Chaos and destruction are two words that come to mind when you have a new puppy in the house! Ensuring your house and yard is Frenchie proof will make life easier and keep your fur baby safe. It’s much easier to prevent unnecessary things happening by preparing your home for a new puppy rather than having to deal with the ingestion of something dangerous with a trip to the vet! So, speaking from experience, here are some tips for you to help set up your home & back yard in preparation for your new French Bulldog puppy.
We have summarised our Top 7 tips below to help you prepare for a new Frenchie and to prevent your fur baby from getting themselves into trouble.
Puppy Proofing 101: Safeguarding your puppy’s new home
Introduction to puppy proofing & why
Getting a new puppy is seriously the most fun part when you first get a dog, until they start to get into everything!! And I mean everything! Puppies are by nature extremely curious and much like toddlers they learn from investigating, chewing, eating, smelling, and exploring. Considering your home is where they are going to spend the majority of their days it’s important that you make sure it’s a safe environment. After all, it never ceases to amaze us what trouble little puppy can get themselves into! So by puppy proofing, it will help keep them safe (and potentially prevent any unnecessary vet visits!).
1. Installation of Child Gates
Blocking off areas of the house your French Bulldog is the first step to containing them in accepted areas. Even if they will be allowed to roam the whole house as an older dog, it’s a great idea to set the boundaries when they are a puppy. They will then appreciate and respect those areas of the house later on when they are allowed access.
Restricting them from areas of the house initially will keep them out of trouble, keep them from eating toilet paper, prevent them from getting stuck in small spaces, stop them from potentially falling down the stairs and give you a place to put things you don’t want damaged until your Frenchie is more mature. Another good idea is to have one at the front door – they can be a saviour from your little frenchie puppy darting outside before you have the chance to stop them (especially if you don’t have a screen door).
Child gates are pretty much a must have, at least in the short term.
2. Close the doors to no go zones/rooms
As with child gates, closing doors will have the same effect in containing your puppy in an area you can control and preventing potential destruction of items or the house itself! It’s a very simple and easy fix until your Frenchie is better trained. Teaching everyone to get into the habit of closing doors behind them is a good way to protect the newest member of the family & create consitency.
3. Organising & Storing items out of harms way
Removing potential temptations for your puppy is essential to reduce potential disaster. Loose items left lying around (like kids toys, wrappers, shoes, brushes, lego) that you don’t want chewed (or swallowed) by your new frenchie puppy will certainly be savoured if they are on the ground or within reach. Get down on all fours and literally crawl around the house before you get your puppy to see what is potentially at their level or within reach if they stand on their back legs.
Medications, cleaning products and certain foods are toxic to dogs and need to be put away safely well out of their reach. Use childproof door locks on cupboards and shut doors. It is important to also realise that just because things are ‘child proof’ it doesn’t mean they are ‘dog proof’, a dog will be potentially a lot more persistent than a child at trying to get into a cupboard.
Electrical cables & bins out of reach
Electrical cables are also a potential hazard and need to be tucked away so they can’t be reached or chewed on. A dangling cable can be tempting to chomp on as a pup, not to mention the potential problem if they pull on the cord that is attached to something heavy like a lamp or computer and so forth.
The smell of your rubbish bin is enough to spark curiosity with your puppy so it’s important to ensure your rubbish bin is one they can’t get into or tip over. If you can put it in a cupboard or pantry with a lock on the door. Empty it very regularly, and ensure chemicals and cleaning products are locked away where your dog cannot get to them.
Yes, it’s time to be neat and tidy up! If there’s nothing potentially chewable on the floor but the toy you’ve given them, that’s what your dog will chew.
4. Choosing safe toys & chewables
A bored dog that is teething will certainly chew on anything they can get their mouths on if you let them! Puppies are also teething so they are looking to satisfy their mouths. Dog toys with parts or small toys are not suitable for a puppy (or any dog for that matter) and when a toy starts to break or look worn it’s probably time to toss it in the rubbish. You don’t want your frenchie to swallow any parts of the toys. Soft toys often start to wear easily from chewing and sharp teeth, so be aware of any fluff that may be coming out – this is not good for your dogs tummy and can cause problems. Get rid of unsafe toys early.
By providing them with many safe toys they can chew on it will reduce their temptation to chew your furniture or shoes (but there’s no guarantee!). It will distract them from your other more important possessions, keep them busy and mentally stimulated.
Chew toys are a must for all dogs and your goal is to turn chewing on a chew toy into a lifelong habit (after all , good habits are just as hard to break as bad ones!). Chew toys are great as they cannot be destroyed or completely eaten. Compared to squeaky toys- these are training toys and rewards – they are not edible + they are not chew toys. There are fillable chew toys you can stuff with food. Fill them to start with the tastiest food, stuffing it deepest and then finish with moistened dry food.
5. Reviewing the safety of your yard
Outside dangers and opportunities are even more plentiful than inside! Ensure the yard is secure. The good thing is your Frenchie won’t jump too high, but you still need to keep them contained and safe so a fully fenced yard is needed.
To keep your Frenchie safe, remove plants toxic to animals before you bring them home for the first time.
Ensure all gardening tools are put away at all times, check the garden for sharp, protruding objects or low hanging branches that could be an issue. And very importantly, make sure a pool or body of water is gated or inaccessible as French Bulldogs can’t swim.
Do give them an area of the yard they can do their business in, and reinforce this in their training. Doing a poo patrol daily, or a few times a week keeps the yard nice and clean, prevents you or your Frenchie from stepping in it and in the extreme, prevents your pooch from eating it.
Outside it’s important to have fresh water in a bowl for their easy access (and is kept freshly topped up). Also having an area to rest, such as dog kennel or bed in an undercover area is imperative for your frenchie to relax and sleep.
6. Create a comfortable resting area
As soon as you get your new dog to your home, introduce it to it’s own home. Ideally if you can have a space for them to play, such as a playpen or a small room in the house where they have comfortable bedding in it in one corner, a toilet area in another, a bowl of fresh water in the third corner and a couple of hollow chew toys filled with yummy dog food they will be happy to be there.
7. The ride home
You’ve successfully gone through your home to ensure it’s as safe and ready as possible (for the moment anyway, lol), now it’s time to collect your sweet frenchie pup. The ride home is important. Ideally, take your puppies new crate, including bedding for it. If the breeder has a small towel with the litters scent on it, put this in the crate for familiarity. Before heading home, let your puppy play vigorously for a time and then with a bit of luck they will sleep for a part of all of the drive home. This will help keep any activity to a minimum.
A quick note on travel: As this is a new experience for a puppy, they can get motion sickness. Bring wet wipes with you and ask the breeder not to feed or water the puppy three hours before travel. Ideally, travel during a cool part of the day, and have your puppy assistant (some one who’s helping you pick them up) distract them. Break the journey up if the trip is longer than 90 minutes.
You can read more Tips on having a new dog