In our previous article, Tomi and Sandra of the TomKings Puppies Team shared with you their proven tips on what rules to follow when you train your Frenchie. In the second part of the series, they help you with the basic commands you should teach him or her.
What are the basic commands to teach your French Bulldog?
The six basic commands are: Come! Stay! Stop! Down! Potty! and Quiet! It’s up to you to find the words you use when commanding, but try to choose something short and easy, and stick to it.
(We have written a whole article about effective potty training here.)
Come! – Coming to you when called
This is one of the most crucial things to do as it saves you a lot of hassle trying to persuade them to come home with you from the park. It can even save their life if you notice something dangerous and they react to your call immediately.
Start the training in the house, or in the garden, which is familiar to your pup, so they will not be attracted by several unknown things to explore.
Call them by their name and as they come to you, give them the treat. At the beginning be prepared to repeat the call a few times before they finally do it. (They still deserve the treat!) You can play hide and seek, and call them from behind a tree or the shed.
Stop! – When walking the dog
Have you seen those funny pictures when the puppy parent was dragged by the leash, “flying” after the dog? This is certainly something you want to avoid, not only because it’s inconvenient and makes the walking a struggle for you, but also because the pup should understand that you’re dominant. Click here to read about effective leash training tips for Frenchie parents.
You can start this in the garden but make sure you use the leash and walk with them. As soon as your pup walks faster and is ahead of you, stop and wait until she or he stops and keeps your pace.
Sit! Lie! – Sitting and lying
It is an inevitable command to learn, as you’ll be surrounded by other humans and furry friends, who come to your place, or you visit them. The same way as above, give them the command and repeat it until they do it. Once done, give them the treat. If done consistently, they learn it very quickly.
Down – Don’t let them jump up
Isn’t it the cutest thing when your pup is so happy to see you as you come home that he or she jumps up? Until you wear white trousers, stockings or you have a guest who is not so happy with it. Your baby won’t understand why suddenly everybody is upset with them when previously they were rewarded.
Be consequent and avoid this from happening by not letting your puppy do this right from the beginning. Use the command ‘Down’, they get used to it very quickly.
Quiet – Stop barking
The French Bulldog breed is fortunately not a too noisy one, and pups don’t bark too much. Still, if they get annoying, make them stop by teaching the command Quiet. Click here to read what to do if your French bulldog barks a lot.
Using clicker when training
You might consider using a clicker to make the training more efficient. It makes a unique sound that the Frenchie associates with the treat. First, you need to teach your furry kid that a click means a treat. Make the sound and give them the treat.
Then when doing the training, make the clicker click right after he or she does the right behavior, followed by the treat. You can remove the treat later, the click will make the desired impact.
Dog training schools
There are several good dog training schools in the US, and if you have the time and feel like doing so, it’s an excellent way of spending your free time, together with your Frenchie baby. Plus both of you learn a lot from it. Click here to read how to select the best training school for your French bulldog.
The article was written based on the experience and the services 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.
