Hi all, My name is Erin and I have a 9 month old Frenchie named Gerry. We brought him home when he was 10 weeks old and from day one the only way he likes to play is biting my partner and I, so much so that he doesn’t even really let us pet him unless he’s laying down to nap. He primarily goes for hands but if we hide them or sit on them he will go for our faces. We thought it was because he was teething but now at 9 months it seems that all of his teeth have come in and he still does it and is more aggressive about it than ever. We have tried all the advice out there, distracting him with toys, being still and praising him when he stops, getting up and ignoring him and nothing works. He has never been a fan of toys, won’t play with balls or any stuffed toys the only things he ever shows remote interest in is edible chews but we can’t really give him those regularly. Remaining still also isn’t really an option as he will continue and the biting hurts, and as for walking away he simply chases us and bites our feet and pants. This behaviour only amps up around guests and there is no controlling him once he gets going. He doesn’t seem to be trying to hurt people but with him getting so big that is often the result. It almost seems like a dominance thing as when we try to push him off or tell him no he seems to be more forceful about it (he shows other signs of dominance as well like pushing past is to get through doors/ up stairs first, has to sit on us on the couch, and pulls back if we tug on his leash on walks). He receives a good amount of exercise and attention so I have no idea why this is the only method of “play” that he wants. We took him to puppy training classes when he was 16 weeks and they simply told us he was teething and to use toys. Apologies for the ridiculously long post but I keep receiving the same advice that has proved to not work for months and I’m becoming nervous that this is going to remain part of his behaviour which I really can’t handle. Any advice on how to stop the biting or even how to help make him a little more obedient would be greatly appreciated. I have attached a picture of his sassy face for reference
Its normal puppy behaviour and yes, it can be very trying It doesn't happen overnight but persistence and patience do pay off, it can take months depending on the puppy but it ‘does get better. Puppies like adult dogs, learn through repetition. Lots of the time when it comes to biting, people try several different methods over a period of a few days, and wonder why nothing has worked, it takes time /patience and the more consistent you are the faster they will learn, the goal is not so much to stop them from biting, but to teach them bite inhibition/ bite control, no one method will work for all and there are numerous ways to teach them to understand what's acceptable, main point is teaching them what is allowable/acceptable.
All that GsdSlave says above. Why did you stop going to the puppy training classes? All dogs need to be able to respond to, at least, our basic commands, and a good trainer should be able to show you to how to set boundaries on his unruly behaviour by using positive methods, and keeping that training a fun experience for your dog. Your boy will be in his teenager stage now, and French Bulldogs can be very - well, ebullient is probably the best word to use!
Hi I am a new French bulldog puppy owner!! I am just wondering if you have insurance for your doggo? I am confused what to go for due to French bulldogs bad rep for illnesses! My pup is fine and fully registered and from a reliable breeder but would still like to be 100% maybe you could advise?
I have 2 Frenchies and we have insurance. I’ve already had to take one of them to the university animal hospital in my state for a broken rear leg. That cost me around $2500 out of pocket because at the time we didn’t have insurance.
Hi! I have a 10 month old french bulldog named Jax who I recently adopted and I am dealing with very similar issues. He seems to get very worked up sometimes and starts barking and lunging trying to nip/bite and he grabs our feet and bites our shoes. It has been frustrating so far because once he gets worked up its hard to calm him down. Have you had any luck dealing with Gerrys biting?
