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)