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By the time you bring your new puppy home he will probably be around 8 to 10 weeks old and this is the perfect age to start teaching him. French bulldogs are known for their stubbornness so it is important that you start out as you mean to go on from the word go. Here are some of the most important things you should start teaching your new puppy straight away:

The routine

It is very important to teach your new puppy how life will be in his new home, puppies like to feel safe and have some kind of routine to their day and now is a good time to start. Some of the things you should teach him are:

* Where he will sleep.

* Where to find his food and water.

* When it is time to go to bed and get up.

* Where he will go to the bathroom.

* Where his toys are.

Once this is established your puppy will begin to form a bond with his master, he will find that you are dependable and can provide him with what he needs, he will feel safe. You can then go onto teaching other just as important things such as:

* What the word “NO” means – this is a word that you will probably find yourself repeating very often in the beginning, however by repeating it every time your puppy does something wrong he should quickly learn what the word means.

* Housetraining – this is the perfect age to start teaching your new puppy housetraining, you can introduce him to his bathroom and persist in taking him there every half hour, however due to the young age it can take several months for his young bladder to grow strong enough to stop accidents from happening.

* Being handled and groomed – your new puppy will be just like a young child always wanting to play and run around, however you should start a grooming regime at this young age to get into good habits. It is also wise to get your puppy used to being handled and picked up.

* To be gentle – now is a good time to teach your puppy how to be gentle, for example when he is taking something from your hand or when he has something in his mouth you want to take from him. You should teach him not to bite, grab or hold onto anything tightly.

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Your dog is your companion who will give you many years of love, friendship and loyalty in exchange for loving care, safe shelter, clean water and decent food. They also rely on you to provide them with health care when they are ill and regular exercise and grooming to help keep them fit and healthy. Listed below are 10 essentials for keeping your dog fit and healthy for many years to come:

1. make sure that you give your dog a collar and that it includes an identity tag with your name and telephone number on it, or even better have an electronic tag fitted just under your dogs skin, this makes it easy to track your dog should it get lost or stolen.

2. make sure you follow all the local laws and regulations regarding licensing for your dog and that they have the correct vaccinations when they should.

3. When on public property keep your dog on a lead, you should always keep your dog under strict control at all times when out and about. Never let your dog go wandering off alone and make sure they cannot get off your property without you. When you are walking keep your dog on its lead by your side until you come to an area away from cars, even then your dog should be well behaved and always do as its told the minute you tell it.

4. Make sure your dog has proper accommodation; if you keep your dog outside in a kennel make sure it’s the correct size for the breed of dog and that you spend a decent amount of time with it. Dogs crave companionship and don’t like to be left all day alone or tied up in a small pen, make sure you can devote the time needed to take care of a pet before you take on the responsibility.

5. take your dog to the vets regularly, makes sure that you take your dog to see the vet on a regular basis, this way illness can be caught before it shows and always make sure your dog has the necessary vaccinations when needed.

6. spay or neuter your dog, dogs that have this surgery are known to live longer, be healthier and have less behaviour problems.

7. give your dog a healthy balanced diet with plenty of clean fresh drinking water available at all times, if your dog puts on too much weight then seek the advice of your vet before restricting their diet.

8. take your dog to obedience classes, this not only makes your life a lot easier but also that of your dog, a well behaved dog who does as they are told will be welcome at a lot more places than ones which just please themselves.

9. Give your dog the exercise that they need without over doing it, two walks for roughly 15 minutes is adequate enough for most breeds providing they can get outside in the garden throughout the day. Smaller breeds may not even need this much exercise, care should of course be taken with very young puppy’s as their little legs may tire easily.

10. Be patient with your dog, sometimes your companion may not understand what is required of them and you may have to repeat or tell them in a different way what you want them to do. Dogs aren’t mind readers and cannot understand anything and everything you ask of them so a little patience on your part can go a long way.

Any dog can suffer from heat exhaustion but due to the shorter breathing system that the French bulldog has, they are more susceptible than most other breeds. The number one cause of heat exhaustion in dogs is leaving them in a car on a warm day, if the temperature outside is around 75f then the heat inside the car can very quickly build up to over 130f.

The Frenchie has shorter airways than most dogs and this leads to less chance of the air which the dog takes in cooling and as dogs cannot sweat the only means they have of cooling down is by panting.

There are other factors that can lead to heat exhaustion in dogs and particularly the frenchie, the dog’s physical condition, the age of the dog and acclimatization of the weather. However all frenchies no matter how active they are or how well they breathe normally are more at risk from heat stroke than other breeds.

The signs of heatstroke in a dog are

* Beginning to pant heavily.

* Flushed and red skin on the inside of the ears.

* Overall weakness.

* Beginning to stagger.

* Fainting or loss of consciousness.

If your frenchie is showing signs of heatstroke then you must cool him down immediately, don’t try taking him to the vets you might not have time, heatstroke can be deadly.

Here’s what you should do

* Never try to give water to your dog, his airways might have become swollen which could result in the dog taking water into the lungs.

* Hose your dog down with cool but not cold water.

* Place an ice pack on the head and try to cover the rest of the body with wet towels or some other cloth that holds water.

* Where possible get the dog into a bath of cool water again not cold.

* If your dogs airways are swelling due to him panting a lot, you can use the children’s allergy treatment Benaydryl by dropper into your dogs mouth, it is wise to consult your vet for the exact dosage for your dog.

* Keep up with this treatment until the temperature shows signs of normalising, then and only then transport your dog to the vets.

Prevention of heatstroke

Common sense should some into play here, always remain alert to your dogs needs what might seem like a cooler day to you could be hot for your dog. Always limit the time your dog spends outside in the warm/hot weather and remember that most dogs will play forever regardless of if they are overheating.

Always make sure there is a shaded area for your dog to go and lie down in and that there is plenty of fresh cool drinking water for your dog. Just as you keep a first aid kit for yourself and your family you should keep one also for your frenchie, it could consist of the following:

* A bottle of distilled water.

* A cool down cloth.

* A cool down coat.

* Some towels.

* A bottle of children’s Benaydryl and an eyedropper.

Exercise
While your French bulldog is young try to avoid any forced jumping exercises, these include allowing your puppy to jump up onto the bed and back down from it, forced jumping or jumping up and down the stairs. This is mainly due to the vertical movements of this kind can increase the pressure on the cartridge of the articulations, any harm done to these early could cause deformation of the position of the legs. French bulldogs are still considered young until around 18 month of age.

The eyes
Some breeds of the French bulldog have been known to have 2 puntae instead of the correct 4; this can cause excessive tearing of the eye if this is the case with your French bulldog seek a vets advice for treatment.

Feeding your French bulldog
French bulldogs should be fed a quality brand of dried food or all natural meat diets, this is more a matter of personal choice for what feels right for you might not to another.

Heat
The French bulldog is very sensitive to becoming over heated, during the summer months care should be taken to make sure your dog doesn’t over heat, signs of heat exhaustion are reddening of the inside of the ears and excessive panting.

Hips
French bulldogs can have problems with their hips, hip dysplasia is an abnormal development of the hip bone which can be found in the French bull dog and it is thought that hip dysplasia is hereditary in the bulldog.

Nose
It is a good idea to put a little Vaseline on the nose of your French bull dog every now and again to stop it from drying out, a normal nose should be cool or wet but never dry and hot. If the nose is hot then you should take the dogs temperature and seek the advice of the vet.

Skin – Demodicosis
Demodex canis is a mite which only affects dogs with most dogs being carriers without showing any symptoms. Although demodex can affect a dog of any age it mainly shows in puppies less than 9 months of age.

Wrinkles
Sometimes tear attains can form in the wrinkles on the face, you should first determine the cause of the tears, then clean the wrinkles of the face with hydrogen peroxide.