How to train your Frenchie to sleep in their bed

We regularly hear parents complaining about their puppy still sleeping with them after a year. This is a usual challenge for most parents, although with some easy steps at the beginning you can make sure your French Bulldog sleeps alone. Read our step by step guide and your Frenchie will be happy to go to bed on their own.

Start on the first day you have your Frenchie

It’s normal that on their first days after leaving the farm, they will miss their mates, and cry. They need some time to get used to the new place and their new family and it’s natural for them to want to cuddle in your bed.

Let them do it once and you’ll have a very hard time to get them out of your bed. The main thing is to be consistent from the beginning. To make it attractive for your Frenchie, follow the below steps.

1. Prepare a very comfy, fluffy pup bed for them that they will like from the first moment. It should be a cuddly, soft place, positioned a bit higher than the floor. 
2. You can place here a piece of your clothes. Puppies have a very strong sense of smell, and it helps them feel you close.
3. There are special soft toys that you can buy at puppy stores that some French Bulldogs like to sleep with.

If your family decided not to let the puppy sleep in your bed, this should be agreed upon and reinforced by all the family members. 

What to do if your Frenchie doesn’t stop crying, or doesn’t want to stay in his or her bed?

Frenchies sleep easier if they are tired. Make sure your French bulldog spends time outside and has enough activities. If you challenge them and schedule training and play before you want them to go to bed, they will be eager to have some sleep.

Be consistent with using the same commands sending him or her back to their place: “Go to bed.” and show it with your gestures. Remember, that the tone of your voice matters more than what you say. Repeat it until they do it, and don’t let them end up in your bed.

If they cry, make sure there’s no other reason for it than maybe missing their brothers and sisters. Use a command, like “stop crying” and repeat it until he or she stops it. 

Start feeding them or take them to your bed, and they will learn that a little cry can go a long way, and they will keep doing it every day.

If you can’t find any other reasons, and your Frenchie still doesn’t want to stay in the puppy bed, you might experiment with a different type of bed: a cushion, or a bigger crate. Read our article about how you can crate train your Frenchie.

It only takes a couple of days, a lot of patience and persistence from you, and your French Bulldog will happily sleep in their bed.

Read here our general tips to follow for successful Frenchie training. 

You can also visit our webshop to find some great dog beds from Chewy that we recommend for your fur baby!

The article was written based on the experience of the TomKings Puppies Team. TomKings Puppies have been breeding French Bulldogs for 10 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.