Training Your Frenchie: Here’s What You Need to Know
Having a pet is like having a new member of the family. The best thing about them is that they’re great companions and teach a person valuable life lessons. If you’re opting to adopt or buy a pet dog, there are many various breeds of dogs you could find that are perfect to be home pets, like beagles and pugs.
But if you’re looking for a trustworthy, loyal, loving, and playful companion, a French bulldog could be an option. This dog breed typically only requires minimal grooming and is perfect for those residing in the city because they’re not noisy and very friendly.
In addition, a French bulldog has a relatively small size, meaning they’re not too big nor too small for any home. But, despite being cute in size, this kind of dog breed also needs the proper supervision, love, and care it deserves. Proper training is also needed to ensure they develop positive behaviors and prevent aggressive tendencies. To guide you further, here are some things you need to know when training a french bulldog.
Progress Doesn’t Happen Overnight
French bulldogs are known to be easy to train, but you shouldn’t expect that they’ll make progress immediately. Typically, training needs to be consistent, and it takes a lot of time and effort to establish good behavior.
For some, it may even take weeks or months. However, since Frenchies tend to be attentive to their owners, they’re capable of learning new things around them. Whenever they follow your commands, motivate them to repeat the same behaviors next time.
Also, don’t worry if your french bulldogs are still puppies, as they are already trainable as long as they have reached at least eight weeks. For example, if you want to train them to follow commands like sit, speak, fetch, and touch, you could use some treats for puppies to motivate them into learning new tricks or even use them to sneak a prescribed pill they need to take.
Give Treats Wisely
Providing dog treats is one of the most effective ways to establish good behavior in dogs and teach them tricks. But, if an owner provides too many treats, it may lead their pets to obesity and other health conditions. Since Frenchies are prone to experience fast weight gain, you have to limit their intake and avoid giving them food every time.
Although giving out treats is a good way to show your pets that you care for them and love them, you have to consider that keeping them healthy with a proper diet should still be prioritized to live a longer and happier life. Thus, give only treats whenever needed, especially if you reward them for a good job.
Potty Training May Not Be Successful In The First Four Months
Some pet owners find it hard to properly potty train their pets, especially if they’re still months old. With this, you have to know that French bulldogs don’t have complete control over their bowel movements and bladder until they reach at least four months old.
But you also have to note that this is on a case-to-case basis. Some could even take eight months to be fully potty trained. Even though your pet has already reached four months, have extra patience because he might not successfully always follow your commands.
If you want to help your dog easily understand how to be potty trained, you must stay calm and consistent. You could also take dogs for a walk outside every morning to release the energies they’ve been bottling inside and allow them to since they also need time to breathe away from training.
Another tip is to lead them to their mat whenever you notice that they start to pee or poop. Whenever you try to lead them to their designated pooping or peeing place, use commands like “go potty” to establish it as a cue word. Don’t forget to praise your pet after a job well done to develop positive reinforcement.
Trust Is A Must
Spending time with your french bulldog could help build a better relationship. In this sense, they’d trust you and allow themselves to follow your commands since you understand their personality. With this, you have the power to find better approaches to how you could train them.
Typically, french bulldogs are known to be friendly, and generally, they are considered to be excellent pets if you have children in your home. Once you allow a Frenchie to enter your life, expect it will not be as smooth as others talked about since every dog comes from different backgrounds, like abusive ones, making the dog develop aggressive behaviors.
Try to balance the time you spend on quality time and the time you spend on training them to create a closer bond. Praise them, and don’t forget the tasty treats to cheer them up! Remember that even though they love furbabies, don’t push them into doing things that they like dressing up and doing.
Leash Training Is Essential
Leash training is a great way to teach your Frenchie how to walk outdoors and to decrease the chances of them getting lost. Additionally, it limits how much space they can use to move around.
Frenchies, or any dog breed, tend to be easily distracted when you bring them outside due to curiosity. Thus, make sure you try leash training your Frenchie before allowing them to walk freely outside without any leash to prevent any more possible problems from arising.
Final Thoughts
Having a well-trained Frenchie is not impossible, and the great thing about them is that they’re known to be people-pleasers, and training them wouldn’t be that hard. Dog training shouldn’t be neglected as it allows them to learn how to behave and be a better companion a person needs. With this, don’t forget to read the training mentioned must-knows to guide you.