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A Guide To French Bulldog Potty Training – Tips and Timing

A Guide To French Bulldog Potty Training – Tips and Timing

42 Replies to “A Guide To French Bulldog Potty Training – Tips and Timing”

  1. December 31, 2018 Kim

    We have a foster French Bulldog 7 months old who prefers pottying inside. She receives many opportunities to go out but doesn’t show the usual signs. When taken out, she will just sit but when brought in, she will eliminate. Have never had this before…

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    1. January 7, 2019 Frankie

      Hey Kim,

      That sounds tricky! Have you considered getting a grass pad inside to begin transitioning them?

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      1. June 13, 2019 When to transition from litter box to crate or free range ...

        I live in a large one bedroom apartment & I may get a French Bulldog puppy. Initially, my plan was to litter train him using paper or pine pellets & either stick to that plan into his adulthood (allowing him as an adult to roam free in my apartment or house) or eventually take away the litter tray & he would just hold it in (thinking like a year or older) or take away the litter tray & just crate him for 8 hours a day with the hopes that at a year or older he can hold it in okay & sleep. So my question is should I eventually wean him off of the litter box & if so, crate him or don’t (like at a year or older)?

        REPLY
        1. June 14, 2019 Will Blunt

          Hey!

          Your plan seems like a logical one, whichever way you decide to go. We’re lucky enough to be able to leave Frankie in the apartment for about 8 hours a day by herself. We do, however, leave a fake grass patch for her in the corner so she can go if she needs to. But we find it nice that she can roam the apartment seeing she is by herself all day.

          The only other thing to be aware of is some pups chew on things! Frankie doesn’t, luckily, but it’s something to be aware of if you don’t go down the crate path.

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    2. June 4, 2019 Amber Dill

      Having a really hard time training my Frenchie she’ll pee outside and come in and poop and pees on my bed, help please!

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      1. June 6, 2019 Will Blunt

        Hi Amber,

        How old is your pup? It can take some Frenchies 8-10 months to be fully trained.

        It’s not everyone’s favored approach, but have you tried some form of punishment? You could give your pup a timeout, in a closed room or something similar, for 5 minutes if you catch her going to the toilet inside. It needs to be at the exact moment of the issue though, otherwise, the punishment will be ineffective.

        A stern ‘No’ command and punishment, or an ushering outside, as soon as she goes to the toilet should start to help over time.

        REPLY
      2. September 8, 2019 Marg

        I have a 2 year old who still pees in the house and poos when she’s asleep.

        REPLY
    3. September 1, 2019 Adri

      Hi. I’ve done foster/rescue for over 20 yrs. what’s worked in the past for me is to take the a soiled peepee pad and take it outside to a spot so the pup has the scent outside. Once the pup goes outside, you can reward behavior with a treat and/or praise. Keep in mind you are breaking a behavior (peeping in house) so it can take some time. Good luck.

      REPLY
  2. January 14, 2019 Jennifer Lembo

    I have a 14 week old Frenchie. She will only “dribble” pee outside. When she comes inside she eliminates fully. She will never poop inside only outside. Any suggestions on how to get her to fully empty her bladder outside? Thanks!

    REPLY
    1. January 14, 2019 Frankie

      Hi Jennifer,

      Unfortunately, it is just about persistence and positive reinforcement. If your pup does pee outside, make sure you reward the behavior with a treat and a positive tone of voice. It may take a while but if you stick to your guns and create a regular schedule for taking her outside to pee, it will eventually come good.

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  3. January 15, 2019 Becca

    I have a 12 week old puppy and she doesn’t pee or poop outside at all she just plays with the grass! She doesn’t have regular times that she goes even though we have a set feeding schedule. Is there anything I can do?

    REPLY
    1. January 16, 2019 Frankie

      Hi Becca,

      Congrats on the new pup! Lots of fun times ahead 🙂

      The best advice is to be patient. 12 weeks is still very young, and most Frenchies would take longer than that to be fully potty trained.

      Some can take up to 6-8 months to be completely trained for going outside. We know, not the greatest!

      Just stick to best practice and be patient, you’ll get there.

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  4. January 29, 2019 Ben

    6 months old she will only wee outside if she is absolutely desperate she will wait you out so she can’t do it inside been like this for untire time I take her out every hour regardless and still no luck maybe 1 in 3 are outside bits that’s only because she’s desperate not because she knows to do it out there

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  5. January 30, 2019 Marci kirk

    Hi there I have a 6 month old frenhie he is so good he pees and poor out side all day but at night he just does it all in the kitchen can u help me in what to do. Thank you

    REPLY
    1. February 4, 2019 Frankie

      Hi there, thanks for your comment!

      Unfortunately, when it comes to potty training, it is all about patience, positive reinforcement, and repetitive habits. Keep persisting.

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      1. February 15, 2019 Anthony

        My frenchie uses the restroom when I take him out but he has the small tiny accidents in the house when he gets scared or excited. For example, if we play or right before I pick him up (he gets scared when I pick him up). Is it normal for a French puppy (he’s 7/8 months) to have these “dribble” accidents?

        REPLY
        1. February 19, 2019 Frankie

          Hey Anthony, it could be absolutely nothing to worry about and your pup could grow out of it within a few months. But if you’re concerned, it’s always best to talk with your vet. Alternatively, you can chat with a vet online here: https://trk.justanswer.com/SHHq

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  6. February 21, 2019 Cristina

    My frenchie is 4 months old. He does his business outside no problem. Goes to the door and hits the bell with his nose. But the last 2 evenings he does his zoomie around the house and we are finding pee. Even though he knows to go outside. It is just happening once in the evening. Any reason why he might be doing this all of a sudden?

    REPLY
    1. March 4, 2019 Frankie

      Hey Cristina, Thanks for checking out the website!

      There are a number of reasons that could trigger a behavior like this, anxiety or stress is one, for example. Sometimes if you are separated from your pup more than usual or they are getting less stimulation than they need they could do this to act out. If it’s one of these things then it is a fairly easy fix. If you don’t think it’s something like this then you may need to see your vet.

      All the best!

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  7. February 23, 2019 Emilia

    I’ve has such a challenge with my frenchie in terms of potty training. She was pretty good about learning the pee pad at 8 weeks and then we went backwards. She’s always done little bits of pee many, many times a day and rarely emptied her bladder. She went into eating her pee pads and newspapers. That set us back quite a bit. Now she’s re-learning the pee pad. It’s tough for us because we live on the 5th floor and work away from home at least 5 hours a day.
    Any tips? She’s 17 weeks today. She also likes to eat her poop. We clean up when we see her pooping or as soon as we find it. Crate training has been considered but she pees in her crate, on blankets and had a rough experience with her crate coming home.

    REPLY
    1. March 4, 2019 Frankie

      Hey Emilia,

      Thanks for sharing your challenges. Don’t worry, you’re not alone! 17 weeks isn’t an unusual amount of time for a Frenchie to take to learn. They can be quite stubborn. You may feel like they are never going to get there, then all of sudden it will click. Just be patient, provide positive reinforcement, stay consistent with commands, and they will get there.

      If possible, staying at home with them for a week or two could accelerate things so you can set boundaries and create positive habits.

      All the best!

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  8. February 28, 2019 Chelle

    My Frenchmen is 16 weeks old and is doing well with toilet training mainly outside a few accidents but not everyday. I crate him at night with a pad for him to wee, he hasn’t popped for a week just weeks. When do I take the pads away from his crate.
    Thank you for

    REPLY
    1. March 4, 2019 Frankie

      Hey Chelle!

      There is no perfect timing for this. If you think he’s ready then try it out in a controlled environment, where you are available to clean up any mess. Once you’ve tested it out a few times you can extend the time and then eventually you won’t need them at all!

      Good luck!

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  9. March 3, 2019 Mindy marcus

    Hi there, we inherited a Frenchie who just turned 2 and she pees and poops in the house still! I take her out all day and before bed and maybe she pees 2 times. What do I do? She is ruining every rug in the house! I scold her when I catch her and praise with a treat outside. She just stares at me like what? We love her …

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    1. March 4, 2019 Frankie

      Hey Mindy!

      That sounds frustrating… It may be worthwhile getting an expert trainer to help you out or chatting with your vet. The only your pup gets the harder it will be to train them.

      With that being said, they can still learn habits at 2 years old. Try to avoid the negative scolding, and instead pick her up and place her where she should pee as she is doing it. Positive reinforcement when she does the right thing is always good.

      You could also try out an indoor grass mat or pee mat to bridge the training gap. In the end, patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement will get you there!

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  10. March 15, 2019 Ksenya

    Our puppy (female) is 8 months old and most of the time she can hold for about 4 hours during the day and 8 hours at night. The Frenchie and my boyfriend have a very good relationship and she is usually behaving well when he’s home. But with me, last month she jumped on the couch and peed on the blanket while looking at me, which was 30 minutes after she went outside. And yesterday I was lying on the couch, she jumped up and peed on the couch right beside my leg while looking at me, which was an hour after we walked. I don’t know what to do with her. Any suggestions why she might be behaving like this when she’s with me?

    REPLY
    1. March 15, 2019 Frankie

      Oh no! That sounds like a real challenge…

      It does sound like she is acting out for some reason. Usually, it’s not a great idea to use punishment or negativity when potty training, but if your pup is already trained and this is misbehavior, then it might be the way to go.

      At one point when Frankie was fully trained, about the same age, she would stare straight at us and pee on the bathroom mat after we got home from work. She knew it was wrong, but it was like she was acting out. We found that a timeout immediately at the time of the misbehavior worked well. For us, this was isolating her (in a room, outside, or a pen if you don’t use this for other reasons) for a minute or two after saying a stern ‘No’ directed at the behavior.

      It won’t take her long to realize that the behavior is unacceptable.

      Good luck!

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  11. March 20, 2019 NURA

    I have a 7 month old (today) Frenchie who wasn’t trained to go outside because he didn’t have his injections till i got him ( 6 1/2 months old). He has been peeing and pooing on pads as and when he wants.
    I have recently started sending him out and i have read all is can read, watched all i can watch about the methods of housebreaking however it isn’t working very well. I live in an apartment in a high rise so i time his pee and poo breaks to every 4 hours. i feed him twice a day at the same time ( without fail) and give him water at the same times as well. He pees fine but pooing is so irregular and he has accidents on his bed. When he is outside, he gets distracted so easily (a little wind or leaf blowing in the distance gets his attention). I make sure I don’t interact with him but he has a habit of chewing on rocks so I take them out of his mouth without saying anything or having any eye contact. When he pees, I use the potty command and praise him tremendously with toilet break only special treats. Our breaks outside can last up to 30/40 mins with no poo in site. P.s. hes been on the same grain free food and used to poo ¾ times a day till I started taking him out. I really need some advice on whether im doing something wrong or whether this is normal. I kind of feel like he resents me taking him out for toilet break however really enjoys it when we go outside for walking purposes and he gets to do what he wants. HELP please I really want him to learn how to go outside and need some sound realistic advice.

    REPLY
    1. April 2, 2019 Will Blunt

      Hey Nura,

      Have you considered using a grass mat (can be fake grass) inside as a transition? Unfortunately, potty training is not a perfect science, and it requires lots of persistence. Some Frenchies can take 8+ months to be fully house trained, and what you are currently doing sounds like a fairly sound approach. The only thing you could add in is to use a mat which is easier for clean up and use this area to move him whenever he has an accident.

      Good luck!

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  12. March 28, 2019 Ingrid

    Hi! I have a 7 months old puppy and she does her business outside but I can’t make her to keep it longer than 3 hours, after that she pees inside mostly on the bed.. What can I do to make her understand that she’s only allowed to do it outside? I thought her to ring the bell but she only does it when we are at the door and I gave her treats every time she went potty outside. Please help!

    REPLY
    1. April 2, 2019 Will Blunt

      Hey Ingrid,

      That sounds tricky! Have you considered getting a grass pad inside to begin transitioning them?

      Some Frenchies can take up to 8 months to be completely trained for going outside.

      Just stick to best practice and be patient, you’ll get there.

      REPLY
  13. April 5, 2019 Sophie

    Hi! My puppy has just turned 9 months. She is amazing throughout the day until it comes to potty training at night. She is still pooing on the pad or floor and not going dry all through. We have tried everything and not sure what else we can do. Shouldn’t she be dry all night by now?

    REPLY
    1. April 8, 2019 Will Blunt

      Hey Sophie,

      It’s hard to put an exact number on the time it takes a pup to be fully potty trained. Each dog is different. Yes, 9 months is on the longer side, and if it concerns you perhaps you could run your tactics by a vet to see if there are any improvements you could make?

      There is every chance your pup is feeling the pressure and some of this could be related to psychological (anxiety issues), not necessarily a physical inability.

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  14. April 19, 2019 Taisia

    Hi,
    I am preparing to welcome a 9 week old frenchie into my family at the end of this month. Is that too young to start potty training? I understand his bladder will not be able to hold very long so we will use pee pads initially, and I know he won’t be house broken completely for a while, but should I introduce the concept of potty training immediately or give him a little while since he is so young?

    REPLY
    1. May 10, 2019 Will Blunt

      Hi Taisia,

      Congrats on the new pup! 9 weeks isn’t too young to start potty training, but just be patient and don’t expect miracles.

      REPLY
  15. April 29, 2019 Anurag Gaur

    I am having a hard time training my 5 months Frenchie. I confined him with 2 pee trays for a week to get used to it but then when i placed the pee tray in a big area, he still peed and pooped on the floor instead of going to the pee tray – even though the pee tray had pee pads absorbed with his pee. I don’t know what to do and I am tired of cleaning all the time and waking up at 3am to clean poop. Please help me. It’s my first dog so initially when i got him, I gave him a lot of space but i think i have corrupted him and he is broken now.

    REPLY
    1. May 10, 2019 Will Blunt

      Hey Anurag,

      It can be challenging to train a Frenchie, so try not to feel disheartened. Some Frenchies can take up to 8-9 months to be fully potty trained.

      The most important thing is to maintain consistency, reward the right behavior, and be persistent.

      REPLY
  16. May 20, 2019 Megan Reed

    We have a 15 week old Frenchie, how long should he be able to hold urine? How often should we usher him out during the day and at night? We are at the beginning of this process.

    REPLY
    1. June 6, 2019 Will Blunt

      Hi Megan,

      There is no hard and fast rule for how long a pup can hold, it’s all about incremental gain. You also want to avoid creating a habit of needing to go too much.

      Start fairly small with hourly visits, and then slowly build on this and extending the time out.

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  17. May 26, 2019 Shannon O'Brien

    Hey,
    I have a 10 month old Frenchie and he is great at everyone except the most frustrating, toilet training! I seem to struggle a lot with him going outside to the bathroom. I have some amazing days where he will go when I go on schedule to the toilet or when he needs to go outside he will bark at the door. But other days he is horrible! He will do many accidents inside. I also struggle with him through out the night I take him to the bathroom before bed and as soon as we wake up. But he always seems to have accidents inside! This is becoming very frustrating and please if you have any tips that you could give me to break his habit of doing it inside it was be appreciated.

    Thanks

    Shannon

    REPLY
    1. June 6, 2019 Will Blunt

      Hey Shannon,

      It’s not everyone’s favored approach, but have you tried some form of punishment? You could give your pup a timeout, in a closed room or something similar, for 5 minutes if you catch him going to the toilet inside. It needs to be at the exact moment of the issue though, otherwise, the punishment will be ineffective.

      A stern ‘No’ command and punishment, or an ushering outside, as soon as he goes to the toilet should start to help over time.

      REPLY
  18. August 22, 2019 Betty Brosh

    I am a mother and this helped me!

    REPLY

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