French Bulldogs are highly intelligent, but their independent streak can make them difficult to train. They require patience and frequent training sessions when learning new commands. Here, we’ll give you six French Bulldog commands that will be a great start to training your dog.
Sit: Dogs must learn how to sit. For dogs to know how to remain in a seated position, they need to initially be taught the sit command. The process is simple and requires no training tools except an easily obtained treat. In order to teach your dog to sit on command, begin by holding a treat in front of their nose and slowly pushing it toward the rear until they are sitting. Then say “sit” and give them the reward. The next thing to do is try and teach your dog to sit in many different situations. I like to test them with visitors over or even when they are out for a walk, as this makes it much harder for the dog, but ultimately you’re teaching them nothing new.
Paw: Paw is one of the most fun tricks to teach your dog, and it’s easy for most dogs. Start by holding a small treat in your hand, tightly enough that your dog knows it’s there, but not so tight that he can’t get at it. When you touch their paws, hand them treats and praise them. It shouldn’t take long for them to understand the command. Just continue repeating it so they can master it. This is a dog trick that has no practical use, but it will keep your dog busy.
Speak: The command to speak is simple to teach your dog. However, you have to be careful about how you teach it or they might misunderstand the command. When they start barking, call them and tell them “speak” before giving them a treat. It will take your dog quite a while to understand the word. It takes only a few seconds to tell your dog to stop barking (if you have treats available). Speak is difficult for dogs to learn. It’s more practical than “quiet” because it allows you both to communicate with one another.
Bed: Dogs should learn to get on their beds as this command is handy in any situation. When guests are over or when you need your dog out of the way, say “Beds” and they will head for their bed. Teaching bed is easy. Call your dog to you and then say “bed”. Then throw the treat onto their bed and have them go there on command. If they don’t immediately understand, go back to just calling them over and saying “bed”.
Fetch: Fetch is more than just getting the ball. The dog must drop it at your feet so that you can throw it again. However, if your dog already knows how to “drop it” then this command won’t be hard for him or her to learn. To teach your Frenchie to fetch, first, say “fetch” and throw the ball. When the dog takes the ball and brings it back, reward them with a treat. You’ll want to repeat this process until they automatically bring you the ball when you say “fetch”.
Touch: Touch is a versatile command that teaches you to get your dog to touch your hand. The main goal is getting your dog to imitate you by touching their nose on your open hand. You start training this command by basically showing them what you want them to do and then rewarding it afterward. Clip a sticky note to your hand and teach your dog to touch it. From there, you can teach your pet about boundaries and the rules of the house.
Teach your French Bulldog many commands. Teach them basic ones first, as this will give you time to figure out how to teach commands if necessary. Patience is key when training a French Bulldog.
