French Bulldogs can also suffer from lung congestion. Do not worry; you can’t give your Frenchie an illness that causes congestion, but they may still have respiratory problems if they come in contact with allergens, inhale smoke, or develop infections caused by bacteria or viruses. The presence of respiratory congestion itself may indicate heart failure in some cases. Other health conditions, such as a nasal tumors and pneumonia, can also cause fullness in the lungs.
Does My French Bulldog Have Congestion?
Your French Bulldog can develop a hacking cough. If your Frenchie has discolouration around their gums and lips, they may have a fever. There may be mucus flowing from their nostrils or difficulty breathing. Your French Bulldog may also begin panting a lot more in situations where they would never have in the past. If you notice any of these symptoms in your Frenchie, you should consult a veterinarian immediately since these symptoms may be signs of something more serious.
Seeing your French Bulldog pant excessively or hearing them cough is not enough to diagnose them with respiratory congestion. It is best to take your Frenchie to the vet if you notice these symptoms. To diagnose and administer the appropriate treatment, your vet will listen to your French Bulldog’s chest, look at its history, and possibly take an X-ray of the chest and run some blood tests. If a heart problem is suspected, electrocardiography (EKG) and heart ultrasound are necessary.
You can tell how your Frenchie feels by their body language, but you need to know how to read it. Watch out for these signs if you suspect your French Bulldogs have congestion:
| Sniffling | Panting |
| Head tilted | Pacing |
| shivering | Cowering |
Typically, puppies will have various symptoms, ranging from stuffy noses resulting from allergies to respiratory congestion due to congestive heart failure. The most important thing is to learn how to spot congestion; to do that, you must understand what congestion is.
Congestion is usually a result of fluid being trapped in your dog’s lungs. It can be caused by infections, kennel cough, allergies, and heart failure. In addition to a runny nose, coughing, difficulty breathing, and a fever, dogs can get the flu as well.
Other Issues That Sound Like Congestion
Kennel Cough
French Bulldog Kennel Cough: Kennel cough has become a common nickname for a canine infection called tracheobronchitis. It is a respiratory illness in dogs triggered by a wide variety of pathogens and viruses.
Kennel’s cough is extremely infectious and comes with a severe, hacking cough sound. Kennel cough causes inflammation of the respiratory tract of your French Bulldog, along with its windpipe and voice box.
Nasal stenosis
When a French Bulldog puppy has nasal stenosis, the opening of the nose is small, and the cartilage around the nose is supple and flexible, so the airway is blocked when the Frenchie pup breathes. Thus, it makes noises when breathing, breathes through the mouth, and sometimes experiences nasal discharge. To treat this, nasal openings are to be enlarged. We recommend seeing your veterinarian as soon as possible since cartilage may harden before six months of age, which makes surgery more difficult.
French Bulldogs are Brachycephalic
There are many breeds of brachycephalic dogs, such as the French Bulldog, which has a wide skull and a short nose. They commonly exhibit oral breathing and snoring, which are symptoms of airway obstruction. When French Bulldogs exercise, their breathing problems worsen. As they age, their breathing issues become more pronounced.
Soft palate elongation
To swallow, the mucous membrane that lines the nasal and nasopharyngeal closes. Soft palate elongation causes the epiglottis to obstruct your Frenchie’s airways partially. Snoring and nausea are the main symptoms. Exercise can worsen the obstruction. Treatment consists of surgically reducing the length of the palate. Generally, the results are good if the operation is performed before the larynx has been affected. Visit your veterinarian as soon as you can.
Something Stuck In Their Nose
Your French Bulldog may find many foreign bodies on its nose, such as leaves, seeds, grasses, and bone shards. Initially, continuous and intermittent sneezing is the primary symptom of a foreign body in the nose. Your Frenchie may experience a thick, usually bloody discharge if a foreign body remains in its nose for hours or days. This condition should be treated with veterinary assistance. You can easily remove foreign bodies with tweezers from the opening of the nostril if they are visible there.
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Why Does My French Bulldog Have a Runny Nose?
Unless there are other symptoms, you shouldn’t be too concerned about your French Bulldog with clear nasal discharge. However, having a cloudy, yellow, green, or smelly discharge is always problematic. Consult your veterinarian if in doubt. Some of the most common causes of dog nasal discharge are as follows:
| Blockage: There may be something stuck in your dog’s nostrils, such as a seed or blade of grass, causing a discharge. Other symptoms include sneezing, pawing at the nose, and bleeding from the nose. |
| Allergies: You can be sure your Frenchies’ nasal discharge is due to allergies since they account for the greatest number of abnormal nasal discharges in French Bulldogs. Pollens, foods, drugs, mites, spores, and chemicals can cause inflammation of French Bulldogs. Allergies in dogs can cause more than just a runny nose; they can also cause sneezing, coughing, itching, nosebleeds, eye discharge, and breathing problems. |
| Infection: When your French Bulldog’s nose discharges mucus or pus, he may have a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection. In addition to a bad odour and a nosebleed, a post-nasal drip might cause coughing or choking. |
| Distemper: Distemper is known to cause sticky, yellow nasal discharge in French Bulldogs, and twitching and convulsions are also possible symptoms, as well as fever and pneumonia. |
| Nostril problems: French Bulldogs’ flat faces or dog breeds with soft, floppy nasal cartilage may be more prone to nasal discharge than others. Some Frenchies, such as those with cartilage problems or those with small nostrils, may require surgery. Snoring can also be a sign of nose problems of this sort. |
How do I know if my French bulldog has a cold?
Dogs suffer from colds for the same reasons as humans. There is no one specific virus that causes cold symptoms. In dogs, cold symptoms are caused by several different viruses. The severity of some of these cold symptoms differs from dog to dog, so you should treat your French Bulldogs’ cold symptoms more seriously than you might treat yourself if you had one. Symptoms of the common cold include:
| Watery Eyes | Congested Nose |
| Sneezing | Coughing |
A virus can cause these symptoms. Still, they can also be symptoms of more serious conditions, like kennel cough, influenza or parainfluenza viruses, bronchitis, or even canine distemper.
Your French Bulldog may also be suffering from a more serious disease that requires veterinary treatment if they are also experiencing fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or other normal behaviour changes. To ensure your Frenchies’ safety, it’s best to consult your veterinarian when these symptoms occur.
How are French Bulldog Colds Treated?
If your French Bulldog appears to have a cold, the first thing you need to do is to call your veterinarian. You should make sure that you rule out any other possible causes of your Frenchies’ symptoms, even if the cold is mild. In addition to listening to your French Bulldogs’ heart and lungs, your veterinarian may suggest a series of diagnostic tests to ensure your Frenchie doesn’t have a more serious condition.
If your Frenchie suffers from a cold, you will need to treat it following its underlying cause. Even mild colds are typically treated by rest, antibiotics for secondary infections, cough suppressants, and fluids, particularly in puppies or dogs with compromised immune systems.