Part 1 Before bathing is the best time to clean your dog’s ears. This way any ear cleaner or debris from the ears that gets on the coat can easily be washed away.

Using a cotton pad (make up remover type) get it generously moist with ear cleaner. A gentle ear cleaner is best. Now using your finger wipe the outer par of the ear and just slightly into the ear canal. You do not want to use a tool or pressure your way into the ear canal. Just like with babies you do not want to put anything smaller than your elbow in your dog’s ear.

Part 2 Bathing your bulldog would seem straightforward but there are a few things to remember. The very nature of the wrinkly faces on the bully breeds means you need to take great care to make sure that between the wrinkles is kept clean. Due to the fact that the eyes are very open on the bully breeds means that using a tear free shampoo is very important. When washing the face of a bully type breed I like to use a thin facecloth or towel. I use one facecloth soapy with the tear free shampoo to wash the face, the wrinkles, the flews/lips and around the ears and even the ear leathers with the soapy facecloth. You may need to rinse and soap up the cloth several times to get the face and wrinkles clean. Once this is done I use a separate cloth that is just wet with clean water to now rinse all the areas that were cleaned with soap. Again it may take several rinses of the cloth to do a complete and thorough job.

I do not use water and soap in a traditional bathing manner on any brachycephalic breed. Water in and up the nose/nasal passage in any breed can be dangerous. It can cause many problems and distress in a brachycephalic breed AND their nostrils are much closer to their eyes than long nosed breeds. This may seem obvious to many but something worth noting.

Medicated shampoos are great for between bulldog toes. Using a shampoo for short coated dogs on the rest of the body is a nice alternative, but most shampoos will do a good job on a short coated dog. Conditioner in the winter, or in drier climates is also appropriate. A short brilliant coat that fits tight to the body is the goal.

As a last step I like to use a colloidal silver spray on any discolored areas such as between the toes and under the tail. Please consult your veterinarian.

Part 3 After the bath vigorously dry your bulldog with clean, dry towels. Then let your dog dry naturally in a crate in a warm area with more clean, dry towels for them to lay on. Letting your dog have freedom in a warm, dry room such as a laundry room, grooming room or other. Once they have dried naturally for up to 15 minutes we recommend you use a forced air type dryer or a hand dryer set on cool to help your bulldog’s coat lay flat and close to the body. Drying in this manner also helps the dead and shedding coat come out as quickly as possible leaving less hair to shed in the show ring or around your client’s home.

Always dry your bulldog from behind the head going down towards the tail in the direction that the hair grows. Never dry against the grain of the hair. Be very careful especially when drying French bulldogs to not have the dryer to close to the ear. If you would like to put cotton balls in their ears for protection against the dryer you may do so.

It is very important to get in between the toes and the armpit area to avoid getting hot spots or bacterial/yeast type infections in these areas.

Part 4 Chalking Legs and Feet

Chalking feet and legs and feet help the feet look whiter and brighter in the ring. As well proper application of the chalk makes the bulldog look like they have slightly more bone and accentuates the amount of bone that they do have.

The French bulldog standard calls for them to be “heavily boned” and chalking them helps them look like they have the heaviest bone possible.

Make sure your dog is clean and standing on a clean dry towel. Using a self rinsing shampoo we like to lightly spray the legs lightly, work the spray into the hair and then simply dry the legs with another clean and dry towel. Make sure you do all the white areas on the legs. The self rinsing shampoo provides a base layer for the chalk “helpers” and chalk to adhere to. As you dry the leg with the towel you want to finish up the drying stroke by going up against the grain of the hair. This opens up the individual hairs from one another and gives the chalk a place to go when you apply it.

Next take a quarter size amount of some kind of chalk helper into your hand. Cholesterol is a good choice. Emulsify the cholesterol in between your hands. Apply to the white areas of the leg again going up against the grain of the hair keeping the hairs open from one another.

Using a nice white chalk, (you can also mix the chalk up to half and half with cornstarch or baby powder) and a bristle brush, work the chalk up and into between the hairs going against the grain. Try to get a fair amount of chalk between the hairs up through the entire length of the leg. Most of the chalk will fall out or be brushed out before you enter the ring so it is important to get as much chalk as possible into the hair in the beginning.

Once all 4 legs are chalked move your dog to a clean part of the towel or replace the chalky towel with a new, clean one.

Now you can see if you have missed any areas of the leg and if they need any touch ups. Once the touch ups are done use the bristle brush and go with the grain of the hair for several brushstrokes all around each leg. You are removing the excess chalk that may fall out in the ring. Once the excess chalk is removed from each leg you can once again go against the grain of the hair making the hair stand up and away from the leg. Be sure to brush up the inside of the front leg as this is typically an area where the hair is thinner and it can make the leg look “Elizabethan” if not brushed up properly.

Be sure to brush between the toes as well.

Now let the chalk set for approximately 15 minutes. I like to do this by having my dog in a clean ex-pen or crate so the dog can relax during this process.

Once the chalk has set you can put the dog back on the table, brush up and against the grain of the hair one last time. You can use a very light, fine mist of water or a light spray of a coat dressing for that final set of the chalk. At this point you should also wipe the excess chalk off of the pads of the dog’s feet to avoid white chalk foot prints in the ring.

Part 5 Maintenance Essentials

There are two things that you should never be without - baby wipes and Vaseline Baby Oil Gel.

Baby wipes are perfect for wiping your bulldog’s face, between the wrinkles, around the eyes and even to clean the ears. Baby wipes are also handily made for cleaning poop. The are great for cleaning bulldog bums and anywhere they might have gotten dirty in nay way. Baby wipes are great for sensitive skin and you can readily get wipes that are non allergenic.

Baby oil gel is a great moisturizer for those dry noses and dry pads. The gel can also be used to make toenails and faces look shiny and clean.

Part 6 The first step in grooming your dog is to rake the excess undercoat out. Use a classic fine stripping knife or an Artisan razor shaper on the fine side. Go with the grain of the hair and rake out excess undercoat. This will allow the coat to lay flat and close to the body. Once you have done this go over the dog several times with a bristle brush again going in the direction of the coat. Brush the coat quite firmly to get out all of the loose hairs. Once you have gone over the dog several times and have looked to see if you have missed any areas you are ready to move onto trimming.

Using thinning shears look at the areas of your dog along the sides on the butt and the sides of the neck where cowlicks meet to form a type of “seam”. It is these seams that need to be shortened to look neat and tidy. Trim about 5-7 cuts and then brush with your bristle brush. If your dog is very thick or thin coated you may want to trim only about 3-5 cuts before brushing with the bristle brush. You are stopping between cuts to be sure you don’t cut a big bare spot into these seams. Brush the seams and look from different angles to be sure they look smooth and neat.

When trimming the tail you want to point the thinning shears to the end of the tail. The tail should be trimmed so that it is wide at the base and tapers to a point. All untidy hairs should be trimmed off in the direction that the hair grows.

Part 7 Trimming the Face and Neck

On a heavily coated bulldog you will need to clipper the hair under the neck.

Using a Wahl 5 in 1 adjustable blade all the way to the left (the longest setting) or a #10 blade you want to clipper going with the grain from the back of the jaw to where the neck starts curving into the post sternum. From side to side you clipper between each of the two cow licks running down each side of the neck.

Clipper slowly and deliberately always going with the grain of the coat. After completing the clipper work brush the clippered hair out and away with a soft bristle brush. Always go with the grain of the hair to avoid unnecessary irritation of the clippered area. Check the area after brushing to make sure it looks even and smooth.

The head is such an important feature in the standards of all the bully breeds. Having whiskers can be distracting. Obviously the pet groomer or the at home groomer using this course could omit the step of trimming the whiskers.

Note: Whiskers being used for balance and equilibrium is a myth. They are not used for either purpose.

The most accepted purpose of whiskers in mammalian species is for sensory purposes. They sort of act as a "third eye" or "extra limb" for animals to sense their surroundings. How they use them exactly is still a question we don't have a complete answer to, but research so far has indicated they are used for sensory purposes. We can be sure that domestic dogs have no use for their whiskers even if their wild ancestors may have.

Trimming whiskers. For the show ring it is normal to trim off the whiskers of your bulldog. By using the clippers you are avoiding having sharp scissors around your bulldog’s eyes. I feel clippers are a much safer option. With the Wahl 5 in 1 blade set to the middle setting or a #15 blade gently and carefully run the clipper over any area of where there are whiskers. Do not dig the clippers into the actual hair/coat of your dog but use the ends of the clipper blade to safely trim off the whiskers.

If you wish to use scissors use the shortest shear available to you. If you have blunt nosed shears there are a great option as well. As you trim off each whisker remember not to dig into the hair/coat of the bulldog. Simply trim off the whisker as close to the base as is safe.

You can also use your scissors to touch up whiskers missed or not short enough after using the clippers.

Part 8 Nails

Part 9 Coat Maintenance

To keep your bulldog’s coat looking 100% all of the time we recommend two products.

Both are easy to use, inexpensive and your bulldog will enjoy the fact that you are using them.

Chris Christensen Ice on Ice finishing spray is an excellent anti-static spray, Mane and tail also makes a great spray. Generously spray your bulldog with 3-10 sprays of the product on most of the body avoiding the eye area. Then brush the product in with a bristle brush.

Brushing the product in with a bristle brush will help the product you are using get to the skin and start nourishing the skin as well as conditioning the coat. This will also help cut down on static on your dog. Static does affect short coated dogs and can sometimes help them hold onto dead and shedding hair causing a dull lifeless coat.

We recommend doing this every other day to keep your dog’s coat shiny and healthy.

The next product we recommend is Mega-Tek by Eqyss. This is a horse and dog product and was originally made for halter rubs on horses. Halter rubs are usually bald areas on a horses face and the skin can star to look bald and almost shiny.

Bulldogs can get this same effect on the backs or their ears (from scratching, rubbing, the collar hitting them) they can get it from wearing a harness and also at the back of their elbows and the back of their hocks. This is because Bullodgs like to lay on harder cooler surfaces in hot climates and seasons rather than the nice cushy dog beds we buy for them.

Mega-tek is very easy to use. Dispensing a about 2 tablespoons at a time into your hand then rub into the affected (thinly coated) areas liberally. You can rub any excess anywhere on your dog for added conditioning. We recommend that you do this at night before your dog goes to bed for maximum results. Mega-tek can be used several times a day on extreme cases. This product is non greasy and will not stain dog beds, carpeting etc.

Part 10 Enhancing the Face

Using makeup for the show ring.

Using a little make up can enhance the white areas of your dog’s face. Not everyone likes to or need to do this step it is up to the individual.

On a clean face enhance the white areas around the nose and under jaw by first applying a white clown/cream base. Blend in with your fingers. Next apply white powder or cornstarch over the cream. A simple eye shadow makeup brush with the bristles cut in half will work for this.

Let the make up sit for 10 minutes and then brush off any excess with a tissue, paper towel or baby wipe.

On the black ares of the face using black cream make up or black coloured Vaseline made specifically for this can enhance these areas as well.

Always use professional products designed for your dog. It is a good idea to try this at home to make sure your dog isn’t sensitive to the makeup you are using.

Part 11 Finishing Touches

Before entering the ring with a pied, cream colored, or fawn Frenchie, or light colored Bulldog, I like to spray their legs generously with dry shampoo and brush up and against the grain of the hair on the legs to accentuate the amount of bone the frenchie or bulldog has. This will also remove any extra chalk there may be, as well it will set in the chalk that is there.

I then brush all the body hair firmly and with the grain. I like to then spray the coat lightly with some kind of shine spray. Remember the standard says the coat should be tight to the skin and “brilliant” doing these steps will insure that it is.

Part 12 Correct Leads, Collars and Stacking Demonstration for the Show Ring

The two best leads/collars for the bulldog type breeds is the slip collar and the rescoe.

Please be sure you slip collar is on the dog the correct way so that when tension is released on the collar the collar releases. When stacking your bulldog, either collar should be placed up behind the ears so that the neck line is left clean looking and not broken up by the line of the leash. This is on the stack only. We like to move the collar down from right behind the ears when moving a bulldog. Please note when stacking your bulldog they should be on a ¾ angle in relation to the judge.

Part 13 Ring Tips

When gaiting your dog we like the collar down the neck almost halfway, this ensures you are not hampering your dog’s airway.

When gaiting a loose lead is preferred but not always easy to attain!

When showing a French Bulldog you MUST get your dog’s ears up when returning to the judge. This might mean that you need a toy, special treats or both to make this happen. Give your dog a lot of praise when showing or training, positive reinforcement goes a long way.