This may seem like a bizarre topic, but walking our Frenchie, Pepper, on a lead was actually one of the hardest things to get used to!
French Bulldogs are one of the more stubborn breeds, meaning it can be difficult to train them. Sure, Pepper is great at things like ‘sit’ and ‘wait’, but walking nicely on the lead took months of hard work.
If you’ve ever met her, you’ll know Pepper is rather… enthusiastic. She gets overexcited and wants to make friends with everything that moves, and that means she tends to pull on the lead and generally doesn’t want to walk in a straight line! However, that being said, these tips have really helped us improve over the past few months!
Tip 1 // Try a harness rather than a collar
You might see this tip quite often online. Most people will recommend that you walk short-nosed breeds (including French Bulldogs, English Bulldogs, Pugs etc) on a harness, rather than a collar. This is apparently supposed to be better for their airways and making sure they don’t have breathing problems later in life.
We tried Pepper out on several different harnesses, but found that the cheaper, cross body ones you buy in pet stores rubbed under her arms (they probably wouldn’t if she didn’t pull so much, but there ya go!). We then invested in a Julius K9 harness* and have only used these since! They are perfect for muscular, ‘enthusiastic’ breeds.
Tip 2 // In Summer, stick to early mornings and evenings
Again, due to the short-nosed-ness and breathing difficulties bulldog breeds can get it’s incredibly important to avoid overheating. This is true for any dog, but Frenchies tend to be more prone.
It takes some planning, but make sure on hot days you’re not taking your French Bulldog out in the midday heat; enjoy an early morning of 7pm stroll instead.
Tip 3 // Practice walking nicely with treats
I took Pepper to a couple of rounds of obedience training where we worked on ‘loose-leash walking’. This involves using a good quality treat as a lure by your side to keep your pup close by, while using the command ‘Heel’. We use these treats* by Pooch & Mutt because Pepper goes crazy for them (and they’re good for her!).
Here’s a great explainer video on how to do this!
Tip 4 // Don’t use a retractable lead
Retractable leads aren’t good for when you need to have control over your dog. In fact, in my opinion they’re not a good idea in general as they’re actually quite dangerous for humans and dogs! Keeping your Frenchie as close as possible to your heel is the ultimate goal when training them to walk on the lead, so you shouldn’t need a lead that can stretch for 5, 10 or 20 metres. A good sturdy rope lead is a good idea, especially for strong, pulling French Bulldogs!
Tip 5 // Pre-empt their excitement
If you see another person or dog coming your way, and you know that your Frenchie is going to react wildly with excitement to greet them, try to pre-empt this and distract them with a treat to get their focus before they start getting wound up. This requires you to have your eye on the ball at all times to make sure you spot things first before your pup does!
Share your French Bulldog (or puppy!) walking tips below:
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All I can say is, she is freaking adorable.
Hehe she’s looking forward to meeting you :)
It’s such a shame that overbreeding has lead to breathing difficulties for them, but you highlight a few valid points about making it easier.Also, the government is bringing in a new law in the next few years where all dogs have to legally be microchipped (and at the same time will have their DNA stored in a system). This means that councils can quickly test any dog poo left in public places and the owner will receive a £60 fine in the post. I think this is a great idea! Alice xxx
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I knew about the microchip law but WOAH thats crazy!! That’d literally be a bit of a shit job though… xx
Great post. I have a pug and totally agree with the summer walking point – Toto just can’t handle too much heat. And yes – always important to keep dogs on a lead around cliffs…my other dog once chased a pigeon right off a cliff edge in Dorset! Luckily there was a small ledge just below and my Dad was able to climb down and effect a heroic rescue, but it could have turned out very differently! x
Gosh that sounds scary Anna! There have been a couple of news items recently about people losing dogs off the cliffs around her unfortunately :( x
hi thank you for the read…..I am in need of advise my 5 month old will not walk he is far to heavy to be carried when I am in a hurry, so I have to pull him along, I am worried that this could harm him…would the harness Julius-K9, be the best choice for those with Frenchies that need to be pulled along?
You could try walking 10 feet with then putting down to walk, repeat until walks, Julius harness if not fitted correctly will rub so if purchasing buy the correct size. Any harness that dosent throttle the dog or restrict breathing will help.
I let me partner walk ahead with some treats / liver paste tube and our Frenchie muffin walks for a bit. He is stubborn.. I know the feeling..
Last time I checked I don’t think 5 equals 10
I trained my 3 month Frenchie with a claw collar. I worked great & still use it at her 10 1/2 mos. She is controlled better than a harness. Note the claw collar has rubber tips which doesn’t hurt the dog plus the collar releases when walking next to me, grabs when she tries to pull so she knows to relax. It works wonderfully!
As someone that has had many short-faced dogs, including the Frenchie I have now, these are great tips. I can’t stress enough how important it is to NOT walk your Frenchie in the heat. My friend’s English bulldog literally dropped dead on a walk. She thought it was ok because it was 9PM in the evening, but it wasn’t. There are some days & nights that no matter what time it is, it will be too hot to walk a brachiocephalic dog. Let’s keep our babies safe!