For many new and repeat puppy parents it’s an exciting time to help your French Bulldog puppy adjust to his new home. Your Frenchie will love coming to live in your new home and being the center of attention. Realize this is all new to him as he’s only live about 10 weeks of life. Everything will be new. Just as humans have different personalities so do Frenchies. Some are naturally adventurous loving all the new experiences. While some are more reserved and want to take all of these experiences slowly. Learn your Frenchies personality and adjust accordingly.
Tips for helping your French Bulldog puppy adjust to his new home.
- Choose a potty spot. It’s a good idea to choose a particular spot indoors on a potty pad or outdoors that you’d like your Frenchie to potty at. Also choose your command such as “go potty” and stick with it. Praise your puppy each time.
- Introduce your Frenchie to his new home. This does not mean introduce him to your entire house the first day. It means introduce him to a small area. This can be a crate surrounded by a playpen or an area blocked off by a baby gate. Let him familiarize himself with the area. Show him where his food and water is. Then introduce him to the areas of the house that are not off limits. We like these rollable crates.
- Introduce your Frenchie to his new family members. When you pick-up your Frenchie he will likely have met many of the family members. When at home introduce him to the rest of the immediate family crew and any pets. Realize he is learning the rules of the new house. Your other four legged family members will likely have their own rules as well. A growl is ok as that will be how they teach the puppy that it’s crossed the line. Biting and snapping at them is more of a concern that may need corrected.
- Provide appropriate chew toys. Frenchies like to put things in their mouths. That’s how they learn and we say they are like toddlers in this area. Provide them with plenty of chew toys to keep them entertained. The water buffalo rope toy is one of our Frenchies favorites.
- Keep a close eye on your Frenchie. Overuse his area the crate/playpen to keep him safe and help with potty training. This means if your Frenchie is not in your vision, place him in his crate or playpen. They are like toddlers and safety must come first.
- Teach your Frenchie where it will sleep. You can choose to crate your Frenchie or allow him to sleep in your bed. Just realize consistency is key. If you allow your Frenchie in your bed, he will likely expect it for the rest of his life. We love these rollable crates you can roll around the house as you can easily bring the crate in the bedroom at night.
- Begin enforcing rules. Anything that will not be cute when an adult at 20+ lbs should be corrected as a puppy. This means if you don’t want him chewing on your hand or foot when older don’t let him do it now. I made the mistake on one of my first dogs as an adult in letting her run from me as a puppy. I’d chase her and scoop her up. Let’s just say it wasn’t so cute as an adult when she could faster than me. Be sure to praise your puppy for good behavior and avoid yelling or frightening your new puppy.