Frenchie Tink

For many of us, our dogs are part of our family, and as such, are often the subject of our photographs. It’s not as easy photographing dogs, and we’re often disappointed with the results.

No matter whether you use a digital SLR or a compact camera, there are steps you can take to make sure you get the best possible photos of your furry friend.

1. Spend some time training your dog. It’s much easier to get a good photo if your dog will sit, stand, drop and stay when he’s told. You can use a squeaky toy to get a lovely alert expression on his face, but it doesn’t work at all if he hasn’t been taught to stay. Also, if he’s had some training, you’ll feel much more confident if you want him photographed without a collar and leash.  But, remember to keep it fun.  They should see that camera come out and think it is a game!
2. Have your dog groomed to perfection. If you’re going to spend the time taking photos of him, make sure he’s clean, his hair is trimmed and he looks his very best. Bring along a washcloth or some wipes to wash his muzzle just in case he drools a little.
3. Choose a nice location for the photos. A park or a patch of forest are both good options. The beach or river is another favorite place, but make sure your dog doesn’t go for a swim before you’re finished photographing him. Check the background and make sure there’s no objects in the way; you don’t want the appearance of trees growing out of your dog’s head.
4. Make sure you know how to use your camera. If the background is very bright, your dog will appear very dark in the photos. In this case, you can force your flash to work, and light up your dog too. You’ll get a much better photograph. Read your camera manual, and practice. Most cameras these days have some sort of zoom capacity.  Using a zoom length of at least 80mm will allow you to stay a reasonable distance from your dog, and avoid curious nose prints on your lens.
5. Get some help. It’s very difficult to stand away from your dog and take a photo, as well as tell him to stay, encourage an alert expression, and change the direction of his gaze. You’ll have much more fun in your photography session if there’s someone taking care of him while you’re at the other end of the camera.
6. Take lots of photos and be patient.  The real advantage of digital photography is that there’s no film being used, and it doesn’t cost anything to take hundreds of photos. Having said that, it’s still a good idea to wait and think before taking a shot. Take a couple of seconds to make sure the wind isn’t blowing fur across your dog’s face, he’s looking in the right direction, and the background is attractive.  When everything is just right, snap LOTS of photos.  You will have lots of good photos, and with a bit of luck a couple of great ones!
7. If possible, photograph your dog in the shade. This avoids dark shadows and harsh highlights, which can be difficult for your camera’s automatic exposure system to work with. It will also avoid photos where your dog is squinting. You’ll find the best light for photography is early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
8. Squat or lie down so you’re at your dog’s level, rather than photograph him from above. Fill the frame with the part you want to photograph, whether it’s just his head or the whole body. Another good angle is to get down low and photograph upwards against the sky or some trees. It turns out great, but again, you may need to force your flash to fire to avoid your dog turning out dark in your photos.
9. Keep an eye on his head position. Although dogs don’t mind their noses appearing big in photos, you will get a more attractive portrait if he’s looking forty-five degrees to the side. Try it and you’ll agree, it’s much nicer than a photo that’s taken when he’s staring straight at the camera.
10. Don’t leave your photos in your camera: have your good ones printed, or even enlarged for your wall.  If you want to be more creative, try some of the great digital scrap booking software that’s available. Add backgrounds, text and decorations, and create a real work of art.

It does take practice to improve your photography, but if you follow these ten steps, you’ll have photos of your dog that will take pride of place on your wall.

Article by Dog Fence DIY - Experts in Electric Dog Fencing and Do-it-Yourself Fence Building.

James is going out of town and I’m going to a charity Bochi Ball tournament in Del Mar this weekend. The tournament takes place at the dog beach portion of Del Mar. Our french bulldog puppy Tink is 4 months old now and is up to date on all of her shots, we have one last shot to go and that is her rabbi shots and then she is fully vaccinated. We have already begun taking her to this park we go to all the time that allows dogs and she plays well with other dogs and loves the social interaction. I am wondering if I could bring her to “Dog Beach” in Del Mar.

Up till now we have been cautious to take her to any exclusively “dog beaches” or “dog parks” for fear of infestation of sick dogs left behind on the grass or sand. I feel that a beach is a little different than a dog park because the waves are always breaking and re-circling the sand. I also feel that since she has interaction with other dogs on a daily basis there is nothing at the Dog Beach that would be any different then where we take her now.

Just last night the park we went to had at least twenty dogs running around. James thinks that it would be safer to wait until she is 6 months to take her to any sort of a dog beach. However, I hate the thought of leaving Tink at home when I am going somewhere she is allowed and I know she would have a great time. I of course will ultimately do whatever is best for Tink’s health and I am posting this in hopes of getting advice on what to do.

So should I take her or leave her home?

PS: Don’t worry, we don’t let Tink read these posts so she won’t be mad at you if you say we should leave her home :)

We thrive on learning new things to help us give our French bulldog the best life possible. Tink is a very active puppy that likes to jump off things (beds, couches, etc.). The problem is, most of her body weight is in her head, so when she jumps she comes close to landing on her face. For that reason, we try our hardest to put her on the ground every time we feel she’s ready to jump off. We don’t want our puppy to hurt herself. It has been suggested that we never let her on the couch or bed in the first place. But, she’s our princess and loves to be by our side at all times.

Back to the head taking up a good proportion of the puppy’s total body weight, a fellow frenchie owner told us about a horrible experience she had with her frenchie. A friend of hers tried to pick up her frenchie like he would any other dog, however he didn’t know that Frenchies tilt forward because of the size of their heads. So the puppy fell on his face and ended up in the hospital. Imagine how the owner felt. Imagine how her friend felt. He felt horrible. But, he didn’t have no idea he could cause such damage. Just the other day, my 10 year old brother almost dropped her.

We must educate others before handing our dogs to them.

When we think about how much these dogs cost and hear stories like this, we sometimes get paranoid when people ask if they can hold our puppy. I personally don’t mind being mean and saying “No“. But for people like my girlfriend, there are ways to say No in a nice way. Say something like “I would, but the last time someone held her, she got too excited for the person to handle and fell” or “I would, but he’ll be mad at me”. You can think up a lie or just say ” I don’t trust a crazy $2,000 puppy in your arms, she’s not trained enough for that”.

But let’s face it. It never goes like that; somehow your puppy still ends up in your friend or stranger’s hands.

I suggest you educate them first. Let them know how (un)proportioned they are due to their heads and how excited they get in other people’s arms. Warn them to hold the dog the appropriate way, to pick them up closer to their heads. It’s hard to tell others no, or how to hold your dog. But just remember, frenchies do tilt forward and fall on their faces and you are the owner responsible for the dog’s safety regardless of how cute people think he or she is.

Oh, and don’t get me started on kids… (Just remember to always keep a close eye on your Frenchie)

We know that French bulldogs are loving dogs and that they are great with people. We’ve also heard that they are great with kids, their owners and other animals as well. But there is one thing we’ve heard (and read) that is adding a little drama to our lives. It is that frenchies pick a favorite. We’ve only had our French bulldog puppy for a week now and we both already feel Tink has picked her favorite (well, kinda). The first day, it was me. Tuesday through Thursday it was Lisa and now it seems like she’s back to liking me more.

We both have our own strategies to winning the battle of ‘Tink’s favorite companion’. Sometimes Lisa and I do rock-paper-scissors or make up some deal on feeding our little frenchie. We sometimes think she likes whoever feeds her the most. We also fight over who should give her the treat when she goes pottie or who should drive, so tink can be on the other person’s lap. I’m telling you, it seems like Lisa and I compete all day to be Tink’s favorite. The only thing we can distinguish so far is that when she wants to play, she is all about me, however when she wants to cuddle she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. When she wants to cuddle and snuggle up to someone all she wants to know is where Lisa is.

I’ve tried researching how to become the French bulldog’s favorite, but all I can find is that frenchies would rather play with humans over others dogs and other webpages about frenchie owners and their favorite things to do.

The problem is I don’t know how to determine which one of us is her favorite or how  I make sure I become her favorite.

Is it whoever takes her out to pottie and rewards her? Or is it who feeds her? Perhaps it’s the first person to come through the door when she has been left home alone? How about who plays with her in the morning? I just hope it’s not whoever cuddles with her the most, because Lisa has me beat in that category.

If anyone has any tips and advice, we I’d greatly appreciate it.

As some of our blog readers may already know, we are first time dog owners and of a French Bulldog. We started this blog in hopes to gain knowledgeable information regarding raising a Frenchie. So far, we have learned more than we could ever imagine. There is so much to learn about raising a little Frenchie and we discover new tips every day. From health issues, weight issues, snoring, housetraining, puppy hood to adulthood. There is just so much to learn. We are extremely grateful for all the tips and advice we have received so far.

The tips and advice provided on this blog come from Frenchie owners, veterinarians, breeders, French Bulldog books, websites and all kinds of other various sources. As previously stated we are first timers, all these tips are simply the advice and tips of other animals lovers just like you and I.

Raising Puppies Tips

I just wanted to send out a thank you to all the people that have responded to my craigslist post regarding our new puppy Tink. For some of you who don’t know, I posted a post on craigslist asking if anyone could send my girlfriend and I some advice in raising a frenchie from scratch. I posted it in 2 cities. I was flagged within an hour and the other lasted a couple days. But it was sure worth it. Here are some of the tips and advice I received regarding raising our puppy.

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This is from Anna, a vet that know’s her dogs

This isn’t specific to frenchies, but especially if this is your first dog here are some really basic tips that will help out the life of every dog and its owner:

• Start vaccines at 6-8 weeks old, repeat every 3 weeks until after 4 weeks old.

• Spay/neuter at 4 months old ideally. Fixing a dog before it becomes sexually mature (around 6 months old) has many behavioral and health benefits, including a longer lifespan. Ask your vet more about this.

• Get your dog on flea preventative rather early, and administer it every month, year-round. Never buy anything that wasn’t given to you by your vet.

• Dogs require monthly heartworm preventative by the time they are 6 months old. (Heartgard, Revolution, etc)

• Never take a puppy out for walks, to parks, or anywhere other dogs may have been. Parvo can live in soil and feces for months. Even for vet visits, hold your puppy don’t put him on the floor, and don’t touch anything in the waiting room!

• Get him obedience training early (after all vaccines) and practice it at home. Half of obedience training is training YOU and your family how to be consistent.

• Have 100 people come to your house to meet the puppy in the first few months (if possible). Make sure they wash their hands before touching puppy. This will make puppy socialized to people.

• Crate training is the best way to potty train. Start early, Consistency is the key. Have tons of play and socialization time with puppy outdoors (not where other dogs are).

• Socialization is VERY important. Once a dog is done with its vaccines, take it out to lots of dog parks and beaches.

• Try to get your dog socialized around as many places, experiences, and people as possible.

• Any food brand you can buy in a gorcery store is pretty much crap. :) Consult the Pets Discussion forum for people’s preferences.

Now, aren’t those some of the most helpful tips you can find? Every puppy owner can learn something from this.

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This tips was provided by Shirley of Small Paws Rescue

Read up on crate training. It is the best way to potty train and keep your dog safe for its whole life. I wish I had known that years ago. Also, never feed it any food you can buy in a grocery store. Solid Gold is a San Diego company (they are in Santee actually) that makes very good food that is found at their store and also Petco. There are many other good brands of quality food. I don’t know particular needs for your breed. Have fun. Good luck. Spay/neuter and crate train!

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MORE DOGGIE TIPS

I have a 4 year old Frenchie and he is an incredible dog. The best tip for potty training I can give you is to take him out a couple times a day to pee and reward him with a “good boy” everytime he does it. I use the term “pee-pee” whenever I’d take him out. It took my frenchie approximately, 2-months before he became potty trained.

I feed my Frenchie Iams as he was allergic to the other brands.

Your best bet for training is to complete a puppy training at one of the pet shops.

I hope this helps.
Fred

THANKS FRED - THIS DEFINITELY HELPS!

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Here’s another tip from an anonymous sender. It’s a sad one, but it’s a tip.

Keep him away from pools. They can’t swim! They sink. Mine drowned at 4 months. And someone I know had one that was 3 years old and had been around the pool all its life and fell in and drowned. BE CAREFUL!

You can tell that hurts… :(

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Once again, Anna delivers more information bound to help EVERY dog owner…

I see a lot of simple stuff . . .

• For itching, its almost always that the dog has fleas (despite what the owner says) and has allergies to them, and/or the owner was using some crap brand.

• The MOST issues I see in animals come from procrastinating on spay/neuter and/or vaccines, which can be prevented easily. So I try to get that across to as many people as I can.

•  A lot of people don’t know that advertised products like Benefuls and Iams and Pedigree . . . a lot of those products have a lot of fillers which dogs have natural allergies toward, that wear down their immune systems and give them skin problems. If it has a commercial . . . its crap. :)

•  I said I’m not as familiar with Frenchies in general (except that they’re adorable) but most purebreeds have many more medical issues than mixed breed dogs, so always watch for things like allergies and such. Small breeds sometimes have problems with being overweight, an ounce on a small breed is like a pound on you!

•  Once a dog gets to be around 6 years old, ask your vet about dental cleanings. They’re becoming more and more routine.

•  Keep your dog’s nails trimmed, at least once a month (you can learn to do it yourself). This will prevent the “quick” (blood vessel) in the nail from growing out long with the nail, making future nail trimmings much harder and painful for the dog. Its a good idea in general with puppies to play with their ears, open their mouths, trim their nails, anything gentle you can do to get them accustomed to what a vet would normally do.

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Some of these tips may be contradicting, but they are from various owners with various dogs and with various experiences. It’s up to you how you decide to utilize these tips. I like to have many tips at my fingertips for any given cirumstance.

Thank You All for These Tips! As you can see, it was worth it to post that post on craigslist. Even though I got flagged last time, I’m going to post a post again. It’s worth the risk. Maybe I just have to write a different type of post. We’ll See…

Leave a comment if you have a tip yourself.