16 Tips On How To Potty Train A French Bulldog Puppy
This article is all about how to potty train a French Bulldog the right way, with these simple tips you can take to achieve your goals of house training your Frenchie in a short time.
French Bulldogs are a very popular breed and for good reasons. They’re small dogs with big personalities.
They are intelligent and strong-willed, which can make them difficult to train.
But they also love to please their owners and take on new challenges.
They also have a high tolerance for pain, which makes them easy to train with the proper approach.
Potty training can be a difficult and messy process for humans.
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a dog in need of potty training must be in want of a potty space.
It’s no secret that potty training can be a long and arduous process.
Many people dread the idea of potty training and just want to avoid it altogether.
But the truth is, it’s not that hard to potty train a French Bulldog. It just requires that you be patient and follow a few key steps.
Things you need for potty training of your French Bulldog includes:
- Training treats
- Harness
- Leash
- Crate
- Newspaper or training pad
- Time
- Consistency
- Patience
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French Bulldogs Potty Training Guidelines
Here are the potty training guidelines for French Bulldogs:
| Outside times | Age of Dog | Holding time |
| 9-10 times | 8 Weeks | 1-2 Hours |
| 6-8 times | 12 Weeks | 2-3 Hours |
| 5-6 times | 16 Weeks | 3-4 Hours |
| 4- 5 times | 20 Weeks | 4-5 Hours |
| 3-4 times | 6 Months | 4-5 Hours |
| 3 times | 7 Months | 3-5 Hours |
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How To Potty Train a French Bulldog
Here are some interesting tips on how to potty-train your French Bulldog;
Pick the right time to start potty training
When thinking of the right time to potty train your French Bulldog timing is very important, and it depends on some factors.
Factors like your availability, the age of your Frenchie, where you live, the space available for your French Bulldog, and the overall health conditions of your Frenchie.
On the first day, you bring your cute little puppy from France, you should start potty training.
Since the goal of potty training is to make sure your Frenchie knows how to use the bathroom in your home, you may want to do it right away.
The sooner your dog learns to use the toilet properly, the better the chances of quick success in training the French Bulldog.
Leash and crate training of your French Bulldog
Confine your Frenchie if you can’t provide supervision. Limit your French Bulldog to a crate or small blocked-off area.
There are times, like at night or at work, when you can’t give your full attention to French.
Crate training makes sense here. Using a crate can be a lifesaver in many ways, especially when trying to train your dog.
The limited space in the crate is meant to prevent your dog from using the toilet there.
French Bulldogs are hygienic by nature and do not like to soil their own sleeping area therefore, they will keep it for as long as possible.
Puppies under 12 weeks old do not have complete bladder control and can hold waste only for the same number of hours.
The leash and crate are very important especially if you live in an area where you can’t provide a space outside your house.
If you live in an open area there will be no need to crate your French all you need is just patient, time and consistency.
Crate training comes in place if you will be away from home for a long period of time, which is not ideal for French Bulldogs.
In crate training your Frenchie to be sure to provide a bigger crate and divide it into two sections.
One section will be for potty or pee, while the other section will be where your Frenchie can sleep or play with his toys.
Set up your home properly
There are many things involved in setting up your environment or home for your French Bulldog successful potty training.
Depends on where you live you might want to contact your neighbor and check areas outside where your Frenchie can use as a potty spot.
These areas could include gardens, backyard, play sands, under sheds small growing grasses, etc.
But if you don’t have space then you have to use your own bathroom or use the crate training method which you can use newspaper or training on the floor of the crate.
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Use commands to potty-train your French Bulldog
Potty training with a command makes life easier for both you and your French Bulldog, once your Frenchie understand the command you’re done with potty training.
There are basically two words you can teach your Frenchie and make sure you keep using these words even when they fully understand what the words mean
Teach your Frenchie the word “go pee” and “go poop” and when you get to the spot use the word “poop” and “pee”.
If your Frenchie poops or pees reward him and keep repeating this circle until your Frenchie associates poop and pee with going to the potty.
Teach your Frenchie how to use the potty area
The potty area should be easy to access for your French Bulldog, it should not be a hidden area.
There should be a walkway down to the location, with no obstacle or distraction in the walkway.
Once you notice sudden changes in the behavior of your Frenchie, put on his leash and walk him through the walkway you created.
Remember to use the word “go pee” and “go poop”.
When you get to the spot use the word “poop” or “pee”, do not rush your Frenchie, let him take his time and do his business.
Don’t clean up the spot or area where you want your Frenchie to use, for at least two days, because if your Frenchie comes the next day and smell the area.
Your Frenchie will start associating the same spot with potty or peeing, but if you clean the area up, your French Bulldog will take more time to get used to the same area or spot.
Pay Attention To Potty Signs
Here are signs you should look out for in your Frenchie:
- Running in circles
- Running back and forth in the same room
- Whining
- Barking at you
- Staring at your face
- Sniffing and running around you
- Walking towards the door way
- Unnecessary pacing
Take your French Bulldog outside frequently
Take your Frenchie first in the morning and lastly before bed. This will help shape or guide your Frenchie on what to do when he wants to potty.
Depending on the age of your Frenchie there are a number of times you should take your Frenchie outside per day during potty training, which we have in the table above.
Potty training your Frenchie has no exact number of months or days, but at most potty training your Frenchie can last for about 1-3 months.
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Take your Frenchie outside after every meal
This is an interesting way to help your French Bulldog to use a dedicated section to poop after meals.
Once you finish feeding your French Bulldog put a short leash on, give him the potty training commands, then take him or her straight outside to where you want him or her to poop.
Hang around for a while and see if he or she poops, always reward him or her not with food but normal treats.
Frenchies often want to potty immediately after meals, this is because their system has been filled up, and they would want to empty their bowel.
Take your French Bulldog outside after sleeping
Immediately your French Bulldog wakes up from sleep put a leash on, give the command and take him outside to the dedicated portion or section you want to use.
When your French Bulldog is sleeping a lot of activities is going on in his body, these activities lead to the formation of feces which your Frenchie will want to remove to be comfortable.
Most of the time your Frenchie is very weak once he wakes up from sleep so be sure to take him to the spot for his business.
Take your Frenchie outside after playing
After a lengthy play or walk put a leash on your Frenchie and take him to the dedicated portion you want him or her to use.
Hang around for a while and see if your French Bulldog poops, always reward your Frenchie for using the dedicated portion.
Don’t use a pee pad to always train your Frenchie
Pee pads are used for emergency purposes, which is when you notice your Frenchie needs poop, and you are not home, or when you can’t take your puppy outside for any reason.
If you keep using pee pads your Frenchie may not learn the basics of going outside on time, they will be waiting for you to fix the pee pad which can cause them to mess up the place.
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Establish a Potty Routine
I advise you to always take classes at the same time each day. Our dogs don’t have watches, but they know when to go to the bathroom.
This is why you should never confuse your French Bulldog by going outside at different times of the day.
Life can be hectic, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep a schedule in the midst of all the chaos.
Take your Frenchie with you at the same times throughout the day.
For example, take them out first thing in the morning, after eating and drinking, after being in your chest or room, and before bed.
It is also important to feed your dog at the same time to develop the habit.
From the start, take your puppy out regularly, even if he doesn’t need to go to the bathroom.
For young Frenchies, it’s a good idea every one to two hours. Give him time to use the bathroom and reward him as soon as it happens.
This will encourage your dog to realize that outdoor toilets are desirable behavior.
Use Potty-training treats
French Bulldogs are a very smart breed of dogs and can be stubborn to train, but with treats, you can always get them to perform every task.
Treats are one of the easy aid to achieving a successful potty training task. Always reward good behavior.
Reward Good Behavior
Rewarding your Frenchie helps both you and your French to achieve potty training in a short while.
Don’t get fired up when you’re potty training is not going as planned, always reward good behavior and use positive reinforcement.
Patience, patience, patience..
Potty training or any sort of training is never easy, so take your time to potty train your French Bulldog.
Once you achieve your goals you will be happy afterward.
Avoid Punishment
Accidents will happen from time to time during your Frenchie potty training, don’t punish them or use any negative means of corrections.
If you punish them they will hold the urine and pee or poop in hidden places, which will cause more problems for you.
Make corrections rather than sitting and shouting, because shouting can not help you.
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How long does it take to potty train a French Bulldog
On average it takes anywhere from 1-4 months to fully potty train a French Bulldog, and you need a lot of patience, persistence, and consistency to fully potty train a French Bulldog.
How hard is it to potty train a French Bulldog puppy
French Bulldogs can be very hard to potty train if you don’t have time, patience, and consistency because most times they don’t listen to commands until you get a treat or reward them.
With consistency, you can train a French Bulldog within 1 to 5 months on average.
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Conclusion On How To Potty Train A French Bulldog
In conclusion here are things you need to know:
Make a regular schedule of eating and urination times.
It is recommended that you take your dog outside immediately after waking up, after playing, and after eating or drinking.
Eliminate treats between meals so your dog knows how to eat when food is available.
Remove your dog’s water plate at least two hours before bedtime.
Watch for warning signs that your French Bulldog should be potted.
Warning signs like walking around the room, going from room to room, sniffing, whining, barking, or just staring.
If you see any of these warning signs, get out your Frenchie immediately to remove them.
Learn to use the command to urinate. As soon as your French Bulldog starts eliminating, say “potty” and when he’s done compliment him with a treat while he’s still outside.
Wait until the dog is completely finished or can be done indoors. You’ll immediately say “go to the toilet” and your dog will understand what to expect before starting to flush.
Take your dog on a leash and take him to the same place every time. This will help your Frenchie build an approved spot.
Clean indoor incidents thoroughly to remove urine and fecal odors.
If your dog smells like garbage around the house, he will most likely visit this place to relieve himself.
If your Frenchie poop is in the house, place it in an appropriate area of the garden, so your dog can smell it when he’s out again.
I hope your question about how to potty train a French Bulldog has been answered!!!
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