I have trained a lot of French Bulldogs. I think the first one I trained would have been about 25 years ago. I was hired to give them a housetraining lesson. About 10 to 15 minutes in, I stopped the lesson. Something was wrong. The dog kept pacing and panting looking very upset. I started asking some questions about what had happened that day. She worked at doing some kind of artwork, using paint and other craft supplies. I told them to immediately get the dog to the veterinarian. I believed the dog had somehow been poisoned (not intentionally) by consuming something.
The owner worked in Downtown Seattle and would take her dog for walks along the waterfront. Back then, the train tracks were partially covered by I-99, and overhead highway structure. It was also an area where people parked their cars. And the homeless drug addicts hung out in the area. It wasn’t a nice part of town. Apparently, it has all been redone, but I haven’t been back in a long time.
The next day, I spoke with the owner. The dog had to stay at the vet’s office overnight. It had an elevated temperature and wouldn’t sleep. The veterinarian surmised that the dog had consumed some kind of drug off the streets, possibly meth. I’m not sure what kind of treatment the veterinarian did with the dog, but it survived.
Knowing about a breed can help you figure out problems with a dog. I understood the breed because I had not only researched them (they were relatively rare back then), but also because I had trained a lot of other bulldog breeds prior to that. What I was seeing wasn’t normal.
Frenchies are an interesting breed, and many people are unprepared to own one. Up until about 3 years old, they can be like the cartoon version of the Tasmanian Devil. But at about 3 years, they start to mellow and then are easy to live with if you did your early training with them. However, if you mess up the early years, your dog is going to be a terror to live with.
I categorize the French Bulldogs, in my head, as a type of working dog. Most have a lot of drive, energy, speed, intelligence, and power. That combination will either work out for you or make your life miserable and get the dog injured (which can be very expensive). They are busybodies and want to be involved I everything you are doing all the time. They also don’t tolerate threats. They don’t blow off mistreatment. They are territorial and that can be intensified to a dangerous degree if you don’t realize what is happening. Their energy levels can outstrip their ability to cool off, and you must be careful to not overheat them. They love attention and will play you like a violin and invent innumerable mischievous tricks to get you to pay attention and play with them, and guard you against family members who interfere with their interactions with you. Most have decent prey drive, but that can also be misused, and your dog can develop prey guarding tendencies. Most are food motivated, too.
I’m guessing that most people don’t believe the recommendations of the breeders (and I’m assuming here that they are working with a good breeder) and think these dogs are going to magically be happy, cute and mellow without proper supervision, early socialization, and proper training. They bring home these cute little babies… and treat them like cute little babies until they are not any fun to live with.
I train Frenchies as I would a service dog breed (German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Giant Schnauzer, Malinois, etc.), but I dial down the physical challenges to lower the risk that they hurt themselves. They have a high degree of intelligence and curiosity, and they want to DO something when they are awake. It is best to start them early, like within the first week they come home. Most would rather play than work, so you must balance out that drive to play with your need for them to work with you. If all you do is play with them, and they learn to get more satisfaction from self-rewarding, then you will find them blowing you off as they look for something else that is more fun to do and doesn’t require any obligation on their part.
Manners are a big deal. You need to work with them on greetings, not jumping on guests, not jumping up and off furniture (since they can easily hurt themselves), and how to control all that drive they have inside. I’ve seen people blow it in many areas. I’ve entered the homes of many Frenchies who will bite guests, guard the wife from the husband, jump up on the elderly and make them fall, jump up on you and grab at your hair and clothes, guard food bowls as the kids walk by, pooping all over the house, and those that will steal shoes, etc., and take off running all over the house. And the owners are overwhelmed. The owners unintentionally allowed their dogs to get to this point. They should have started into the training right from the start, and not be fooled by the happy, cute, active and playful ways and assuming that wouldn’t grow into something bad.
If you put in the effort, you can end up with a great dog. It is up to you. I like the French Bulldogs. But I also understand them. You can’t do a lesson here and there, not be consistent, not have any idea of what you are doing and what you want, and then expect it all to turn out well. Yes, sometimes you get lucky, and the dog is one of those easy dogs that isn’t any of the above. But as a rule, you should assume a very active dog and should do good training from the start. These are big dogs in a small, muscled package. Yes, you can have that snuggly, cute, affectionate, mannerly, obedient dog.
You spent a lot buying that dog. Now you need to invest in the training of that dog. If you aren’t willing to put it all together, then don’t get one. Let that dog go to someone who wants a French Bulldog, not a puppet.
Plan accordingly.