French Bulldogs

Bulldogs, along with Boxers, Bostons, Persians, and Himalayans (to name a few), fall into a group I like to affectionately call smooshies, based on that unique face shape. They all have brachycephalic skulls — "brachy" means shortened and "cephalic" means head. This creates the wheezes, snores, and snorts commonly coming from their mouths, but also causes another unwelcome emission . . . gas.

Along with narrower nostrils and wind pipes, it can take a greater effort for them to breathe through the nose. Then, when eating, dogs with smushed faces tend to inhale (literally), not chew their food, and typically suck in quite a bit of air in the process, which makes them rather gassy on the other end, too.

What can you do about it? Pick up a bowl to help pets eat, and drink, slower and ingest less air.

Last week we saw Zach Braff's cute Scooter and it turns out that the cousin of a Sugar staffer picked up a pup from that same litter! We've been cooing over the pictures of little Beauregard Breaux and now it's your turn to learn all about him in the latest pet profile.

PetSugar: When did you get your dog and what's his breed?
juliex0x0: We got Beau on Aug. 1, 2010 when he was only 11 weeks old. He is a purebred French Bulldog.

PS: What's your daily pet routine?
juliex0x0: Wake up around 7am, quick walk outside, eat, sleep, play, sleep, eat, play, sleep, play, sleep, eat, play, sleep! Since he is still a baby he sleeps a LOT

Learn about his favorite stinky treat — plus peep more pics — when you read more

I'd look shocked, too — that dog is jaw-droppingly adorable! Zach Braff recently announced the addition of this Frenchie pup on Facebook so it looks like his older pup Rosco got a new friend to play with.

Scooter sports the trademark breed bat ears and is even cuter close up. Don't believe me? See Scooter stare down the camera and read more

How cute is this video that YumSugar spotted on Serious Eats?! First off, the dog himself is named Dumpling — adorable! — and, secondly, this big baffled puppy has no clue how to tackle this treat. Chopsticks anyone?

Always willing to lend a helping paw to PetSugar, I was happy to learn more about one of my favorite smooshies! FabSugar tells tales of her sweet Frenchie Annabelle, AB for short, in our latest Pet Profile. Chronicle your own pet stories in our Pet Profiles group if you'd like to be featured in this ongoing series!

PetSugar: When did you get your dog and what's her breed?

FabSugar: February of '06, AB was seven months, French Bulldog.

PetSugar: What's your daily doggie routine?

FabSugar: AM walk with mom, AM nap, afternoon walk with her doggie posse, afternoon nap, evening activities; either chill out with me, come with me to exercise class, sit in the car while I go out to dinner with friends — I try to take her with me as much as possible since she’s home alone all day. PM walk with mom, snore-fest begins . . . The weekends are all about AB and meeting up with her doggie friends, going to the park or beach, playing at her grandparents' house with best friend pug, Stryder, strolling through SF neighborhoods . . .

Learn more about AB and see pics when you read more

Stop everything for this smooshy high alert and check out the fawn-colored cutie getting a cuddle and a carry! Ashley Olsen was spotted toting this French Bulldog from her NYC apartment on Wednesday — the pup looks too little to meet other furry friends so she's showing a responsible side by not letting the babe walk on the ground and risk diseases before all those puppy shots are completed.

No word on the lil bundle's name yet, and I can't even tell if it's a girl or a boy (even from these pictures) but I'm happy to add her to the ever-growing list of celebrities who choose this breed as a pet, and even ones who can't resist a smooshy cuddle. Peep more pics of Ashley's addition and here's hoping we learn a name soon!

Smooshy alert, smooshy alert! Look at this adorable face. No, I don't mean Mario Lopez (although he's cute, too), but peep that brand new French Bulldog!

Named for Mario's favorite boxer, Julio César Chávez, Julio César Chávez Lopez looks more like a lover than a fighter to me! The duo already enjoys getting fit together running the stairs, and pop's ready for the responsibility that comes with dog ownership — as he says in the video below, "It's like having a baby that doesn't grow up." Click on the lower left corner of the image below to watch, and I surely hope to see more soon!

While at the same household as that poor pup that couldn't roll over onto his tum, I'm not sure it's the same small screen star. After all, this one has mastered the splayed, belly position . . . but still hasn't learned not to tease a cat. Silly pooch manages to squirm right out of the claw's way successfully — must be those reflexes.

This smooshy has rolled over and, sadly, he can't get up again. He does have a rather large rumbly tummy to roll on over and, swing as he might, he can't quite maneuver back onto all fours. No matter how often I watch this video, I'm convinced this time he actually may make it!