7 Reasons Why Your Frenchie Is Shedding More + 5 Tips

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For the most part french bulldogs don’t shed too much. But more recently, you’re starting to notice your frenchie shedding more and more.

What gives? Is it normal for french bulldogs to shed so much or is something wrong?

Why Do French Bulldogs Shed:

How much a french bulldog sheds depends on their age, how warm the environment they live in is, their nutrition, as well as their physical and mental health. When a french bulldog starts shedding more than usual, and they’re otherwise completely healthy, it could be an underlying medical issue.

In this post you’ll discover:

7 real reasons why french bulldogs shed more than usual
When a french bulldog’s shedding is something to worry about
5 tips to help reduce your frenchies shedding (tip #2 is something you can do right away!)
And much, much more

Let’s jump right in.

Table of Contents

7 Reasons Why Your French Bulldog Is Shedding More

1) Seasonal Shedding

While your french bulldog won’t shed excessively year-round, you may notice more shedding during the warmer months of the year.

This is simply their body adapting to the environment.

To help themselves remain somewhat cool during the warmer times of the year, their coat will shed more than usual.

Also, when your pup is dehydrated more often in the warm summer months this can also contribute to more hair loss.

When they’re dehydrated their skin & fur becomes more dry and unhealthy which contributes to more of it falling onto the floor of your home.

During the summer months it’s super important to help your frenchie when it comes to cooling off.

This means not allowing them to be in the sun for too long, lots of water breaks and ideally going outside during non-peak heat hours.

Since they’re a brachycephalic breed they have enough difficulty breathing normally as it is.

If you want to see less fur all over your floors, couch and bed it’s best to increase their brushing during the summer months.

2) Lack Of Nutrient Absorption

French bulldogs are known for having rather sensitive stomachs (which is why they fart so much).

Which means they have a higher likelihood of having a food allergy that causes them to have troubles digesting their food.

And when their body isn’t able to digest and absorb the nutrients from their food properly, their skin, coat and overall health will take a turn for the worse.

Which means you may notice them shedding more than usual.

Whether it’s because they’re currently being fed low nutrient dog food or they’re allergic to their food.

Some adjustments will need to be made to help them feel better and reduce their shedding.

If the main ingredient in your dog’s current food is grains or corn, it’s a good idea to switch them to a meat based dog food.

High quality dog food will have some form of animal protein as it’s main ingredient as well as have no preservatives and say ‘highly digestible’ on the bag.

If your pup already eats high quality dog food they may have an allergy to one of the ingredients.

If that’s the case it’s best to chat with your vet.

Once their body is properly digesting their food and absorbing the necessary nutrients they need to be healthy, their skin & coat health should improve.

Which should then reduce how much they’re shedding.

3) Stress Or Anxiety

If your frenchie is experiencing higher levels of stress or anxiety recently this could cause them to shed more than usual.

A little stress here and there is no issue, but when it becomes their default state, there will almost always be side effects.

If your pup is shedding more than usual and you feel it might be from anxiety it could have been brought on from a couple big changes in their life.

Such as:

If you and your frenchie recently moved
A family member recently passing away (canine or human)
Moving into a home with a new family
Lots of loud, scary noises (thunder, construction, sirens, etc.)

If any of these are your frenchies current situation, it could be causing them higher than usual levels of stress.

Which is resulting in them shedding more.

This is even normal for humans if they’re stressed for long periods of time.

At some point in your life you may have heard a dad say, “I used to have hair before I had you kids!”

4) Unknowingly Using a Harmful Shampoo

Not all shampoos are good for your frenchie.

And if your pup is shedding more than usual it could be because the shampoo you’re using on them is negatively affecting their skin.

Your french bulldog’s skin is much more sensitive than a person’s skin and requires a less acidic shampoo.

That’s why it’s super important to never use human shampoo on your pup.

And if you have been, it could be why they’re shedding more lately.

Human shampoo is far more acidic than dog shampoo which will irritate their skin and cause rashing or even hair loss.

Also, even some dog shampoos aren’t made with the best/safest ingredients for your pup.

A good rule to follow when it comes to picking a dog shampoo for your frenchie is if you can’t pronounce any of the ingredients, don’t use it.

You want a dog shampoo that has an oatmeal or aloe vera base and doesn’t contain any parabens or chemicals.

Related Reading: Is Dog Shampoo Bad For Dogs? (The Truth…)

5) Pest/Parasites

When a frenchie has an infestation of pests or parasites, they may shed more from itching as well as from the parasites themselves.

Fleas, ticks and mites are the most common pests that your french bulldog might be dealing with.

If your pup has a large enough infestation of fleas or ticks it will cause them to itch, scratch or bite at their skin which can cause them to shed more.

They can’t help but to excessively itch because the pests are irritating their skin so much.

When it comes to mites, they’re unable to be seen by the naked eye, but if your pup has a patch of dry skin and hair loss, they could have mites.

If you think your pup might have some pests or parasites causing them to itch and shed more, it’s best to take them to the vet.

Thankfully there are treatments available to help your pup get rid of these irritating insects.

[Nothing brings peace of mind quite like speaking with a vet – click here to chat with a vet online now]

6) Infrequent Grooming Routine

If your frenchie doesn’t get brushed or bathed very often, this can contribute to why they’re shedding more.

Even though french bulldogs don’t have a double coat, which makes them shed less than other breeds, all dogs need a brushing routine.

If you only brush them once in a blue moon you’ll have a few occurrences throughout the year where you notice your house is far more furry than usual.

But if you make sure to brush them several times a week, their shedding should remain under control.

This is because not only are you collecting their loose fur before it finds its way around your home..

You’re also helping their skin and coat stay healthy.

When you brush your frenchie you’re spreading their natural skin oils all over their coat which helps keep it nice and healthy.

The same can be said about ensuring your pup gets a bath every 2-3 months.

Not only will this also help collect loose fur..

But many great dog shampoos help moisturize your pups skin and coat preventing it from getting dry and damaged.

Which further helps keep their shedding under control.

7) Underlying Health Issue(s)

Unfortunately, a reason that your frenchie is shedding more than usual could be because they have an underlying health issue.

Which could be a hormonal imbalance, infection or disease.

Two hormonal imbalances that are common when it comes to more than usual shedding are hypothyroidism and cushing syndrome.

If your french bulldog has red, irritated or any other discoloration to their skin it could be an infection or disease.

You’ll also likely notice their mood is off, generally have less energy and not have the same appetite in addition to their increased shedding.

If it’s not obvious that it’s a more harmless reason that your pup is shedding it’s a good idea to take them to the vet to have them looked at.

Top 5 Tips To Reduce How Much Your French Bulldog Sheds

1) Create a Grooming Schedule/Routine

A good, consistent brushing and bathing routine can do wonders for your frenchies skin and coat.

It strengthens their skin, spreads natural skin oils and helps you collect any dead/loose fur.

The stronger and healthier your pup’s skin is, the less likely you’ll find clumps of fur around your house.

Of course you can’t completely eliminate their shedding, it’s a natural bodily function.

But, you can limit it by helping maintain their skin and coat through frequent brushing and bathing.

Important note: While bathing every 2-3 months is a good idea, bathing too often can do more harm than good to your frenchies skin and coat. Avoid bathing them weekly or every other week as it will strip their skin of essential oils.

2) Add Supplements Do Their Diet

The healthier your frenchies skin is the healthier their coat will be which means their shedding will be limited.

Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids are known for contributing to healthy skin & fur.

And most dog food doesn’t contain a high amount of fatty acids which is why supplementing it can be beneficial for your doggo’s coat.

Many dog owners use salmon oil to help their pup supplement Omega 3 Fatty acid.

One of the better salmon oils for dogs on amazon is Zesty Paws Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil.

3) Increase Their Physical Activity

Your frenchie experiences many of the same benefits that you do from physical activity.

It helps reduce cortisol and releases dopamine.

Cortisol is the stress hormone and dopamine is a feel good hormone.

If your pup is less active they’ll be more likely to have higher levels of anxiety or stress which can impact their physical and mental health.

Both of which can contribute to more than usual shedding.

Giving your pup plenty of exercise can help keep their emotions balanced and prevent excessive shedding.

4) Change Up Their Food

Moving to a more nutrient rich dog food can do wonders for your dogs skin, coat and overall health.

Unfortunately, many affordable dog foods lack proper nutrients which can negatively affect your pup.

Without adequate nutrients a frenchies coat will be dry, brittle and more prone to excessive shedding.

5) Regular Vet Visits

To help make sure your pup is as healthy as they can possibly be, it’s important to have regular vet visits.

Nothing crazy like every other week.

But making sure your frenchie sees the vet at least twice a year can make sure no underlying health issues become problematic.

Shedding can be for harmless reasons as well as more severe reasons and it’s best to hear from a professional on what they feel is the root cause behind what’s happening.

[Nothing brings peace of mind quite like speaking with a vet – click here to chat with a vet online now]

Other posts you might find interesting:

12 Best Beds For French Bulldogs: Beds That Last

Top 9 Reasons Why French Bulldogs Yawn So Much + 4 Tips

Top 12 Reasons Why French Bulldogs Lick & Chew Their Paws

8 Reasons French Bulldogs Are So Vocal & Talkative + Tips