Do French Bulldogs Bite: 10 Bite Triggers & 9 Solutions

By Categorized as FAQs
Do French Bulldogs Bite
Do French Bulldogs Bite

In groups and forums, French Bulldogs prospect owners do ask if the French Bulldogs bite. In this article, you will learn things that can trigger the French Bulldogs to bite.

Have you ever been bitten by a French bulldog? If you have, you’re not alone. There are a lot of pet owners out there who have been bitten by their French bulldogs.

So, do French Bulldogs bite? 

The French Bulldog is a non-aggressive dog breed that has been selectively bred to be a companion dog which is one reason the French Bulldog is so popular. However, lack of proper socialization and training can cause French Bulldogs to bite, also, during the puppy phase, French Bulldogs may bite and nip as part of the teething process.

But why does this happen? It turns out that biting is a natural instinct in dogs. In fact, they might use biting as a way to play and explore their environment.

The good news is that French bulldogs are a very gentle dog breed which makes Frenchies so popular, and why French Bulldogs are expensive. So if they do bite, it’s usually not a big deal.

You may not know it, but French bulldogs are actually a very high-strung breed and Frenchies have lots of pros and cons. In fact, many French bulldogs actually need a lot of mental stimulation to be happy.

If you’re not getting your French bulldog to perform a job, then it’s important to find other ways to keep their minds stimulated.

That might mean playing a game with them, giving them a puzzle toy, or providing them with food puzzles. Whatever you do, don’t give up on your French bulldog.

It’s completely possible to live with and enjoy your Frenchie if you do the right things to keep them happy.

Signs of Aggression For French Bulldogs

Here are some signs of aggression exhibited by the French Bulldog which are as follows:

  • Less responsive to commands
  • Showing its teeth
  • Unnecessary growling
  • Always barking
  • Pulling you back
  • Snapping a lot
  • Lunging
  • Nipping
  • Biting

Recommended article: How To Take Care Of A French Bulldog: Ultimate Guide

10 Things That Trigger French Bulldogs Bite

Here are the 10 common reasons why the French Bulldogs may result in unnecessary biting.

Separation Anxiety

This is very bad and one of the reasons for many bad Frenchie behavior such as biting, whining, nipping, etc.

A French Bulldog that is having separation anxiety is always aggressive towards anybody even its owner.

The level of aggression exhibited is usually longer and high such that most times it leads to biting.

So to solve this you need to see your vet or get a second pet to keep your French Bulldog companion to avoid separation anxiety.

Stress is also a good reason why French Bulldogs may decide to be aggressive and bite anyone around, so eliminate all forms of stress.

Lack of Proper Socialization

Lack of proper socialization is one of the root causes of over 80% of French Bulldog behavior problems, which if not properly taken care of can also lead to French Bulldogs health problems.

Poor or no socialization is bad and is one of the major reasons why French Bulldogs can choose to bite unnecessarily.

Lack of proper socialization does a lot worse than good to French Bulldogs, one of which results in unnecessary biting.

So if you see your French Bulldog starts to bite unnecessarily be sure to check if you have properly socialized him.

Trauma

A traumatic experience is bad for French Bulldogs as this leads to unnecessary behaviors like whining, barking, and unnecessary biting.

A traumatic experience can take longer to treat and of course, with the help of your vet, you can always help your Frenchie to get over a bad experience.

There are lots of things that can cause traumatic experience for a French Bulldog which are as follows;

  • Illness
  • Effects of medications
  • Fight with other dogs
  • Fight with cats
  • Bad vet experience
  • Fall from height
  • Abuse etc.

Defending Itself or Territory

A French Bulldog may decide to bite as a way to defend itself, and this may be due to improper training from the owner, or an attack at its territory.

Most dogs believe biting is the best way to defend themselves, especially dogs that lack proper socialization to some extent it’s true.

It’s your duty to provide a safe environment for your French Bulldog, and also teach your Frenchie that unnecessary biting is not the way out.

You should start the socialization of your Frenchie with humans and other animals as early as you can.

Over Excitement

Nipping and biting are seen in French Bulldogs when they are overexcited, either by new toys or when they play.

An overexcited Frenchie will jump over you and tend to bite and nip at you, so watch the types of play you initiate with your Frenchie.

This bite normally occurs with kids, and the funny thing is that your Frenchie doesn’t even have a clue that the bite is painful.

Play aggression is common in French Bulldogs, so try not to overdo playing with your French Bulldog or you may get bitten.

Fear of Impending Danger

Fear is one of the major reasons a French Bulldog can result in biting, whenever your French Bulldog feels he’s not safe the can result in biting.

Fear in French Bulldogs results in unnecessary behaviors like whining, barking, and biting aggression.

Most of the time, a French bulldog can bite out of aggression, fear, threat, or when danger approaches.

Abuse

This is one of the reasons why Frenchies become aggressive, and it will finally result in unnecessary biting behaviors.

Starving your French Bulldog is one of the simple ways you abuse your Frenchie without knowing.

Beating up or throwing things at your Frenchie is also another form of abuse, as well as unnecessary shouting at your Frenchie.

All this will make your French Bulldog unstable and aggressive which will result in unnecessary biting.

Illness or Effects of Medication

Frenchies come with lots of health challenges associated with them, these health challenges can force French Bulldogs to bark unnecessarily.

Some of which are genetic, and you can barely do much about it. When Frenchies are sick they are unstable you can expect to see different reactions.

Some medications leave long time effects on Frenchies and they can sometimes lead to unnecessary aggressiveness and biting.

Injury Or Pains

This is seen in most dogs, not just Frenchies, when dogs are injured or in pain they tend to be very aggressive and can result in unnecessary biting.

Most times when your Frenchie is in pain or injured, they want to be alone, and when you are getting too close to them, could sometimes result in biting.

They possess increased perception

We often give our Frenchie physical access to our faces, allowing them to see us without the obstacle of a fence or other barrier.

Some owners even use hand signals, like a fist, to tell their dogs to stay.

What they don’t realize is that our dogs are also listening to our body language and following our movements.

If we want them to leave us alone, we can stay calmer and calmer, giving them less opportunity to be in our space.

Here are some interesting topics about French Bulldogs:

Strategies/Solutions to Prevent French Bulldogs Bite

Here are some solutions and tips to help you control or train your French Bulldog not to bite unnecessarily:

Expose Your French Bulldogs To Fear

Loud sound or noises is one factor that instigates fear in French Bulldogs, so be sure to expose your French Bulldog to this noise or loud sound.

The main aim of these is to make your French Bulldog understand that those loud noises are no threat to them, and they should remain calm.

Engage in Early Socialization

This is one of the key steps to take to have a stable and calm Frenchie that will not be aggressive at the sight of other pets.

Benefits of Socializing French Bulldogs

Here are some benefits of socializing your French Bulldog:

  • Easy control
  • Reduced barking
  • Easy visits to the vet
  • Reduced aggression
  • Reduced fear and anxiety
  • More Playtime & Exercise
  • Build trust, confidence, and increase bonding
  • Learning the Basic commands
  • Reduce the risk of your dog running away
  • Makes grooming easier
  • Help fight Behavioral issues

Ways of Socializing French Bulldogs

There are many ways to socialize a French Bulldog, which are as follows:

  • Daily walks
  • Visit dog parks
  • Visiting your family members
  • Go camping with your French Bulldog
  • Provide enough dog cartoon movies
  • Register for puppy classes
  • Go On vacation with your French Bulldog

Train Your Frenchie To Accept Your Hands Near Their Mouth or Head

You need to train them to not bite your hands when your fingers need to go into the mouth area.

Do this by giving them a small treat and then quickly taking it out of their mouth.

All This is just to make sure your Frenchie understands that biting is bad for whatsoever reasons they should not bite.

Engage in Obedience Training

Training your Frenchie is not just good for living a happy life, but it also enhances the way your Frenchie embraces things around.

Put your French Bulldog through basic training at the very least and continue to keep up your dog’s training program throughout its life to reinforce the lessons you’ve taught it.

Make corrections when your French Bulldog bites unnecessarily.

Remember that it is best to teach your Frenchie not to bite in the puppy stages by introducing teething toys.

Or directing his focus away from biting, teach your Frenchie that biting is a bad practice with positive reinforcement.

Stop Aggressive Behavior

Pay attention to your dog and know when things may be leading to aggression.

If you can’t control the situation or your dog’s behavior, you may have to remove your dog before things get out of hand.

Remove everything that leads to dog aggression and keep away every fear.

If you suspect or know that your dog has fearful or aggressive tendencies, always warn others.

Don’t allow your dog to approach people and other animals unless the situation is strictly controlled.

Educate Your French Bulldog

Because dogs tend to be curious about anything new and different, they often become more over-excited when their owners introduce a new breed of dog or a different area.

The best way to alleviate this stress is by training your Frenchie. Using a series of training sessions to build confidence and a strong relationship between dog and owner.

Aversive training is the most common training method, but you can also use positive reinforcement, ‘dominance’ training, and re-training.

You can use an app to set up the dog’s course of learning. You simply want to get to the point where you can build a daily ‘routine’ for your French Bulldog with a routine that’s based on a new ‘treat’.

Reward your French Bulldog after he goes through his ‘routine’ with a ‘treat’ – something that has never given him any problem before.

The key here is consistency – your French Bulldog needs to know that every time he goes through the routine, he is rewarded with a new treat.

Teach your French Bulldog the signs of attack

When a dog is about to bite, his mind is on one thing and one thing only. Make sure that you don’t put a hand in its mouth.

Dogs use the same kind of threats as we do; they consider us threatening and attack to keep us away.

There are four specific signs to look out for:

Putting their paw in front of your face or behind their back to make you back off;

Pacing up and down and howling;

Licking their lips or biting their lips;

Injuring themselves – licking their own blood or biting on a bandage.

Whenever your Frenchie does these things, it’s perfectly normal. A French Bulldog that has no self-control when it comes to approaching people is more likely to bite.

Teach your French Bulldog to understand that he is not threatening, and this will stop the possibility of them biting you in the first place.

Teach your French Bulldog to ignore people

Sometimes dogs are reactive in certain situations. At the beach or a children’s party, for example.

Because we are more approachable, many dogs go into defensive mode whenever they see people.

To combat this, you want to teach your French Bulldog to ignore people.

The most successful way to do this is by making it a ‘positive punishment’ – just like a child in a naughty corner.

Whenever your French Bulldog goes into a defensive stance, you reward him with a ‘treat’ and put him into ‘time out’.

The dog won’t actually be disciplined. He will only be forced to sit there, completely safe, while you give him his treat.

It’s important that you do this consistently, but a combination of positive reinforcement and negative punishment is a good way to deal with this problem.

Remind your French Bulldog that people are not a threat

When you have to walk your French Bulldog in public, and there are plenty of people around, it’s common for your dog to panic and become aggressive.

They bark at everyone and all manner of things, including other dogs.

When this happens, the best thing to do is to get your Frenchie to respond to your voice and keep telling him to ‘Leave it.

As well as this, when the Frenchie is barking or running, give him a light tap on the nose to remind him to take it easy.

You want to help your Frenchie relax, not lose all sense of self-control.

Dog bites can be dangerous for both the dog and the owner. Remind your Frenchie that the general population of the world isn’t a threat, and he’ll calm down.

At the end of the day, if your Frenchie doesn’t like people, there is only one thing you can do: change your own behavior.

Do not make it any easier for him to bite. Teach him to make it easy for you to handle him.

Why do French Bulldogs snap at humans?

It’s quite possible that your dog just won’t stop. The fact that he has, in fact, bitten you shows that he is either afraid of you or just really annoyed with you.

It can be related to anxiety about something, whether it’s a particular noise that your pet hears, separation anxiety, or an emotional outburst.

Sometimes the simplest thing can set your dog off – like you going into the kitchen to make yourself a cup of tea, or a member of the household walking through the door.

At other times, there’s no obvious trigger. French Bulldogs will bite at things that are just so close to them.

You might never know if your dog has bitten you because he’s trying to tell you something, or he’s trying to protect himself or something he wants.

What should I do if my French Bulldog bites me?

If your dog has bitten you, or someone else, then the most important thing is to treat it as if you’ve been bitten by a human.

That means contacting the police, who will ensure that they take your details, including your address.

It’s also a good idea to get a diagnosis from a vet so that you know exactly what it is that’s making your dog snap.

If your dog is displaying signs of an anxiety disorder or a phobia, then it might be helpful to consider getting him to see a behaviorist.

The main problem is that the typical dog owner is not trained to recognize the signs that their dog has a phobia or a phobia-related disorder.

If your dog has bitten someone else, the most important thing is for you to get away from the biting, or to try to separate yourself from it.

Don’t wait for it to escalate. The quicker you react, the quicker it will stop.

Here are more interesting topics about French Bulldogs:

French Bulldogs Bite FAQ

Here are some common questions you may have about Frenchies and biting;

French Bulldogs Bite Force

French Bulldogs have an estimated bite force pressure of 180 to 230 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). This is high enough to cause a substantial amount of damage to the human body, therefore, always put away everything that will force a French Bulldog to result in unnecessary biting.

When Do French Bulldogs Stop Teething

Generally, French Bulldog puppies will typically stop teething at around 7 to 8 months old. Within this period you will witness more biting, nipping, and chewing.

You need to be careful and patient with your French Bulldog during this period and be sure to provide lots of chew toys.

Do French Bulldogs Bite Hard?

French Bulldog bite can be hard but not as other breeds of dogs, however, it’s hard for a French Bulldog to bite because they are generally known to be a good and happy family do, and are known as a non-aggressive breed of dog.

When Do French Bulldogs Calm Down

Irrespective of the size, French Bulldogs generally calm down around the age of 3 to 4 years on average. During this period there is a decline in excess excitement and hyperactivity displayed, only after this age will you get a calm French Bulldog.

How To Stop French Bulldog From Chewing Everything

To stop a French Bulldog from chewing everything you need to invest in time and money.

Therefore, here are the things you should do to stop your French Bulldog from chewing everything;

  • Avoid separation anxiety
  • Give your Frenchie a little exercise
  • Get lots of chewing toys around
  • Keep them distracted and entertained
  • Use deterrents on your furniture
  • Get a second pet to keep them busy
  • Proper socialization
  • Crate them
  • Obedience training

Why Does My French Bulldog Chew Everything?

Generally, French Bulldogs chew everything around them because of separation anxiety, lack of exercise, lack of proper socialization, lack of chew toys, boredom, loneliness, and during the teething stages.

Are French Bulldogs Aggressive?

No, French Bulldogs are generally known as a non-aggressive breed of dog because they were selectively and specifically bred to be a human companion which makes them generally friendly, social, and affectionate family dogs.

Why do French Bulldogs bite during the puppy phase?

During the puppy phase, French Bulldogs are always excited about their owners and environment, they know nothing about what is right and wrong, and because they love the food they always bite whatever they see. They are also prone to play aggression in the puppy stages.

References:

Explore More Topics Here:

By Samuel Akira

Samuel Akira has 12 years of experience with dogs his a major author in Pet Creeks and currently living and taking care of 2 different breeds of dogs, Samuel Akira is here to write and share his years of experience with dogs.