Top 5 Dos & Do not for French Bulldog Puppies

Do socialize Frenchies as early on as you can. Dog parks, training, or around the general public, early socialization is paramount.

Due to our ignorance, it was a couple of months after Sammy came home before she was socialized. We will always wonder if her tantrums could have been prevented/reduced by earlier socialization (she causes a ruckus when she is faced with any form of restraint, whether it’s from a dog or person).

Do place your little one(s) in a car seat, and strap them in with a harness. Being strapped into a designated seat is easier and safer compared to if they are sitting on your lap or free to move about the vehicle. We have the K&H Bucket Booster seat. Sammy & Diego both sit well (Diego, better than Sammy) and are much more secure if we should get into a wreck. K&H Bucket Booster seat

Do make sure your French Bulldog(s) get their daily outside activity. It was recommended to us to aim for a cumulative 75 minutes of exercise per day. We need to give Sammy all the exercise we can. However, Diego is good for minimum activity. Diego likes his early morning, midday, evening, and before bed walks. When the temperatures allow, we take advantage of dog parks, lakes, hover-walking, sport-sacking, and playing with friends. (We closely monitor Diego's activity as any time temperatures increase above 75, his breathing can quickly become winded.)

Do start crate training as early as possible. We purchased two 36in double door crates, one for each dog. As much as we wanted and still want Sammy & Diego to be close, we aim to prevent codependency. Therefore, keeping them in their own crate aided in that prevention idea. We feel that when they reached their full-grown size, a 36-inch crate was perfect! Remember these little guys are only 20lbs. In this size crate they could stretch out when they lay long. Therefore, they can easily turn around and have good, but not excessive space.

We also recommend to put a potty pad in the back half of their crate, so they don’t have to be comfortable and hold their potty or worse have to sit in their own potty. We do not feel that hindered their outdoor potty training at all. (However, laying potty pads around the house, we feel, did hinder their outdoor potty training - don’t get the two concepts mixed up)

Lastly, please, please - do not leave your puppy in the crate for too long. We read this article in Rover to plan their breaks when we both had to leave for a workday. Therefore, yes, when we first brought the babies home because Sammy was only nine weeks old, we had a sitter visit the house three times per day to let them out (even with the crate having a potty bad in the back half).

Once they were old enough not to need the back half of their crate lined with a potty pad, we added these crate mats They won’t last you the length of your dog's life, but they wash easily, dry easily, hold up well, and will last for several years if not longer.

Do work with your puppy for him/her to learn the basic commands: sit, stay, down, off, heel, leave it.

One differentiation we want to point out; "DOWN" is the down position and "OFF", refers to things like get off the couch, or get off my pant leg, OFF and DOWN are two completely different commands.

Be careful not to interchange them. You may be wondering why it is so difficult to train your Frenchie or why other dogs learn so much faster. It’s not because Frenchies are not smart, it is because they are STUBBORN. There is a vast difference. Don’t get discouraged; keep practicing, keep CONSISTENT, and don’t give up.

As most dog owners are not professional dog trainers, we understand daily consistency is difficult, but it is the most effective. ‘Stay’ is the hardest command so be patient and consistent, and slowly increase the level of difficulty. Remember, the best gift you can give a dog is training.

Don’t ever leave your dog/puppy (after all, they’re your baby too, yes?) in the car on a hot day without the air conditioner running, or even alone in the car at all. In some states it is a criminal offense to leave your dog unattended in a car, even if it's a cool day.

Don’t buy too many outfits for them when they’re young, Sammy was growing out of clothes every other week. Around 1.5 years - 2 years of age French Bulldogs will reach their adult body type. Sammy has put on more solid/muscle weight and she will be 2 years old May 29th, 2020.

We want to preface this Don’t with if your Frenchie pulls when on the leash...

Don’t use a choker chain (going back to most dog owners are not professional dog trainers), an unforgiving/standard collar, or a harness We recommend an appropriately sized Herm Sprenger (do NOT skimp, the Herm Sprenger brand and nothing less). Please do your research and talk to a dog trainer who can help introduce and familiarize you, so you and your pup can make the most out of this great training tool. If your dog pulls, a harness will only allow them to increase their strength and pull harder.

Don’t purchase or use a retractable leash. They do not provide good control over the dog, even when locked. They are dangerous to bystanders or even the dog; they have been known to cut into the dog or bystanders and they can be easily yanked out of the handlers hand if they aren’t paying attention. You glance down at your phone and one good yank from your dog and that leash will be out of your hands and 3 houses down before you even know what has happened.

Don’t isolate your puppy. Engage your pup in outside activities with other dogs. Meet ups, doggy dates and take him/her with you on a drive. I know Sammy and Diego love to be included in our life - out and about!