If you have a French bulldog at your place, then until the end of your life you will remain faithful to this breed. They bear little resemblance to the awkward and clumsy English Bulldogs. Compact and mobile, with the expressive gaze of dark eyes, they are inquisitive and friendly, which conquers at first sight. Representatives of this breed feel good even in a small apartment. If you have already made your choice, then congratulations. These dogs can truly become wonderful companions and true members of your family. Today we’ll talk about the nutritional characteristics of the French Bulldog.
Choose the type of feeding
When buying, you need to ask the breeder how he fed the puppies. Usually, babies leave for the new owners at the age of 2 months, managing to get comfortable with the feeding regimen and basic products by this time. The nutrition of the French bulldog is a very important point, because not only growth and development, but also life expectancy depend on it. Fundamentally different:
- Traditional feeding with natural products.
- Feeding with commercial and dry feed.
The main thing that combines these two approaches is the balance between proteins, fats and carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, as well as trace elements. But to feed the bulldog with the rest from your table is unacceptable, this will lead to illness due to excess salt and spices, as well as an imbalance in nutrients.
Food French bulldog may be one or the other, based on your preferences. But do not forget that you should choose only high-quality products. Therefore, in the case of ready-made feeds, we leave the cheap economy-class varieties on the shelves.
Digestion
Despite all its mercy, you have settled carnivorous beast. He cannot and should not eat cookies, sweets and sausage, in which, as you know, there is practically no meat. Therefore, immediately forget about sharing your meal with him. In extreme cases, treat with boiled meat, egg yolk or other healthy products from your table. But it’s better not to teach the bulldog to beg, because no one can refuse the appealing look of this charming woman.
The normal stomach capacity in these dogs is 2-2.5 liters. The stomach is single-chamber, digestive juice is secreted into it, which contains a large amount of hydrochloric acid, necessary for the digestion of protein. The food of the French bulldog should consist of solid products, it is such food that is retained in the stomach and is normally absorbed. Liquid soups and cereals, milk and kefir leave him in a few minutes. From the stomach, food enters the intestines, where pancreatic juice , bile and intestinal juice are poured onto it. The meat is absorbed completely in 12 hours, and rice in 8. Accordingly, if the food of the French bulldog (adult) consists of thick porridge with meat, then one serving of 1.5 to 2 liters is enough for him.
Feeding balance
The diet of the bulldog should not contain a large amount of fat and at the same time be balanced. This is especially critical for the development period. But the main criterion for choosing is the quality of the products. Meat, for example, should be given only those varieties that contain the maximum amount of amino acids and vitamins. For example, the lung contains a lot of vitamin C, but it has almost no other important elements.
The need for basic substances
So, the diet of the French bulldog needs to be planned very carefully. For example, the proportion of protein should be 9 g / kg body weight for a growing organism and 4.5 g / kg for an adult dog. The best sources of its income are beef, lamb, horse meat and chicken, liver and egg, lactic acid products. But soy, beans and peas are not suitable for bulldogs, they are poorly digested.
Fats are the second important element that must be present in the diet daily. This is the main energy material. The daily requirement is relatively small, 1.3 g / kg of weight. They receive animal fats along with meat, but their excess has a bad effect on peristalsis. But vegetable fats are also useful, this applies, in particular, sunflower oil.
Carbohydrates - found mainly in plant foods. Natural nutrition for a French bulldog must include hercules and buckwheat, rice, bran and wheat bread. The daily requirement is approximately 10 g / kg of dog weight.
Vitamins and Minerals
This is a very important group of substances, without which it is impossible to raise a healthy dog. However, if she receives high-quality meat, liver, eggs, kefir and cereals, then she will not need additional artificial additives. Vitamins are divided into two large groups:
- water soluble - B, H, PP, C;
- fat soluble - A, D, E, K.
Minerals, such as sodium and calcium, potassium and magnesium, phosphorus and iron, are equally important. If you want to choose the optimal complex of vitamins and minerals for your dog, then contact your veterinarian. Inspection of the animal along with an analysis of the diet will allow you to choose exactly the course that the dog needs now.
Natural feeding: basis
The nutrition of a French bulldog puppy is especially important for its growth and development. Right now, all the organs and systems of his body are laid. Approximately 40% of the diet should be in quality meat. Babies up to three months old are given raw lean beef , cut into small cubes. Teens from 4 months old can get lamb and horse meat, boiled chicken.
By-products - the liver, spleen, scar and lung, must be boiled. The diet of a French bulldog puppy must necessarily include these products, starting from the age of four months. Since that time, it is recommended to replace meat twice a week with fish. It is better to take the sea, necessarily boiling and removing all the bones. Do not forget to increase its amount by 2 times compared with meat.
Additional Products
Priorities are set correctly. The above products are the basis of the diet. If you try to raise a puppy on porridge with the smell of meat, then nothing good will come of it. So, what makes up the remaining 40% of the diet?
- Dairy products - kefir and cottage cheese, yogurt. They need to be given every day.
- Eggs - one yolk per day is enough.
- Vegetables and root crops are a great addition to the diet. They can be stewed and then mixed with meat. Carrots and zucchini, beets and greens, pumpkin are suitable.
- Groats - alternate between oatmeal and oatmeal, millet and buckwheat, a bag and rice. But pasta is best avoided.
As you can see, eating a French bulldog puppy at 2 months is not too complicated, but it will require the owner to stock up on a variety of foods in the refrigerator every day.
Cooking food
Proper nutrition for the French Bulldog involves not only the selection of quality products, but also the basics of cookery. The most useful products for bulldogs are raw. But if we talk about meat, fish and offal, then this is fraught with a certain danger. Therefore, we choose the middle ground. We do not buy dubious products, we feed them fresh and raw. If a piece is left in the refrigerator, then boil for at least an hour. Boiling with boiling water can also serve as a measure of protection against parasites.
So, the meat is cut into small pieces or passed through a meat grinder. If it is boiled, then the broth can be fed along with meat, diluting porridge with it. Rice must be boiled, buckwheat overnight steamed with kefir or water. Hercules just boil boiling water for an hour. Give the vegetables raw or stewed with sour cream for several minutes. And most importantly, the food should be warm and mushy.
Feed amount
Will have to determine empirically. You need to understand that few breeds love to eat as much as a French bulldog. The nutrition of an adult dog should be moderate. Fully eaten food and a licked bowl are an indication that the volume is selected correctly. If the pet leaves food in a cup, then either he gets sick, or, more obviously, you overfeed him. But what if the dog does not want to leave the cup, aggressively shoves it and shows that he wants more? Distract her attention, and next time give a little more. So you will find the optimal amount of feed.
Complete finished feed
They can significantly save the time and energy of the owner and at the same time are extremely convenient. The dose for the French bulldog has already been calculated. Moreover, each type of feed is designed for a certain age. Vitamins and minerals are included in the composition, it remains only to remember about clean water. There is only one rule, choose quality food. By classification, they can be divided into three large groups:
- Economy class. They are made from soy with the addition of dyes and flavors. They have little protein, and are absorbed quite poorly.
- Premium food - 2 types of meat and fish act as a source of protein. But there are no vitamins and minerals in the composition.
- Super-premium feeds - at least three types of meat and fish were taken as protein sources. Contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
Feeding rules
Every owner of a French bulldog should know this. Nutrition and care is the foundation of a long and healthy life for your pet. Try to feed the bulldog at the same time. From a month to two babies are fed 4-6 times a day. Up to four months can be transferred to four meals a day. Then we increase the interval to 10 months. Now the food can be offered to the dog 3 times a day. After that, we switch to an adult diet, morning and evening. Do not forget that for the French, a combination of a traditional diet and ready-made dry food is unacceptable. This causes an imbalance in the intestines and metabolic disorders.
Instead of a conclusion
You can talk endlessly about the nutrition of dogs , but the most important indicators are the activity and vigor of your pet, his good fatness, but not overweight. If you see that the sides have become too round or sagging, the hair has become dull and began to crumble, there have been changes in behavior, the dog has become selective in nutrition or, conversely, does not move away from the cup - do not pull, contact your veterinarian. Together you can find the reason and determine what to do next. Do not try to change the diet, offer the dog something especially tasty and all the more harmful. If the pet has health problems, then you can’t help this matter, but if not, just fix the unwanted behavior. With this approach, your pet will live a long and happy life near you.