New owners of French Bulldogs always find themselves wondering how much to feed a French Bulldog.

The answer to this question involves looking into two aspects: the amount of the food and the frequency of the feeding.

Even then, providing an exact volume and rate for feeding your Frenchie can be a tricky task because the calculations are based on the age, activity level, and weight of your canine friend, which can vary within a range of 16 pounds to 30 pounds.

As such, we’ve put together the following simple guide to help you get a general idea of how much and how often you should be feeding a French Bulldog during different stages of their chubby lives.

How Much Food Should You Give Your French Bulldog

As a rule of thumb, you want to feed your average, healthy French Bulldog around 25 to 30 calories per pound of their weight every day. The total amount of food should be divided into 2 to 3 meals during the day.

According to this information:

• If a French Bulldog that doesn’t exercise much weighs 16 pounds, they’d need to eat about 400 to 480 calories per day.
• If a French Bulldog that’s chunkier and lazier weighs around 28 pounds, they’d need to eat approximately 700 to 800 calories per day.

As such, the average adult French Bulldog should eat food that’s worth between 550 to 750 calories every day. Feeding your Frenchie should be accompanied by periodic weighing and observing every few weeks to make sure your pet isn’t under or overweight.

You can visit the vet or use a reliable online calculator to find out the exact number of calories your dog should be consuming per day. Then, calculate how much food corresponds to said calories via the nutritional information featured on the packaging or the manufacturer’s website.

Once you’ve established an appropriate feeding volume and frequency for your French Bulldog, it’s essential that you stick to the schedule and avoid slacking off. Remember, the total food intake of your dog should be split into 2 to 3 meals per day, so feed your Frenchies first thing in the morning, once in the evening, and once close to bedtime.

How Much to Feed a French Bulldog

As we mentioned above, the feeding volume and frequency for a French Bulldog vary according to not your dog’s weight, but also their age and activity level. Here’s an overview of how much to feed a Frenchie in various stages of life.

10 to 12 Weeks Old

Once your French Bulldog has been weaned from their mother’s milk, you’ll switch them to puppy food.

Keep in mind that Frenchie puppies -like most puppies of other breeds- require a high caloric intake. So you’ll need to give your 10- to 12-week old pet half a cup of puppy food 3 times per day, for a total of 1.5 cups per day.

While it’s highly recommended to feed your French Bulldog 3 times a day throughout their life, it’s most crucial to do so for at least the first 6 months once switched to dry or wet food. After that, you can take it down to twice a day.

6 to 9 Months Old

When your Frenchie reaches 6 months of age, they’re ready to start eating high-quality adult dog food. This is when a weight chart comes in handy as you can use it to calculate exactly how much food your French Bulldog should be receiving per day.

In general, you’ll feed your 6- to 9-month old canine pet a total of 2 to 2.5 cups of food, preferably spread 3 times throughout the day. three times a day if possible. This schedule allows you to throw in a few treats in between meals.

Underweight Adult

Ruling your French Bulldog as underweight should be after checking with your vet, but generally, your healthy adult Frenchie shouldn’t weigh less than 16 pounds. If you can see your dog’s ribs or bone structure, it’s a major sign of being underweight as Frenchies are supposed to be somewhat chubby.

In this case, you may need to up your dog’s intake to 30 or 40 calories per pound, which is around 3 cups of food per day, also divided into 3 meals. Be sure to consult your vet to make sure your pup didn’t lose weight because of a health issue.

Overweight Adult

Ruling your French Bulldog as overweight should be after checking with your vet, but generally, your healthy adult Frenchie shouldn’t weigh more than 30 pounds. While Frenchies are supposed to be a bit chubby, being overweight can lead to health problems ranging from difficulty in breathing to heart disease.

To help your French Bulldog drop some weight, cut down the amount of food you give them by half a cup or lower their caloric intake by 10 calories per day. As always, feeding sessions should be 3 times throughout the day.

Once your Frenchie is back on track weight-wise, you can return to your regular feeding schedule. Be sure to consult your vet to make sure your pup didn’t gain weight because of a health issue.

Older French Bulldogs

Older French Bulldogs usually don’t require as much food due to the slowing down of their metabolism and becoming a little lazier with age. In this stage, a total of 1.5 to 2 cups of food per day can be enough.

Wrap Up

By now, you should have a better idea of how much to feed a French Bulldog. As a rule of thumb, you want to feed your average, healthy Frenchie about 25 to 30 calories per pound of their weight every day. The total amount of food should be divided into 2 to 3 meals during the day.

That being said, the exact feeding volume and frequency for a French Bulldog will differ according to your dog’s weight, age, and activity level. You can visit the vet or use a reliable online calculator to find out the exact numbers.