New to French bulldogs - Advice would be nice :)

[Ethelthefrenchie]

Hi, I'm Joe, two weeks ago myself and my partner collected our puppy. We're both new to French bulldogs but have previously had Bulldogs. Now we're a one dog family and keep trying to introduce Ethel to many dogs in the park, she seems to have no fear and even runs up to the biggest of the dogs in the park, I'm having no problems with socialising her, however she has an obsession with water, I think she thinks she can swim like the labradors, its slightly off putting because she's amazing on and off the lead... apart from when we walk around the lake. She tries and jump in all the time with the other dogs.
Does anyone else have this problem? will this die out as she gets older?






Potty Training Ethel
10 weeks old but the training is going really well. We've got her fully trained to use the astro tuff potty outside. Is anyone else using one of these? the matt must have come scented as she's been using it from day 1.
I've been filming her a lot recently to document her training process.

 

[Tgirl]

She is adorable! I don't have a Frenchie yet, but the one I am getting in August or September is 3 years old and loves water. They call her a little mermaid. Frenchies aren't built to swim though so I wouldn't let her get out of arms reach while in the water just to be on the safe side. Some hate the water, some love it. It's just and individual thing.

 

[PugandTwoFrenchies]

Congratulations on getting Ethel! She is *gorgeous*.

I am new to Frenchies as well, and I've discovered that mine just *adore* water. Fergus is always barking to come into the tub whenever I turn the water on, they go bonkers when I turn the hose on in the back yard (they love to be misted and play with the 'shower' setting...it's hysterical), they're always fascinated by our fountain in the back yard, and I'm very tempted to get them one of those $8 kiddie pools so that they can splash around on hot summer days.

Must be a Frenchie thing!

 

[Squishy Walnuts]

Welcome!! Congrats on your new pup. Ethel is gorgeous!!

Wally likes water but he's not obsessed with it. Every Frenchie is different. I never used the astro tuff potty thing. I just used newspaper indoors and our yard outdoors. Wally was pretty easy to potty train but my other dog Uma gets all the credit with that as she helped train him.

 

[Cbrugs]

Welcome! Ethel is such a cutie! Jax does not like the water but does like to play/chase water when it is coming out of the hose. Jax actually prefers to play with the big dogs.

 

[2bullymama]

:welcome3: to FBN! Some one is VERY food motivated... training is going to be a breeze! As for the water, Cheli HATES it and will do all he can to avoid, however, Frenchies can be obsessive.... might be a good idea to get her a life jacket and let her try to swim at some point to see if she is good to go and be safe if she did get in

 

[winginit66]

Hi and welcome from the VA gang. Ethel is a Q-T-π !!! Yes, very food motivated. Not sure if there is a Frenchie that isn't?!?!?!?!

 

[eeturk]

Hudson is the same way with big dogs and water. He never grew out of it! We just watch him carefully and he has a cheap kiddie pool that he loves.


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[Jakeyjake]

Welome to you and Ethel. She is very cute! Both of mine do not care for the water. They will play in the shoreline at the beach but have no desire to go for an actual swim. I would agree that a life jacket would be a wise investment to keep her safe as frenchies are not champs when it comes to swimming. We use the turf when the dogs are on our boat. Their potty spot at home is fake grass so it was easy for them to figure it out. Very cute video btw!

 

[Julie Stevenson]

WELCOME! I have two boys.....one LOVES water and the other is not so fond of it. We go to the beach all the time so I bought them life jackets which they wear anytime we are near water. They don't swim well and mine sunk immediately without a life jacket so I bought them straight away once they both went under the water and disappreated and mommy had a heart attack! No more frenchies without life jackets!

 

[shortstuff]

Welcome to the amazing Frenchie club - warning, they're addicting!!! Ethel is beautiful! What a great build she has. My Bisou sinks like a rock but absolutely loves anything having to do with water. Pool, ocean, sprinkler, hose, bathtub, puddles... all of it! We have a life vest for her so she can enjoy her swim time without us worrying about her too much.

 

[Mavis]

Ethelthefrenchie, congrats on getting your little girl - she is absolutely precious and quite a pistol!!! I would love it if Bambi liked the water. You may want to put a life vest on her because from what I have heard, they have negative buoyancy. Then, she can swim to her heart's content and chase all the ducks she wants without having to worry about her. It is beautiful where you are.

 

[Mavis]

Congratulations on getting Ethel! She is *gorgeous*.

I am new to Frenchies as well, and I've discovered that mine just *adore* water. Fergus is always barking to come into the tub whenever I turn the water on, they go bonkers when I turn the hose on in the back yard (they love to be misted and play with the 'shower' setting...it's hysterical), they're always fascinated by our fountain in the back yard, and I'm very tempted to get them one of those $8 kiddie pools so that they can splash around on hot summer days.

Must be a Frenchie thing!

Have you ever taken a bath with them!? (more play time than to get clean). How funny! I would LOVE that! They might flood the place, however, with all their splashing.

 

[Chiana]

Welcome!

That is definitely a frenchie thing, however they all are such different personalities, but most seem to have funny habbits when young. Luckily they will grow to have some self preservation instinct when they get older. With puppies it's really a constant babysitting.
A kiddie pool sounds like a fun idea and also useful to help them cool down during hot summer season.

Our Moses also likes to run in the water but is a little afraid of going too deep. He wears a life-vest when around deep shoreline. Otherwise we let him run free and play in the water.
When Mo was little he was obsessed in climbing...the higher the better. Oh, the memories of rescuing him from rock cliffs and even a roof top!
At some point I really thought that can we actually manage to keep this little bugger alive :facepalm:

 

[GizmoAndLola]

She is adorable
Gizmo hates the water and won't go near it, he has been like that since he was a puppy. Lola hasn't been properly introduced to water yet since she's only 9 weeks old so I'm excited to see how that goes.
Definitely make sure she is always supervised when in the water since most frenchies can't swim. Good luck!

 

[davidh]

Welcome to the site and your baby is too cute. If your likes the water, I would get a life jacket for her and let her have some fun. Frenchies are very addicting also, and very wonderful bullies.