Do Bulldogs Shed Hair? Understanding Your Pet's Shedding
Bulldogs are usually more prone to hair loss than other dog breeds are.
Although bulldogs are considered as a moderate hair shedding breed, they are genetically prone to more hair shed compared to their peers in other dog breeds.
In fact, hair loss can be associated with many health and environmental factors
Changing of seasons can be the most significant contributor to hair loss in the bulldog breed, as bullies change their summer and winter coats during autumn and spring, resulting in an increased amount of hair loss among them.
It’s not autumn nor spring and your bulldog still excessively shed?
Autumn and spring are over and your bulldog still losing hair in bulks? The chances are that your bulldog is in his early life stages, as adult bulldogs relatively shed less than puppies do.
Other reasons for excessive bulldog hair shedding:
Among these practices: cases of hair shedding, it’s highly recommended to resort to your veterinarian, as your dog might be dealing with one of these issues:
- An inefficient diet that doesn’t meet your dog’s nutritional requirements.
- Non-parasitic skin infections.
- Bacterial infections.
- Kidney, liver, or thyroid deficiency.
- Over-exposure to the sun resulting in dehydration.
- Immune disease.
- Pregnancy or lactation.
What can I do to decrease my bulldog’s shedding?
Owing to their amiable and sensitive nature, bulldogs usually need extra care than other dog breeds do. The journey of maintaining a healthy and fit bulldog coat can be a bit hard. Here are a few tips to help you through the road:
Keep an Eye on His Diet:
Providing your bulldog with balanced, high in quality and rich with protein, vitamins, and natural nutrients, especially omega 3 and 6, and grain-free food can bring his coat’s health to another level. Improvement will show up in a noticeable decrease in your bulldog’s hair shedding.
What nutrients should I be feeding him?
Managing your bulldog’s food routine is essential to his overall health. Ensuring a full of life coat and normal hair shedding starts with adding the following nutrients to his diet:
- Grain-free food to prevent any possible oral-induced allergies.
- Whole food.
- Food or supplements that are rich with Omega 3 and 6.
- Flaxseed oil and fish oil
For many dog owners, dealing with dog food allergies is a long and exhausting process. Many vets will advise you to opt for the elimination technique, which might take up to 12 weeks to determine your dog’s allergy. Once it’s done, your bulldog’s hair loss will be improved, saving him much suffering.
A deeper look:
Throughout his lifetime, a bulldog is subject to scores of diseases, infections, and allergies. In the next few passages, I will walk you through the main deficiencies that are directly and indirectly related to hair loss in bulldog breed.
Hygiene
Spoiling your bulldog with extra care will end up in reversed results in most cases. A thorough weekly bath with the right hair products will suffice your dog’s hair needs. Knowing your dog’s hair type will help you greatly while shopping.
Sometimes changing shampoos can result in your dog losing his hair. Try to find your dog’s best skin and hair match by consulting your veterinarian or an expert.
Hygiene care is not restricted to taking proper bathes regularly; it encompasses a wide range of practices that would protect your bulldog’s coat to prevent any possible skin-induced infections. Among these practices:
- Applying flea preventive products.
- Bathing him in luke-worm water with the right dog cleaning products.
- Using a clean hairbrush and a clean towel.
- Drying his skin thoroughly and completely after bathing.
- Consulting your veterinarian regularly.
Immune system deficiency:
The guardian gate of the dog’s body that watches over what comes in and manages what gets out. The immune system works best within a healthy, clean, and protected environment, when the environment is contaminated with bacteria, germs, and parasites, the system becomes fragile and can be easily penetrated.
Providing your bulldog with the best environmental conditions with the cleanest possible food and water is a game-changer and will get most of the job done.
Flea allergy
If your dog is suffering an itchy skin, It might be alerting to what will probably end up with extra hair shed from your dog’s coat. The treatment varies from external to internal medications to elevate the itching in the infected spot. A change in diet and vitamin supplements might be needed.
Hormones
Hormone deficiency cases are too common among dog breeds, especially bulldogs. They can be genetically inherited, or generated due to various reasons, becoming of age and pregnancy are among the leading causes of hormone change. In many cases, hormone deficiency results in hair loss, which is normal. Your vet can medically treat these deficiencies once the cause is detected.
Fungal infection
If not provided with the right living conditions, bulldog’s environment is at risk of becoming replete with parasites, bacteria, and germs. Eating food that is impeded with parasites and germ, drinking contaminated water, and licking another infected with parasite’s dog’s face will render your bulldog more vulnerable in the face of parasitical infection.
In such cases, seeking medical treatment is the only way out. In most cases, your veterinarian will prescribe your bulldog with oral pills with a 2-4 week long treatment maximum.
What should you do?
Keep brushing her hair daily, to help improve and fasten the process of regrowing her hair back again. She also should follow a special diet, to make up for lost vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Keep clean skin: Bacterial infections might land first between the folds of the bulldog’s face. These wrinkles can work as hosting home for parasites and germs that would spread throughout the dog’s skin and might as well affect hair growth afterward. Maintaining a clean face and skin is essential to prevent any skin-induced infections.
Stress
Stress can negatively affect your dog’s hair growth. Dealing with new environments or parting ways with family members can result in your bulldog shedding extra hair. Giving him extra care with the right vitamin supplements will play a role in eliminating stress and elevating your dog’s spirit.
Cancer:
A bulldog experiencing an unusual amount of hair loss might be telling of a deeper health issue. Cancer symptoms show in sudden hair loss in some areas of the dog’s coat. Consulting your veterinarian is highly recommended to spot the exact cause of hair loss and to get the best advice.
Your bulldog’s coat will lose another significant amount of hair while getting chemotherapy treatment.
Pressure sores: Bulldogs are a breed known for their love of sleep, and low energy levels, such traits make getting pressure sores more likely. Pressure sores caused by spending long hours in the same position, which increases the risk of losing hair in the affected area.
Hair Grooming
Choosing the right brush is not as hard as you imagine. Bulldogs’ sensitive skin needs a soft brush with gentle bristles. Make sure to run it through his double-coated body daily, to keep his coat clean and free of shed hair and leave it looking fresh and sleek.
The right collar
Even the smallest detail makes a difference. With the tender, hypersensitive skin, finding the skin best collar match will bring about a tangible effect. When deciding on the collar, it’s advisable to invest in a high-quality collar, that perfectly fits your bulldog keeps it comfortable and doesn’t restrict its movement in any way.
Staying indoors
On average, bulldogs that spend more time indoors are less likely to get sunburned, which is one of the leading causes of excessive hair loss. Also, their chances of being subject to bacterial and germs infections are less. Thus, they maintain a healthier skin and a less shedding coat.
Hydration
Taking in sufficient amounts of clean water will show up and reflect in better skin and healthier hair. On average, a bulldog needs half his body weight of water per day to keep him hydrated and active throughout the day.
Lactation and pregnancy:
After giving birth, and during the lactation period, bulldog females blow away all of their hair coat. Relax, it’s normal for them to shed and lose hair excessively while giving birth and up to three months after. On your side, make sure you brush her daily and ensure she takes her supposed doses of vitamins and nutrients.
Sport
You might find this surprising. It is indirectly related to your bulldog’s hair health. When the dog is leading a physically healthy life, it will reflect on his coat’s health indirectly. An hour of training every day can be enough to maintain healthy hair and physique.
Getting a bulldog for the first time can take your canine experience into another level. Bulldogs are sensitive, calm, and fun to accompany, with such sweet-natured breed, that you can depend on whether when alone or with children.
Owning bulldogs might mean giving extra care and additional working hours from your side, But, once mastering the tricks, they are the easiest to deal with. Keeping them in a healthy, clean, comfortable environment, and making regular visits to the veterinarian will have most of the job done for you.