Toys & Chewing
For settling in a baby frenchie to their new home you can't go past a teddy for their bed area. We always raise them with a teddy in the box, they cuddle up to them as a friend for the night.
Frenchies prefer soft toys and the bigger the better, for wrestling with. When tired of the game they tend to cuddle up to the toys and fall asleep. A teddy is a substitute for a litter mate, they are such babies.
We have been breeding dogs for 25 years and believe me it works. Everyone wants to sleep at night give them a teddy. Our puppies are very much at ease when they settle into their new home.
I pick up toys and blankets from the Op shop cheaply. Never tell the sales person they are for a dog please or the price will go up. As far as they're concerned, I have some very spoiled grand children with oodles of toys.
I also buy dog dishes ( used frying pans) the frenchies like to eat out of flat dishes/flat faces. The shop assistant asks "Going camping" Yep. Cheap doggie dishes. That goes for water dishes/ ex stainless steel pots. Keep it under your lid folks. I love my Op Shops.
You don't want toys that feel like they have beans in them. Soft polyester filling only. I speak from experience having cleaned up doggie poo that looked weirdo, then I realised it was toy stuffing poo. The dog was alive and doing well, good recommendation.
Soft toys can be kept fresh by washing them in the washing machine, that's if they last that long my dogs destroy all toys. I have bought the rubber long lasting toys that lie idle in the yard, boring.
There's better fun to be had pulling the stuffing out of an old teddy and spreading his inners all over the yard. Oh how funny, such clowns.........until I have to clean the mess up.
I had one boarder that ripped a 3 seater lounge apart all over the yard.
What do you do???? Walk away and deal with it tomorrow.
Look around the yard and pick up fallen sticks and seed pods that fall onto the ground as they are dangerous if swallowed or splintered off. Some seeds can be poisonous.
Bits of raw hide bones can break off and swell up in the throat so we never have them in the house.
Chewing is good for the teeth and a good bone is enjoyed by all dogs.
Be alert as Frenchies are lazy at chewing their food up. Brisket bones are great, but your frenchie needs to be supervised when having them. They pose a problem as the dogs swallow them far too soon in a great lump. 9 times out of 10 they vomit them up and you can grab it from them. Most times they see you coming to take that last tasty morsel away, down it goes. You can't deprive a dog of a good chew on a bone, be dilligent when you give bones.
I may occasionally give hard beef bones to a youngster as they have to lose their baby teeth. They can't chew the bone down far enough to swallow it.
As an adult they will swallow it so don't give hard bones. Another problem with hard bones, they will wear the teeth down or may even break a tooth. We always supervise meals or be close by in case they choke. We feed chicken necks they are a great food for a frenchie but they can't be given whole. We bash them with the back of a tomahawk and chop finely.
In your home situation when feeding your frenchie chicken necks, please use the kitchen sissors and cut up into small pieces.
Tug toys we don't like ...if you use them at all, be gentle and don't hang your Frenchie up off it's feet by it's teeth .
A small puppy may be fine playing with something today and in a few weeks time it can become a hazard. Be mindful of this.
Your pups need to chew, this is part of teething, losing baby teeth and getting adult teeth in position. The puppies baby teeth need to come out in order for the adult teeth to come through the gums and position themselves in the correct place.
As a good general rule, don't give your pup anything as a plaything that may be forbidden to it as an adult. It may be cute to watch your Frenchie run around the house dragging your shoes around, but as an adult dog, do you really want this? After all, dogs don't know the difference between an old shoe and a new one, so avoid the upset.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE
If you are not home to supervise your french bulldog please contain them in a safe play/sleeping area until you return.
We tend to humanise our pets a bit too much. They don't need to be sitting up on the lounge with the TV on while your at work or shopping. It is unsafe to leave them alone in the house and even more so if their are 2 frenchies left on their own.
2 frenchies can run and play and over heat when left unsupervised. Objects in the house that they took no notice of suddenly can become a play thing while trying to amuse themselves in your absense. Overheating and choking are big issues for Frenchies. If your at work or the shops your not there to save them.
Simple option use door barriers, play pens or a large crate to prevent your frenchie from accessing the entire house.
A crate is not a punishment area but a place of refuge for your pet to eat, relax and sleep. Retreating to a crate (den/kennel) is a very normal instinct for any dog. It's their safe haven.
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