Training a French Bulldog puppy is not an easy task and must be done with lots of love and patience. Unfortunately, as with babies, they do have accidents during potty training and there can be certain surprises and smells, lurking in inconspicuous places within your home. Fortunately, if you train your French Bulldog during their puppy years; they will become more obedient and well-mannered during their adult years.
French Bulldogs are a beautiful, loving and loyal dog breed. They will spend most of their days providing their loved ones with unwavering attention, cuddles, kisses and any delights they have found in the back garden. It is important that you introduce your Frenchie to other humans and dogs from an early age; this is to help prevent them from developing social anxiety; later in their adult life.
Listed below are some top tips for training your French Bulldog:
Crate training
One of the very first things you should do when bringing home your French Bulldog is; to introduce them to their crate. Training your Frenchie to use their crate is an effective way to help establish positive behaviour and behavioural patterns. Allowing your dog to rest in their crate provides them with the space to relax and rest. Contrary to popular belief, dogs love their crate as it makes them feel safe. Using a crate also allows for your puppy to remain in safe place should you not be able to supervise them. During the puppy stages, your French Bulldog may not know right from wrong and they will climb, bite and chew on things they come across.
Socialise your French Bulldog
Socialising your French Bulldog from a young age is imperative if they are to lead a healthy, well-balanced life. You can do this in a number of ways. You can look to introduce them to strangers during your walk time, like your neighbour, gardener, or those walking their dogs in the park. Doing this as frequently as possible, will help make your puppy feel more comfortable when approaching strangers or if another human or dog approaches them. If your Frenchie moves towards a random stranger or other dog and their not showing any signs of anger, then this would be a good-time to reward them and show some positive reinforcement. If your Frenchie shies away from approaching another dog or stranger, then you mustn’t force them or reward them. Forcing your puppy to make contact will only backfire and make your puppy fearful and less likely to want to approach a stranger of dog on their next walk.
Potty training your French Bulldog
Proving your French bulldog with a schedule of eating, drinking and walking times, will help potty train them quicker. If you take them out as soon as they wake up, this will train them to want to go outside when they need to do their toilet business. You should also take this approach after playtime and before bedtime.
You will need to keep an eye out for any warning signs, such as; your puppy pacing the room or walking around in circles, sniffing or sometimes whining. These are all signs that they need to go outside and you should act promptly. As soon as they show this sign, then you should reward them after going, this then indicates good behaviour and will encourage them to do this next time they need to go outside to do their toilet business.
Whilst potty training your puppy, you should enlist a command that they become familiar with and will act upon when given. A command such as; “Go Potty” will then teach them to do their business when instructed. This command will come in very handy when you’re in a rush and need your dog to do their business.
If your Frenchie has an accident in the house then you must clean this up immediately and try to eliminate any smells. If they can still smell their urine, indoors, then they’re likely to do this again. There are great cleaning products specifically designed to eliminate such smells and you can buy these from reputable pet stores.
Train your French bulldog to be on a lead
Some puppy’s find being on the leash not very comfortable and can cause them to be uneasy and pull away. You should never pull your dog aggressively or shout at them for being naughty. Simply stop walking, gain a tight grip of the lead and walk with confidence; they will soon get used to the idea. To help avoid this kind of problem, you can introduce your Frenchie to their lead whilst being in the house.
Further training tips
French bulldogs have an attention span of 15 minutes. So, when training, you must consider this. If you go over the 15 minutes, then you’re likely to lose their attention and waste both your time and your puppy’s time. It is best to train in short intervals throughout the day. Not only will this help keep them engaged, it will also help keep them active and provide enough mental stimulation.
You should always use their name during training sessions. If they ignore you, then you must address this straight away. Letting your dog get away with ignoring your command or simply calling their name, will set you up for future problems later in their adult life.
It’s worth noting that you should never tell your dog off for something they did more than 15 minutes ago. They’re unable to associate the action with the event. You must remain calm and focused when training and during times when they need to be told off. This should never be done in angry or with raised voice and aggressive stance. This will not only scare your dog but also make them angry too.
French bulldogs are one of the most gorgeous, unique dog breeds to own. They’re funny, loving and have a wonderful personality to match. They love nothing more than playtime and showing and receiving lots of love.
