Are French Bulldogs Good With Kids?: Of Course, French Bulldogs make wonderful family pets and are terrific with kids. They are great companions, and they adore being around people.
Their compact size, easy-going nature, and gentle attitude make them wonderful with kids. Though small kids and your Frenchie should always be monitored, please ensure that very young kids are not too rough with your French Bulldog.
It is important to note that dogs of every breed will require guidance and will need to know what is appropriate and acceptable play. They all tend to playfully mouth when they are excited.
Every Frenchie will, of course, have distinct personalities. When you’re bringing an older French Bulldog into your home, you’ll need your family to meet them in a safe setting so that you can assess their reaction to ensure they’re relaxed.
How to Keep Your Kids and Frenchie Safe.
When you introduce an adult Frenchie or a puppy Frenchie to your house, not only would you expose your kids to the French Bulldog, but you also present the Frenchie to your children. So here are a few possible safety issues and risks that you need to be conscious of and prevent.
Risks to Kids From You French Bulldog
| Gastric parasites from the feces of Frenchies; For example (roundworm, tapeworm). | Gastric microbes, such as salmonella, can be spread from pet food, especially if given a raw meat diet. |
| Dog bite | Fleas and Ticks |
Risks To Your French Bulldog From Kids
| Painful accidents, like bone fractures, which Frenchie, as with all pups, are especially susceptible to. Unintentionally, it can be easy for young kids to sit or step on a puppy or even drop them while they are standing and carrying a wiggly pup. | Enhanced stress and anxiety over being pursued, examined, and cajoled. |
| Gastrointestinal inflammation and obstruction due to swallowing toys or kid items | Poisoning by ingestion of everyday items such as painkillers, rash creams, or chocolate, onions, or raisins, a kid drops on the ground or inadvertently shares with you, Frenchie. |
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Before The Introduction
Speak to your kids about the significance of being calm and caring with your new French Bulldog. Tell them that your new Frenchie may be anxious, afraid, and excited because they might not understand how to respond to their new family. Show and explain various forms of dog body language so your kids are aware and know what to look for.
Educate your kids. They need to back off and let the new French Bulldog have its own space but do so before they are introduced to their new Frenchie. Below are a few more small tips for planning for the meeting.
- Always be sure that at least two adults are fully present during the introduction. One person will have to concentrate on the Frenchie, while the other is focused on the children.
- When you have several kids, it might be easier to make greetings with only one or two children at a time, depending on age and willingness to remain calm.
Introducing Your Frenchie To Your Kids.
| Educate kids on how to engage with your new Frenchie gently. Kids love pets, but they often don’t know they’re pulling or grabbing a dog’s fur. Very often, kids injure dogs accidentally, which may lead to biting or violent behavior. Avoid these issues by demonstrating the right way to treat your French Bulldog. | Specialists advise using a leash to keep your Frenchie under control initially. Let your French Bulldog lie down and make the greetings calmly. When using the leash, you’ll be able to take control of events if they get out of control. |
| Have your child approach your new Frenchie from the sides and pause with enough space to enable French Bulldog to come to the child readily. It allows the dog to see the child without getting stressed and to welcome the child on its own time. | For your first meeting, avoid giving rewards and using toys. Many Frenchies get enthusiastic at the prospect of a treat so that they may grab it out of little hands. Again, toys provide a fun way of playing with your Frenchie, but they may trigger territorial problems or rough play. |
| Before you let your kids pat your Frenchie, let your dog sniff the child. Dogs utilize their smell to say “hi” and figure out who they are. Standing still, let the Frenchie sniff around your child. It would be best if you were sure to give your hand to smell as an extra precaution. Let your Frenchie come to you and your child. | Make sure you limit erratic movements or loud noises. Most young children like to embrace and touch dogs, but they’ll have to be patient. Abrupt body movements can quickly scare your Frenchie and may cause them to defend themselves through biting or snapping. |
| Don’t disturb a Frenchie when they are feeding or sleeping. Disturbing a dog is a guaranteed way to cause a problem. Tell the kids to give them room so that you can make introductions afterward. | Look out for the Frenchies’ body language. They are showing you that they are unsure about things and not ready for the greeting. When you find that their tail is stiff, that their ears are laid back, and that the fur on their back is raised, then you should treat it with utmost vigilance. |
| Most importantly, never leave your child and your pet unsupervised. Even the loveliest dogs were reported to bite when their coat was pulled, their leg was twisted the wrong way, or the kid was sitting on it. It is important to ensure both the child and the Frenchie are always nearby so you can watch them interact. |
Ongoing Things To do
Start Training Your Frenchie
Making sure your new Frenchie is going to become a well-behaved dog is the first step of ongoing harmony with kids at home. Show your French Bulldog simple commands, such as lying down and sitting. Keep this up, and your Frenchie will learn how to act around children through training.
If your Frenchie is prone to jump up on guests and kids, telling them to sit on the floor instead will allow you to guide them towards a more acceptable action.
Think about taking your French Bulldog to dog training courses to get the assistance of expert trainers. Dog training programs are more economical than one-on-one private learning and help the Frenchie learn to socialize around other dogs.
Socializing Them
Young French Bulldogs go through a critical growth period between the ages of 3 to 6 months. They are much more inclined to learn how to tolerate and be relaxed with various people and scenarios.
When they have been exposed to them during this period, show it to your kids in a fun way if you have a new Frenchie pup.
Make sure that kids of different age groups interact in a range of circumstances. If your Frenchie has a positive experience with your kids, it’s trying to relate them with good emotions.
If your French Bulldog is older, you can still socialize them around your children. The procedure will be slower. Ensure you’re offering a lot of excellent treats and encouragement.
Use A Crate To Have Timeout
French Bulldogs do better with kids when they have an easy escape. Crate train your Frenchie to make it happy and content in a crate.
Make it abundantly clear to the children in your household that the crate is out of bounds to them. That way, your Frenchie can engage with the kids when it chooses to, but it still has a quiet place to take some timeout.
Do Not Force
Holding your Frenchie and allowing a child to approach is not a good idea. If your Frenchie is scared of kids, it can be a frightening ordeal to hold as a child approaches them.
A Frenchie who’s scared may become violent and growl, snap or bite in an attempt to avoid the source of their fears. Alternatively, give your French Bulldog as much freedom as it wants to get around kids safely; this allows it to approach on its terms.
Positive Reinforcement
While your Frenchie is well-behaved with kids, definitely give them a lot of recognition, rewards, and attention. Your French Bulldog will relate to those positive things that will happen while the children are around. Sooner or later, they will start looking for your kids and will be on their best behavior.
Rules for the Kids
Your French Bulldog is not the only one in need of some guidance. Kids will also need guidelines on how to act with your Frenchie. For example:
| The kids should pat you, Frenchie gently. | The Frenchie’s crate is off-limits. |
| They should not force the dog to play with them. | Kids should not approach your French Bulldog while they are eating. |
| Kids should not touch or wake their Frenchie while it is sleeping. | Always ensure that adults are present while the Frenchie is in a space with children. Never leave the dog unattended. |
Conclusion
Taking the chance to teach your kids and build the right setting will increase safety for all and boost your likelihood for a happy, loving relationship between your Frenchie and your kids.