French bulldogs have been selectively bred by humans to the point where they are (in the majority of cases) no longer able to breed naturally. Getting a French bulldog pregnant will mostly happen via artificial insemination. Once successful, how long will they be pregnant for?
French bulldogs are like any other dog breed when it comes to gestation length. You can expect a Frenchie pregnancy to last between 58 and 68 days, with the average pregnancy length typically being 63 days from conception to birth.Â
French Bulldog pregnancy calendar
Week 1 (days 0 to 7)
The Frenchie female has been fertilized successfully, and you should continue on with her usual exercise and food, with no changes to activity or diet.
Your Frenchie might experience some form of morning sickness, and you might see a small pink discharge coming out. Don’t panic, this is all perfectly normal.
Week 2 (days 7 to 14)
This is the time during the French Bulldog pregnancy calendar when the cells will start to grow, and the embryos move into the uterus area.
As with week 1, there are is no need to make any chances to your dog’s diet or exercise program.
Week 3 (days 14 to 21)
The small Frenchie puppy foetuses are now starting to develop properly, being extremely small at around 1 cm in length.
Just like in weeks 1 and 2 of the pregnancy calendar, there is still no need to make any changes to her diet and exercise. However, you should keep an eye on her, as some dogs will want to eat more.
Week 4 (days 21 to 28)
At this point in the pregnancy calendar, the puppies will start to form more, and in fact it might even be possible for your vet to detect them simply by feeling your dog’s belly.
This is one of the most important weeks in the French Bulldog pregnancy calendar and is the point of highest risk to the developing puppies. Be careful with her, and start to limit any over-exertion and rough activity.
The foetuses are now starting to resemble a dog, with spinal and facial areas growing, but the puppy foetus is still only 1.5 cm long.
Your female Frenchie may start to get swollen nipples and a clear discharge from her vagina. Again, this is perfectly normal and nothing to panic about.
Your vet will need to advise on whether or not you need to change her diet, or supplement her food with any more nutritional additions.
Week 5 (days 28 to 35)
At this point, the foetuses are more robust with feet, claws, and whiskers starting to appear. This is also the point whereby the sex of the puppy will develop, with genital areas developing.
You will notice weight gain in the female Frenchie, and it’s the point whereby her food intake will need to be increased to help with the puppy development.
Vets can perform a scan during this period so you can find out how many puppies you can expect in the litter. Here’s what the average litter sizes are.
Week 6 (days 35 to 42)
You will now definitely notice a difference in your female in terms of how large and pregnant she looks. It’s almost as if she is growing more and more each day… it’s that rapid!
Her nipples will also become darker, and there will also be color changes to the growing puppies too as they start to develop their unique markings.
The mother will demand more food, so keep feeding her as much as she has the appetite to take. You will also be supplementing her own food with puppy food too and can also consider supplements into the diet.
Week 6 in the calendar is also a good time to prepare her area for giving birth. She will want to start the nesting process so find somewhere quiet and secure that she can feel relaxed in.
Week 7 (days 42 to 49)
If you now start to see a lot of hair coming off your female now, don’t worry. This is her body’s way of preparing for the birth, as she shed’s hair from her stomach.
The puppies are now almost completely formed into their adorable French Bulldog shape.
From a dietary perspective you can now stop the puppy food ratio and get the mother back onto her regular diet… but with more volume.
By doing so you can let the mother store valuable calcium deposits in her system. The calcium will help the puppies develop further and stronger.
Week 8 (days 49 to 57)
It’s not unheard of for some Frenchies to give birth this early in the calendar, so prepare for the unexpected! Just let her be relaxed and avoid any form of over activity as this could lead to her body trying to deliver the litter early.
You will see the mother start to nest properly now, and you might even be lucky enough to see some movement in her belly as the puppies move around.
Week 9 (days 57 to 65)
The Frenchie puppies are coming! The mother will be very quiet and could even start eating less as she prepares herself for the birth this week.
Handy Hint: If your Frenchie is pregnant and you want to estimate when the puppies will be due, use this pregnancy calculator.
How to get a French bulldog pregnant
Ah, the whole bees and the bird’s conversation…
Full disclosure here. I am not a breeder, I am simply a lover of Frenchies, and own one – his name is Claude and you will see photos and videos of him elsewhere on the website.
He’s no Romeo, and the likelihood of him getting a female pregnant is virtually zero (by design).
Breeders will artificially inseminate the female (dam), even if the male is in the same room. Yep, the don’t get much privacy do they!
But in most cases, the male won’t even meet the female, with the semen being shipped to the breeder, many times being frozen.
It’s a complex procedure including timings, blood tests, temperatures, and loads more technicality that I am not qualified to comment on. In the future I will look to interview a breeder so I can publish more expert insight.Â
How many months is the pregnancy of a dog on average?
The gestation and pregnancy time period for almost any breed of dog is between 58 and 58 days, meaning 63 days is the average.
That’s about 2 months in total and Frenchies are no different.
How many puppies do French bulldogs usually have?
Frenchies are a brachycephalic (short skull) breed of dog. These breeds rarely give birth to large litters, and Frenchies are just the same.
French bulldogs tend to have on average around 3 puppies with each litter. Typically, the litter sizes will range between 2 and 4 puppies, with litters over 5 puppies being unusual. Occasionally you might hear of 7 or more puppies being born, but this is very, very rare.
Compare that to other dog breeds such as a Golden Retriever, whose average litter size of puppies is 8, or Beagles who average 6 puppies, you can see why Frenchies are so expensive.
You can see some research I put together below on the most popular worldwide dog breeds and how many puppies they have on average.
