French Bulldog Zoomies Explained – Why Does My Frenchie Get Zoomies?

When I first witnessed French Bulldog Zoomies I didn’t know what to think.  I laughed out loud, I questioned why he was doing this, and I wondered if it was normal behavior.  French Bulldog Zoomies happen in a variety of situations and for varied reasons.  Zoomies are when your Frenchie runs around in a crazy flurry of energetic activity that is entertaining to observe.

Why does your Frenchie do this? Is it normal for a Frenchie to get Zoomies? I have answers for you so let’s dive in.

French Bulldog Zoomies in action
French Bulldog Zoomies In Action

What Are French Bulldog Zoomies?

French Bulldog Zoomies is when your Frenchie all of a sudden gets “French Bulldog crazy eyes” and then starts frantically running around like a possessed Devil dog.  They will cut fast and hard one way, then cut fast and hard the other way, maybe do a spin and take off running for seemingly no reason.  Dog behavior experts believe Zoomies are just a way for your Dog to get rid of pent up energy.

French Bulldog zoomies tend to happen at specific (and predictable) times.  If my Frenchie is on leash when he gets the Zoomies (typically after a poop in the back yard) he will almost immediately get the Zoomies and spin around like a crazy dog possessed.  French Bulldog zoomies can be puzzling to observe while hilarious at the same time.

Why Does My French Bulldog Get Zoomies?  

There can be a variety why French Bulldogs get “The Zoomies.”  Zoomies tend to happen after specific events trigger this odd but entertaining behavior.  I’ll cover those events I have noticed trigger the Zoomies below but typically it is when your French Bulldog is excited, happy, and even relieved.

Younger French Bulldogs (especially French Bulldog puppies) tend to be more energetic and likely to get the Zoomies.

French Bulldog Zoomies Explained – What is F.R.A.P.?  

What is FRAP in dogs?  It stands for Frenetic Random Activity PeriodFRAP is the fancy dog behaviorist name for the Zoomies, the zooms, or crazy Frenchie zoomies.  This kind of frenetic activity typically comes in really short bursts and they calm down quickly after they get it out of their system.

How long do Zoomies last?  Most of the time the FRAP or Zoomies episode with my Frenchie can be as short as 10 seconds and might last up to a few minutes.  The longest duration I have witnessed by French Bulldog have Zoomies lasted almost 5 minutes.

Here’s a video of a Frenchie having a case of the Zoomies on the bed:

When Do French Bulldogs Get The Zoomies?  

There are some pretty common triggers that cause their Frenchie to get Zoomies and once you have been around your dog long enough, you will notice the patterns and can anticipate when your Frenchie will get crazy.

Your Frenchie will likely get a specific look in their eyes (we call it “crazy eyes”), they may do a play-bow posture (see the image below) which is essentially communicating “let’s play!” Then your Frenchie will go into a Zoomie frenetic period of play!

French Bulldog anxiety

Here Are The Triggers I Have Noted Most Commonly Lead To a Zoomies episode:

 

Letting him out of the crate

If our French Bulldog has been cooped up in his dog crate for an extended period of time sometimes he will have so much pent up energy he has an episode of the Zoomies.

After a bath

This is by far one of the biggest triggers of Zoomies with our Frenchie Augie.  When we give him his bath, dry him off afterwards, he always gets the Zoomies.

He is so excited after his bath that as soon as I open the bathroom door he then proceeds to sprint into the living room, do some laps around the living room, then around the kitchen island, then back to the living room, down the hallway, back to the living room, jumps on the couch and then eventually calms down.

Our family is so accustomed to this French Bulldog Zoomie show after bath time each of us gather to watch his performance and laugh hysterically every single time.

After a poop

Our French Bulldog Augie is very predictable and another big Zoomie trigger is after eating dinner he pretty quickly needs to go outside for a poop.  He finds his favorite spot in the woods, does his business while I wait patiently for him to finish up.  Immediately after completing his poo he has a very short Zoomie episode.

He sprints around, cutting various directions, sometimes spinning a circle for a few rotations and then quickly calms down after.  These Zoomie episodes post-poop tend to subside pretty quickly (lasting 10-30 seconds o average).

After a pee break

While his poop breaks always lead to a Zoomie episode his pee breaks don’t typically result in the same behavior.  But, on certain occasions, he takes a pee break and then does a Zoomie show.  If he has been holding his bladder for an extended period of time this is mostly likely to result in the Zoomies for him.

After eating

We have noticed that our Frenchie Augie will sometimes get the Zoomies after eating a meal (especially one that he very pleased with!).

After he sees a favorite human in the family coming home

Our family has three kids, my wife, and myself.  Our French Bulldog is happiest when ALL of his humans are home at the same time.  Anytime there is a family member missing he knows it and watches the front door intently.  When that missing human inevitably walks through the door he greets them with excitement and then he often has an episode of the Zoomies sharing his excitement.

After one of the kids wakes up in the morning and he sees them

I wake up the earliest in the household and when I wake up I will let our French Bulldog out of his crate and we head out to the living room for some morning quiet time.

An hour or so later when other family members starting waking up and emerging from their rooms he gets extremely excited about their appearance as if he hasn’t seen them for weeks.  On rare occasions he gets so excited an episode of the Zoomies follows.  It is a great thing to witness and puts a smile on our faces.

How Long Do French Bulldog Zoomies Last? 

Most of the time French Bulldog Zoomies are done in 10 seconds to a couple minutes.  Sometimes zoomies can last 3-5 minutes (we notice this especially after a bath).

The longest I have ever seen my Frenchie have the Zoomies for was about 5 minutes.  He was so crazy and funny after a bath one day he just couldn’t contain his excitement and had to get that energy out and ran up and down the hallway, around the living room, jumped, played with toys, and had crazy eyes the entire time!  It was absolutely hilarious to witness!

Does Zoomies Mean My French Bulldog Is Happy?

It certainly does seem this way when they get the Zoomies.   It definitely puts a smile on our faces when we see our little guy get the Zoomies.

french bulldog laying in grass

Should I Let My Dog Do Zoomies?  

Zoomies or FRAP episodes are a completely normal dog behavior and nothing to be concerned about.  However, I do have some advice on how to keep your Frenchie and family safe during a Zoomie episode.

I don’t think you should try to prevent your French Bulldog from having the Zoomies.  The key is for them to do it in a safe place and an environment where they won’t get hurt.

Allowing your Frenchie do have his Zoomie episode in your house or a Fenced-in yard is just fine.  Try to keep breakable items away from them during their episode and be sure elderly people or small children protected from the little Tasmanian Devil during his burst of activity.  The last thing you want is your Frenchie knocking over Grandma or a Toddler inadvertently.

We let our Frenchie do his Zoomie on carpet as he has more traction is less likely to slip, crash or hurt themselves (an ACL tear is nothing you want to deal with trust me).

So, instead of trying to prevent your French Bulldog from having the zoomies, instead do your best to control the environment in which your Frenchie does his zoomsies.

As an example, if you know your French Bulldog gets Zoomies after his bath dry them off and put them in a room or Fenced in back yard that is safe for them.

Pro Tip on French Bulldog Zoomies – NEVER Chase Them

One thing you should Never do is chase your French Bulldog when they are having a Zoomies episode.  They can perceive this as being chased and this can keep them at a heightened excitement level.  Just let them do their thing and calm down on their own.

Probably the scariest thing I have seen is when one of our children took Augie out to the bathroom without a leash.  They brought him  outside to our back yard, he did a poop, and then had an episode of the Zoomies.   Our Frenchie took off running towards the road and cars often zoom by so it was scary.  I saw the whole thing through our big bay window and felt helpless.

It didn’t help that our child ran after our Frenchie while he was having the Zoomies. 

Don’t do this.  It makes your Frenchie think you’re playing with them and continue to run away from you – possibly right into a busy road.

Pro Tip:  Instead of running towards your hyped up Frenchie stay calm and walk or run the opposite direction.  When I do this I find my Frenchie will come towards me.  Do this and be sure you have done a good job teaching the Come command.  You should use the Come command and have them come to you. The Come command can help save your dog’s life so make sure you do a goodd job training it.

French Bulldog Zoomies Final Thoughts

The French Bulldog Zoomies are a perfectly natural behavior that comes after some sort of trigger.  They are typically hilarious to witness and nothing to worry about as long as your Frenchie is in a safe environment.  Once you get to know your Frenchie puppy you will get to know when they happen and how long they last.

Our family loves to watch our Frenchie get the Zoomies and it is guaranteed to put a smile on our face every time! One final tip for you is to have some of your Frenchie’s favorite toys handy when he gets the Zoomies as that can keep him occupied and help him focus his abundance of energy in a good direction.

 

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