In a nutshell my Frenchie eats absolutely anything possible but this has come at a cost making him very ill. I’m going to go through what French Bulldogs can eat and food to avoid.
Healthy Foods In Moderation
The general dog food diet is historically meat and more meat, tinned dog food and now the more popular dry biscuit. Dogs are omnivores meaning they can eat meat, fruit and vegetables. Only certain fruit and vegetables may I add. I will go into more detail on fruit and vegetables to avoid.
These are all good for your pet Frenchie and will get all the nutrition he needs for the day ahead.
I was sat in the garden one day with my dog Buster and he always seems so engrossed on what I’m eating all the time which is an absolutely normal thing but it got me thinking, maybe Buster is fed up and bored of the same food day in day out so I thought right I’m going to mix it up abit my mate.
so I started to explore the idea of a variation of Busters diet and these are a few of the healthy options he likes in moderation.
Buster absolutely loves beef, chicken, pork and turkey. These are all healthy for your French Bulldogs and are a great source of protein.
However, you should keep these plain and avoid giving them potentially dangerous seasoned food which can be harmful.
They are found in most tinned dog foods but I like to add these as a nice snack occasionally. Also I’ve had recommendations to use rice if your dog has been ill or off their food.
Rice is very easy to digest and will relieve an upset stomach. I can vouch for this as I’ve woken up one morning to a kitchen and a very ill dog who was off his food. So adding rice to chicken was a savor and got Buster back to his normal self after a couple of days.
The next personal favorite on Buster’s list is cheese man he goes mad for the cheese.
This is also a healthy snack which your Frenchie can enjoy. They will get the health benefits of vitamin A, protein and calcium, just try not to give them too much because cheese also has fatty acid so moderation is best.
On a personal note, Buster was a tad hard to train but this was my savior little bit of cheese for training he was a lot more receptive to our training regime so if you’re having difficulty getting your dogs to train try the cheese, it worked for me it may work for you.
Sticking on the topic of little treats carrots. They are amazing both raw and cooked. I personally keep them raw and chop them up into little bitesize treat chunks and leave them in the fridge.
They’re a great treat alternative and full of vitamins, minerals and a good source of fiber.
Next up salmon. This is a great source of omega 3 which is great for skin and your french bulldogs coat.
I’m sure when I introduced salmon Buster’s coat improved. The benefits of omega 3 also include improved eye, heart and brain health.
One meal that I enjoy making and eating is pumpkin soup. It’s a great meal for me and when prepping I always put some aside for my companion. The benefits are good for both of us, pumpkins are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, even more so they are very low on calories which is good if you’re on a weight loss regime.
The antioxidants will help your eyesight, boost your immune system and will promote heart and skin health. The vitamins in pumpkins include vitamin A, B2, C and E. Also the mineral content is potassium, copper, iron and magnesium.
So I would say this is a bit of a superfood for both owner and pet. I also would like to add pumpkins to help with upset stomachs and diarrhea. This could help if you have a sick pooch.
Cooked eggs are a great meal and perfectly safe. Not only do they taste good and your dog will love you for it but they are massively nutritious, one egg provides almost every vitamin, mineral and is full of protein.
I just want to add that I would avoid feeding your dog raw eggs, well it won’t affect your dog but you will run the risk of infection as the salmonella bacteria can transfer from your dog to humans.
These are examples of what I use on a personal note which I thought were worth sharing. I’m going to go through the fruits and vegetables which are good for your Frenchie and to avoid.
Fruit And Vegetables That Are Safe To Eat
If you are introducing fruit and vegetables into your Frenchies diet I would do this a bit at a time because if you shock your pup into fruit and vegetables it may upset your dog’s stomach so a little bit now and then is the way and in the long run they will love a little bit of variety.
Supplementing your dog’s diet with safe amounts of fruit and vegetables may improve your dog’s health and prolong their life for many years to come.
I just want to add that regular dog food is optimized for your pup, but adding fruit and vegetables can provide some great health benefits in the long run and help with brain and eye function.
Here’s a List Of Fruit And Vegetables Safe To Eat For Your Dog.
- Broccoli
- Brussel sprouts
- Carrots
- Celery
- Cucumber
- Green beans
- Pumpkin
- Peas
- Spinach
- Potato (cooked)
- Sweet Potato (cooked)
- Asparagus
- Kale
- Parsley
- Blueberries
- Pineapple
- Watermelon
- Blackberries
- Apples
- Coconut
- Mango
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Oranges
When choosing vegetables for your pup to eat it’s important to choose ones that are completely safe, you can feed your pup raw vegetables except for potatoes and sweet potatoes which should be cooked boiled, steamed or baked.
Going back to the list I would just like to highlight parsley. I’ve used this on many occasions for a Buster diet.
Parsley is full of potassium which is great for joint and muscle health, but more importantly, if your dog from time to time suffers from the dreaded bad dog breath, hold your nose bad.
Then you should try sprinkling a bit of parsley onto your dog’s meal from my experience this works wonders, it takes off the edge and gets rid of that bad smell.
I also would like to recommend all of the above to cut and chop into small pieces to avoid choking. Bitesize able chunks are also good for treats and will avoid overeating and weight gain.
Fruit And Vegetables That Are Unsafe And To Avoid
Not all fruit and vegetables are as healthy and beneficial to our dogs as they are to us, humans. Now I’m just going to go into the harmful fruit and vegetables which could potentially make dogs ill and I would avoid them.
- Onions
- Garlic
- Grapes
- Raisins
- Avocado
- Lemons
- Limes
- Cherries
Onions avoid these at all costs these can be extremely harmful to your dog. They are very toxic and result in damaging your dog’s red blood cells, which will reduce the ability to carry oxygen around the body.
This then could lead to lethargy, weakness, lack of appetite and fainting. Stay clear of onion leaves and juice.
Garlic is also one to avoid this is extremely toxic and will do the same as onions which will damage your dog’s red blood cells.
If your dog does get to garlic this could result in vomiting and diarrhea. You should definitely not feed garlic to your dogs, not even small amounts.
Grapes and raisins are a big no, they may be like the perfect treat size and you may think these little things won’t hurt, but you’re wrong.
Grapes and raisins are extremely toxic and will affect your dog’s kidneys and may lead to kidney failure that is irreversible.
Avocados are a serious risk to your dog. They contain a toxic called persin which is extremely poisonous this may results in your dog not being able to hold water or stay hydrated.
Lemons and limes another toxic violation to your dog. They contain a toxic substance that can lead to vomiting and diarrhea.
Cherries pulp is not harmful to dogs but what’s harmful is the pip plant and leaves which all contain cyanide which is toxic even though the pulp is not harmful I just wouldn’t risk it.
Other Foods Which Are Harmful To Dogs
Going through all the fruits and vegetables which are beneficial and to avoid, I thought it would be good to add some foods which are harmful which are not fruit and vegetables.
The number one which I still see people doing is giving their dogs chocolate. I know it tastes good to the human pallet but this is serious and you must avoid giving chocolate to your dogs at all costs.
Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine which is toxic and poisonous to dogs.
Dogs metabolize chocolate much slower than humans which means the toxic levels build up.
A small amount of chocolate will result in vomiting and diarrhea, but a large amount could be serious resulting in lots of complications, seizures, internal bleeding, even a heart attack.
Tea and coffee I know it’s not a food but I thought I would just add this in. Tea and coffee contain caffeine which is extremely harmful to dogs.
Caffeine affects your dog’s nervous systems, which could involve symptoms of hyper activate, seizures and tremors. Caffeine can also lead to lung failure in dogs.
Staying on the subject of drinking. Alcohol is another one to stay away from as it can be very toxic to your dog.
A dog’s liver and kidneys cannot process or filter the contents of alcohol.
Even a small amount of alcohol can trigger life-threatening conditions which can affect the nervous system and can also lead to hypothermia, diarrhea and vomiting.
Another harmful food is an artificial sweetener called xylitol and this is found in sugar-free sweets, sugar-free gum and can also be found in toothpaste, mouthwash and chewable vitamins.
Xylitol can cause life-threatening conditions that will affect your dog’s blood sugar and will damage the liver. Xylitol symptoms can include vomiting, seizures and loss of coordination.
So keep an eye out for any stay pieces of chewing gum on the floor they may smell nice to your pet but can be deadly.
Conclusion
The main thing here is to understand that all dogs are different; some may tolerate foods better than others.
Also dogs are mainly carnivorous if they were in the wild but would eat vegetation if meat became scarce. So really you don’t have to add vegetables or fruits to your dog’s diet.
That being said it does not mean that it’s not a bad thing because what you will find is actually some fruits and vegetables will be a lot healthier than some dog treats and food on the market.
From my experience I would recommend moderation and watch your dog’s waistline with introducing new foods because like I said all dogs are different and may react differently from my dog.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my research and looking into my own personal experience on what I feed my Frenchie, Buster.
