French Bulldogs are renowned for their friendliness and they sure are great to snuggle with. That should not mean surrendering your bedroom – especially your bed – to your four-legged buddy. French bulldog bedtime should not be a challenging task.
Many new and experienced dog owners accept and encourage their pets to share their bed. To some extent, this can be a good way to strengthen bonds with your canine. However, allowing it on a regular basis risks spoiling your dog, making him take for granted something that should be considered a privilege.
Sharing Your Bed With Your French Bulldog Can Lead To Problems
In a worst-case scenario, your French Bulldog may begin objecting when your spouse and/or children attempt to get into bed. To avoid family friction, it is best to reassert the master-dog relationship, i.e. you are the master, and the bed is OFF limits for non-humans. Giving your dog equal status in your bedroom risks other behavioral issues. For example, your bulldog may disobey certain commands and become belligerent towards the entire family!
Allowing your French Bulldog to sleep on your bed from time to time may not encourage aggressive or dominant behavior. However, being too permissive with such a privilege may lead him to test his new found freedoms. “How far will they let me go?” a dog may wonder to himself…
Dedicate a Specified Sleeping Area For Your French Bulldog
The easiest solution is to specify a separate sleeping area for your dog right from the start, and force him not to stray from it. Perhaps putting his French Bulldog bed on the floor next to yours is a good idea, provided he does not keep jumping up to your bed! If this is the case, provide him with a crate that prevents him from leaping into you at night. You can also try keeping him outside the bedroom at night, although you may have to deal with some whining and door scratching early on.
Sometimes, the ‘Nothing in Life is Free’
In your bedroom, teach your bulldog to sit quietly at bedside and await your permission signal to get on your bed. By obeying your orders, the canine will learn that you are the master and in control of the situation. All thoughts about who is boss will vanish immediately.
By sticking to basic principles of master-dog relationships, you will avoid sticky scenarios like the dog sleeping issue. Stay alert when it comes to even the slightest hints about your bulldog’s assertiveness, and remain firm when you sense a need to put him in his place.
