4 Reasons Why English Bulldogs Drool (and What You Can Do About It)

English Bulldogs are well-known for their squished faces and adorable looks, however, they're most recognised for their excessive drooling.

In this piece, I'll provide 4 reasons why English Bulldogs drool and what you can do to reduce the chance of a wet carpet or soggy arm.

Are you ready? Let's go.

Do English Bulldogs Drool?

Yes, all Bulldog Breeds are susceptible to drooling.

Drooling is the excess salvia falling from the dog's mouth, usually onto your clothing or furniture. Some Bulldogs are more affected than others, plus there are certain triggers like hunger, overheating and mood.

1.  Physical Jowl Structure

Like humans, dogs also have what's known as jowls. Jowls are the loose flaps of skin and lips that hang on either side of the dog's mouth.

All dogs have jowls or loose skin around the mouth, but unsurprisingly, Bulldogs are more prone to this because of the flat face known as brachycephaly.

The wrinkly skin and squished face are the most well-known characteristics of a Bulldog, but sadly this cute and adorable look that we've grown to love is a contributor to drooling.

In addition, Bulldogs have an underbite which prevents them from closing their mouth fully, which means excess salvia can run freely from the mouth.

Also, the upper lips hang down loosely, which is another way for saliva to exit the mouth.

When a Bulldog drinks water, this is when it's most likely you'll experience drool.

2. Hunger

Like most dogs, Bulldogs are habitual creatures. Once an eating routine has been established with your dog, you'll find the minutes before eating their favourite food this is going to be a time of excessive drooling.

How often have you salivated when waiting for your dinner to be served in a restaurant or hovering around the BBQ in the Summer? If you can relate, you will understand why this is a big drool time.

Since Bulldogs have scrunched up faces, dinner time is more like messy time. They practically stuff their faces straight into the bowls to get every last kibble, the same applies to water bowls as mentioned already.

Expect a trail of drool before dinner time, followed by chewed up food and water after.

Preventing drool at dinner time is going to be tough, it's better to have a mat under your bulldog's bowls to collect the saliva instead.

3. Overheating

Due to their flat face and short snouts, Bulldogs quickly overheat in hot temperatures or after exercise.

Exercising is really important for your dog's health, every breed has different exercise requirements and although bulldogs are perceived to be lazy breeds, it's actually quite the opposite.

Luna and I go for at least a 60-minute walk, daily. During this time we might head to the local park and play fetch with a ball. This means Luna is sprinting - as far as a Bulldog can run - to find and retrieve the ball.

She pants so much after this, and very quickly needs to take a rest. Panting is a normal dog behaviour to expel excess heat to cool off. It's during this time you'll likely see lots of slobber, just take a look at the image of Luna above.

That wet patch on the floor is drool which came out like a waterfall. Better out than in, right?

It's really important to bring a refreshment with you for times like these, dogs need to rehydrate and arguably Bulldogs need as much water as possible, simply because most of it comes back out as drool.

In addition to exertion, Bulldogs really can't cope well in hot temperatures. Again, because bulldogs have short snouts, this makes it much harder to get the oxygen they need to breathe comfortably.

Normal regulation of their body temperature is, as a result, hindered. This is why Luna drools a lot on summer days. The best thing you can do in this situation is to prepare a dark cool room, with a cooling mat for your bulldog to lay on.

If you know the weather is going to get hot, the best preventative measure for drool is to keep your bulldog feeling cool.

4. Stress and Anxiety

Another cause of excessive slobber is an anxious or uneasy dog. Dogs are not good with fireworks, party seasons are one of the most stressful times for dogs, and you can expect a Bulldog to salivate more during these periods.

Keeping your bulldog calm by buying calming biscuits or scented fragrances can really help reduce the amount of drool during the firework frenzy season.

I wouldn't rely too much on supplements all year round though, sometimes a dog's natural coping mechanism is often the best medicine. Mind you, you'll need to deal with the slobber.

Final Words

So, do bulldogs drool? Any bulldog dad knows drooling is a daily occurrence, it's literally part of a bulldog's life. You just get used to it, weirdly, you might even adore it.

After all, we love our dogs unconditionally, right?

If you're new to being a dog dad or looking to add a bulldog to your family, you should know that drooling is natural and not something to worry about.

But if you're not keen on receiving frequent wet and slobbery kisses, perhaps a bulldog isn't right for you.