9 Reasons Why French Bulldogs Look Sad & Depressed + Tips

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Normally your french bulldog is happy as can be, but recently you’re noticing they seem to always look sad (or even depressed). This is obviously quite concerning. Is there something wrong with them? Or is this behavior normal for french bulldogs?

Why Do French Bulldogs Always Look Sad:

A french bulldog will always look sad if they’re experiencing high levels of anxiety, are ill, have recently lost a loved one, or are often afraid. Less serious reasons why french bulldogs look sad are they’re bored, jealous, or are picking up on your sad emotions.

In this post you’ll discover:

9 reasons why french bulldogs look sad
7 signs that your frenchie is battling depression
4 tips to help your frenchie not feel & look so sad (plus a bonus tip!)
And much, much more

Let’s jump right in.

9 Real Reasons Why French Bulldogs Look Sad

1) Severe Levels Of Anxiety

If your french bulldog has high levels of anxiety this could be contributing to them looking and feeling sad.

One of the more common forms of anxiety that dogs feel is separation anxiety.

Depending on the dog it can be extremely severe separation anxiety or mild.

And obviously that will have a large impact on how sad they look and feel.

If your pup has some form of separation anxiety you may also notice these types of behaviors:

Excessive barking or howling
Having accidents inside even after house training
Excessive pacing, licking or drooling
Destructive tendencies

Other types of anxiety that affect how french bulldogs look and feel are fear-based and age-based.

2) Change In Home Environment

Your french bulldog may be more sensitive to change that you think.

If you’ve recently moved to a new home, this abrupt change to their routine/environment can be enough to make them sad.

This usually happens because they liked the way things were and aren’t pleased with, or simply not used to, the change.

They have to get used to their new walking route, make new friends and get used to their new den.

Also, if your home has added a new member to the family, or lossed one, this can make a frenchie feel sad or even depressed.

If a new baby, or new puppy is getting the attention that used to be theirs, this can make them feel very sad.

On the other hand, if someone they loved doesn’t live at home with them anymore, this can put them in a funk.

3) Loss Of a Loved One

Just like when you lose a loved one and go through a mourning period, so will your french bulldog.

Frenchies get very attached to canine companions as well as their owners, and if they aren’t around anymore, it can make them incredibly sad.

Unfortunately, this type of sadness really needs time in order for your pup to get back to normal.

As the saying goes, time heals all wounds.

4) They’re Afraid

If your frenchie is afraid, more often than not, they’ll also look and feel sad.

It’s difficult to be happy and easy-going when there’s something in your environment that makes you feel afraid.

This could come from their canine companion intimidating them, a feline friend that’s territorial/bossy, or a new dog that moved in beside you.

When I was younger, my family dog would be terrified of going out in the backyard because a giant saint bernard moved in next door.

His bark was super loud and he would move the entire fence line when he’d paw at it.

He was that strong…

So obviously, being the little pup my dog was, she would be afraid and look sad whenever he was outside as well.

5) Not Feeling Well

It would certainly make things easier if your frenchie could verbally communicate that they aren’t feeling well.

Unfortunately, the only way for them to do it is to communicate through their body language.

And most dogs will do their absolute best to hide that they aren’t feeling well.

So if you notice your pup is looking really sad lately, their discomfort from not feeling well is likely increasing.

Which means they should be looked at by a vet.

If you notice in addition to their sadness they’re wincing, hiding, sleeping way more, acting restless, vomiting or diarrhoea they should be taken to the vet.

If their sadness is long-lasting there will almost always be something accompanying it.

Frenchies are very happy dogs for the most part, so if they’re acting sad or depressed for long periods, something’s off.

6) Not Getting Enough Attention

If your frenchie is anything like the many french bulldogs i’ve interacted with, they’re probably a big attention seeker.

Which means if they aren’t getting as much attention as they feel they should be, they’ll react by pouting and looking sad.

If you’re noticing them acting sad more frequently lately, think back to your schedule over the last several days.

Have you been super busy? Has your frenchie gotten much or your time?

If not, they could be showing you that they miss you and want some attention.

Do your best to make sure your frenchie is getting at least some attention on a daily basis.

7) Jealousy

There’s really only two ways that french bulldogs show their jealousy.

One is by barking and pawing at you for attention.

And the other is to go somewhere else and pout.

If you notice that whenever you pay attention to other dogs, or even your friends/family when they come over, that your pup looks sad…

They’re probably just jealous.

They’re used to being the sole beneficiary of your attention and don’t like the competition.

Of course you can’t ignore the rest of the world and only give them attention, so when they look sad from jealousy, it’s really something they have to learn to deal with.

8) Lack Of Physical & Mental Stimulation

While french bulldogs don’t need an extreme amount of daily physical activity, they still need some in order to not be sad.

Same goes with mental stimulation.

Exercise has so many benefits beyond improving their physical shape.

It actually reduces cortisol (stress hormone) and produces more serotonin & dopamine (mood improving hormones).

Without daily exercise, your pup could easily be pulled into a funk.

Same goes if they don’t have any toys or activities that are mentally stimulating them.

If their days are mundane and boring for the most part, odds are they’ll look and feel sad.

9) You’re Sad?

Interestingly, studies have shown that your pup is actually able to smell your emotional state.

AND when they smell your emotional state, it affects their own mood.

How crazy is that!

So if you’ve been feeling sad lately, your french bulldog can pick up on this scent and start feeling similarly to how you feel.

The reason your emotional state affects them is because they trust your judgement of the environment/situation.

So if you’ve been feeling sad lately, it could be why your frenchie is looking and acting sad.

7 Signs Your French Bulldog Could Be Depressed

1) Sleeping More

A study done in New Zealand found that when a dog loses an animal companion, they will sleep on average 34% more than usual.

So if your frenchie is bummed out because they recently experienced the loss of a canine companion or feline friend, it could be causing them extreme sadness.

Which is also making them want to sleep more.

This can also happen when a person they love passes as well.

2) Standoffish

French bulldogs that are feeling overly sad or depressed may isolate themselves.

You may notice them spending time alone in places they don’t normally spend time.

An example of this from Pets WebMD is the dog in their example would hide in a closet as well as behind a mirror.

They were upset and having troubles dealing with their sadness so they wanted to be alone.

Many times dog’s won’t want to show their owners they’re feeling ill or sad so they’ll seek places to hide when depressed.

3) Uninterested In Things They Normally Love

If your frenchie normally loves walks, car rides, or trips to the dog park but all the sudden is uninterested in those things, they could be depressed.

They may also show less excitement when you come home.

Normally these things would bring them so much joy, but because they’re feeling especially sad, they don’t want to do anything.

4) Not Eating As Much

The same study done in New Zealand that found dogs sleep more when experiencing loss also found they eat less.

The amount that dog’s eat while they’re in a depressed state is reduced by roughly 35%.

Which is quite a lot.

So if your frenchie is eating noticeably less, while also looking sad, it’s a strong indicator that they’re depressed.

5) Eating Slower

In addition to eating less, the New Zealand study found that the dog’s ate 31% slower.

So if your frenchies appetite has changed quite dramatically lately in addition to their sad looking behavior, it could be a sign they’re depressed.

6) Excessive Behavior

When french bulldogs do anything in excess, more often than not, it’s caused by some form of underlying issue.

One of which can be sadness/depression.

If your frenchie is excessively pacing, licking themselves, yawning, panting, or chewing on objects, these are signs something’s wrong.

A healthy pup generally won’t do anything to excess. This type of compulsive behavior typically comes because they’re attempting to cope with something.

7) Destructive Behavior

It’s perfectly normal for french bulldogs to chew on things and be a little destructive now and then.

They experience the world through their mouth so the only way they can properly interact with things is by chewing on them.

However, if you notice them ripping things to shreds more often, excessively digging, or defecating inside, something is troubling them.

Destructive behaviors can frequently be paired with a frenchie battling depression.

4 Tips To Help Your French Bulldog Not Look & Feel Sad

1) Increase Their Activity

French bulldogs don’t need excessive amounts of activity, but if they’re behaving more sad than usual, try increasing their activity.

This could mean one more walk per day, or adding a longer play session to their daily routine.

Frenchies are much happier when interacting with their favorite people.

So if your pup’s activity levels have been low recently, and they’re completely healthy, do your best to give them more stimulating activities.

Related Reading: Top 15 Best Harnesses For French Bulldogs | Ultimate Guide

2) Spend More Time With Them

Very simply, you could help your frenchie become less sad by spending more time with them.

This might sound easier said than done given your work schedule and social life, but it can make a big difference to your pup.

Do your best to have more cuddle time with them, more playtime, or simply doing more of the things they love.

This helps because having physical contact with your pup actually releases oxytocin in their body (happy hormones).

So when you pat, rub and cuddle with them you’re washing away their sadness.

3) Give Them More Structure/Routine

If your pup is in a particular funk, more specifically because they’ve lost a loved one, added structure can help them get back to normal.

When they have too much time to sit and think about how much they miss their companion they make themselves even sadder.

Giving them more structure or routine can help ensure their mind is focused on the present instead of the past.

Which can help them forget about why they’re so sad and bring them back to being happy as can be.

4) Take Them To The Vet

It’s very out of the ordinary for french bulldogs to be sad for long periods of time.

And while there are plenty of reasons for them to look sad that aren’t medically serious, there’s a possibility something internally is bothering them.

Because of this, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Your vet can help give you peace of mind that nothing’s wrong, or help give them the necessary treatment/medication to help them get back to normal.

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