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The doghouse

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Original poster

Recently got a frenchie- worried by everything I am reading!? Advice

118 replies

Darklava09 · 06/10/2019 09:20

We recently got a frenchie, DS is 7 now and would enjoy the company and it’s a dog we’ve all looked at and thought would be a good fit for the family. I had read up on websites beforehand and spoke to people who have them.

People had warned me about the stubbornness and destructiveness but said they are good with kids and are generally a good breed to have.

However, I’ve been on forums and all I seem to read from frenchie owners is how much they chew, they can get separation anxiety and their allergies and diet! And how poorly they get! The people who I speak to had never mentioned that there’s was ever poorly or destructive. I feel duped

Any advice? I feel like I have puppy blues and can’t seem to shake the feeling like I’ve made a huge mistake.

I’m worried that because we both work full time that he may get anxiety and might misbehave. However, we sometimes work from home and there is people to let him out on occasions. I also worry that he will chew everything in sight and am stressed that he may be an ill frenchie who sees the vets regularly and worry about the cost of keeping him healthy!! I never realised that their insurance premiums would be so high... we’re getting insurance but can only afford a certain amount so am worried I case something big happens!

I can’t shake the worry! Any positive frenchie parents out there!!

OP posts:

peoplepleaser1 · 06/10/2019 22:37

I'm a dog walker and I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who think they can leave puppies for most of the day. I get lots of calls from people who have bought puppies and are leaving them for hours upon hours at a time.

I do offer puppy visits but due to current workload these can only be before 10am and after 2.30pm. Occasionally this suits people if they work shifts- but most people want one visit in the middle of hen day which I can't do.

I've recently turned down people wanting one short visit who are leaving a pup for 9 or more hours. I just can't bear to be part of it. I've been accused of being too choosy, to judgemental and too unprofessional but it breaks my heart and I can't understand how people think it's ok to treat puppies in this way.

I'd love to start a campaign aimed towards educating people and making it common knowledge that responsible dog ownership means not leaving them for hours upon end. I guess I might do myself out fo a job but so be it!!

TwoPupsandaHamster · 06/10/2019 23:52

I can't get past your post where you state your puppy is almost 10 weeks old and will be left for 8 hours a day! WTF are you thinking! 😱 How on earth do you expect a puppy to toilet train itself? Never mind, that is the least of your problems.... Fucking unbelievable!

Medievalist · 07/10/2019 00:02

Count me in Peoplepleaset1

Medievalist · 07/10/2019 00:08

I can't get past your post where you state your puppy is almost 10 weeks old and will be left for 8 hours a day! WTF are you thinking! 😱 How on earth do you expect a puppy to toilet train itself?

Twopups - it's horrendous isn't it 😔😔😔

The puppy we've taken on is pretty much housetrained. We did that by being with him all the time. And I mean ALL the time. DH and I took turns to sleep downstairs with him and whenever he got up, we'd get up and rush him into the garden and heap praise on him. Our last 2 dogs were older rescues so I'd forgotten the 'delights' of housetraining. Standing outside in your nighty at 1am, 3am, 5am .... requires commitment!

TwoPupsandaHamster · 07/10/2019 00:20

@Medievalist I have taken on 2 cockapoos (Both less than a year old) - one from a rescue centre (rehomed because owner was "fed up" with coming home after an 8 hour shift to find puppy had pooed in her crate, every day! The other from a neighbour who could no longer be arsed with puppy, because he did the normal puppy things - like peeing in the house (because nobody had the foresight to take him out every 30 mins to toilet) and nipping the kids.....4 kids between the ages of 10 and 2.

What do people expect when they take on a baby animal? I can't believe the stupidy of people! Honestly! 🤬

Medievalist · 07/10/2019 07:48

I wish there had never been such a mass marketing of crates for dogs. I'm sure that for every owner who uses one responsibly, there must be 10 who don't. I bet if those who cage their dogs all day regularly came home to a chewed up house rather than a poor creature left to stew in its own urine and faeces, they might not have got a dog in the first place.

Trewser · 07/10/2019 07:56

We use a crate but the door is open 99 percent of the time. We only ever shut them in if we are doing a lot of tooing and froing with the front door open so that they don't escape unnoticed! Once I forgot that the lab was shut in and he was sitting there patiently for two hours. I felt awful. Can't imagine shutting a dog in one for hours. Yes, our house probably smells doggy, yes one of them sleeps on the sofa, yes over the years things have been chewed, but our dogs are fit, calm and happy.

Trewser · 07/10/2019 07:57

Actually they don't chew at all now and i think thats because they are walked for 1.5 hours a day.

CatkinToadflax · 07/10/2019 08:48

My grandmother had a Frenchie in the 1950s. 40 years later she was a widow and lonely and decided to get another one to keep her company. This was in the mid ‘90s and at that time French bulldogs were a very unusual breed. She eventually found a breeder 200 miles away - this is relevant just to emphasise that at that time they most likely weren’t being overbred by every backyard breeder.

He was a lovely dog but he had every health problem under the sun. By the end of his life he was completely blind, had only one eye, one ear, all manner of breathing problems and had had extensive surgery on his back and his rear legs. My parents were financially comfortable but if they hadn’t had the highest cover of pet insurance available they’d have really struggled to pay his bills.

He may have been an extreme example health wise but I simply cannot imagine how anyone could read up on the breed and be blissfully unaware of the many, many health problems.

And no, it really isn’t normal or acceptable to have a puppy and work full time!

Trewser · 07/10/2019 08:52

A woman i vaguely know has a frenchie and it looks deformed. Hugely over developed front and tiny back legs. Apparently it cost a fortune. Poor dog.

Floralnomad · 07/10/2019 09:27

I agree with medievalist , unfortunately there are many people who think it’s acceptable to keep dogs in cages for hours on end , hence their homes don’t get destroyed , hence that is acceptable and the pup doesn’t get rehomed and is condemned to a life in a cage for 16+ hours a day ( assuming they are back in overnight) .

AgathaF · 07/10/2019 09:35

Lots of people have dogs and work all day... it’s not uncommon.

You did sod all research, either on breed or how to train a dog, or how to care for a dog generally. I assume you bought the puppy from either a puppy farm or a BYB because a reputable breeder wouldn't have sold a puppy to you. Reputable breeders question your knowledge on breed, training, circumstances and sell or don't sell as appropriate.

Please take the dog back to the breeder so it can go to a good home where it will be properly cared for, or take it to a breed specific rescue for re-homing.

megletthesecond · 07/10/2019 09:36

I've never had a dog and I'll never get a dog (I get my fix when they say hello to me in the park) but even I appear to know more about dogs than the op.

Shannith · 07/10/2019 09:43

I very rarely comment on these threads and that's because I would mostly say what everyone has already said.

But... I despair that you got an unsuitable puppy from a backyard breeder and are basically going to neglect it.

And you didn't research the breed or what getting a puppy entails.

Lots of dogs end up in rescues because of people like you.

paddingtonbearsmarmalade · 07/10/2019 10:13

I can’t believe you’ve got a puppy with no thought to how you’ll care for it while you’re at work. My DP and I are currently talking about getting a puppy, including looking at the cost of food, insurance, talking to family & friends to see if they’d be happy to have him occasionally if we have to be out for the day. I’ll have to have guaranteed days working from home twice a week & I think my DP will drop to 4 days (he’s a supply teacher so he doesn’t work every day anyway). There’s a doggy daycare at the end of my street & one near my office so options for places to go to, plus we’ve looked at the cost of a walker. We’ve talked about getting the dog around a school holiday period so my DP is off work & I will use 2-3 weeks of annual leave (I’m hoping to carry some over from this year to make this possible) AND try to work from home solidly for a couple of weeks after so the pup will hopefully have a 5-6 week period of people constantly around before we slowly start going back to work properly & time to at least do the basics of house training & help him feel comfortable being left for short periods of time. I’m not saying this to be boastful (I’m sure there’s things we haven’t thought about and will learn very quickly if/when we get him!) but because I can’t fathom getting a dog without doing a ton of research and thought about meeting their needs.

Kinmel69 · 07/10/2019 12:10

Hi,
I have a 2 year old French bulldog who is happy and healthy, when we bought him as a pup we were given raw food and told to feed him which was awful and he totally refused to eat so we put him on Royal canine for about 6 months which is quite expensive, he is now on Harrington’s grain free kibble or Asda’s own hero, I add half a pouch of winalot to each meal and also a bit of water, he also he has a tin of wild Pacific pink salmon 2 days a week just split the tin over 4 meals, he is fed 2 small meals twice a day. He is in amazing condition. As for chewing we have been lucky but maybe that’s because from getting him he has had a reindeer antler which he chews, you can get them from pets at home he was also in a large cage until he was about 12 months old as dogs like there own space that they can go to, he now has the run of downstairs while we are at work! He is left on his own some days for 8hrs any more and my father comes over to keep him company for a few hrs, they really are a people dog and love company, if you leave him for more than 2-3 days a week for a long period of time then I would say that you dog does really need company maybe another dog to keep him company?I hope it works out for you and your little dog because they really are an amazing dog!😊

fivedogstofeed · 07/10/2019 12:18

you dog does really need company maybe another dog to keep him company? @kinmel69 - the OP doesn't even know what to do with one dog and you're suggesting another?! Really?

Willow2017 · 07/10/2019 12:25

if you leave him for more than 2-3 days a week for a long period of time then I would say that you dog does really need company maybe another dog to keep him company?
😂😂😂😂 this would be funny if it wasn't so ridiculous.
Op hasn't a clue about the puppy she bought and you are suggesting she gets another dog to complain about? treat appalingly

Read her posts she is clueless.

DogAndCatPerson · 07/10/2019 13:24

That poster sounds not much more clued up than OP to be fair.

Do not get a second dog.

To be honest I think the OP is just a froth troll. There have been a few of them on this board lately. They’ve chosen a couple of hot topics that they know will ruffle feathers (Brachy breeds and dogs left alone for long periods) and whooooosh. Wind ‘em up and watch ‘em go.

Deebee72 · 07/10/2019 13:30

As a owner of 7 Frenchies, ranging from 2 to 7 yr old, not 1 of mine are chewers and not a single 1 of them has any health problems, allergies. Not the easiest of breed's to house train but strict training when their young pays off. Mine r all raw fed as I believe it's the best thing for dogs ,but that's my opinion. Mine r never left longer than 4 hours but dogs get used to a routine

LunchBoxPolice · 07/10/2019 13:44

I feel duped
I bet the poor bloody dog feels worse.

FizzyGreenWater · 07/10/2019 13:51

Doubt you're coming back now OP but I'd rethink this.

You can't leave a puppy 8 hours a day. You might be able to graduate to leaving a secure, happy, well trained DOG for that long if it turns out to be the kind of dog who is happy with it. Lots aren't, and the ones that are didn't get that way by being left alone 8 hours a day from babyhood. How the hell do you expect to toilet train it for a start?

PUPPIES CANNOT BE LEFT ALONE ALL DAY - unless you want a destroyed house full of piss and shit and a deranged dog at the end of it.

If you can't afford puppy daycare or be home for a couple of years then shelve this plan.

And yes they are a poor breed for health problems. Even I know that and I know nothing about them!

DeepDarkWoods · 07/10/2019 14:03

Poor thing, just another dog left on its own (probably in a cage) until it is convenient for the owners.

DogAndCatPerson · 07/10/2019 14:16

All this ‘cage’ talk. There is nothing wrong with crate training when it is used appropriately and the dog gets plenty of ‘outside’ time too.

Crates become cages when people use them inappropriately.

Medievalist · 07/10/2019 14:23

All this ‘cage’ talk. There is nothing wrong with crate training when it is used appropriately and the dog gets plenty of ‘outside’ time too.

Agreed. Though personally I don't like them and we're managing our 16 week old pup just fine without one.

But crates become cages when they're used inappropriately. Which they often are, judging by some of the threads and comments that appear on Mumsnet with alarming regularity.

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