French Bulldogs chew everything in their puppy phase. As puppies they will be teething and will be putting whatever they can into their mouth. Most of the time it’s not a concern, but when Frenchies start chewing furniture the costs and frustrations will soon mount up. If the furniture destruction continues into adulthood it can even be a sign of a well-being issue.
In this guide I am going to explain why French Bulldogs tend to chew furniture and then some tips from myself (and other owners) on how you can prevent it. But first, the answers to a couple of popular questions.
Do French Bulldog puppies chew furniture? Yes, Frenchie puppies do like to chew furniture. The teething phase should pass around the 7 to 8-month mark, and most French Bulldog puppies will then stop chewing on furniture. You can help stop it with teething toys and plenty of stimulation.
Do French Bulldog adult dogs chew furniture? Some adult Frenchies will chew furniture after the teething phase for reasons such as boredom, stress, separation anxiety, and lack of exercise. Most of the symptoms can be addressed with changes in how you take care of the Frenchie.
How to stop French Bulldogs chewing furniture
French Bulldogs can eat furniture at any stage in their lives for varying reasons. The good news is, you should be able to stop them from chewing everything in your home. Here’s how.
1. Invest in teething toys for puppies
Frenchie puppies start to grow baby teeth at 2 to 3 weeks. They don’t have them for long, as at 12 weeks their adult teeth start to grow through. This signals the start of the teething phase, and it’s prime time for furniture chewing to start.
We trained our own puppy to use teething toys instead. They aren’t expensive to buy and will let your Frenchie puppy soothe his painful gums by chewing on something cheaper than your table legs.
Handy Hint: To find out which teething toys we used with our own puppy, take a look at these recommendations.
2. Keep them distracted and entertained
One of the main reasons Frenchies tend to chew furniture after the teething stage is quite simply boredom. Without the mental stimulation of play, a Frenchie, even as an adult, can turn very destructive.
If you have a furniture chewing problem, ask yourself whether your Frenchie is getting what he needs from you. That can include playing with him more as well as making sure he has enough toys to distract him from your furniture.
Handy Hint: Take a look at all the toys and fun stuff our own Frenchie loves to play with. They don’t cost a lot and could save you a lot of money in destroyed furnishings!
3. Make sure they don’t have separation anxiety or stress
Separation anxiety is a huge problem with this breed of dog. So much so that I’ve written a guide on how to identify it, and also published a video on what signs to look out for which you can see below.
Frenchies will get depressed and anxious if left alone for long periods of time, and often that stress will manifest itself in excessive chewing, with furniture often being their number one target.
Chewing could also be the sign of an underlying health problem.
Handy Hint: We’ve got lots of videos which we launch at weekly episodes on the French Bulldog Owner YouTube channel. Click that link to subscribe and see the tutorials.
4. Keep them well exercised
When Frenchies don’t get enough exercise, they can turn their attention elsewhere. This can often result in a tendency to chew furniture to let off steam.
This breed needs to be walked a couple of times a day for a minimum of 15 minutes each time. If you can’t give them that, they aren’t the breed for you.
There will be occasions when you can’t give them the daily walking routine such as rain or other family commitments. If that happens make sure you have well-stocked toy cupboard to keep them exercised indoors instead.
5.Crate train your dog
Crates can be used to housetrain a Frenchie, helping to curb destructive instincts like the chewing of furniture. It can be used to stop chewing with not just puppies, but also older dogs who have fallen into a pattern of anti-social and destructive behavior.
However, banishing your Frenchie to a crate should only be used as a last resort and not as a punishment.
6. Use foul-tasting deterrents on your furniture
Another clever way you can use to stop your French Bulldog chewing furniture is to spray or paste something foul-tasting and smelling onto the area.
Other Frenchie owners I have spoken to have used the following household items to stop furniture chewing. You might want to try these first to save some money.
- Apple bitter spray
- Crate training
- Jalapeno hot sauce
- Madras curry paste
- Vaseline
7. Keep your dog away from the furniture
An obvious point I know, but there are some things you can do to stop your French Bulldog chewing the furniture which you might not have considered before:
- Constant supervision: during the puppy stages it’s a good idea to keep a constant eye on them up to 8 months of age. We would not let Claude have a free run of our home until he was older and stopped chewing our furniture up (table legs and corners in particular).
- Baby gates restrict access: if you can’t keep them supervised 24 hours a day, perhaps fit those baby stair gates into doorways to prevent access to expensive furniture items.
- Keep on a long leash: some owners I spoke to used long leashes in the home which were tethered to a strong anchor point. This let them stop their Frenchie from getting into the lounge where the costliest furniture was.
- Plastic guards on furniture: when our son was a baby, we bought foam or plastic guards to put on table corners to stop him from banging his head. The same things could work quite well with a chewing Frenchie too.
What other Frenchie owners say about furniture chewing
To give you a fuller picture on French Bulldog furniture eating I took a look on Facebook to see what other owners had to say.
Here are just some of the items of furniture Frenchie owners said their own puppy had chewed to destruction.
- Bathroom cabinets
- Chairs
- Coffee tables
- Corners of tables and furniture
- Curtains
- Door handles
- Fireplace surrounds
- Garden fences
- Kitchen cupboards
- Wicker baskets
- Wooden bannisters
- Rugs
- Skirting boards
- Staircases
- Table legs
And here are what other people said they did to stop their Frenchie from chewing furniture up when the poor person below asked for help.
“Please can someone help us! I have been sobbing for hours. We have a 4-month-old Frenchie puppy who has literally destroyed out home! has chewed the corners off all of our furniture! She has so many toys and bones! She has her own room but if she is gated in, she chews the doorframe to get out and throws herself against the gate over and over.”
“Crate train and put up plastic guards around your furniture. It takes time and you must supervise your Frenchie all of the time. Play and praise when they behave and scold and crate when the misbehave. Be consistent in your approach.”
“My 7-month-old male Frenchie ate my grandmother’s chair, a table and destroyed a couch pillow all in one day. We found he stopped with a combination of bitter apple spray and day care! Your puppy’s energy needed to be released. Toys were not enough.”
“French Bulldogs will chew furniture when they are bored, and they are also very social animals. Your Frenchie probably won’t want to play by herself all the time, so you need to schedule time for good, meaningful play with her. A tired pup is a good pup, and crate training is more than just a place to keep your pup out of trouble.”
“Our Frenchie ruined an entire living room and chewed apart of each piece of furniture., skirting boards on the wall, and the cord to the TV in under 3 hours left alone. However, our boy did grow out of it after the puppy months.”
“Ours chewed a few baseboards, a coffee table leg and our fireplace mantlepiece. I just repaired these areas with spackle and wood putty and then smeared Vicks vapour rub along all woodwork, chairs, doors, skirting boards. Anything he went for. You do have to reapply it in the beginning. Eventually they will stop.”
“When Boris was a puppy, he destroyed our new coffee table. He chewed the corner of two cabinets, the legs of chairs. He did grow out of it after about two years. What helped is constantly watching him, gating him in the kitchen and chew toys. I always have a pack of chews around the house and haven’t had a problem since.”
“My girl did the same, but she ruined my grandmother’s antique tables, dining room chairs and bedroom set. She did finally quit when she got her adult teeth in. I gave her a deer antler to chew on and used cardboard and tape around the pieces that she would chew on the most. Good luck and she will quit.”
Conclusion
French Bulldog puppies will chew and eat furniture. It’s to be expected but should stop once they have stopped teething. Using the tips above you should be able to prevent furniture chewing but might have to ride it out for a while.
In adult dogs it can be a sign of something wrong. But even when older Frenchies chew furniture, you should be able to get to the bottom of what’s causing it and take steps to stop it.
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