Why is My French Bulldog So Tall? 4 Reasons + How to Measure [Video]

French Bulldogs look very distinctive from any other dog breed, they even look different than cartoon dogs and the dogs that children will draw.

That means that when something doesn’t exactly match how we thought a French Bulldog would look, we may panic.

This may be what has happened to you. You look at your Frenchie and think; wait, are his legs too long? Is he too skinny? should Frenchies even be this tall?

So, are you asking Why is My French Bulldog so tall? Your French Bulldog could be so tall because they are either a mixed French Bulldog and not a purebred Frenchie or because they are too skinny and so their thin legs make you think they are taller than they are.

To know whether your French Bulldog is actually too tall or not, you need to measure their height and compare it with the average for their age and sex, and I’ll show you how to do just that and find out exactly why your Frenchie may be so tall.

How Tall Should Your French Bulldog Be?

frenchie standing to answer why is my french bulldog so tall

French Bulldogs, male and females should measure only about 11 to 12 inches tall, and if your French Bulldog’s height is more than that, there is a good chance they are a mixed breed.

The thing is, we humans are actually not that good at estimating height just with our eyes, and we can easily be fooled by lighting, distance, or a number of other things.

That’s why you need to actually measure your bulldog and to measure them right to understand how tall they actually are and whether it’s true that they are taller than average.

Let’s see how you should accurately measure your french bulldog.

How to Accurately Measure your French Bulldog [Video]

Here are the steps you can follow:

Make your dog stand up straight, preferably against a wall or a door frame. Try to keep your Frenchie’s stance as square as possible, with all 4 feet on the floor, standing upright (prependicular to the floor) , and spread out evenly.
Feel your dog’s withers, which is the highest point in their shoullder blade. It will be a the top bony point of their shoulder.
You can use a level across your dog’s withers, but this is more difficult with a small dog like the French Bulldog, so try to find a smaller one or really focus while using it.
Once the level is indeed level, use a pencil and make a mark on the wall or door, or you can use a removable tape if you don’t want to make a mark on your wall.
Remove the dog from the space and measure from the ground up to the mark. This is your dog’s actual height.

You can also use the way in the video, but I found it to be less accurate because my Frenchies would just never stand very still.

When do French Bulldogs reach their full Size (and height) ?

French Bulldogs grow to their full size when they are 9 to 12 months of age, and during the ages of 1 to 2 years, they tend to gain more body mass and muscles, making them bulk up during this year and giving them their final adult look when they are around 2 years old.

So, if your French Bulldog looks smaller than you think they should, the reason could simply be because they are still quiet and have not reached their full size yet. With proper nutrition, exercise, and time, your Frenchie should grow up to their full size with no issue.

Can French Bulldogs Be Tall?

A Fully Grown French Bulldog will grow to be 12 inches on average, and purebred French Bulldogs can not be taller than 13 inches of height from floor to shoulders and 18 inches from floor to the tip of their ears standing up. Frenchies will also measure no more than 22-24 inches from their nose to the end of their tails.

Measuring a French Bulldog is not easy, I know that for a fact. They will want to play all the time and will just not stand perfectly still, so measuring them can be challenging, but it’s definitely the only way to actually know if their weight and height are in the normal range.

How tall can French Bulldogs Be?

Purebred French Bulldogs can measure 13 inches from the ground to their shoulder blades at the most when they are standing on four legs perfectly perpendicular to the floor, and 24 inches at most measuring from their noise to the last point in their tails.

French Bulldogs are always small compared to other dog breeds, and as far as I know, all mixed French Bulldogs tend to be larger than purebred French Bulldogs. This is why the most likely reason for a French Bulldog being too tall is for them to be a mixed dog and not a purebred French Bulldog.

Here is a table that shows the height of a French Bulldog at every stage of their life:

Age	height (in inches)	height (in cm)
3 Months	5-6	13-15
6 Months	7-9	18-23
2 Years (Adult)	11-13	28-33

Why are Some French Bulldogs Big?

Some French Bulldogs are bigger than normal is because of being overweight, being bred using poor breeding practices, or because they are not a purebred French bulldog and is instead a mixed dog. Some French Bulldogs can be smaller than normal but they can be rarely larger than that.

Conclusion

To conclude, there are 4 possible reasons why your French Bulldog could be so tall:

They are a mixed dog, not a Purebred French Bulldog
They are too skinny, making you think they are too tall
They are still young, so they are growing at a different pace than their peers
They are a genetic exception (incredibly rare)

There are other version of French Bulldogs, but they are both smaller, so this is not the reason. Unfortunately, most of the time people ask this question the answer really is that they are a mixed breed.

The reason is that, lately, French bulldogs have been more in demand than ever and people have been willing to pay more to get them, and this has caused a surge in unethical breeders that want nothing but to make a quick buck, leading to them selling mixed dogs as purebred ones.

The easiest way to make sure this doesn’t happen to you is to only get from a reputable breeder that is well known and respected in the community.

I don’t encourage getting a dog from breeders because I truly believe that saving a life from a rescue shelter is much more important than the breed of the dog and that all dogs are truly equal.

Another way to find out the history of your dog is through a DNA test, and you can find plenty of those on Amazon now. The one I like and have used is the Embark dog DNA test. It’s reasonably accurate and stupid simple to use. You can get it by clicking on the image below or the button under it.