Excited about being a new Frenchie puppy parent?
How well prepared are you for this big responsibility?
Well, don’t worry
This article will give you important tips for raising a Frenchie puppy easier.
Are ready?
Let’s go.
Getting Started
Bringing a new puppy home and raising it is a huge responsibility. You thus need to be fully prepared to give your dog the best. Find out everything you need about Frenchies, including their temperament, training needs, energy levels, nutrition, and health issues. You’ll also need to ensure your home is ready for your puppy.
Being fully prepared will make it easy for your puppy to adapt quickly to its new environment.
Preparing your home
Before bringing your new French Bulldog puppy home, you’ll need to ensure that your home is ready for it. Safe and free from any puppy hazards. Just like small babies, puppies are especially curious about the world around them and cannot distinguish between safe and dangerous play. You should thus ensure that it’s safe and free from any puppy hazards.
French bulldogs, like infants, are especially curious about the world around them and cannot discriminate between safe and dangerous play.
Puppy-proof your home
French Bulldog puppies are also known for chewing everything they come across. You’ll thus need to puppy-proof house to make it safer for your new puppy. Put away everything that can harm your puppy, including electrical cords, plants, cleaning supplies, shoes, medicines, and other small objects which can be choking hazards.
You can set up a space in your home just for your French Bulldog puppy and secure the area using a puppy fence.
Toilet training
Potty training is among the most important training your Frenchie will need if you want to keep your house out of the mess. This will entail teaching them the routine of understanding when they need to use the bathroom and toilet. You should begin potty training your puppy when you bring them home. No matter what you choose for your dog’s potty time, the location, routine, and incentive matter the most.
Repeating the training techniques consistently on your Frenchie will help them learn what to do and signal you when they are ready to use the bathroom or toilet.
The following tips will make toilet training your Frenchie easier:
- Set up a routine for your dog’s toilet time
- Be attentive to potty signs
- Clean up your dog’s mess immediately
- Use simple words to command
- Crate-train your dog
- Make use of pee pads
- Be consistent
Build leash walking and play skills
Leash training involves teaching your dog how to walk comfortably on a leash while exhibiting good behavior outside. This training is important as it helps provide safe and consistent exercise that benefits you and your dog.
Leash walking ensures your dog’s safety. It keeps your dog safe in all situations as it helps prevent danger and accidents that could otherwise be out of your control. It also helps prevent injuries if your dog pulls on the leash. Constant leash pulling can result in serious injuries and health issues in the future.
A well-behaved leash-walking trained dog is more well-received in public than an untrained dog. This makes bringing your dog into establishments that allow dogs or other public areas safe. Leash training also provides a beneficial feedback loop that makes walking your dog more enjoyable and increases your likelihood of doing so.
Preventing nipping and excessive barking
Dogs easily get bored without physical or mental stimulation. This boredom can lead to destructive behavior like biting or excessive barking. It’s thus crucial to ensure that you keep your dog engaged to prevent these behaviors.
First, you must determine the trigger for your dog’s biting or barking to take the most appropriate action. Start by eliminating the trigger for the behavior. Providing lots of toys and puzzles can help keep your dog stimulated, thus preventing any undesirable behavior. You should also give your dog sufficient exercises as this will help work off extra energy and keep it from barking.
Additionally, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage good behavior and rewarding your dog with treats when it exhibits good behavior will help.
Socialization
This training prepares your dog to deal with various situations by teaching it how to interact with various people, objects, animals, and circumstances. Socialization teaches your dog how to respond to the world around it healthily without unnecessary fear or aggression.
Proper Socialization will help your Frenchie puppy grow into a confident dog, making it possible to be around different people, places, and other animals without much problem. Introduce your dog to as many people as possible, including children and orderly people.
Socializing your puppy will:
- Help build confidence
- Reduce fear and anxiety
- Improve mental and physical health
- Minimize undesirable behaviors
- Enable it to enjoy interacting with other people and dogs
Caring for your puppy’s health
Frenchies are prone to various health issues such as obesity, allergies and food sensitivities, skin issues, eye and ear infections, and other problems which can threaten their lives if not properly handled. It’s thus critical to take good care of their health if you want your dog to live long.
Ensure your puppy gets all the recommended immunizations at the right time. Additionally, make sure you feed the right diet for the right age. A proper diet can help in the management of some health issues. Aim at getting insurance cover for your Frenchie puppy, as this will ease the financial burden of treatment.
Frenchie puppy vaccination schedule
| Puppy’s age | Recommended vaccinations | Optional vaccinations |
| 6-8 weeks | Distemper, Parvovirus | Bordetella |
| 10-12 weeks | DHPP (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus) | Leptospirosis, Bordetella, Influenza, and Lyme disease. |
| 16-18 weeks | DHPP, Rabies | Influenza, Lyme disease, Leptospirosis, Bordetella per lifestyle |
| 12-16 months | DHPP, Rabies | Coronavirus, Leptospirosis, Bordetella, Lyme disease |
| Every 1-2 years | DHPP | Bordetella, Coronavirus, Lyme disease, and Leptospirosis. |
| Every 1-3 years | Rabies | – |
French Bulldog puppy diet needs
Frenchie puppies need a nutritionally complete and well-balanced diet like any other dog for optimal health and productivity.
They need high-quality food with protein and good sources of vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. Frenchies are prone to weight issues, and thus their diet should be devoid of high carbohydrate fillers, which can lead to excessive weight gain.
These puppies are also prone to sensitivities meaning their food should be made with easily digestible, human-grade ingredients and free from preservatives.
As puppies, Frenchies experience rapid growth. You should therefore feed them sufficiently to fuel this growth. Give your Frenchie 1.5-2 cups of food spread into 3 meals daily.
What you’ll need to raise a puppy
For your Frenchie puppy to adapt to its new environment easily, there are essential things that you’ll need to get. These include:
- Warm clothing
- Harness and collar
- Leash
- Beddings
- Pee pads
- Crate
- Toys and treats
- Food and water bowls
- Grooming brush and shampoo
French Bulldog Puppy Training Schedule
Begin training your puppy as soon as you bring them home. You can follow this guide to help train your Frenchie.
Week 1
- Basic command and obedience training: Train them in basic commands like sit, come, and go.
- Sleep training: Create and train your dog to stick to a sleeping routine
- Alone training: Train your dog that it’s fine to be left alone
- Toilet training: Teach it when and how to use a potty
- Task training: Teach your puppy its name, how to come back when called, how to retrieve and fetch
- Socialization training: Let your puppy explore the garden and introduce it to surfaces
Week 2
- Get your Frenchie used to novelty and sounds
- Introduce it to grooming
- Begin lead walking training
- Continue with more socialization and task training exercises. You can invite friends over, watch fireworks, stroll in the car, or teach tugging and self-control.
Week 3
- More socialization exercises like inviting friends over, scent trails, or going for drives
- Task training like working on recall, not jumping up, or lying down
- Fitting your Frenchie for a harness
Week 4
- Socialize your dog with other dogs
- Teaching it to settle on a mat and more difficult exercises
- Teaching your Frenchie to remain calm while grooming the sensitive areas
- More socialization with other people, places, and objects
Final Thoughts
Raising a French bulldog puppy is a fun-filled experience. It can be extremely challenging, especially if you are ill-prepared before bringing your pup home. To make it easier, you’ll need to get familiar with this dog breed by discovering all there is to know about Frenchies. Ensure you and your home are prepared to receive your bundle of joy.
It’s important to start training your dog on various skills when you bring it home. This may not be easy initially, but with consistency and patience, you’ll get there.
Well, we hope our guide will equip you with all you need to become well-prepared for your pet parenting journey.
Happy parenting.