With good training and discipline, you can sculpt the personality of your French Bulldog. But the key here is to not confuse discipline with physical punishment or loud yelling.

Dogs don’t understand it when you punish them with aggression. Dogs get scared when you shout. It’s more than likely that they will mirror that behavior back with barking – and a dog that isn’t treated well, can develop bad behavior like biting.

But this doesn’t mean you aren’t able to punish your French Bulldog puppy. You can punish a Frenchie, but it’s by using discipline, and not hurting them.

And that’s what this guide is about; I am going to show you how to discipline a French Bulldog so you get them to behave like a well-adjusted dog without resorting to physical punishment which should never do, even as a last resort.

How do you discipline a French Bulldog puppy without punishment?

This breed is notoriously stubborn, and I’ve covered this aspect to their character in my guide to raising a healthy and happy Frenchie. So many new dog owners will struggle with their French Bulldog, but if you persevere, stay consistent, and use corrective discipline you can soon iron out any unwanted behavior.

Before I get into the tips you can use to discipline your French Bulldog without using physical punishment, here are the rules of engagement:

• Always use positive reinforcement when they do something good.
• Always discipline them at the time of the issue so they understand.
• Always be consistent with your discipline and “punishment.”
• Use a firm voice and appropriate body language.
• Never hit or shout at them as you will get the response you don’t want.

French Bulldog discipline tips

The following tactics are all ones that I used with our Frenchie and have never had to resort to any physical methods of punishment.

1. Stay consistent with the discipline and training

Dogs can easily get confused, and Frenchies aren’t always the sharpest mentally, so keep things consistent and simple.

For example, if on Monday you clap to get their attention, so they jump up at you, but then two days later scold them for jumping up at a stranger, they aren’t going to get it.

This was probably the biggest training mistake I ever made with Claude – when he was around 10 weeks old, I would play fight with him in our garden, encouraging him to nip at my hands. It was a fun game and didn’t hurt as he was so young. I should never have started this game though…

By the time he was 4 months old, those teeth were sharper, and he still wanted to play the nipping game. I had re-train him to stop biting, which probably confused him at the time.

With any French Bulldog discipline, you need to be consistent. By doing so you will get quick results, and the result you want.

2. Discipline them at the time of the offence

If you leave your Frenchie home alone only to come back to a scene of destruction, they aren’t going to put two and two together when you start getting angry and shouting at them.

For example, if you walk in the room to see your prized cushions chewed and torn to pieces and then start shouting at your Frenchie, he’s going to wonder what you’re getting so mad about.

Whilst French Bulldog’s do have good memories, they won’t be able to marry up the fact you are punishing them for something they did hours earlier. It simply won’t compute in their brains.

The point is, unless you catch your Frenchie in the act, it’s pointless punishing them after the event. However, if you do catch them doing something wrong, you can discipline your French Bulldog there and then with some firm words and body language – which I explain in the next point.

3. Use firm body language and tone of voice

Dogs understand change in voice and tone, and even your chosen body language at the time of punishment.

My preferred French Bulldog punishment method is to say a firm “no”, and raise my arm and finger, whilst also changing my facial impressions from a smile to a frown.

I believe that this is a great way to discipline a Frenchie because you’ve gone from happy to firm… but without losing your cool and hurting them.

You’re the pack leader and alpha, and this is how punishment should be meted out rather than shouting or hitting. Loud voices and pain will be interpreted as a threat, rather than something relating to their behavior.

4. Use positive reinforcement

After you have disciplined your Frenchie and you get the required result, you should always reward their good behavior.

French Bulldogs brains will become trained with rewards. If you are teaching them how to recall and come back to you, give them a treat each time they get it right.

By withholding a treat, you can punish them for getting it wrong.

5. Take breaks and give them a timeout

One of the ways we taught Claude not to bite was without time outs and verbal clues.

For example, if we played and he nipped at us, we would say a firm “ouch”, turn our backs, and walk out of the room, stopping the play which was the last thing he wanted to happen.

He soon learned that if he bites us when playing then the playing would stop for probably what seems like hours to him – timeouts are a fantastic way to discipline Frenchie puppies because they just want to have constant fun with you.

Handy Hint: Find out what games we play with our Frenchie for ideas, plus a list of the best toys you can buy to keep them mentally stimulated.

6. Try using a squirt bottle or water pistol

This is not something I have ever tried, and in truth, knowing my Frenchie, he would probably think it was a game as you can see in the YouTube video below. The video is from our French Bulldog Owner Youtube channel (subscribe here).

However, some owners swear by this punishment and disciplinary method. All you do is squirt your Frenchie with water when they misbehave, combined with a firm “no” command.

7. Use distraction methods

If all else fails, you can try distracting your Frenchie to stop them doing what you don’t want them to do. This was a method I would use in public with Claude, as often it was the only way to get him to stop being bad as a young puppy.

For example, I was out on off-leash walk with him, and some little kids where playing ball. Claude ran over, got their ball and would not give it back, and even starting to jump up at the kids… he was only 5 months old at the time, so still very much an adolescent in the training phase.

The best way I could get him to stop was to call his name, get his attention, then pretend to run off myself. I made myself look far more exciting than the kids, meaning he then dropped the ball and ran after me, thinking he had a better deal.

It’s a classic distraction method and any type of distraction can work very well, if the discipline isn’t working or you don’t have time.

How you should NOT discipline your Frenchie

Here is a brief catch-up on all the ways you should not punish a French Bulldog. I won’t get into the detail on each one, as with a quick Google search you will quickly see how this is all very common advice with professional dog trainers (which I am not).

1. Never shout at your Frenchie.
2. Never hit or hurt your Frenchie.
3. Never drag or jerk your Frenchie on their leash.
4. Never chase after your Frenchie.
5. Never rub your Frenchie’s nose in their urine or poop.
6. Never use electric shock collars with your Frenchie (legal in the US still).

All of these punishment methods could lead to longer-term behavioral problems such as them developing separation anxiety (here’s what that looks like). Your dog could even start pooping or urinating in the house. If your Frenchie does start urinating indoors, here are some tips on how you can stop it.

Conclusion

There are some owners who say that if you only mark the dog behaviors you want with positive reinforcement, then there might not actually be any need for discipline.

I don’t entirely agree with that, as Frenchies can be hard to train. You can follow all the things I learned from Claude’s puppy days in my French Bulldog training guides.

The bottom line is that French Bulldogs don’t connect the punishment you give them with the action that have committed. That makes it hard for them to change the bad behavior, instead becoming fearful when shouting and hitting is used.

Timely actions and positive reinforcement is the best way to discipline a French Bulldog puppy and will result in a very happy dog – and here’s how you can tell.

The post How to Discipline a French Bulldog Puppy: 7 Alternative Punishments appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

We tried various different ways of training our French Bulldog to stop pulling on the leash. None of them worked until I had a conversation with a local dog trainer. She gave me a couple of tricks which had almost instant results… I am going to share them with you here.

If your French Bulldog pulls on the leash and you don’t want to get dragged about again, follow the steps below and you should get the same results we did. I hope it works for you!

What you will need for this training

If you don’t have these already you can pick them up on Amazon:

• Tug of war rope (view on Amazon)
• Squeaky toy (view on Amazon)

Stopping a French Bulldog pulling on the leash

It’s really important to have a calm and obedient Frenchie when going for walks. It means you’re both going to remain safe and the walk should be enjoyable.

Leash pulling is the antithesis of an enjoyable and safe walk, so needs to be trained out of your Frenchie as quickly as possible.

This training is all about your Frenchie’s focus to be on you at all times, with the aim to be walking with a loose leash at all times; here’s how to do it:

1. Pick your moment

Don’t attempt any leash training unless your Frenchie has pent up energy. A dog that hasn’t been exercised before training will be very hard to train… so have some playtime and fetch before you get started.

Also, don’t attempt to train your Frenchie not to leash pull on a normal walk. This training needs to be done in its own dedicated time.

2. Avoid distractions

Your training environment should be free of distractions.

For example, there’s a video lower down this page where you see a trainer and dog encounter a cat. The dog trainer starts to act all manic with a toy to get the focus and distance away from the cat, and from the dog to the owner.

3. Be unpredictable

And here’s where the magic happens and how you can stop your Frenchie pulling on the leash – it’s all about you!

What you need to do is start walking but keep on changing direction sharply. You need to be unpredictable so your Frenchie has no idea on which way you’re heading. You can switch direction every few meters, it’s really should be that frequent!

It’s going to be manic, but it will mean your Frenchie is completely focussed on you and won’t pull on the leash.

And if you do feel him pulling on your leash, change direction immediately and keep doing this.

The reason it works so well, is that your French Bulldog thinks you’re crazy and fun, so will be looking at you constantly, waiting for a change… and he won’t have the time or inclination to pull.

4. Be interesting to the dog

As well as the changes in direction, be interesting at all times. That could mean you have a squeaky toy on you or use something else as a distraction like a tug of war rope.

Ultimately, you want your Frenchie to be focussed on you, so he doesn’t have the desire to pull on the leash.

After a few days of doing this, Claude stopped pulling and dragging us and how walks next to us with no problems.

5. Try the stop and stand still tactic

If the previous steps haven’t worked for you and your Frenchie still pulls on the leash, then try the statue tactic…

When your Frenchie starts pulling on the leash, just stand still. Don’t scold them, don’t shout, and don’t get over-excited… just be still like a statue.

Once your Frenchie relaxes and the leash loosens you can start to walk again.

What I would say about this tip is that our Frenchie didn’t really seem to understand it. It was steps 1 to 4 that worked best for us.

Why this works so well…

• Your Frenchie will soon learn that following you is a better option and more fun.
• Your Frenchie will always be focussed on you, so you need to be more interesting than anything else.

Watch this video now!

And here’s that excellent YouTube video I told you about earlier which shows this process step by step. You might want to skip a couple of minutes in to get past the promotional aspects of the film.

Why Frenchies pull on a leash

Now you know what to do, why do Frenchies leash pull?

• They are curious and want to explore everything and anything.
• They have lots of energy and want to run and explore.
• They actually walk faster than humans (here’s how fast Frenchies can run).

More leash training advice

This article is only related to leash pulling. If you would like a more comprehensive guide, please check out the following training guides:

• The comprehensive guide to Frenchie leash training
• How to train your Frenchie to walk off a leash

Conclusion

Frenchies are excitable creatures and will want to pull on the leash, particularly during the puppy phase.

However, if you can get them to keep their eyes on you during the walk by keeping things energetic and interesting, there’s no reason why the pulling won’t be stopped in a week or so – if you are patient, it will come!

Handy Hint: Find out why I recommend you use a harness instead of a collar for your Frenchie, and which is safest for leash training.

The post How to Stop a French Bulldog from Pulling on the Leash in 5 Steps appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

In the guide I will also include some tips further down the page on how you can start to train your Frenchie to walk without a leash… but first up, a general observation:

Are French Bulldogs good off the leash? If a Frenchie has been trained from a young age, then the French Bulldog should be good off the leash and will come back to you when called. But you will need to put the work in if you want them to walk without a leash and remain obedient, plus be careful the times when you remove the leash.

Our own personal experience

We made sure that Claude was trained from a young age. He attended puppy socialization classes at our local vets and went to weekly obedience training classes. Along with our own commitment to training him, it has resulted in a relatively obedient Frenchie who has good recall.

Whilst he is good off his leash now, it did take us time to get to this point. From memory, it was probably at around 11 to 12 months old when he would start to come back every time when called.

We are now able to let Claude walk off the leash when we’re at a park, in the local woods, down on the beach, or anywhere with no roads and traffic.

But we will not remove his leash when we’re in an urban area. Whilst Frenchies are good off the leash, I would not trust our own to walk beside without a harness or lead when they are lots of distractions and dangers. 

Handy Hint: For help and guidance, please take a look at my training guide on how to teach your Frenchie to come back when called. This is a key component of walking without a leash. 

Can French bulldogs walk without a leash? 

We’ve all seen those dog owners who walk down the road with their dog off a leash patiently walking beside them. It always amazes when I see something like this!

But can French Bulldogs walk without a leash? I don’t believe Frenchies should walk without a leash in urban environments. They can as they can become excitable and will not be aware of the dangers of road traffic. However, you can walk the without a leash at a park or other area with no cars. 

In simple terms, it’s all dependent on location and circumstance.

For example, each morning I take Claude to our local park. To get to the park I leave our house and walk up a hill with a road next to the path. It’s a reasonably busy road with regular traffic coming up and down it.

When I get to the park, I let our French Bulldog off the leash. However, on the walk to get there when I am next to the road, there is no way I would let him walk without a leash. It’s far too risky.

For example, if he sees a cat, another dog, or is in an excitable mood, he could easily run across the road into the traffic. Because of this I will never walk our French Bulldog without a leash unless we’re at a park, fields, woods, or forest – away from a road basically.

Whilst you will be able to train your Frenchie to be okay off the leash at a park, or in the forest, having them walk next to you off their leash is a different matter. They are just far too inquisitive and won’t be aware of the dangers.

Handy Hint: I always recommend you buy both a collar and a harness for your Frenchie, despite the fact I believe one is safer. Find out more about Frenchie harnesses or collars here.

Why off-leash walking is good for your Frenchie

I encourage all French Bulldog owners to let their dog walk off the leash every day, providing you can find a safe and secure place for them to do so.

Our Frenchie Claude benefits from off-leash walking so much, including:

• He gets to play and run around with other dogs.
• He can run at speed.
• He can burn off energy.
• He can keep his weight at a healthy level.
• He can explore and be free.
• He has become confident.
• He has become socially adjusted to people and dogs.

Of course, there will always be dangers from letting your French Bulldog off the leash. It’s up to you to take as many precautions as you can. The types of dangers could be:

• Your Frenchie runs away and doesn’t come back (practice recall training).
• Your Frenchie runs into a busy road.
• Your Frenchie is injured by another dog, rough play, fighting.

Training your Frenchie to walk off the leash

If you want to take the plunge to see how good off the leash your French Bulldog can be, you should train first – obvious I know, but you’d be surprised at how many dog owners I’ve seen who just unclip the lead and hope for the best!

1. Train your Frenchie to recall

I won’t cover this part in detail here. Instead you should read my section on recall training. Complete that training first, and then come back here and move to step 2.

The key here is repetition, plenty of treats, and reward.

2. Take your Frenchie out with a long leash first

Once your Frenchie has mastered recall, go to a safe area with a long lead (buy on Amazon). This will let your Frenchie have the freedom and feeling of being off the leash, but still ensuring safety and control.

If you do use a long leash, just be a little careful. I’ve been tripped up by one of these before by an excitable dog at our own local park.

3. Practice an off the leash walk in an enclosed area

Once you’re confident enough to take the leash off your Frenchie, do it in an area which is enclosed. This could be a field with fencing around it, or even a dedicated off leash dog park.

This is the last step in the process. Providing the recall works, there’s no reason why your French Bulldog won’t be good off the leash and be able to enjoy the freedom.

What to do when things go wrong…

In the early days, you still might have the occasion where your Frenchie runs off or refuses to come back to you. Here’s what you can do:

• Don’t run after them: Your Frenchie will thing this is a game, and run away even more, possibly into danger.
• Try running away from them: If you run in the opposite direction, your Frenchie can think it’s a game and will run after you rather than away.
• Remain calm: If you get over-excited your Frenchie can too, and this could exacerbate the behaviour.
• Use plenty of treats: Anytime your Frenchie is allowed to walk off of the leash, you should have plenty of treats on hand. This breed is motivated by food!

Conclusion 

Our Frenchie has been good off the leash since he was around 12 months old. Before that he was a complete nightmare, but you can put that down to the youthful exuberance of puppyhood. 

All dogs should be allowed the freedom to run off the leash, so do persevere with the training and find somewhere where they can have a good run out.

 Handy Hint: I’ve also published a training guide which explains how you can train your Frenchie to walk on a leash, rather than off of one. There is also information available on how to stop your Frenchie puling on his leash.

The post Are French Bulldogs Good Off the Leash? (Train to Walk Without a Leash) appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

But it wasn’t always this easy. When we first started leash training, he was extremely stubborn and sometimes would even refuse to walk at all. On other times he would pull and act so manic that we struggled to control him.

However, once we had learned how to leash train our French Bulldog life got a lot more enjoyable. I actually looked forward to going to the park rather than viewing our walks with trepidation.

Here’s how we did it; I hope it works for you too if your French Bulldog won’t walk on a leash like our used to.

French Bulldog puppy leash training 

I am going to assume you already have a leash or harness. If you don’t please read my guide which explains which one you should choose. Some owners prefer harnesses that fit around the body, others a collar and leash combination.

With the guide below, the aim is to understand how to leash train a stubborn French Bulldog from a puppy so that he will follow you or walk by your side at all times. He should not be refusing to walk or pulling you in all sorts of different directions.

And before you start; patience, repetition, and consistency are the three key elements to leash training your Frenchie.

1. Get your Frenchie puppy used to the leash indoors

The first aspect of leash training is getting your Frenchie puppy used to having a collar or harness on. Most puppies will find it very weird and will wriggle and roll about trying to get the strange thing off their back or neck… it’s to be expected.

Handy Hint: If your Frenchie is frightened and starts to get anxious, stop the leash training immediately. A scared dog is very hard to train, so for leave it for a couple of hours.

Your job here is to use distraction and praise to get them used to wearing it.

We found that the best way was to put the leash and collar on Claude and then play with him in the house. We’d do this for 15 minutes at a time, whilst giving him treats.

You don’t even need to be holding the leash at this point; it’s perfectly fine to let your puppy run about with it on so that he doesn’t feel restricted.

This lets him associate having a leash on as being a positive and fun thing to do.

2. Start with small leash walks indoors

Once your stubborn little Frenchie is used to the leash and doesn’t appear to be scared of it, you can do some little practice runs indoors.

Walk a few paces using a command such as “here, here”, keeping eye contact with your Frenchie. As he walks towards you, reward him with a treat.

Don’t be afraid to really go heavy on the treats either as it’s the repetition and reward that’s going to result in well-trained dog.

We’d do these 5-minute training segments for no more than 3 times a day, and for just a few days leading up to his first ever outdoors walk. A tired dog won’t leash train well, and young puppies are easily distracted.

It’s now time to take that leap and try your French Bulldog puppy leash training in the great outdoors.

3. Pick the right time for your first outdoor leash walk

As with any dog training, sometimes the timing is key. A Frenchie who is excited and full of energy is going to be far harder to train. But it is a delicate balancing act, because conversely, a tired-out puppy will also be hard to train.

You need to take the middle ground, and I recommend you play a quick game with your Frenchie before taking them for their first walk outdoors. A game of indoor fetch is a great way to tire a high energy dog out, and help them focus later on the leash walk.

Handy Hint: If you’re wondering what the best age is to take a puppy outside safely then please read my quick guide which outlines what precautions you should take.

4. Try leash training outdoors for the first time

Outdoors will be far more challenging mainly due to there being plenty of distractions.

The aim is to get your French Bulldog puppy paying you constant attention when they are on the leash. Remember the treats and verbal command from step 2; it’s time to use those again!

Do the same thing as you did indoors.

It’s inevitable they will be distracted outdoors as it’s part of being a puppy. Don’t pull hard on the leash – you want to train your Frenchie to do what you want, rather than having them react to your aggression.

To keep them focussed on you only, make constant direction changes with verbal commands and treats. This can include zig zagging, or stopping, turning, and heading back in the other direction. Keep it random and keep it interesting.

If you keep quickly changing direction where you are walking, your Frenchie puppy will be focussed on you to see what you’re going to do next rather than anything else.

5. Make things fun when they get stubborn

French Bulldogs love to play (see what I mean here) and you can use this in your leash training to great effect.

If your French Bulldog puppy gets difficult on the leash, wants to go in different direction, or completely refuses to walk, then make things fun.

The easiest way to do this is to start acting excitable; quicken your step, run a little, wave your arms, make silly noises – this will intrigue your stubborn Frenchie and in most cases they will follow you to see what the fuss is all about.

6. Dealing with scary noises including cars

One of the most important factors in leash training is getting your Frenchie used to the scary sights, sounds, and smells of the great outdoors.

Leash training is a great opportunity to expose your French Bulldog to things it needs to get used to. For example, if you’re walking near a kid’s playground, walk closer to it. The same goes for other dogs, wildlife, and loud noises.

You want your Frenchie to be well-adjusted, and whilst on a leash there’s no reason why you cannot expose them to the reality of what a dog walk will be.

One of the biggest things we had to get Claude used to was cars driving past us. Our Frenchie would cower and be scared. It was the repetition, reassurance, reward, and continual exposure to traffic noise that got him over this fear – it did take 3 months though for him to be completely at ease with road traffic noise.

Handy Hint: Find out why I recommend you use Frenchie harnesses and not collars particularly when training young Frenchie puppies.

Leash training trouble-shooting tips

Learning how to train a French Bulldog to walk on a leash isn’t going to be easy. It takes time and patience. Even if you think you’re got it cracked, there will be occasions where it slips; particularly in new environments or with new distractions.

Here are two common problems with a suggested solution.

Pulling on the leash 

For the first 12 months of taking Claude for walks he was a huge puller. Frenchies are excitable, and ours would pull because he knew he was going to be off the leash at the park once we got to our destination.

Handy Hint: Read my views on whether Frenchies are good to walk without a leash and what you need to be careful of before doing so.

It took some time for it to stop and also coincided with him maturing from puppy to adult.

During the first year of leash training, I would always stand dead still as soon as he started pulling. It took a lot longer to get where we wanted to get to, but I wanted him to understand that pulling isn’t going to get him to where he wants to go faster.

Once I came to a stop, I would call him back to me, get him to sit, and reward him with a treat. I would then start walking again. If he started pulling, I would repeat the process. Over time our Frenchie learned not to pull.

What I didn’t do was pull back against him on the leash. Yanking on the lead can hurt your puppy and doesn’t actually work from a training perspective.

Chewing on the leash

Almost every puppy will chew on the leash.

Whilst this isn’t a huge issue, after prolonged biting, you’re going to need a new leash. When they start to chew, provide a treat rather than trying to yank the leash from your Frenchie’s mouth.

Conclusion

Using a leash is the best way to control where your Frenchie can or can’t go during the first year of training.

Young puppies like to stay near their owners; this results in some people thinking they don’t need to do leash training. This could not be further from the truth! Frenchies can develop bad habits at any age, and the older they do, the harder those habits are to shift!

But a word of warning; French Bulldog leash training is much harder than people think. When you have a young puppy, they grow very quickly. They will get quicker and stronger as they get older meaning they will end up walking a lot faster than you.

That’s why it’s imperative you crack leash training from as young an age as possible. It could take a couple of months to get it right, but it will be worthwhile.

You might also like…

If you like this guide on how to teach a French Bulldog to walk on a leash you might also be in interested in the following guides:

• How to stop a Frenchie from pulling on a leash
• How to teach a Frenchie to come back when called
• How to stop your Frenchie from jumping on people
• How to train your Frenchie to sit on command

Watch this video…

Unfortunately, I started our own Frenchie YouTube channel after Claude was already leash trained meaning I cannot publish my own training video on this. But I did find a very good one which I recommend you watch below.

Watch from about 1 minute 30 seconds, as everything before that is an advert for dog treats.

The post French Bulldog Leash Training for Stubborn & Difficult Pups! appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

We did eventually manage to stop our French Bulldog puppy crying in his crate, but it wasn’t easy. To be honest, it was heart-wrenching and tiring, but it is an essential part of them adapting to your home as well as their crate training.

The bottom line is; French Bulldog puppies do cry when they are taken from their mother and siblings, and they will cry in the crate for some time. You need to weather the storm, accept the lack of sleep, and persevere with it.

But don’t worry. In this guide I am take you through the steps to cope with the whining and crying, whilst you get your new Frenchie puppy settled into his new home and crate training routine.

But first, just a little bit about Frenchies and crying.

Why do French Bulldogs cry?

French Bulldog’s do cry, and puppies particularly are known for it. They will cry for attention, when they want feeding, or if they need to go to the toilet. It is also related to separation anxiety (read more on this) when left alone.

Other reasons for a crying Frenchie can be:

• Blocked tear ducts: Whilst this might sound counter-intuitive, blocked tear ducts mean your Frenchie’s eyes will water, with obvious tear staining down their face. It can sometimes look a red or brown color, seeping from their eyes.
• Eye allergies: An allergic reaction can also lead to watery discharge from their eyes, which can look like tears and crying.

French Bulldog puppies are even bigger criers, particularly in the first 4 weeks you have them at their new home. They are in a new environment without the security of their mother and siblings – who wouldn’t cry in the same situation?

Frenchie puppies will also cry when you first start them getting used to sleeping and staying in their crate. Crate training is an essential part of dog ownership, but almost every Frenchie puppy won’t like being confined to theirs for more than a couple of hours.

Do French Bulldogs cry tears? 

French Bulldogs do have tear ducts, but they work in a very different way to human ones. Rather than the tears running from their eyes, the actually drain back into the nasal cavity… which is why blocked tear ducts result in what look like tears.

The reality is, that Frenchie don’t cry tears due to an emotional response like we would do. Dogs have other ways of showing emotion, many of which I’ve discussed in length in this guide to Frenchie happiness. 

Do French Bulldogs Scream? 

Some Frenchies can make a whining and howling noise that does sound like a human scream, or even a baby screaming in some cases. When we bought our Frenchie home for the first time, he made a few screaming sounds on the first few nights.

Not all of them will do this though as each dog will have their own tone of voice and mannerisms… I did find a Frenchie screaming on YouTube which is a great example. 

Do French bulldogs cry at night? 

French Bulldogs do cry at night when you first bring them home. I’ve already mentioned the reasons why Frenchie puppies are prone to doing so; separation anxiety, fear, for attention, and when they need to go to the potty.

Now let me share with you steps you can take to stop your French bulldog whining in their crate, no matter what their age.

French bulldog crying in crate

And now for the crux of the matter; your French bulldog puppy won’t stop crying when in crate – what do you do, and is there anything you can do to stop it or make things better?

Firstly, why is your French bulldog puppy crying in his crate? Or, it could even be an adult Frenchie… it’s not always related to their age.

There are a number of reasons, including:

• Your Frenchie is lonely: This is a classic crying scenario when dogs are used to being with their owner and are shut in a crate when you go out.
• Your Frenchie is bored: Perhaps they aren’t getting enough stimulation, both mental and physical when out of the crate.
• Your Frenchie is scared: Older or rescue dogs can have negative connotations connected to the crate.
• Your Frenchie needs the toilet: Or it could be as simple as them needing to pee or possibly even vomit (here are reasons why Frenchies can be sick).

How to stop Frenchie crate crying behavior 

If your adult or French bulldog puppy won’t stop crying when in their crate, here are some steps you can take.

Please Note: French Bulldog puppies will cry in their crate for at least the first few days you have them. You won’t be able to stop this, as it’s their natural reaction to being in a new home. The steps below are best applied when the crying is problematic and longer term.

1. Make the crate experience a positive and comfortable one

To stop your French Bulldog puppy crying at night, make the crate as great an experience as you can. For example, you might want to place some interesting toys in there (here are toys Frenchies love), make it cosy with blankets, and leave an appealing treat in there.

At this stage in their life, puppies will start to teeth and hanker for anything chewable they can get their jaws around. Kong toys are great for this, and you can see which ones work really well in on this teething toys page.

You should also try building up positive associations with the crate, and some puppy owners like to let theirs feed in there.

Also place something that smells like you in there – it could be a cushion or a t-shirt with your scent on.

2. Place the crate in the best place

The placement of your Frenchie’s crate can have a huge impact on how he feels. If it’s far away from you, insecurity and loneliness can kick in, leading to lots of whining and crying.

We took baby steps with our Frenchie’s crate; it was in our room for a few weeks, and then we gradually moved it further and further away.

If you can’t bear to have it in your bedroom with you at night, at least ensure that it’s in a place where your family spends the majority of their time.

But, by having the crate close to you during the puppy months, it does mean you will be alerted when they need a potty break.

3. Use the right-sized crate

When crate shopping, I always suggest going larger than you need because it can then be their crate and bed for life. Puppies need room to be able to move around, stand up, and turn to let them be comfortable and not feel caged.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money either. The one we’ve used since Claude was a puppy and continue to this day, is this basic dog crate on Amazon.

4. Make sure your Frenchie goes to the toilet first

To really help minimize your French bulldog crying in his crate, make sure their bladder is as empty as possible before sleep time.

However, with puppies, they will need the toilet constantly, and I remember this time with our Frenchie very well. Every hour I would take him out of the crate at night and take into our back-yard patio area.

You can still expect some accidents though, which is why puppy pads are so essential. Again, you can buy puppy pads on Amazon – they are cheap when bought in bulk.

5. Tire your Frenchie puppy out before crate time

An over-excited puppy will not sleep and will cry more in his crate at night if he still has excess energy to burn. It’s essential to give them enough exercise before they sleep, and that goes for both adult dogs and puppies.

Frenchie puppies can tire really quickly, so it could just be a short walk out back or a game of tug of war. Older dogs will have more energy to burn, so give them a run out for 20 minutes before crate time.

6. Ignore your Frenchie’s whining and crying

As hard as this sounds, you should ignore your Frenchie’s cries a lot of the time – unless it’s for a potty break. If you go to the crate every time he cries or whines, you are just reinforcing the behavior, and making him know you will always come and let him out.

Don’t take your Frenchie puppy out of the crate until it’s time and he has been quiet.

7. The difference between crying for attention and crying for the toilet

But how do you know which cry is which?

To be honest, you don’t… so what I recommend is that you take your Frenchie out of the crate the first few times he cries and immediately take him to the potty area.

If he doesn’t pee or poop, put him straight back in the crate without any attention or play. Over a week or so, your puppy should learn that crying gives him the toilet and nothing else.

8. Don’t punish or scold your crying French Bulldog 

Punishment and loud voices do not work with Frenchies. As frustrating as your French bulldog crying at night will be, never scold them. They won’t recognise the punishment, and if anything, it will exacerbate the crying and whining.

If your Frenchie is crying due to anxiety and fear, yelling will not help. Yes, he might stop crying in the short-term, but only because he is scared.

9 .Stay consistent 

And lastly, don’t stray from your chosen method. The minute you do will put you back to square on. 

Conclusion

Finally, if you cannot put a finger on why your French Bulldog is crying, and have ruled out the possibilities in this guide, please do consult with your vet. Frenchies are susceptible to a wide range of health problems (listed all here) and it could be a physical or behavioral issue.

The post French Bulldog Puppy Crying: How to Stop Crate & Night Tears appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

But why do French Bulldogs mark their territory in your home, and more importantly, how can you stop this from happening?

Before I explain more about the why and how, I just wanted to dispel a myth. It’s not just male French Bulldogs that mark their territory with urine. In some rare cases, female Frenchies will do it too – although it certainly isn’t as common.

You should also not worry about a one-off marking. This will happen occasionally but should be dismissed unless it becomes regular.

Why French Bulldogs mark territory with urine

1. Because they aren’t spayed or neutered

If your Male French Bulldog is marking territory with urine, it could be because they have not yet been neutered. You might also have this problem with female Frenchies yet to be spayed, but it is less common.

It won’t also be the root of the problem, as some dog owners have reported even after being neutered, a male Frenchie can still mark if an un-altered dog comes into the territory.

Handy Hint: Read this guide to neutering your Frenchie including reasons to do it, the best age, and what the surgery and costs involve.

2. When they first come into your home

This is the easiest reason to understand; your new Frenchie wants to mark the territory of his new home.

You might also experience peeing in the house when you move home. Your French Bulldog will want to put his smell and signal on the new surroundings… but it should pass very quickly.

Handy Hint: Peeing in the house isn’t always due to territorial marking. It could also be down to diet and health. Read this article to find out more.

3. Due to contact with unfamiliar objects and smells

Your French Bulldog can also territory mark on new or unfamiliar objects in your home. It can range from new pieces of furniture, a new carpet, or even something that a house guest brings in with them.

We had this happen with our Frenchie, Claude, when my mother in law put her handbag down on the dining room floor. He had the smell of her own dog on it, so Claude urinated all over it to mark his territory.

4. When they come back from the vets or kennels

If your Frenchie has had to go to the vets or kennels for a stay over, they will be potentially stressed upon their return. They will have been prodded, poked, perhaps had a procedure… and will have been in a strange environment with other strange dogs.

It’s not uncommon for French Bulldogs to then come back into their home and pee somewhere to help to re-establish their presence.

5. To exert their dominance

This form of territorial marking is very problematic, as it essentially means that your Frenchie thinks he’s the dominant one and the alpha male.

Territorial urine marking will be combined with little bites, nips, and growls and needs to be stamped out quickly. You should never let your Frenchie think he’s the one in charge of the household.

Handy Hint: Read this guide which explains how to stop your French Bulldog from biting you and other people.

Marking to establish their dominance isn’t just related to us humans. Frenchies can also pee inside if they are having conflict with other dogs (and sometimes even cats).

Your French Bulldog will mark to establish where he thinks he sits in the pack to get regain the upper ground.

6. Seeing or smelling other dogs

I touched on this one in the third reason where Claude peed on my mother in law’s handbag which had the scent of a dog on it.  But it doesn’t have to be scents inside of your home.

Frenchies can mark their territory indoors after having contact with other dogs when on a walk, or even after seeing another dog walk past your home’s window.

7. If a new pet or family member comes into the home

Frenchies like to exert their dominance over new arrivals. That could be over a new person coming into your home – perhaps a new partner or roommate – and also over other pets including new dogs and cats. Dogs like to position themselves as the pack leader.

The marking of territory can also occur when a baby comes into your home, but it doesn’t tend to last too long. It’s not entirely understood why this happens but could be due to either stress or dominance.

Speaking of cats, we own both and made a very successful introduction which I’d like to share with you. You can watch the video on YouTube (which is also embedded below), or head straight through to the Frenchies and cats guide with more detail.

8. Because they are stressed or have separation anxiety

Many of the reasons why your French Bulldog is marking his territory will come down to dominance, which could be triggered by stress.

But the stress of separation anxiety is also known to initiate urine marking in the house. Frenchies are by design, people dogs. They crave our companionship, so should not be left alone.

The bottom line is this; stress, conflict, being left alone, new objects, and changes to environment can all trigger urine marking.

Handy Hint: Read my guide to French Bulldog separation anxiety with the steps you can take to reduce the chances of mental anguish to your home alone Frenchie.

It might not actually be territorial marking

If your Frenchie has suddenly started peeing in the house, it might not be a marking problem, but something else instead. In any case, you should be getting advice from your vet, but it could be possible to diagnose the problem as being one of the following. 

1. Medical problem

Don’t just think its urine marking without trying to rule out a health issue. Frenchies are prone to a wide range of problems, more than most breeds in fact. The most common medical issues that lead to urine indoors include:

• Incontinence: This is when your Frenchie’s bladder is leaking urine without them wanting to. Incontinent dogs won’t often even realize they have let pee go.
• Urinary tract infection (UTI): Perhaps your Frenchie has an infection which leads to small urine leaks. Dogs with UTIs tend to lick their privates, so look for the two signs combined.
• Medication: Some dog medicines result in dog’s leaking urine involuntarily, or so quickly that they don’t have time to ask to go outdoors.

2. Uncontrollable urination due to anxiety, excitement or submission

Uncontrollable urination that isn’t related to a medical issue can occur due to three factors shown below.

• Anxiety urination: Some Frenchies will urinate uncontrollably when anxiety becomes too much. Try to see what the root cause of the anxiousness is.
• Excitement urination: Some Frenchies can do it when they meet someone or during play. They will get so excited that they cannot control their bladder and a leak occurs.
• Submissive urination: Some Frenchies will urinate when they are submissive. If you’ve got little kids, you will know exactly what I mean! Your dog might do this if you have scolded him. If you see your French Bulldog looking submissive when this happens, it’s a sure sign that it’s not territorial marking.

Is your Frenchie marking territory or just can’t hold his urine? 

As I mentioned earlier, there are two types of urination; territorial marking, or uncontrollable urination and medical issues.

There’s a great video on YouTube which explains some easy ways you can tell the differences.

How to stop your Frenchie from territorial marking

If you now do think your French Bulldog is marking territory, then there are some things you can do to help prevent it from happening.

It’s really important to get to the root cause, as territorial marking is not only nasty and unhygienic, but can also trigger fights with dogs sharing the same house.

1. Get male Frenchies neutered (or females spayed)

Once your Frenchie has the dreaded snip, it should drastically reduce or even completely eliminate territorial urine marking.

According to studies, over half of all male dogs will stop urine marking once they have been neutered… but it can also be related to their age as this quote from WebMD.com shows:

“A study of urine marking in dogs revealed that 10 percent of the dogs who urine marked started the behavior at 3 months of age, 20 percent by 6 months, 40 percent by 12 months, 70 percent by 1½ years, and 90 percent before 2 years.” 

2. Clean up immediately to stop repeated marking

As soon as you see the urine marking, clean it up. By removing the urine, you will be removing the stimulus for future markings. But just using soap and water won’t cut it, you need to use an enzyme cleaner that will destroy the organic elements found in urine.

There are some great cleaning products on the market which do just this and will help stop your French Bulldog territorial marking if used correctly.

Firstly, whilst you might smell the urine, you might not be able to see it. That’s where a little gadget called the Urine Finder Light on Amazon will help.

It uses ultraviolet light to find urine spots. If you’ve ever watched CSI when they use Luminol to find blood traces at a crime scene… kind of think of like that but for urine!

Once you’ve found the urine mark spots, clean it up thoroughly to remove any trace and scent. There are two products I recommend here, depending on where the urine was both by the Simple Solution brand.

There’s the Urine Destroyer for hard floors found on Amazon. This is great for urine marks on vinyl, wooden, tile, and any hard floors. It will remove the stain and any scent traces with a few applications.

If your Frenchie has marked a carpet or fabric, there’s a similar enzyme cleaning product designed for soft surfaces; Urine Destroyer for soft surfaces and carpets on Amazon.

Both are safe to pets and children if used correctly, and also are said to not damage the surface or item you clean.

Handy Hint: Don’t use any cleaning products with ammonia. Ammonia is found in urine, and the smell will simply encourage your Frenchie to continue to pee in the same spot. 

3. Keep them away from the areas marked before 

Once a French Bulldog has marked a spot, it will want to return to the same place to do it all over again. Cleaning the area as described in the previous step will be a great solution, but you should also consider keeping them away from the marking area if you can.

4. Change the meaning of the marked place

You should also try to re-train their brain as to the meaning of the area they have been marking in. For example, if it’s a corner of your room, clean it up and then place their toys and treats there.

Frenchies don’t like to eat from areas in which they have gone to the toilet, so make it clear that the marked area is for a different purpose.

5. Restrict their access to problem marking areas

If the territorial marking occurs when you are out of your house and cannot keep an eye on your Frenchie, then work to restrict their access.

That could mean using baby stair gates, or even confining the to their crate when you pop out and can’t supervise things.

Please Note: French Bulldogs cannot be left alone for long periods of time. Dogs should only be placed in crates for short periods of time when you can guarantee them potty breaks.

6. Leave things they like to mark out of reach

If your Frenchie was marking the property of your guests, just like Claude did with my mother in laws handbag, then make sure things get placed out of reach when they come into the house.

7. Limit their visibility of animals outside

Frenchies like to exert their dominance and will mark when threatened. If this is due to them seeing other dogs outside of your house, look for ways in which you can limit their view from the windows.

You might need to move some furniture around or place something near the window to stop your Frenchie from being able to see outside.

8. Use a synthetic hormone diffuser

I’ve never used one of these with our own Frenchie, but we do use a similar product with our cat who started peeing in our house due to anxiety and had great results.

It will calm your Frenchie down due to the pheromones released into your room, and can curb aggressive and dominant behavior – such as the territorial marking problem.

There’s one on Amazon you can buy called the ThunderEase. It has exceptional reviews and is designed for dogs.

9. Give your Frenchie lots of attention and toys

Territorial urine marking can occur when your Frenchie feels threatened by a new arrival – I mentioned earlier how it can happen when a baby comes into the home.

Make your Frenchie feel like he’s not being left out and is still high on your list of prioritoes by giving him lots of love and attention when the baby or new person is in the room.

Handy Hint: See which toys are highly rated by French Bulldogs and their owners in my list of the 18 best toys Frenchies love to play with.

10. Show them you are the boss

French Bulldogs will urine mark to show that they are at the top of the food chain. This behavior should be corrected as soon as you see the warning signs.

The best way to do this is with effective training. If your Frenchie is taught how to sit, stay, come, and not bite, you’re halfway towards exerting your dominance.

Here are some training guides you might find useful to help establish yourself as the pack leader:

• Recall training and teaching them to come back when called
• How to reduce barking effectively
• How to stop biting and aggressive behavior
• Stopping the jumping up problem
• Teaching your French Bulldog how to sit on command

11. Reward good behavior

Frenchies respond very well to praise and reward. When you see your dog starting to make marking actions, get them outside as quickly as you can, then reward and praise them.

12. Don’t punish or scold them 

Punishment never works with dogs and can lead to the opposite reaction you want. A scared Frenchie will urinate more, and you will exacerbate the problem.

I don’t recommend you raise your voice, certainly don’t strike them, but you can clap your hands loudly to get his attention before he marks.

13. Consider diapers for uncontrollable urination

If your Frenchie’s urine marking isn’t due to territory, but instead is uncontrollable or related to a medical issue, you could consider diapers in the short term.

See which diapers I recommend for Frenchies with urine problems or females who are in heat.

14. Talk to your vet

And lastly, just talk with your vet.

This is particularly true if the marking is due to anxiety, a health issue, or medication. If you can’t stop your Frenchie marking his territory with urine using my stepped guide, it’s also time to seek professional advice.

Conclusion

French Bulldogs will mark their territory with urine for a wide range of reasons, but in most cases, it should be relatively easy to identify the cause… and then take the steps to prevent it.

The key is to not confuse territorial marking with a different issue. If in doubt, please consult with your vet.

The post French Bulldog Marking Territory: Why & How to Stop the Urine Marking appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

If I am completely honest with you, it wasn’t until Claude was out of his puppy phase and around 12 months old when was finally completely obedient with recall… and even now he has his odd moments of not coming back – but that’s rare. You might be able to get it cracked way before that.

In this guide I wanted to share with you how I taught our French Bulldog to come to me, not run away, and 99% of the time properly obey to a recall command.

Lower down the page I even have a game you can play with your Frenchie if he refuses to come when called – which works really well with this breed. It’s basically a way of tricking them into coming back to you.

French Bulldog recall training

If you have a young puppy you want to recall train, or perhaps have a stubborn French Bulldog who won’t come when called, follow these steps – they are all based on personal and real-life experience with our own boy Claude.

You will need a longer leash than normal (here’s one on Amazon) and a plentiful supply of doggy treats. You should also already have mastered the sit command training, and teaching them how to stay, as this goes hand in hand with recall training.

French Bulldog recall training is best started off either in your own backyard and garden. If you don’t have your own private space, then do it at a dog park. Just make sure it’s at a quiet time where there are no distractions or noises such as kids and other dogs.

1. Sit your Frenchie down

With the long leash attached, get your Frenchie to sit and stay. Maintain eye contact with him, and slowly walk backwards a few paces.

Don’t rush this or act excited, as your Frenchie’s natural reaction will be to run up towards you if he thinks there’s a game about to start.

2. Squat on the floor and say “come” 

Once you have stepped a few paces back, crouch or squat to the ground. Frenchies are more inclined to recall and come to you when you’re in this position. I don’t know why, they just do.

As you are crouched down, say the “come” command or your chosen recall word, but with an element of excitement in your voice. It’s better to use a recall word, rather than your Frenchie’s name.

Handy Hint: Calling your Frenchie’s name should only be used to attract your dog’s attention. There will be times when you don’t want your Frenchie to come running back to you, but you just want him to look at you – this is why the distinction between a “come” command and the dog’s name should be clear.

When your Frenchie comes to you, tell him to sit, offer him a treat and shower him with praise. We want to cement in his mind that being recalled to you is a positive, not a negative. This reinforces the positive and obedient behavior.

Just don’t scold him if he doesn’t do as you want. You want him to come to you because he loves and trusts you – the way you use body language and your tone of voice is key here.

3. Repeat the process and extend the leash length 

Repeat the process 4 to 5 times in the one session. The next day, pick the training up again, but start extending out the leash to several meters rather than shorter distances.

If your Frenchie doesn’t start to walk or run towards you, pull on the leash a little. I don’t mean you drag them as that will have negative connotations, but rather give a small tug to get their attention as you say your “come” command.

4. Keep the recall training sessions short

French Bulldogs, or any dog for that matter, don’t respond well to intensive training. Just like us, they will get bored and soon find something better to do.

It’s best to keep the recall training sessions short and to the point. I would recommend only trying the steps above 4 to 5 times each day until it starts to become second nature.

5. Play with your Frenchie after training

To further reinforce your Frenchie’s good work, always spend some time playing with them after any training session.

What this does is let your dog believe that a training session is always the precursor to fun time. I would always start off our day at the local park with a training session first, then afterwards we get the ball out for the fun part.

Handy Hint: If you want to get more from your playtime with your Frenchie, please do check out what I believe to be the best toys and games they love to play.

6. Be consistent with your “come” command

If you have family and friends who also look after your Frenchie, make sure that they use the exact same “come” command or recall word as you do.

This will make training a lot easier and reduce any confusion in your dog’s head. If a consistent methodology and approach is used, it will make the coming back training a lot quicker and successful.

7. Test their recall off of the leash

If you are happy that your French Bulldog comes back when you call him, it’s time to try recall commands when they are off the leash.

Do not let your Frenchie off the leash until you are confident that his recall consistently works, and he will come back when you ask him.

With the off the leash tests, I don’t recommend you do this in a public place, but instead in an enclosed area such as a garden or yard.

Once you and your Frenchie have cracked the recall training, it’s time to go test it out in a public setting. Good luck!

More ways you can train your Frenchie to come when called

Your French Bulldog won’t obey recall 100% of the time. After all, there are plenty of new smells and distractions in the world which are always going to be far more interesting.

With Claude I’ve learned a few things I can do when he’s stubborn or distracted.

For example, Claude loves playing ball and fetching sticks. Since he was a puppy, he has learned what the two words “stick” and “ball” mean. That means I have two excellent fall-back words to use if he refuses to come back to me.

All I need to do is shout either of those two words and he soon comes bounding back to me in super quick time.

If you know there’s one word that your Frenchie associates with something he loves, then it’s a great way to trick them into returning to you. Try it out next time you’re out on a walk… but don’t overuse it – he will get used to your trickery!

What to do if your French Bulldog won’t come when called

If you have a clear line of sight and can see your Frenchie, but he still refuses to come to you when called, then there’s neat tactic you can use. But you need to be able to catch his eye first… it’s all to do with turning the whole thing into a game.

The running away game

It’s quite simple. Frenchies love to play.

There have been times when Claude has been so pre-occupied with other dogs at the park when I’ve struggled to get him to recall. By turning the process into a chasing game, I’ve managed to get him to come back immediately.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Call them or shout out one of their favorite words.
2. Let your Frenchie look back at you.
3. As soon as your Frenchie catches your eye, act all excited, turn around, and start running away from him.
4. As you run away from him, continue calling his name or your “come” command, or his favorite word (we use “stick”).
5. Your Frenchie will hopefully see this as a game of chase and run after you. Some dogs even see it as a sign you are about to abandon them.
6. You can then let him catch you and connect the leash back to his collar.

Another similar recall success I saw on social media was by an owner who would pretend they had found something interesting on the ground. By crouching down on the floor, pretending to pick something up, and making some excitable noises, it can also encourage your Frenchie to come running back to you.

With either method, reward your Frenchie with praise once he’s back by your side.

Handy Hint: Try not to chase after your Frenchie if he runs away (they can run very fast). Whilst tempting, this can work in the opposite way where the game becomes one of him running away from you, rather than what we want, which is him to come back to you.

What to do if your Frenchie gets lost and you can’t see him

Every morning, Claude and I will walk through the local woods near to our house. This area is a hive of activity for squirrels and birds that he loves to chase and hunt (Frenchies can be good hunters).

Whilst the majority of the time this doesn’t present a problem, there are times where he will pelt off after a squirrel into the dense thickets.

There have been a couple of occasions where I’ve had heart-stopping moments and thought I had lost him.

Despite me calling his name, whistling, and shouting his favorite words like “stick” and “ball” there were 5 minutes of panic as he simply didn’t come back.

The key here is to not panic.

What I do is stay in the last place that he saw me. I am of the mindset that he will come back, and eventually your calls will get through to him.

I think the worst thing you can do if you are calling your French Bulldog and he isn’t coming back is to go try find him. Frenchies are quite smart and will be able to hear you for a long, long way off, so should return to you eventually.

Conclusion

Teaching your Frenchie how to come back is one of the most critical pieces of training you need to master as a responsible owner.

Frenchies love to explore and play games, so will often be distracted and disobedient if the mood takes them. But unfortunately, this can place them at risk.

We’ve all seen those poorly trained dogs who run after other dogs and refuse to come back to their owners. There are also dogs who can get embroiled in potentially dangerous situations with other dogs and people.

Your Frenchie needs to understand who the boss is, so please persevere and be patient with your French Bulldog recall training. If you can get your Frenchie to come back to you when called, both your life and his will be a lot less stressful.

The post How to Train a French Bulldog to Recall & Come When Called appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

However, all Frenchies are different and I’ve met some who do bark a lot and where it’s actually become a problem (even being described as a screaming sound).

The French Bulldog bark guide & survey

In this guide to French Bulldog barking and problems, I’ve put together a list of reasons why your Frenchie could be barking too much, how to stop a Frenchie from barking, and also taken a survey of Frenchie owners. That should give you enough information to know what to expect.

To start with though, I want to answer a few of the most common questions about Frenchies and barking if you’re thinking about getting one.

Do French Bulldogs bark a lot?

French Bulldogs don’t bark a lot. Our own Frenchie will very rarely bark. The times he does will be when he thinks there is someone at the door as a protective instinct, but other than that he’s very quiet and communicates in different ways.

However, our friends Frenchie is a BIG barker. She will bark when left alone, at other dogs, and to get her owner’s attention.

To get a wider spread of opinion, I decided to run a poll survey in one of the largest Frenchie Facebook groups to see what other owners said about barking problems (I had 63 responses). The first question I asked was:

Does your French Bulldog bark a lot?

This answer is open to interpretation, as what some people think is a lot won’t be a lot to other owners. However, I did expand the question, telling people to only say yes or no if the barking was a problem. Here’s what people said.

As you can see, only 14% of Frenchie owners said their dog barks a lot. That leaves 86% of Frenchies either barking very rarely (73%) or not at all (13%).

The reasons why French Bulldogs don’t bark a lot is undoubtedly down to the way in which the have been bred. They have evolved to be companion dogs for humans, rather than a breed designed to be a guard dog.

What does a French Bulldog bark sound like?

I read an article in the New York Times that interviewed an owner who said this:

“They don’t bark. They have their own language of yodels, screams, chirps, warbles and what can best be described as snorfles.”

I don’t necessarily agree with that. Frenchies definitely don’t have a yap, and it’s more of a lower-pitched bark than what you would expect from a smaller breed. Here’s what it sounds like:

Why Do French Bulldogs bark?

Just like any other breed of dog, French Bulldogs will bark for a wide range of reasons. It’s a natural way for them to communicate with us but can be problematic if it starts happening regularly or for no obvious reason.

During my survey of owners a few common barking reasons came up time and again. In the main, barking was reported for the following reasons:

• Barking to be protective towards their owner: for example, when strangers approached or if the doorbell rang.
• Barking for attention: for example, wanting to play, wanting to be fed, or wanting to be let out of the house.
• Barking at other dogs: some owners of Frenchies (particular females who had not been spayed yet) reported aggressive barking towards other dogs.
• Barking when left alone: this was very common and would occur when an owner left the house or sometimes even a room.
• Barking when left in the crate: this is probably an attention thing again.
• Barking when in pain: it could be your Frenchie trying to tell you that they hurt.

What do French Bulldogs bark at most?

Of the people who completed my survey and reported barking, I then asked them what their French Bulldog would bark at the most. Here are the most popular responses.

To look into this further, I then asked for specific examples, some of which I have listed below in a question and response format.

Do French Bulldogs bark for attention?

Yes, French Bulldogs can bark for attention. It can be their way of communicating to the owner that they either want something or there is a problem. Many times, they will simply bark for fun.

A Frenchie that constantly barks at everything and everyone could be signalling to you a health problem, anxiety, or a behavioural issue relating to territory or fear.

Do French Bulldogs bark loud? 

Compared to other dog breeds, a French Bulldog bark isn’t particularly loud.

According to Cheatsheet.com (view source), a Frenchie’s bark loudness pales in comparison compared to the following breeds: American Eskimo, Akita, Foxhound, Alaskan Malamute, Labrador Retriever, Puggle, Australian Shepherd, Australian Terrier, Basset Hound, and Vizsla.

Do French Bulldogs bark when left alone?

Some French Bulldogs will bark when left alone. Our friend has a younger Frenchie who has separation anxiety. The puppy will bark as soon as the owner leaves the house, and this has proved to be a problem with their neighbors.

If you have a Frenchie who barks when left alone then read this guide to separation anxiety. That has some tips on how to manage the barking problem with dogs who get left in the house for a few hours.

French Bulldog barking problems 

When I first put my survey out there to ask owners whether their French Bulldog barked a lot, I had loads of comments back from some who had a problem.

Here’s a list of the things reported back to me that would signal barking as a problematic behavior. It could help you if you worried about why your French Bulldog is barking a lot.

• At babies and kids.
• At cars or in the car.
• At cats.
• At everything and everyone… all the time.
• At guests and house visitors.
• At horses and other animals.
• At new people when meeting for the first time.
• At night when left in the dark to sleep.
• At other dogs.
• At their owners.
• At the sound of the TV or radio.
• For attention.
• When the door knocks or doorbell rings.
• When left alone and bored.
• When left in their crate.
• To be territorial or protective of their owner.
• To tell you then need to be let outside for the toilet.
• To tell you that they are in pain or distress.

How to stop a French Bulldog barking

If you are suffering with any of the French Bulldog barking problems listed above, I would recommend that you try to ascertain whether it’s for health, behavioural, fear, or just fun reasons. If you believe your Frenchie is barking at you to signal a medical issue, then consult with your vet.

However, for any other reasons there are some things you can do to stop a French Bulldog from barking at new people, at everyone, when you leave the house, out of the windows, or for whatever reason it could be.

How do I get my French Bulldog to stop barking?

1. Quiet command with a reward

If your Frenchie is barking and you want them to stop, the first thing you can do to is to use a “quiet” command. This involves waiting for them to stop for a moment and then saying “quiet”, then “good boy”, then rewarding with a treat.

You can see how this method work with this infographic from the Dog Training Excellence website. Repetition is key to this training method.

2. Stay calm and don’t shout

You should always remain calm at all times. Dogs will react to human behavior and will often mirror us. That means if you shout at them to stop barking, they can then bark even more.

When you shout at a dog, they consider this as aggression and will either counter it back with increased barking or will retreat and become scared. A scared animal will be far harder to train to stop.

3. Ignore the barking

Many Frenchies will bark for attention. If you don’t give them what they want, they can be trained to stop the barking behavior.

Don’t talk to him, don’t look at him, and don’t touch or calm him. This can work very well with attention-seeking puppies where you only reward them once the barking has stopped completely.

This should help them to learn that when they stop barking they get rewarded.

4. Get him used to the triggers

You can also stop your French Bulldog from barking by getting them used to the triggers. For example, if it’s a certain person they always bark at, try to introduce them slowly and surely.

If it’s the doorbell they bark at, get them sensitized to it. You can do this by ringing your doorbell, giving the quiet command, and then offering a reward.

The key here is repetition, familiarity, and reward.

5. Keep your dog active and exercised

Some Frenchies will bark due to boredom and a lack of stimulation. Ask yourself whether you are exercising your Frenchie enough, or whether they have enough toys to keep them mentally active.

A tired dog usually leads to a good dog who won’t bark constantly.

Handy Hint: Here’s a list of the best toys that French Bulldogs love to play with.

6. Get professional help

And lastly, if you cannot get your Frenchie to stop barking at everything, it could be time to seek professional help.

Your vet will be the first port of call, and they will often recommend you talk to a dog trainer once any health issue has been ruled out.

What other owners say

As part of my research and survey I trawled social media to find instances of Frenchie owners who had reported problematic barking. Here is some of the best advice I found that people suggested to help train your French Bulldog to stop barking.

“Socializing Frenchies is very important when they are young. We took are pup everywhere we could and let people pet her and hold her, we introduced her to other dogs as much as possible. Our Frenchie rarely barks now and only when she wants attention or up on the couch or bed.”

“As soon as your Frenchie begins to bark, have super good treats available. Not a regular treat but the best treat ever! Call her to you and begin feeding nonstop treats. Literally just keep popping treats into her mouth. As soon as the person is out of view, stop the treats. Soon, when she sees a person, she won’t be barking at them, she will look to you for her mega special treat. Strangers will be her best friend.”

“Pet stores sell a device that makes a sound like a dog whistle that humans can’t hear and when the dog barks it sends the sound and they immediately get quiet. It’s about $30 and you won’t be hurting or punishing your pup for being who they are.”

“You may want to buy another dog or adopt, mine used to do the same thing until I got a second dog, he still does it every now and then but is very rare. Frenchies are definitely better in pairs. Think about it nobody wants to be alone and two is better than one.”

“French Bulldogs will sometimes bark in excitement or if the doorbell goes. But they are not a consistent barking dog, although we did have one! The only thing I’ve found to work was a spray bottle. I had a trainer come to the house she suggested spraying them from behind, so they don’t see you. It’s supposed to scare them and stop the barking behavior.”

Conclusion

In the main, French Bulldogs don’t bark a lot. If it’s quiet dog you’re after, they will be a great choice.

However, that doesn’t mean you won’t have one that barks at people, other dogs, doorbells, cars, and everything else in sight – although it is relatively rare as I established with my survey.

If your Frenchie does have problem barking, try to establish the root cause and work to train the reaction out of them.

This breed is relatively easy to train, and in most cases,  you should be able to get your French Bulldog to stop barking with patience and a little hard work.

You might also like…

Here are some other training guides and helpful hints I’ve published.

• How to stop a Frenchie from snoring at night
• How to stop a Frenchie from biting
• How to stop a Frenchie from chewing
• How to stop them eating their own poop
• How to stop digging in your yard or garden
• Why Frenchie puppies like to chew furniture

The post French Bulldog Barking: Why, How Much, & How to Stop Barking appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

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.

The deterrent I recommend is called an apple bitter spray. This one on Amazon is said to be the most powerful bitter deterrent on the market (view latest Amazon prices) and even comes with a 14 day training program included.

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.

You might also like…

Here are some other tips on how to prevent certain behaviours.

1. The larger guide to French Bulldog chewing problems
2. Tips for how to stop your Frenchie from biting
3. 19 ways you can stop your French Bulldog from snoring badly

The post Do French Bulldogs Tend to Chew Furniture? + How to Stop It! appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.

However, it can still happen, and French Bulldog puppy biting problems are one of the most challenging issues I am asked about on social media.

Speaking from real-life experience, our Frenchie Claude has never bitten anybody aggressively. However, he was very nippy as a puppy, and in truth, a lot of that was my fault due to the way I would play with him. I soon learned fast that I was going to get nipped!

Our next door neighbour also has a French Bulldog puppy who was constantly biting. I worked with them to try and stop the biting problem and had great success. It was particularly important as they have young kids to consider.

Please read down and take everything in. I believe this is the most comprehensive guide to stopping a French Bulldog biting that you will find anywhere online. Make a drink, sit back, and I will teach you how to stop the keep biting problem, starting off with why it happens.

Why French Bulldog Bite? What’s normal and what’s not

Fear and aggression in French Bulldogs is perfectly normal. But this can start off with something as normalised as barking. Barking is typically your Frenchie’s way of telling you to keep your distance.

If you decide to not heed the warning, the barking can then progress to a growling and showing of the teeth. If you continue to approach and invade their space, the bite is the next natural step.

In most cases it will be a little nip which won’t break the skin. However, with a more aggressive Frenchie this bite can be very painful as they have very strong jaws. For parents this will be of particular concern if a French Bulldog bites your child.

Do French Bulldogs bite a lot?

As puppies, yes, Frenchies can bite and nip as part of teething and play. As a general rule of thumb, they will get over this behaviour.

Generally speaking though, Frenchies are a non-aggressive breed. Most of it will be down to how the owner has trained and raised the dog.

Why French Bulldog puppies bite

Sometimes the puppies will start to bite for fun, others will bite during the teething phase (read more about teething here). Frenchies use their mouths to explore, and small nips here and there can be explained away by their age. Other will bite and act aggressive out of fear, and others will bite too enthusiastically during play.

Another reason why Frenchie puppies bite can also be to try to show that they are the ones who are in charge of your relationship. If this is the case with your puppy, it must be stopped immediately as if you have a puppy that believes it is dominant, its nibbling will be just the beginning of your troubles.

Whichever scenario you face, biting is a behavior that needs to be nipped (no pun intended) in the bud as soon as possible when the dog is younger. This will help to prevent bigger problems as the Frenchie gets older.

But there is a fine line between biting and playing. Our own Frenchie Claude is a classic example. As a puppy I would play with him probably a little too enthusiastically, and he would go for my hands as a result – thankfully he grew out of it, and yours probably will too.

Adult Frenchies that bite are a problem

However, French Bulldogs that bite into adulthood are problematic, especially if the biting suddenly starts with no previous form. In this case, please take the dog to the vet immediately to rule out any illness or injury that could be causing the biting problems.

In cases such as this, vets will often recommend a dog behaviour specialist.

How to stop your French Bulldog puppy from biting

If your Frenchie puppy starts to show aggressive behaviour and biting it does need to be stopped as soon as it can. Otherwise it could continue into adulthood and become a bigger problem that is behavioural rather than playful. 

Here’s how I stopped a French Bulldog from biting as a puppy. 

1. Squeal like a puppy (bite inhibition) 

When puppies play together, they will squeal when bitten by another pup. In the litter you will see this happening, and the squeal results in the biting puppy backing away.

As humans we can mimic this behaviour.

When your French Bulldog puppy bites or nips you, let out a high-pitched squeal or use a firm “no’ vocal command.

This is a hugely popular method used by dog trainers as it makes your puppy believe that he hurts you every time he gives you a bite.

You might find that your puppy takes this telling off to heart. When we tried it with our puppy he would get all submissive and run to my wife for reassurance.

The key is to not comfort them at this point, as this could lead to more biting. By shunning the puppy momentarily, you will get the best results. It sounds harsh, but if you really do want your French Bulldog to stop biting, you need to stick firm.

The sooner you start doing this, the sooner your puppy will learn that biting is not ok.

We used this method with Claude and our next door neighbour’s Frenchie puppy successfully. It really does work very well.

2. Don’t react back to biting with play

When you want your Frenchie puppy to stop biting, never react back with playful pushes off, a wrestling game, or running away. By doing so, you are encouraging the bad behaviour.

Puppies love playing, so if you mirror back their biting with a bit of rough play then it’s game on.

This is one of the most important tips, and to not do so will only prolong the period you have to try to stop the bad attitude.

3. Put a thumb under the puppy’s tongue and a finger under the chin

I’ve not used this tip as it does seem a little barbaric, and harder work than it possibly needs to be, but you might want to try it if all else fails.

When you get bitten badly, let out a loud squeal or “no” and quickly place your thumb in his mouth, underneath the tongue. Then place another finger under the chin.

Hold this position for 10 seconds, but not too hard. Your puppy will feel uncomfortable it will train him to not keep biting you.

A dog trainer gave me this tip and swears by it.

4. Wear gloves with a nasty tasting substance

This is another bite prevention method I’ve not used but was given by a dog trainer. It involves wearing a pair of gloves with something on it that tastes bad. My trainer recommended a bitter spray (see it on Amazon).

After a few bites, your Frenchie will soon learn that if it bites you, it will not taste good! 

5. Use chew toys instead of your hands

Whilst it might be tempting to use your hands to play with the puppy who is biting, don’t do it. I understand why this is tempting, as the puppy bites isn’t actually that hard – until they get older!

If you see the puppy starting to come towards your hands or fingers, move them out the way and use a chew toy instead. By focusing on the toy instead, the puppy will learn that hands are not for biting and will associate a chew toy with biting instead.

The toys we found worked best for biting and chewing were the Kong on Amazon (view prices). You can also see some other recommendations in my chew toy page.

6. Don’t encourage them to bite your feet

Another area you might have a biting problem is with your feet, shoes, and shoelaces. Frenchie puppies love to chase feet and bite at shoes, and yes, it is fun, but curb it sooner rather than later.

If you don’t, they will continue to try and bite your feet into adulthood thinking that your shoes are toys. Use the same preventative methods listed in points 1 and 2 to discourage feet nipping.

7. Don’t smack your Frenchie puppy

Physical force never works. From talking to animal behaviouralists and vets, they say that a physical punishment will only exacerbate the biting problem and create more fear and aggression in your French Bulldog.

Fear is the root of so many biting problems and will only make your puppy feel scared of you and be more inclined to deliver a nasty nip.

8. Teach your Frenchie to accept your hands near their mouth

I’ve already mentioned how you should not use your hands around puppy’s when they start to bite, instead reverting to toys. But you still need to teach your Frenchie puppy to be accepting when your hands do go near the mouth.

As puppies, you will need to fish things out of their mouth, and into adulthood check their teeth and administer medicines.

You need to train them to not bite your hands when your fingers need to go into the mouth area. Do this by giving them a small treat and then quickly taking it out of their mouth.

9. Train your Frenchie puppy to not bite over food

Another flashpoint will be food. Puppies are very protective of their food bowl and will wolf it down in seconds to stop anybody else from eating it. But this behaviour that was learned from a young age, will also result in biting problems around their food dish.

Food aggression is a problem even with the most well-behaved Frenchie so your aim here is to train the puppy that you can take food away from it with no aggressive response.

Here’s how you do it; place the food bowl in front of the puppy then quickly take it away. If you don’t get an aggressive reaction, reward the behaviour with praise and putting the bowl back down again.

If you are growled at, give a firm and loud “no” and keep holding the bowl for a few moments.

Keep repeating the lesson until your French Bulldog puppy learns that you, the master, have control over food and can give or take it away at will.

If you have kids, then also get them to practice this as the dog should never have dominance over any member of your household.

If you can stop your French Bulldog puppy biting over food, then your almost there with having a perfectly well adjusted and non-aggressive pet.

10. Let them know who is in charge

I’ve touched upon the issue of exerting your authority and not letting your French Bulldog becoming the dominant one.

However, you might still experience it in other scenarios such as them being jealous of another pet, child, or visitor. It can also occur when you try to get your dog to get down off a couch or bed to make way for you.

This is there way of exerting dominance over you so nip it in the bud by reinforcing good behaviour. You can use a treat to reward them once you’ve lifted them down or got them to jump down themselves.

11. Socialise your puppy with other dogs

Make sure that your puppy has opportunities to play with other dogs. Puppies learn from each other and particularly older dogs. That’s why I recommend two Frenchies are better than one, as the younger takes a lead from the elder.

We found this when our friend’s Frenchie came to visit, as she would play with Claude and learn from him as to what is acceptable and what isn’t – and that included constantly biting.

Not only do they learn from each other, but they will also wear each other out. This means your puppy hopefully won’t have the energy to bite you!

If you can’t get two dogs or have one visit you, invest time and money in puppy socialisation classes where they can learn to interact with other people and dogs.

12. Expose your puppy to loud noises and fearful situations

Now obviously I am not suggesting that you go out of your way to scare your young dog, but it is important to expose them to situations that could spark fear, aggression,and biting. Think of things such as loud noises from traffic passing by, children shouting, or noisy public environments.

The sooner you can get your Frenchie trained to be calm in these situations, the more chance you stand of them not reacting badly and reacting with a fearful or aggressive bite.

13. Always supervise young children with a puppy

A French Bulldog that bites a child is a hugely serious issue. I’ve heard of Frenchies being taken away from owners and destroyed due to this very reason.

In most case the bite won’t be serious. But it’s still enough of a risk to make sure you supervise younger kids during Frenchie play and at all times.

Kids can easily be knocked over by an excitable Frenchie, and I’ve seen puppies try to go for ears and faces when they are over-excited.

Whilst French Bulldogs are great with children, you should never leave them alone.

When to seek professional help 

If even after using all these training methods, you still have a French Bulldog that bites, then please talk to your vet immediately.

An expert will be able to tell you whether the mouthing of your puppy is normal behaviour or something that requires a treatment plan.

There are also specialist animal behaviourists who can help with biting and fear aggression in French Bulldogs. If you are in the United States you can find help from a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist on the CAAB website. For UK readers take a look at the RSPCA website.

However, please do give the puppy some degree of patience during the teething phase (which can last up to 8 months of age) but after that, if it continues there’s every chance it will carry on into adulthood.

The dangers of a dog bite 

Adult dogs that bite can be serious problem. It’s potentially dangerous too. People die every year from bites, and more frequently can develop serious infections when a wound goes septic.

Around 50% of all dog bites will infect you with bacteria including capnocytophaga , pasteurella, staphylococcus, and streptococcus.

“A dog’s front teeth will grab and compress your tissue, and their smaller teeth can also tear your skin. The result is an open, jagged wound. If the wound becomes infected, it is often severe. The No. 1 concern with these bites is infection. You may need hospitalization and require intravenous antibiotics. You should always see a primary care provider if you’re bitten.” Dr Sayles of the Cleveland Clinic.

If you have been bitten by your French Bulldog and it’s an open wound rather than just a scratch, take the following action.

1. Compress the wound gently by pressing on it. This will squeeze some blood out which can help to flush out as much of the bacteria as possible.
2. Clean the bite wound with clean water and a mild soap.
3. Press a clean cloth onto the bite to slow the bleeding down.
4. Apply antibiotic cream to the bite wound.
5. Dress the bite wound with a sterile bandage.
6. Consult with a medical professional as soon as you can.

Conclusion 

The general rule to stopping a French Bulldog from biting is to always encourage acceptable behavior and to discourage unacceptable behavior. This rule is fundamental in the training of any dog.

It doesn’t matter which technique you choose to train your Frenchie puppy to not bite, the rule of thumb is to be consistent in what you teach him.

This means that you (or any other person who comes into contact with your puppy) must keep in mind the strategy chosen each time your puppy begins to chew. If you have visitors and other family members, communicate with them to adopt the same strategy as you.

The bottom line is this; if you do not communicate clearly with your French Bulldog, he will not understand that what he is doing is not good. It’s up to you to show him what the acceptable behavior is. Do not just expect the puppy to know it for himself.

You need to take the role of the pack leader.

You might also be interested in:

If you enjoyed this guide on how to stop your French Bulldog puppy biting, you might also like these related posts:

• 19 remedies designed to stop Frenchie snoring at night
• How to stop your dog from biting your feet when you walk
• How to stop your French Bulldog from jumping up
• How to stop a Frenchie from chewing the furniture
• We measured the bite force of a French Bulldog
• Watch us record how fast a Frenchie runs with a speed radar and GPS

The post How to Stop a French Bulldog Biting: 13 Proven Methods to Curb Aggression appeared first on French Bulldog Owner.