No dog is perfect. There will come times when disciplining them is necessary. For particularly stubborn breeds, you need to find that balance. After all, yelling can wind up scaring them rather than making them recognize that their behaviors are incorrect.

For French Bulldogs, you need to find the right means of instilling discipline. Knowing why they get anxious, how they act out, and what to do about it can help you find a better balance.

How to Discipline a French Bulldog?

So how do you discipline a French Bulldog? The key is not necessarily to “punish” because they can become fearful of that punishment. There is a difference between discipline and punishment, and finding that balance is crucial.

Since they are a stubborn breed, you need to implement healthy forms of discipline. Stay consistent and use corrective discipline, and you should be able to get rid of those more troubling behaviors.

For starters, the most important thing is that you need to stay consistent. Like any other breed of dog, they will notice any inconsistencies. With regular discipline, they will understand what causes those disciplinary actions and will work to avoid them.

Catch Them in the Act

It is crucial that you catch them in the act. How do you discipline a French Bulldog? Well, you do it more effectively when you can show them what they have done wrong. If you leave and come home to a destroyed house, yelling at them isn’t going to help. They won’t be able to figure out why you are mad, even though it is obvious to you.

But if you happen to walk into the room as they are destroying things, then you can discipline them. Catch them in the act and point to the thing that they are doing wrong. It may take a few times before they fully grasp the issue, but it will give them a better chance of learning what they have done wrong.

Use Positive Reinforcement

The key to any good discipline of your dog is to remain positive. If you implement discipline and get the result you were looking for, make sure that you reward their behavior. You can train them properly by teaching them to recall that behavior and repeat it or avoid it.

Before long, they will look to do the activities that get them a treat rather than a scolding or a frown. It takes time for your pup to pick up on these consistencies, so make sure that you have patience with them.

French Bulldog Anxiety Symptoms

French Bulldogs can get quite anxious from time to time. As a matter of fact, they are quite likely to develop separation anxiety. If you spend more than a few hours at a time away from home, they can start to display anxious behavior.

The symptoms are quite obvious, too. They can begin to dig and scratch near doors, windows, and walls. They will bark and howl, whine, and hide. But there are a few symptoms that can be a lot tougher to deal with than others.

In some instances, they can become destructive. They chew, scratch, and do damage to things around the house. They can also have uncontrolled defecation and urination, even eating their own poop.

French Bulldog Behavior Problems

For the most part, the French Bulldog is not going to be the kind of dog that does a lot wrong. They are small in stature and can only cause so many problems. Still, there are a few common issues that you should know of before you worry about “how do you discipline a French Bulldog?”

As mentioned previously, they suffer from separation anxiety. They are naturally loving, clingy dogs. When you leave for work or any other reason for an extended period of time, they are not going to be happy about it. Keeping them in spaces where their chaos can be controlled can be a helpful thing.

Chewing

They are also prone to chewing, especially when anxious. Invest in toys that will keep them preoccupied, especially if you are away from home. Those toys can not only help to stop their chewing but can also help to calm them down as well.

For puppies, in particular, chewing can be an issue because they are teething. The puppies simply look for something to chew on to alleviate the pain that they feel while teething. This is an easier thing to dispel because you can simply replace the item that you don’t want chewed on with a toy that they will enjoy.

Great chew toys are necessary not only to help them with teething but to relieve stress as well. For an anxious breed like the French Bulldog, having a cache of chew toys is necessary.

Stubborn Listening

A distinctive trait of the French Bulldog is that they tend to be quite stubborn. They can be trained with time and consistency, but it can be a difficult thing. They are naturally strong-willed and tend to be stubborn about receiving instruction.

But the key to any training, with any breed, is to keep at it. When they see a consistent pattern of behavior that is tied to their own behavior, it can change the way that they respond. Don’t get impatient and frustrated if your French Bulldog isn’t listening quite as well as you had hoped.

Conclusion

Like any other breed of dog, the French Bulldog requires consistency and a firm tone to be properly disciplined. A lot of their bad behavior comes from being anxious, usually caused by separation anxiety.

Have patience with them, hold a firm tone, and show through your body language that you are displeased with what they are doing. With repetition, you can get them used to the right things to do, the wrong things to do, and how you will discipline them.