Follow these steps to Frenchie proof your home and garden

The day when you’re finally united with your furbaby will mark the start of a wonderful period that will change your life, for the better. Here is how to prepare your home and garden to be Frenchie friendly and absolutely safe for your sweetie.

Steps to Frenchie proof your home and garden

As we earlier wrote, the training of your baby should start on Day 1. French Bulldog is a smart breed and picks up everything very quickly. Still, you won’t be able to teach him or her at once what to do and what to avoid, so the safest is to make your home Frenchie proof.

Rule of thumb is to move everything out of his or her reach that could be toxic for Frenchies or that they could make harm in. Some of these products can cause upset stomach, diarrhea, vomiting, lack of appetite, choking and in the worst cases, death.

Cleaning products

The shiny, colorful boxes and characteristic smell of detergents, and other cleaning products are very attractive for a young pup. Boxes left half-open on the lower shelves in your bathroom, in the laundry room or in the kitchen mean a big threat to your Frenchie. Check your home and put all the cleaning products to upper shelves or in a cabinet where your pup cannot have any access to.

Medication

Do you keep family medicines in a box, drawer or some of the vitamins and pills are prepared on your nightstand? You’d better double-check all the places where your puppy can have access to (and be sure that they are very curious little explorers:). It also applies to puppy medication, keep it safe from their reach.

Plants, interior design

You might never think that some of the items and plants that are part of your interior design could be harmful or even toxic for your puppy. These include decorative flowers like Azalea and Daffodils, Rhododendron and evergreens like pine. The list is actually much longer, so the best tip is to move these into rooms where your Frenchie is not allowed to go, or again, to some of the upper shelves. 

Other items, like scented potpourri, oils, decorative pearls, and some of the candles (like citronella) are also toxic to French Bulldogs (both ingestion and skin exposure can be toxic). Remove these items before your puppy arrives.

Food and drink 

There are some food and drinks which are harmful or toxic for Frenchies (e.g. chocolate, potato, alcohol, xylitol). If you are used to storing these in lower shelves or keep some of these (like chocolate) on a serving tray in the living room, remove them to create a safe environment for your sweet baby.

Valuable items, hobbies

It’s not only about protecting your puppy but also about your valuable items. Decorations in the living room, jewelry or things made of sensitive material.

Don’t expect a young pup to respect these boundaries right from the beginning (don’t worry, with proper training they learn very fast). It’s crucial that you create free space for your puppy where he or she can feel at home, and they don’t face fences everywhere.

How to protect your Frenchie

• Carefully check every corner of your home. Put all the dangerous products to an upper shelf, or lock them in a cabinet.
• Secure cabinet doors with baby locks.
• Install dog doors, if you want to secure a room, or don’t want your pup to go upstairs. The best is to use auto close doors, so you don’t have to worry about leaving it open accidentally.
• Keep trash covered.
• Don’t forget the garden: your puppy will spend a lot of time there. Are there any soil fertilizers, sharp tools to remove? Do you need to fence certain plants?
• Ask all the family members, guests (also kids) to follow these rules in the interest of the puppy.

What to do if your puppy got in touch with a toxic product

Immediately take your pup to the vet, the sooner, the better.

As you go ahead with puppy training, your Frenchie will very quickly learn where NOT to go, what NOT to do, but the above precautions always help to keep them safe, especially when you’re not at home.

The article was written based on the experience and the services of the TomKings Puppies Team. TomKings Puppies have been breeding French Bulldogs for 12 years on their farm. All the pictures in the post belong to them and show a puppy from their breed. Check their available puppies here, or if you have any questions or comments let us know below the article.