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French Bulldog Puppy

Rosscopc0

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Hi all

Ohh where to start! Had three dogs, 2 boxers and a westie, but don't really remember them as pups and crates were thought to be bad then!

Got my Frenchie a week ago, 12 weeks old.
Lovely temperament, enjoys his short walks, loves his raw food, mixes well with other dogs on short walks, loves his snoring and he is a trooper with his farting.. A really lovely guy!

With so much conflicting information online I've made mistakes (or have I? ) and hopefully starting fresh again from tomorrow won't be a setback.

So a few questions and observations that I need advise on.

1.He has had a couple of accidents around the house, each day we've had him, in his bed or crate, or carpet (we are not using puppy pads) , he stealth wees! We are finally starting to see the very very subtle signs he needs to go, none of which are mentioned anywhere. The main one is digging into his bedding which I've always known as a dog trying to get settled, but he does it then wees. Yet some times he does it then just goes to sleep. When I see him now I take him straight outside, is this right? As he is then fully awake if he wees out side or not.

2. Dog bed and crate. Should I have both? He sleeps in the bed all day and doesn't go in the crate at all apart from when I feed him or throw treats in to get him used to it. They are both in the living room.

3. Hates going outside in the yard for toilet breaks after every meal, play session, on waking etc. I have to carry him down as the steps are a bit too steep at the moment. He does his business, sometimes, but then runs up the steps and just sits facing the door, or wall weirdly.
I keep him on a lead to stop this but he pulls so much and I don't want to hurt him, I've read it's bad for frenchies. I do now have a harness which is easier on him but don't think it should be on 18 hours a day? It's a struggle to put it on quickly..

3a.. He was allowed for walks after his final vaccination 4 days ago and he loves them. Although he is hesitant to go to the toilet anywhere but the back yard and waits till home, apart from today when he did his first pee on a walk (proud dad face...) its almost as easy for me to walk him than take him in the yard, should I do this bearing in mind his age and I've been told no more than 30 mins excerise a day split on 2 or 3 sessions.

4. Finally for now... I crate him at night, and he does alright. I put him in there by carrying him, if he's about to fall asleep, or treats. I close the crate door and finish what I'm doing, watching TV answering emails etc and he sometimes falls asleep. 20 to 30 mins later I turn the lights out and go to bed myself
A couple of days he has whined but doesn't last more than 5 mins.
Also got some vet bed, which he eats... Is this safe or should I change it for something else.

I set my alarm for about 4 hours later and come down, quietly take him outside until he does something (not looking forward to the day he doesn't do anything..) then put him quietly back in his crate (he has whined a couple a times. But no concern yet) then set alarm for 3 hours later, come down take him out and give him breakfast. Then watch over him whilst I start my Laptop up, make coffee etc. Does this sound OK? Hard question to answer but when do you think he will be able sleep 6 to 7 hours straight.
Or rather when will I be able to stop my alarm going off at 4 and leave it till 7. Shall I just try it?

Sorry for all the long questions! Just a nervous puppy owner who thinks everything I do is wrong.

Ps. Cant upload any photos, the files Size Limit is way too small!
 
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Hello and welcome. I will answer what I can.

1. I wouldn't expect signals at his age - any more than a baby will tell you he is about to use his nappy. Your pup may not know himself that he needs to toilet until it is too late. I recommend keeping him as empty as possible by taking him out frequently. If he is toileting hourly, take him out every 50 minutes.

2. It's up to you whether you have both. If you want to encourage him to use a crate, and he is currently using the bed, I'd probably try putting the bed into the crate, with the door left open.

3. It is quite normal for pups to lack courage to go to new places and toilet there. To build his confidence you could spend some time just sitting with him in the yard, and also carrying him around tucked into your jacket. I'd agree a harness rather than a collar is less likely to do damage - I'd suggest one of the very soft, lightweight mesh ones, and I'd leave it on.

The walking amount sounds about right. If he toilets on a walk, let him see how happy you are and he will want to repeat it.

4. Ideally you don't want any crying in the crate but a few minutes of gentle whining isn't unusual.

I would take him out before his breakfast though.

Sleeping all night is going to be a few weeks away, and (sorry) the clock change later this month isn't in your favour. I'd keep up with overnight toilet visits to set him up for success in his training. Or, you could have the crate in your room and listen for him stirring if you are a light enough sleeper. It doesn't have to be forever.

I wouldn't want him eating the vet bed though.

Pity about the photos, I have the same problem here.
 
There are photo resizing tools - if you have a search on the internet you should be able to find something that works.
 
Hello and welcome. I will answer what I can.
Thanks Joanne. And the signs, or rather lack of them make sense. I know this but reading about people having pups house trained in 5 days just made me forget stuff!

We have been playing with him a little bit in the yard last night and this morning, and he seem to want to stay out a little bit longer now, only a couple of minutes before he runs to the door, but it's progress.

I think we will remove the dog bed for now, but keep the removable cushion in the cage, see how that helps.

I also think the cage is too big for him, it's xs from Pets at home but I could comfortable fit 4 pups in. Imo it'll be the right size for him when he is fully grown. Will get another smaller one today and save this one for 6 months.

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but this forum is great. Wish I'd have found it sooner rather than reading what owners are doing with their wonder pups!
 
There are photo resizing tools - if you have a search on the internet you should be able to find something that works.

Hi Judy
Yes I know :) but even a 2mb file was too large. In this day and age of mobile phone camera quality you would think a maximum limit of 10mb would suffice, rather than hunting down image resizing tools! And the fact that I get a pop up tell me to upload an avatar all the time is annoying, especially because I can't!
 
Hi Judy
Yes I know :) but even a 2mb file was too large. In this day and age of mobile phone camera quality you would think a maximum limit of 10mb would suffice, rather than hunting down image resizing tools! And the fact that I get a pop up tell me to upload an avatar all the time is annoying, especially because I can't!

I dare say it comes down to hosting costs. The avatar pop-up sounds annoying though, I shall ask da boss if anything can be done to suppress it.
 
reading about people having pups house trained in 5 days

There's a special name for people who say this.

And it usually rhymes with ”pants on fire”.

Seriously, it is certainly possible to have a puppy that never, ever has an accident indoors. But it takes hyper-vigilant attention, taking them outside religiously every 30 minutes or so, and simply never giving them the opportunity to toilet indoors. That's not really a housetrained dog though.

And the rest of us mere mortals just have to keep plenty of kitchen roll and enzyme cleaners in stock.
 
Hi Judy
Yes I know :) but even a 2mb file was too large. In this day and age of mobile phone camera quality you would think a maximum limit of 10mb would suffice, rather than hunting down image resizing tools! And the fact that I get a pop up tell me to upload an avatar all the time is annoying, especially because I can't!
When I've had this problem I just take a screenshot of the pic I want to send. Don't ask me how and why but the screenshot seems to send ok.
Ps..... I have zero tech knowledge.
 
Screenshot_20201019-151119_Gallery.jpg


Yay! It worked, thank you @Rinkydinkydo
 
Be careful letting your frenchie near water as they are top heavy and can easily drown ...we had a brown brindle girl ...one of the most faithful dog i have ever had
 
There's a special name for people who say this.

And it usually rhymes with ”pants on fire”.

Seriously, it is certainly possible to have a puppy that never, ever has an accident indoors. But it takes hyper-vigilant attention, taking them outside religiously every 30 minutes or so, and simply never giving them the opportunity to toilet indoors. That's not really a housetrained dog though.

And the rest of us mere mortals just have to keep plenty of kitchen roll and enzyme cleaners in stock.

Hahaha, I remember someone telling me it's normal to have accidents with toilet training as their puppy had weed inside four times.
Me: "you mean four times a day, right?"
Them, looking appalled: "Four times ever."
Me: "Oh..."

We've had ours for almost 2 months now I think, and the other day we realised we have gone several days without any accidents. So you do get there! However, just following this she did a poo in the bedroom while I was cleaning my teeth and then ate it before I could get in to clean it up so.... swings and roundabouts??
 
What do others think? It's my impression that some breeds are far easier to house train than others. Certainly the Sheltie pups we have had have been brilliant, they appear to want to toilet outside from the beginning so for us it was simply a case of allowing them to go out.
 
I never had the slightest trouble house-training my lurchers, but the terriers were a little bit more work. Not a lot more, though.
 
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