When you add a French Bulldog to your family tree, you want to make sure that he’s going to be happy in your home as much as anything else. For those who are wondering if French Bulldogs are good with kids, below you’ll find the information to help you make an informed decision about your kids, the personality of a Frenchie, and how both can be great influences for the other! Since your quintessential family dog and kids should, ideally, be besties, you’ll want to do your research to get this connection just right!
So, as far as a general answer as to whether French Bulldogs are good with kids, you’ll be pleased to know that the answer is an empathetic YES! French Bulldogs are amongst the top family dogs because they are so gentle with children as well as because they make great playmates who can provide companionship that goes both ways.
Are French Bulldogs safe with kids?
If you’re worried about safety when it comes to your well-intentioned baby or child and your doggo, you’re not alone. The good news is that French Bulldogs are thought to be the safest breed for babies and children alike. They are patient, calm, unruffled by loud noises or the general panic of a toddling child, and generally very easy-going even if your little one isn’t! There are, of course, some important points to helping make sure that the connection between your Frenchie and your child is as safe and risk-free as possible!
“Train” your baby and child on how to interact with your new pooch
Just like you’re going to have to train your French Bulldog, you’re also going to have train your children! Babies, toddlers, children and even teens need to be taught how to properly talk to, approach and interact with your French Bulldog. This is something that should be done from the very beginning (ideally with all children at the same time) so that everyone understands how they should treat their new pooch. More on that in a bit!
Especially in the first few weeks, you’ll want to make sure that children of all ages and Frenchies of all ages have (supervised) time together to form a healthy and comfortable connection. Make sure that they hang out in the same spaces, get used to how to connect (ie: petting, playing, and grooming) and all of the other building blocks that form a strong connection between human and pooch. A proper introduction is key! More on that later too…
Curb any “bad” behavior quickly
If you notice any bad habits on either side it’s important to curb those quickly and firmly. If your puppy or adult Frenchie is snapping, redirect their attention and energy with a toy. If your child is pulling their fur or trying to ride them (or anything else that’s not good), make sure that you redirect their behavior too!
Are French Bulldogs a good fit for a family with kids?
One of the best things about the connection between your Frenchie and your children is that it’s not going to require a change in your household. Frenchies are easy-going pooches, to begin with, and if they’re entering a household with active and excited children, there won’t be too much of an adjustment in attitude or lifestyle on either side. Here are the main points as far as the fit between your tiny humans and your French Bulldog.
They require little exercise
As a dog breed itself, French Bulldogs are couch potatoes! They don’t require all too much exercise, so you don’t need to worry about motivating your family to go for a 2-hour hike every weekend just to make sure that our doggo gets the right amount of exercise. Just a walk around the block is enough for your average French Bulldog, and it’s a great way to prioritize exercise while also keeping in line with your family’s schedule and preferences!
They’re patient and calm
Frenchies are notoriously chill. They are easy and breezy when it comes to loud children screaming and running around, or toddlers still getting a handle on their fine motor skills and accidentally slapping them in the face. They don’t snap, bite or otherwise get aggressive when kids ultimately dress them up in costumes and parade them around the house for all to see.
They can be great guardians
We’ll go into more detail on this in a bit, but French Bulldogs are amongst some of the best safe and trustworthy dog breeds that can also act as equally safe and trustworthy guardians should it ever come to that. For those nervous parents who enjoy letting their children walk their pooch around the block, or play in the yard, the presence of a Frenchie can be a huge relief knowing that they’ve got protection if it were to be needed!
Kids help ease separation anxiety in Frenchies
Frenchies can be known for having separation anxiety. When left alone, they’ll run around and destroy belongings and go through a lot of emotional distress. If you’ve got kids that are around to interact and play with him, this separation anxiety doesn’t have a chance to come up the way that it would if he were left on his own for 8 hours a day.
French Bulldogs and kids make the best duo!
Above and beyond Frenchies making great family pets even with young children, having a Frenchie around as your kid matures is going to be a wonderful experience when it comes to understanding responsibility, safe interaction with doggos, and companionship that can’t be replaced by any other kind of pooch! A Frenchie provides many benefits for a fruitful companionship:
Frenchies + kids = fun!
One of the best reasons that Frenchies and kids are great companions is because Frenchies are furry kids! They love to hang out with your little ones, play in the backyard, chase bugs, and play with toys. A Frenchie and a child are going to have a lot of fun (especially if they grow up from puppyhood and toddler age together). They’ll be instant besties and constantly be entertaining each other as well as providing heartfelt companionship.
Frenchies are great educational resources
Frenchies have a lot of needs and that means that their breed is great for educational purposes. Learning how to take care of a Frenchie, in particular, can be great for short- and long-term benefits. From how to groom, to how to recognize health issues, to the general responsibility of feeding, walking and taking care of their pooch, a French Bulldog is going to be a wonderful way to help your little one learn about the importance of responsibility.
Training is great on both sides
Frenchies, while stubborn for sure, are great learners. Your child can have so much fun training your pooch to do just about anything with all sorts of kid-chosen commands. For instance, how much fun is your 7-year-old going to have when they potty train their French Bulldog using the giggle-followed commands “Go tinkle!” or “Go poop!”? From basic training to advanced tricks. Frenchies and kids are a great combination.
French Bulldogs are wonderful additions to a family with kids because they touch on fun, responsibility, and education equally. More-so than other dog breeds, French Bulldogs will teach them what they want to know (and vice versa), but won’t drastically change the way that you live your life as a family, either.
French Bulldogs are great guardians and protectors
While a lot of people think of German Shepards or other large dog breeds as the ideal guardian dog breed, French Bulldogs deserve to be in amongst the competition, if not the leader in the running! Without question, French Bulldogs are trustworthy and dedicated guardians for your children. The main reason for this is because a Frenchie will see your children as playmates! Much like his dog brother and sisters, he wants to make sure that he and his fellow playmates are safe and sound all the time. If there are strangers or new animals around, he’ll instantly be on guard to make sure that his favorite little humans stay safe.
If you have more than one child, or you are in a situation where there is a series of children that your Frenchie is familiar with, this can be especially strong because they’ll see it as their responsibility to keep them all safe and that they are all okay (what big job for a tiny pooch).
Another perk to your French Bulldog as a guardian is that they will also have a heightened awareness for when something’s wrong. If you, the responsible adult, are out of sight, your pooch will take over as prime caretaker. If something goes wrong (your child injures themselves, for instance), you can bet that your Frenchie will immediately run and grab you to alert you to the problem.
Similarly, if someone approaches the house that just doesn’t “feel” right to your Frenchie, he’ll go into guard dog mode in the protection of both your little one as well as everyone else in the house! Talk about peace of mind, right?
Making the introductions
Just like anything else, you’ll have to make sure that you effectively handle the introductions between doggo and mini human. This process can take place over a few days or weeks, and the most important thing is to make sure that you don’t rush it. Here are the details to keep in mind.
Introducing a French Bulldog puppy into the family
When you bring home a puppy, you’ll want to follow basic tips for safe spaces and access to the rest of the house. When you bring your little one together with your French Bulldog puppy, make sure that you explain that he is a puppy and that they need to be gentle. Show your child (or children) how to properly pet your puppy as well as pick him up (if you want). Encourage them to play with the puppy but make sure they know to respect the puppy’s space.
As far as the introduction itself, it’s a good idea to allow the puppy to approach them. Frenchies — especially puppies — are very sociable and it won’t take them long to get curious about the mini human smells and come to check them out. Encourage your child to hold their hand out and keep it still while the puppy sniffs and checks them out. For the first few meets and scheduled playtimes, make sure that your child allows the puppy to approach them. After they adjust to each other, the pup won’t be afraid when a toddler or child wanders up to them, first.
It’s always a good idea to keep these meetings supervised until you are sure that one will respect the other!
Introducing an adult French Bulldog into a family
Introducing an adult Frenchie into your household follows the same steps of proper attention, smells, and dog-paced introductions. However, you’ll also want to be aware that adult Frenchies are already set in their ways and those “ways” may not involve children.
You’ll want to be extra cautious in chaperoning meetings between children and adult Frenchies and remember that adults tend to “learn” things slower than puppies. Make sure that your child respects their space and that your new doggo settles into your home — a stressful experience — at his own pace. While some adult Frenchies may immediately bond with your children, others won’t.
Most adults are adopted from a rescue or other organization where they come from questionable backgrounds. Those questionable backgrounds actually teach your Frenchie to see your child as a threat, especially if they’re already bonded with you first. So, proper patience and time are going to be especially important to make sure that your doggo and child are introduced carefully and learn to trust each other.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you’re introducing a Frenchie puppy or adult, it’s critical to get right. If it isn’t done properly, it can lead to bad blood and even injury (not to mention fear and stress on both sides). If done correctly, even the crankiest Frenchie will soon be besties with your child!
Frenchies are not only good with kids, they love kids. If you want to add a loveable, funny, and adorable pooch to your family, you can’t go wrong in attitude, safety or companionship when it comes to a French Bulldog.
