Bulldog Health by Age: Puppy, Adult and Senior Care

Bulldogs live eight to ten years, and the good ones are very good. The things that go wrong arrive on a schedule, earlier than in most breeds. Know the schedule and most of them are manageable, or caught early. Our usual honest line: we are not vets. This is what to watch and when to ask.

Puppy: the first year

Insurance before the first vet visit. Anything noted after that becomes pre-existing, and Bulldogs meet the vet often.

The first check. Ask for the eyes, the knees, the heart, the tail and the nostrils. Pulmonic stenosis, a narrowed heart valve, is a breed problem, and a puppy murmur needs following up with a scan rather than a wait. Very tight or inverted tails should have the spine looked at, because the same wedge-shaped vertebrae that make the screw tail often sit further up and occasionally cause hind-leg weakness or incontinence before a year.

Eyes. Cherry eye, a pink lump in the inner corner, usually appears before two and needs surgery to tuck the gland back, never to remove it. Entropion, eyelids rolling inward, shows as squinting, tears and rubbing and needs a small surgery. Any red, squinting or cloudy eye is a same-day call, because a scratched cornea on a bulging eye ulcerates fast.

The airway. A Respiratory Function Grading Scheme assessment at around a year, and a conversation about nostril and palate surgery if the grade says so; young airways do best.

Neutering. Little behavioural benefit, some joint and weight downsides to doing it early, and every anaesthetic in this breed needs a vet who does flat-faced dogs routinely. Most vets now suggest after a year, if at all. It is a conversation, not a default.

Growth. Five minutes of walking per month of age, cool, and no stairs or jumping until the growth plates close at around a year. Bulldog hips are the worst of any breed on record; a lean puppy is the best protection.

Adult: one to six

The skin, weight and airway years. A yearly check with a body-condition score, a look at the teeth, ears, folds and tail pocket, and a listen to the breathing. Allergies usually declare themselves by three; get a plan rather than a steroid a month. A dog who tires on walks that used to be fine, or starts sleeping sitting up, has an airway that is getting worse: ask about surgery before the summer.

Bladder stones. Bulldogs form urate and cystine stones more than most breeds. Straining to pee, frequent small wees, blood in the urine, or a male straining and producing nothing, which is an emergency. A urine test finds it early; diet manages most of it.

Lumps. Monthly lump check from four. Mast cell tumours and lymphoma are breed risks, and a lump tested early is a very different story from a lump tested late.

Teeth. The undershot, crowded jaw traps food and the breed gets dental disease early. Brush most days; a dental clean by middle age is normal, with the anaesthetic planned properly.

Senior: six and up

Bulldogs are old early. What is not 'just age':

• Stiffness after rest, slowing on stairs, reluctance to jump. Arthritis on dysplastic hips. Very treatable now: weight first, then the right exercise, supplements and medication.
• A cough, tiring, a swollen belly, fainting. A heart or a chest question. Bulldogs get both, and the airway makes heart disease harder on them.
• Breathing that has got worse. The airway tissue stretches with age. An old Bulldog who was never graded should be; surgery can still help, with a careful anaesthetic.
• Drinking and peeing more. Kidneys, diabetes, Cushing's. A cheap blood and urine test.
• New grumpiness when touched, or over the bowl. Pain, until proven otherwise.
• Bad breath, dropping food. Teeth.
• Night pacing, staring at walls, forgetting the routine. Cognitive decline. Diets, supplements and routines help, earlier is better.

Two vet visits a year with bloods from six, an arthritis plan at the first stiffness, rugs on hard floors, a ramp for the car, a raised bowl, walks measured in sniffs rather than miles, and a cool room in summer above everything. An old Bulldog with a managed airway, managed joints and a cool bed is a deeply contented dog.

The whole life, one rule

Lean, cool, harnessed, folds dry, airway graded, and looked at closely once a week. That rule protects a Bulldog at one, at five and at nine. For the day-to-day version, from the fit check to the senior comfort list, the handbook below puts it in order. And for the emergencies, the breathing and heat guide is the one to know by heart.