The weeks before your little baby arrives are not only filled with excitement and imagining how life will be with them, but you also need to prepare your home for the new family member and buy some stuff. Every family is different with a different home, lifestyle, and needs but we list below some of the essentials and some of the extras. As always, we could count on the wonderful Frenchie-parents in our TomKings Frenchie Family Facebook Group to share their experience.
Somewhere to sleep – Frenchie bed
Your beauty will need comfortable bedding, which can be a dog-bed or couch, a cushion or a crate. Cushions come in various design and made of various materials, like soft fleece; you’d rather buy a durable and washable one.
As your Frenchie baby will grow fast, try to make sure you can buy adjustable items whenever you can. There are crates with dividers which you can gradually move as your pup grows. You can place a soft cushion in the crate, while cushions can also be used as a bed in themselves for a daytime nap for your furry child.
If you want to place the cushion into the crate, it’s better to buy them together or measure the crate to make sure the cushion fits. You might want to opt for an orthopedic doggie bed, which helps your girl or buy have a great rest after an active day.
Something to eat – Frenchie food
While with us, we feed our puppies with Hill’s Chicken Medium Puppy food. Once you receive your baby you should continue this same food to prevent any dietary upset, but we recommend to gradually switch to another type of food within a couple of weeks. Our recommendations are Acana or Orijen, please read our article about the best food for a French Bulldog. It’s enough to buy these shortly before your puppy arrives, and then you can see how much he or she eats and buy food accordingly.
What you can buy before your pup arrives, though, is a set of bowls: one for food and another one for water. Frenchies are really social dogs, so most probably your girl or boy will love to go with you everywhere, so it’s a good idea to buy a portable bowl and tote bag to be able to carry food and water with you.
Something to play with – Frenchie toy
It’s nice to welcome your baby with some nice toys she or he can play with and can feel at home. As they grow you will need other toys to train him or her, see more details about this here.
There are webshops and retailers where you can ask for personalized items, like bowls, harness, cushions, which are a lovely way to celebrate the arrival of your new family member.
Other items for French bulldogs
You don’t necessarily have to buy these before your pup arrives, as you might want to see and explore a bit how his or her personality is, and add some items later. You will need a good-quality leash which is comfy for the pup. If you buy a harness, choose an adjustable one, and make sure that smallest size will be a good fit.
There are car seats and carriers if you plan to travel with your puppy – however, these are not necessary for their first journey home from the airport.
You can use a grooming service or bathe your Frenchie at home. In any case, it’s good to have a brush and shampoo for any emergency. You will need poop bags, potty pads, cleaning wipes, scissors, nail clippers, cotton balls, towels, wound disinfectant, bandage rolls, and/or a full first aid kit.
A member of our Facebook group, Miya smartly recommends starting buying supplies once you’ve decided to get a pup so you aren’t buying it all at once after. Her suggestions include a leash, collar, food/water bowls, bed, cage (if using), toys, potty pads (if using), brush, puppy shampoo (if bathing yourself), poop bags, and cleaning wipes. She advises to wait with the food/treats until a few days before and get the harness after to ensure it fits so you don’t have to return it.
In this article, you can find a detailed list of items you should take with you when you pick him or her up at the airport.
We have collected some amazing Frenchie products from Chewy that we recommend for your fur baby. Have a look here to treat your puppy!
The article was written based on the experience of the Tom Kings Puppies Team. Tom Kings Puppies have been breeding French Bulldogs for 10 years on their farm. All the pictures in the post belong to them and show a puppy from their breed. Check their available puppies here, or if you have any questions or comments let us know below the article.
