Starting Life with Your Puppy:
Although your French Bulldog puppy will want to explore and “conquer” his new home, it’s not a good idea to let a young dog have the unsupervised run of the house, especially if he is not yet reliably housetrained. In the beginning, plan on confining your new pet to a designated puppy “area.” Baby gates are useful to create restricted areas and are essential to keep the little dog away from obstacles, like stairs, that he may not be able to negotiate safely. Depending on the size and configuration, gates retail from $25-$100 / £14.87-£59.46.
Housebreaking Crate training helps to housetrain your French Bulldog puppy. He will see the crate as his den and will hold his need to urinate or defecate when he is inside it. Any time you are away from the house, the dog should be in his crate, but when you return, you must immediately take the dog out to do his business. Establish a set daily schedule and stick to it. Feed your pet the same amount of food each day at the same time and take him out afterwards. Use the same encouragements each time to get your dog to go and then praise him when he does.
This will lessen the number of times the dog needs to go out, but understand that puppies have less control over their bladder and bowel movements and will need to go out after they have been especially active and have gotten excited. On average, adult dogs go out 3-4 times a day: when they wake up, within an hour of eating, and right before bedtime. With puppies, however, don’t wait more than 15 minutes after a meal. Whether you call it house training, house breaking, or potty training, there are many different methods for helping your French Bulldog puppy to quickly learn that their bathroom is outside rather than inside your home.
If you have no choice but to leave your puppy alone for many hours, make sure that you place them in a paper-lined room or pen where they can relieve themselves without destroying your newly installed hardwood or favorite carpet. Remember, your Frenchie is a growing puppy with a bladder and bowels that they do not yet have complete control over.
Kennel Training:
When you train your French Bulldog puppy to accept sleeping in their own kennel at nighttime, this will also help to accelerate their potty training, because no puppy or dog wants to relieve themselves where they sleep, which means that they will hold their bladder and bowels as long as they possibly can.
Presenting them with familiar scents by taking them to the same spot in the yard or the same street corner will help to remind and encourage them that they are outside to relieve themselves. Use a voice cue to remind your puppy why they are outside, such as “go pee,” and always remember to praise them every time they relieve themselves in the right place, so that they quickly understand what you expect of them and will learn to “go” on cue.
NEVER punish a dog for having an accident. They cannot relate the punishment to the incident. If you catch them in the act you can say “bad dog,” but don’t go on and on about it. Clean up the accident using an enzymatic cleaner to eliminate the odor and return to the dog’s normal routine. Nature’s Miracle Stain and Odor Removal are excellent for these kinds of incidents and is very affordable at $5 / £2.97 per 32 ounce / 0.9 liter bottle.
Also good is to go to http://www.removeurineodors.com and order yourself some “SUN” and/or “Max Enzyme,” because these products contain professional-strength odor neutralizers and urine digesters that bind to and completely absorb and eliminate odors on any type of surface.
Marking Territory:
Both intact male and female dogs will mark territory by urinating. This is most often an outdoor behavior, but can happen inside if a new dog is introduced to the household.
Again, use an enzymatic cleaner to remove the odor so the dog will not be attracted to use the same spot again. Since this behavior is most often seen in intact males displaying dominance, the obvious solution is to have the dog neutered. If this is not possible, and the behavior continues, it may be necessary to separate the animals or to work with a trainer to resolve dominance issues in your little “pack.” Marking territory is not a consequence of poor housetraining and the behavior can be seen in dogs that would otherwise never go in the house.
Dealing with Separation Anxiety Because French Bulldogs are bred to be companion dogs, they do like to be with their humans and have a real need to connect and be social. You are the center of the world for your Frenchie, so he isn’t being “bad” when he misses you. Crate training is crucial in minimizing separation anxiety, but this is not a breed that likes to be left alone for long periods of time.
Whenever possible, take your dog with you, but remember that the French Bulldog is very intolerant of extremes of heat or cold. Do NOT leave your Frenchies in the car. When I say take the dog with you, I mean WITH you. It’s also a good idea to make sure that your pet has lots of other human friends.
Frenchies do have a tendency to single out one human as their special person, but this is a gregarious breed. Make sure that your dog knows your friends, especially those that are willing to dog sit for a few hours or even overnight. Set a Grooming Routine Early On Although French Bulldogs may experience seasonal shedding, their slick coats are easy to groom and rarely require more than a weekly brushing.
This will both remove loose hair and stimulate natural oils in the skin to prevent drying and flaking. Once a month you should bathe your Frenchie with mild soap and trim his nails. I’ll go into more detail on regular grooming in the next chapter, just know that this is a routine you will want to start with your puppy in the beginning and continue for life.