One of the first and most important questions new French Bulldog owners ask is “How much should I feed my French Bulldog?” usually follow by “How often should I feed my French Bulldog?” The question is both how much in volume and how frequently. It’s difficult to calculate precisely how much you should feed your french bulldog. Frenchies can weigh anywhere from 16lbs to 28-30lbs, but they don’t need much exercise and they’re pretty lazy. Use this calculator from Merrick to get an exact number for your french bulldog’s weight, age, and activity level.
In short, most french bulldogs should be fed approximately 25-30 calories per pound of body weight per day, split into two to three meals. A typical, healthy french bulldog should be fed about 25-30 calories worth of food per pound of body weight. So, a 16lb french bulldog who doesn’t exercise a lot would receive 400-480 calories per day. A bigger, lazier french bulldog in the 28lbs range would get around 700-800 calories per day. So, the average adult french bulldog should get anywhere from 550 to 750 calories per day. Weigh and observe your french bulldog every few weeks and make sure they’re not over or underweight. You shouldn’t be able to see a french bulldog’s ribs. Always consult your veterinarian about these numbers. I do not claim to be a canine nutritionist.
How much should I feed my french bulldog
Use this calculator to get an exact number, and then use that calorie number to calculate the amount from the manufacturer’s nutritional information found either online or on the bag/box.
Roughly, here are some calorie estimate calculated using a mean weight of 25 pounds (right in the middle for french bulldogs):
-Older French Bulldogs
470-400 calories per day
-Typical Adult French Bulldog
~550-600 Calories per day
-Highly active, adult french bulldogs
750-825 calories per day
Note: Always talk to your vet about your dog, their weight, and their food intake. We do not claim to be veterinarians.
French Bulldogs can easily become overweight (or underweight), especially the lazy ones. Some french bulldogs are hyperactive while others are couch potatoes. The breed really doesn’t require as much exercise as their more active counterparts and too much exercise can even be bad for french bulldogs.
It is also critical that you maintain a consistent feeding schedule and never slack off on feeding your French Bulldog. Even more important than that is feeding your Frenchie the proper amount of food daily. We feed our French Bulldogs first thing in the morning (~8:00a.m.) and around 10-12 hours later at ~6:00p.m..
How to Feed A French Bulldog
How much should I feed my french bulldog if they’re 10-12 Weeks Old?
I’m going to assume your Frenchie has been weaned from his/her mother and they’ve been gradually (2-3 weeks process) weaned off their mother’s milk and switched to puppy food. Young Frenchies have high caloric and nutrient needs. French Bulldogs aged anywhere from 8-12 weeks of age need a total of 1.5 cups of puppy food per day. This must be spread out into 3 meals equaling 1/2 cup each. Spreading out the meals minimizes the peaks of energy your French Bulldog will experience due to dramatic rises and decreases in blood sugar levels between meals. Spreading the meals out will maintain a healthy amount of energy and nutrients in your puppy’s belly.
After roughly 6 months of 3 meals per day, you may switch to twice daily feeding for convenience, but I will always encourage you to sustain feeding 3 times per day even into your French Bulldog’s old age. Feeding smaller meals 3 to 4 times daily is significantly better for your companion’s well-being. Feeding only twice daily can sometimes lead to gastric dilatation volvulus.
How much should I feed my french bulldog if they’re 6-9 months old?
By this stage, your French Bulldog is ready to get into an eating routine that they will continue on for the rest of their happy, little chubby lives, barring no serious medical ailments later on in life. From around 6 months to 1 year of age, you can start feeding your French Bulldog a very high quality adult doggy food. It is important to maintain a strict routine for your French Bulldog. They will ultimately be more comfortable and happy if they’re fed regularly at the same time, every single day, every week, every year for the rest of their lives. You can always supplement a few treats in between. Wink wink. Stick to the body weight ratios above and consult your vet if you think you’re doing it wrong. If you think your french bulldog is underweight, add half a cup per week up to ~2.5 cups per day until their weight stabilizes. A half a cup at a time will make sure your Frenchie is pleasantly tubby and happy.
French Bulldogs Will Overeat
In this video, you can see our first French Bulldog chowing down.
Some days, it seems like a French Bulldog can never get enough food. This seemingly natural hunger is relative to the breed and you should be weary of overfeeding your French Bulldog. Our beloved Auggie will eat as much food as you give him, and has helped himself to our other dog’s food many times. They’re such good dogs that they let him dive right in. Monitor your Frenchie as she eats and make sure she only eats her own food, especially if you feed your French Bulldog near other pets. You French Bulldog should eat enough calories based on the weight ratios above if they’re somewhere in the normal weight range. Note that non-neutered males may grow into the low 30lb range. This is normal but you should make sure you’re not overfeeding. Always consult a vet.
How Much Should I Feed My French Bulldog if she’s underweight?
Rescue Frenchies or puppies that are naturally a little smaller will often need a little extra food to make sure they’re at their optimal weight. A full grown spayed/neutered French Bulldog female should weight 17lbs on the very low end and around 28lbs-30lbs on the high end. You should never be able to see a French Bulldog’s bone structure. They’re naturally pleasantly plump companions and need to maintain an optimal weight to be healthy and happy. How much should you feed your French Bulldog if he/she’s underweight? Ideally, 2.5-3 cups per day or 30-40 calories per pound, split into three meals until they’re well-within the weight range mentioned above. Ask your veterinarian to consult you on your French Bulldog’s weight and ensure that they don’t have any other concerns. This sort of consult is always quick and cheap (sometimes free) and you owe it to your companion to get the opinion of an expert veterinarian. If you’re unable to put a few extra pounds on your underweight French Bulldog, then you must see a veterinarian.
How Much Should I Feed My French Bulldog if He’s Overweight?
Overweight Frenchies can suffer from some very severe health problems, including heart disease (just like humans), labored breathing, and lack of physical exercise. If your French Bulldog is overweight, then you should monitor how much you are feeding your french bulldog and make sure that they’re not eating your other pet’s food. If your Frenchie is overweight and you want to get them back to a healthy weight, reduce their daily food intake by about half a cup, increase their water intake, and be sure to take them on evening walks when it’s cool outside. (Never take a French Bulldog out to play in sweltering heat, they can die.)
How Much should I Feed My French Bulldog Who is Older?
Generally, older French Bulldogs will require slightly less food than their young counterparts. However, do not restrict food from your French Bulldog if they appear to be underweight or hungry. Feed your older french bulldog roughly 20-25 calories per pound (if they’re within the nominal weight range or below) and if they leave food in the bowl, let them snack on it midday or so. 1-1.5 cups in the morning and 1-1.5 cups at night and you can’t go wrong. If you notice your French Bulldog is gaining lots of weight, reduce their daily food by 5-10 calories per pound until they’re back down to a healthy weight.
A reader pointed out in the comments below that these calculations would put french bulldogs in the 40lbs range somewhere around 800-1000 calories per day. This is obviously an outlier situation and no french bulldog needs that many calories. They’re chunky and lazy, so they’re not burning calories like mice on a wheel. In your dog’s old age, they’re less active and their metabolism gradually slows with their decrease in activity. This means feeding your french bulldog less food as they age. We suggest you feed 7+ year old french bulldogs around 15-20 calories per pound and monitor their weight. If they look thinner than usual, you can move up by 5 calories per pound of weight until you find a magic number. No french bulldog is identical and our suggestions are based on average weights computed to a mean average calorie intake suggestion. (Read: I use this calculator and a pad of paper.)
You can supplement an extra quarter of a cup of food per meal over the course of a few days or weeks until you’re confident your French Bulldog is being fed the proper amount of calories to sustain a healthy weight. See this guide in order to determine the appropriate weight for your Frenchie.
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I have two french bulldog at home. One is older he is 9 month and the little one she is 4 month. From the first time the older one came to my home, his appetite was ok. I gave him royal canin, and then he started losing apetite, then my friend told me to try giving raw feeding. Still he like it at first and then ignore his food. Now im trying taste of the wild prairie puppy. which he vomit when he eat it. Is it because the size off the kibble is bigger than royal Canin? I realize that he took a long time to eat because he lick his food, its different than the little one, she can swallow her food right away. I have already chock him raw food for past two months to avoid anything happen since he was in medicated consdition for his ringworm. Im looking forward to your opinion. Thankyou.
It happen similiar to me.u should never change theur food in once. If you want to change should be slowly adding new one to old ech day a bit more. But make sure you re happy with your choise these puppys have week digrstive sustem etc. chose wisely. I would tecommend you asking your vet that once, cause somethimes the have special needs.If you think the can chock because dont mash the food.You can always add a bit of warm water to get soft.
Hi I have a 6 months old female frenchie and very picky eater. I tried feeding her adult mixed with hollistic ahe loved it. My vet said to atick with one food any recommendations? She is very picky.. she weighs 6.5 kl only. I really want her to gain weight. Please help
Hey Kim,
Sorry to hear your french bulldog isn’t eating! I recommend feeding some wet food from Fromm, Taste of the Wild, Earthborn Holistic, or other grain-free dog foods mixed with a little dry food at each meal.
If that doesn’t encourage her to eat, try feeding a little plain cooked rice, sweet potatoes, and some boiled chicken breast. She may just be picky about the specific brand you’re feeding her, so you might try a different brand to see how she likes it!
The calculations in this article are somewhat inconsistent. It says for a senior to feed 470-400 kcal per day. But then it goes on later to say for seniors to feed 25-30 calories per pound. At the 25 calorie range, that’s accounting only for a Frenchie who is 16-18 pounds, which would be rather small. I have a large (41 pound) 8-year-old Frenchie. Using the same calculation, that’s at least 1,000 kcal per day which is a HUGE amount of food for him, and he’d certainly gain a lot of dangerous weight fast. Can you please explain your calculations?
Hey Jeff,
Keen observation. These calculations are premised on the nominal weight averages for french bulldogs at the median nominal weight between males and females, with females weighing slightly less than males (in a majority of instances). That said, I have never seen a french bulldog larger than 33lbs, and so that is what I know to be the top-end of the breed. That said, if you would like a nice round number, at 41lbs, fed twice daily (three smaller daily meals would make weight management easier), I would halve the 25-30 calorie per pound number.
I feed my frenchie (5 months old) the Fromm Game Bird Recipe. He is currently 22 pounds. Is the Game Bird Recipe too much for him (I had read that the food is for “all life stages” as seen on the packaging). He loves the food and eats it well without any issues.. I feed him 3 times a day/half a cup every meal.
Is this type of food too much for him considering his age of 5 months?
hi
I have a 5 month old male, he weighs 11.2kg I’m worried he is going to end up over weight and wondered whether to cut his portions a little for health reason later on
Hey T.J., that’s a little husky for a frenchie, but they’re naturally chubby. Get him weighed at your veterinarian and then ask your veterinarian about slowly reducing his daily calorie intake. A 5 month old puppy should be getting somewhere between 400-600 calories per day, to ensure proper growth. More important than his calorie intake is the overall diversity of the nutrients he is getting. You want to be certain that he gets a large variety of nutrient-dense puppy foods. Your puppy should be able to switch proteins without issues. Try purchasing a small bag of a different brand and type of grain-free puppy and switch out foods once a week or so. Then monitor his weight. If he’s pudgy, that isn’t a problem. French bulldogs should be slightly chunky. However, if his weight causes joint strain, wheezing, or other respiratory problems, then you may want to consider asking your vet how to safely bring his weight down. Make sure he gets some playtime outside everyday!
Hi,
I have two frenchies, a 3 month old frenchie and a 5 month old frenchie. I was wondering how much I should feed them daily. I feed the younger one 1.5 cups a day and the older one 2 cups a day. I use Merrick Grain Free Dry Puppy Dog food.
Thank you!
Hey Greg, thanks for being here. Have you seen these calculators? https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/ and this one: https://www.merrickpetcare.com/how-to-switch/food-calculator
I usually use the Merrick calculator, but they’re both with 5% tolerance/accuracy of one another, in my experience.
I have a six and a half month old frenchton. He’s longer than a French bulldog or a Boston and I can’t seem to keep him full. I guess that’s the frenchie in him. He eats grass, dirt, leave especially and poop if I can’t pick it up quick enough. I was feeding him high quality puppy food and my vet thought maybe he needed more fibre so told me to switch him to royal canin Satiety adult food. I don’t think vet food is as healthy as the high quality grain free puppy food I was feeding him and he still wants to eat everything so the change hasn’t helped. He’s definitely not pudgy. He’s on the skinnier side but full of energy. Please help with what to feed this boy. Should I keep him on puppy food or switch to adult food. He is neutered already as well. Since he’s a frenchton I don’t know how big he’ll grow to be.
Gail, cal may be 2 Great breaders ! With good experience!! They will advise you! That’s for sure great ideas etc… that’s why there smart 20 years or more experience! Good luck..! There beautiful breed. Like us humans we can’t get enough great experience from these People! All best . Alice
Ok. I have a French bull dog. He is a year old. I feed him 1 1/2 cup each day. Should I be feeding him more
Hey Ed, follow the amounts prescribed on the bag or the can if you’re feeding him pre-made kibble. Use this calculator if you’re feeding him whole/cooked or raw foods: http://www.petnutritionalliance.org/dog.php
ours Marjorie’s stomach is so sensitive, any tips on food? we are having to stick to digestive care I/D formula atm. She has terrible stomach if not.
Does her gas get really bad or does she start vomiting and feeling puny when her stomach acts up? For 2-3 days try feeding her lightly cooked chicken or pork. Leave out the veggies and monitor the result. If all goes okay, add in a single vegetable at each meal and monitor thereafter. If, for example, days 1-3 you feed her some cooked white meat and she does okay, then give her some white meat + sweet potatoes on day 4 at breakfast, monitor the result, etc. This will help determine what is causing her upset stomach. She may have a biotic imbalance or possibly even an intestinal parasite causing the issues. Have you had a veterinarian check a stool sample for certainty? Best of luck and happy holidays to you Leanne!
My Frenchie just turned a year old how long can you keep them on puppy food. A breeder told me she does not change then until they are a senior. Please advise.
We’re in the process of buying a Frenchie from the same breeder we used before, but my concern is he’s trying to send her home at 7 weeks, is that okay? Just worried due to the fact I read a lot that other breeders don’t let them go until 8. We bought our last through him but he was 12 weeks because someone backed out on him.
Bullshit. My French bulldog wants to eat all the time. He gets 3 meals a day plus treats. 1 cup of food. He iiiiiissssss not lazy. He swims in the pool, wants to play ball and walk around. Ate we on the lady ga ga French dogs. Yeah no. I have a 1 in a million French. What I’ve been reading I think people are just adding to dollars. Great dogs. They are hungry alot, do not feed them more than 3 full cups a day, play with them, love them. They are healthy dogs and loyal. Do not pay $5,000.00 and up. That ga ga crap is done and gone. Paris Hilton might bring back tinker bell. Awsome dogs the French bulldogs are if you are into loyal and loving dogs.
We have two 11 month old Frenchie x Border girls. One is red with black mask very frenchie like but longer snout and a 3/4 tail. The other is mainly black with red socks and mask, a little taller than her sister with a full tail. Litter mates. One day they will eat whatever is put in front of them. Butternut! Next they just will not touch anything. Both very active go for long walks. Both would dig to Australia given the chance. Would you recommend changing food?
Is there a book I can buy to be guided by like ivbeen reading hear. My Buster is 8months old he’s beautiful but he is quite big for a frenchie he’s like a rock whaler colour dark chocolate and fawn quite tall for a frenchie but his ears face everything else tail is frenchie his mom was a murle and wad mated with another frenchie are some of these bigger than others. Thanks as I get quite worried about it.
I have a French Bull Dog and he’s 3 months. He eats 3 meals a day with Pumpkin topping on his food. I give him treats. He moves his bowels 2 min after he eats and then he’s off running around and playing. Sometimes I have to chase him to keep up with him. I hope he remains that way. I try to keep him active so he doesn’t become lazy as some may say they become. I have a Toy Poodle as well. She’s 2 and she is the Alpha in the house with him right now. He follows what she does. So she keeps him on his toes because she’s pretty fast.
I have a French bull dog and I got him at 15 weeks. I’ve had a little over a week so far. The first week he was eating 3x a day and this past days he’s been not wanting to eat breakfast and take forever to eat dinner. I feed him kibble with pumpkin purée. I’m not sure if he getting tired of kibble? Or maybe I need to give softer kibble?