr. Kraemer’s bully therapeutics can be obtained without a doctor’s prescription
Bulldog Preventive Care: Age Groups
Bulldog health, prevention-care, and maintenance include three age groups: puppies up to 1 year of age, adults 1 to 7 years of age, and bulldog and French bulldog seniors who are over the age of seven.
- Dog age Years old
- French bulldogs estimated in human years
- English bulldogs estimated in human years
- 7-9
- 44-50
- 50-56
- 10-11
- 51-58
- 57-66
- 12-13
- 59-72
- 67-88
- 13-15
- 73-83
- 89-100
Bulldog prevention and bulldog maintenance essential needs can vary as your bulldog ages.
Yet often, those prevention & care needs remain similar regardless of your bully’s age group.
Regardless of the age differences, many of the health problems and the recommended preventive measures are similar.
In both cases, you must continue to implement those recommendations throughout all life phases.
- Bulldog Puppy Health and Preventive Care
- Bulldog Adult Health and Preventive Care
- Bulldog Senior Health and Preventive Care
- BULLDOG PREVENTION & MAINTENANCE:
Regardless of age, bulldog and French bulldog health care must include prevention & maintenance Daily SCHEDULE: To achieve optimal health outcomes, you must adhere to the advised preventive & maintenance schedule.
What Is the Best Preventive Care for the Bulldog Breeds Medical Conditions?
Our bulldog preventive care and maintenance are customized to the most common bulldog medical problems and/or symptoms.
1. Ear Canal Disease in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
Bulldog ear canal disease (bulldog otitis), allergic otitis, yeasty otitis, end-stage ear disease
2. Skinfolds Disease in Bulldogs
Skinfold moist dermatitis (nose, facial, tail pocket, interdigital, vaginal)
3. Orthopedics and Back Problems in Bulldogs
4. Allergies & Itching in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
Food allergy, atopic allergy, contact allergy, flea allergies
5. Airway Disease in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
6. Skin and Coat Disease in Bulldogs
Bulldog Common Medical Symptoms
- Itching & Scratching
- Squinting & Blinking
- Vomiting & Diarrhea
- Limping & Pain
- Coughing, Sneezing & Snorting
- Incontinent & Straining
Bulldog and French Bulldog Integrative Prevention
Bulldog health, preventive care, and maintenance often require a holistic approach. Integrative bulldog health preventatives include
1. Bulldog Healthy Weight
Weight control may help prevent a wide range of medical problems.
2. Bulldog Healthy Diet
A nutritious, balanced diet customized to your bulldog’s age and medical conditions.
3. Bulldog Love, Calm, & Healthy Lifestyle
A stress-free, stimulating environment with plenty of playtime is important to your bulldog’s physical and mental health.
4. Bulldog Health and Exercise
As with people, exercise is critical for your bulldog’s mental and physical health. You should build endurance and tolerance gradually, be cognizant of the climate and weather conditions
5. Bulldog Health and Wellness
Bulldog wellness at every age is critical and should include, among others,
- Parasite control (intestinal, dermal)
- Vaccination
- Screening lab tests
- Annual wellness doctor exam
- Microchip (ID)
6. Bulldog Health & Pet Insurance
Pet insurance is recommended for bulldog puppies to help cover unexpected expenses.
Bulldog and French Bulldog Preventive Therapeutics
Every English bulldog and French bulldog owner should integrate nonprescription preventives that combine therapeutic bully topicals & supplements.
1. Bulldog Topical Therapeutic
Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bulldog Topical Therapeutics
- HEALTHY TEETH & GUMS: Bulldog Dental Rinses
- HEALTHY EARS: Bulldog ear rinses and wipes
- HEALTHY SKINFOLDS: bulldog skinfold antiseptic topicals (wipes, rinse, spray, lotion)
- HEALTHY SKIN: Bulldog skincare products include medicated shampoo, waterless gels, and cream rinse conditioners.
- TEAR STAIN: bulldog tear stain remover wipes
2. Bulldog and French Bulldog Supplements
Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bulldog Therapeutic Supplements
- JOINT HEALTH: such as Bully Total Joint & Bone, Bully Comfort Formula, and Bully Fish Oil EFA
- SKIN, EARS & SKINFOLD HEALTH: bulldog fish oil chews and probiotics, multivitamins, and tear stain support chews
- HEALTHY DIGESTION & ELIMINATION: include bulldog probiotics, prebiotics, and digestive enzymes, as well as gentle botanical fiber chews, and liver cleanser
- HEALTHY URINARY: Bulldog urinary support, bully immune support, and bully incontinent chews
- HEALTHY IMMUNITY: bulldog immune support, bully Fish Oil EFA, Bully Multivitamin
Timing is the whole of surgical prevention
The procedures listed below are not emergencies, which is exactly why they get postponed, and postponing them is how they turn into something harder. A soft palate shortened in a healthy young dog is a planned operation with a predictable recovery. The same palate in a six year old who has been struggling for years comes with a thickened airway, a heart that has been working against it and a far more difficult anesthetic.
Cherry eye, inverted eyelids, a pinched nose: same pattern. There is a window where each one is a straightforward job, and the window is earlier than most owners are told. If one of these has been mentioned to you and then parked, the useful question at the next visit is not whether it needs doing, it is when it stops being easy.
Preventive Surgeries for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
Left alone, many bulldog medical conditions will get worse, and preventive or corrective surgery is critical
Bulldog Surgical Procedure Timing
Timely surgery is essential; examples are:
- BULLDOG ELONGATED SOFT PALATE
- BULLDOG PINCHED NOSE
- BULLDOG INVERTED EYELIDS: Bulldog Entropion
- BULLDOG CHERRY EYE:
- BULLDOG SPAY & NEUTER: This may help prevent unexpected pregnancy, pyometra, ovarian & uterine cancer, prostate disease, etc.
Stem Cell Therapy for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
Elective cryobanking of your bulldog or French bulldog puppy stem cell can be done quickly and inexpensively at a young age during an elective procedure like spay & neuter.
Those cryobank stem-cell treatments can be used to treat a wide range of medical problems, and their potency and effectiveness remain for the life of your pet.
When should preventive care start?
How much of this needs a veterinarian?
What single thing matters most?
Do supplements replace anything?
Is pet insurance worth it for a bulldog?
Does any of this change when he gets older?
To be clear: this page sets out general preventive principles for the breed and is not a care plan for your own dog. Supplements and topicals are not substitutes for prescribed medication or veterinary care, and anything you plan to add should be reviewed with the veterinarian treating your dog so it fits the plan you are already following. Any problem that is persistent, worsening or distressing needs a veterinary examination rather than a change of routine. This page is educational and is not a diagnosis.
Veterinary Care and Supportive Products
- Request an appointment
- Ask Dr. Kraemer
- Browse all preventive topicals and supplements
- The how-to videos
More Help from Dr. Kraemer
Take it by life stage, or go straight to the breed guide for your dog:
- Puppy health and preventive care
- Adult health and preventive care
- Senior health and preventive care
- The English Bulldog guide
- The French Bulldog guide
- What you can handle at home, and when to see the vet
About the Author
Roy Kraemer, DVM, is a veterinarian with extensive clinical experience caring for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs. His educational work emphasizes prevention, early recognition, appropriate at-home care, responsible medication use, and veterinary evaluation when a problem is persistent or severe.
Trusted by Vets ~ Recommended by Owners ~ Approved by Bulldogs
References
- American Animal Hospital Association. Canine life stage guidelines
- American Veterinary Medical Association. Preventive healthcare guidelines for dogs
- Packer RMA et al. Impact of facial conformation on canine health, brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome. PLOS ONE
- O’Neill DG et al. Health of English Bulldogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Medicine and Genetics
Related Products
