Anyone who has met a French bulldog at least once will probably agree that they are the most adorable and attention-seeking dogs ever. Most of the time they are fun to be around, but they have somewhat annoying and frustrating behavior, i.e. jumping on anything and everything.
Unfortunately, most people out of ignorance actually support this kind of behavior, without first asking whether it can harm the dog in any way. So, is jumping bad for French bulldogs? Stay here and find out.
Why Does The Need To Jump Arise In The First Place?
Before you even know the answer to the question: “is jumping bad for French bulldogs”, let us explain what motivates such behavior in the first place.
They need your attention
This breed of dog most often jumps on people, furniture, and sofas to seek attention. Bulldogs are known as one of the most attention-seeking dogs ever, and most interestingly, they are not shy about showing it to the rest of the world. They will do anything to get you to look at them, and jumping has proven to be a method that always works.
Every time he jumps you will probably pet him or give him a treat which actually encourages him. However, more responsible owners will scold him to control the behavior.
They are highly social and exciting in nature.
In short, it is a breed with an extremely exciting nature, which actually explains this behavior. They aren’t hyperactive, but simply excited.
When you are away, for example, because you are at work, they miss you and that is exactly why they will jump on you as soon as you come home.
They love to play
Both babies and adults are always ready to play. Most of them start by jumping up to invite you to start playing with them, which brings us back to the first reason, THEY LOVE YOUR ATTENTION.
In addition, this can also be a sign that your dog doesn’t have a sufficient dose of daily activities, that is, he has too much-accumulated energy that needs to be expressed in this way.
Now let’s move on to the main part of this article where we will explain in more detail what the experts say about whether or not jumping is safe for this breed of dog.
Is Jumping Bad For French Bulldogs?
To be honest, French bulldogs are known for having particular health issues. Therefore, we advise you to do your research first to find out whether this breed is a good choice for you and your family.
Secondly, responsible and good owners will do everything to give their dogs a long and happy life, but unfortunately, most of them aren’t aware of the fact that jumping isn’t good for their dog’s health. As we have already mentioned, his dog breed is sensitive to a number of health problems, and jumping only increases the chances of developing most of them, mostly the worst ones.
We don’t want to scare you, we just want to encourage you to think twice about the consequences of encouraging this kind of behavior, no matter how cute and interesting it is.
My Recommendation: Do Not Encourage Your French Bulldog To Jump
The bottom line is that excessive jumping can negatively affect your French Bulldog’s health so my recommendation is that you not teach your Frenchie to jump like a maniac.
One of the things we did when we brought our Frenchie home was taught our three kids to Not encourage our new pup to jump. While it is cute when a dog to jumps we educated them about the reasons why it wasn’t good for our dog’s health. They understood and we have done a good job protecting our dog from injury by minimizing jumping.
We taught the kids not to dangle a toy above our Frenchie’s head to get him to jump up.
We trained our French Bulldog it was not acceptable to jump on people
We taught our Frenchie not to jump down from a large height as much as possible (our bed, our out of a vehicle).
While jumping up onto something is less risky it is the jumping down from a height that can cause issues.
The bottom line is that jumping down can put them at risk for some of the injuries mentioned below.
Consequences of Jumping Injuries
Let’s go into detail!
Hip Dysplasia
To tell the truth, hip dysplasia is a genetic trait of the French, but in a large number of cases it occurs as a result of an injury, most often a jump that results in a fall. It is a degenerative skeletal disorder that causes a lot of pain and usually results in limited activity and the development of hip arthritis.
Patellar Luxation
The patella, or as it is often called the kneecap, is located in a groove at the end of the thigh bone. Unfortunately, there is a 1.9% probability for females and 2.3% for males that they will suffer from a patellar luxation or in other words a when the knee cap pops out of the groove and pops back in on its own (a luxation) or even worse when it pops out and stay out (dislocated kneecap) at some point in their life.
If it isn’t treated in time, or even worse, not treated at all, it can lead to many stressful and painful conditions.
Intervertebral Disc
Another reason why you shouldn’t give your French Bulldog a treat when he jumps on your bed is intervertebral disc disease. This disease occurs as a result of trauma to the spine, damages the disc and causes a hernia or rupture, and is often accompanied by inflammation and severe pain.
Soft Tissue Injury or Broken Bone
While there are many reasons why your adorable furry pet may be limping, a soft tissue injury is the most common. These are usually different types of sprains and strains. Additionally, your dog jumping for joy at the sight of you can also result in a broken bone. So pay attention and try to remove this behavior for his benefit.
Torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament)
Yet another risk of letting your Frenchie jump around is having them tear their ACL in one of their knees. I had an English Bulldog years ago that tore her ACL and came up limping. My poor girl had to have surgery and my poor wallet had to pay for it! It was a VERY expensive Vet bill and my poor bulldog had many weeks of recover after the surgery was completed. Because the anatomical structure of a dog’s knee is slightly different than that of a human a surgery known as a TPLO surgery is done to repair the knee after the ACL is torn.
Early arthritis
Based on the owners’ experiences collected so far, we have come to the conclusion that premature arthritis is the number one health problem in jumping French bulldogs. Also, this type of dog is inherently susceptible to developing arthritis, but this doesn’t diminish the fact that jumping greatly helps to activate the disease earlier.
As in humans, this disease causes inflammation of the joints, and it can appear at any period of life. However, it is important to always remember that early arthritis is more easily triggered when your dog jumps on hard surfaces.
In Conclusion – Is Jumping Bad For French Bulldogs?
Every owner of a French Bulldog knows how this breed in itself is a little crazy, and their craziness can sometimes result in injuries.
Frankly speaking, jumping is nothing less than a simple animal instinct. It most often occurs due to the need for attention or as a way of expressing your dog’s excitement and affection.
Therefore, is jumping bad for French bulldogs? Unfortunately, many owners have learned firsthand that this seemingly interesting behavior can have numerous negative consequences for the furry pet. We know it’s hard to control and completely eliminate this behavior, but at least try to limit jumping activity where you can.
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Thank you to Tony Manhart, the founder and editor in chief at Planet Husky for contributing to this article!
For other French Bulldog health guides visit here:
