Archive for March, 2008

Ask the Breeder - Frenchie Haircuts and Show Ring Trims

patpearce March 14th, 2008

Frenchie Haircuts and Show Ring Trims

I am a novice at showing my 16 mos. Frenchie. I need help on appropriate grooming. What are the typical grooming expectations and how to do them. My particular problems are whiskers, lengthy hair at the hind legs and shiny noses. I’ve used vaseline on the nose but is Vitamin E better? I’m not good at clipping the whiskers. What is a user friendly device to do that? Any help is appreciated. My next show is April 5.

Pat writes -

OK…. the minimum that most people do is whiskers and trimming the hair from inside the ears… This is of course after trimming nails and having the dog reasonably clean..

I try to bathe mine a few days or a week ahead of the show.. then on the day of the show go over the dog with a damp washcloth or paper towel as needed.. It gives the oil a chance to get back in the coat and give it a bit of luster…

Trimming the ears can be done a day or two before the show..I use a battery mustache trimmer.. to start - I let the dog look at the trimmer, then I turn it on and let them investigate, then I put the end opposite the blade in the ear so they can hear it and feel the vibration, and when that goes well, start to trim..- your goal is to get the hair out of the inside of the ear to give it a neater appearance and to make it look taller.. I trim the inside of the ear leather, and to the little line at the base of the inside of the ear The hair grows away from the ear- then the hair grows toward the ear that is the line…

I have attached photos of my Sunny - her left ear is trimmed, her right ear is not.

Sunny’s Left Ear   Sunny’s Right Ear

You can also VERY CAREFULLY use round tipped kids scissiors to trim the ears - it takes longer but if the nosie or vibration of the clipper is a problem, scissors work, but you must use care to NOT cut the tender skin on the ear.

Now the whiskers.

They should really be done the moring of the show, and again each dog reacts differently. I have had some that just lay there, and others you best be QUICK to get anything done.

Again I use the moustache trimmer, I trim the whiskers on the muzzle and any stray moles on the sides of the face and any unsightly hair on the chin - the whiskers in the coat (moles) I just trim enough so they don’t stick out of the coat.. The ones on the muzzle I try to get as short as possible - stretch the skin and get them at the root if possible… your object is ot have a neat look on the face. I leave the eyebrows.. If the whiskers aren’t pretty short they are prickly… again you can do it with a rounded scissior…. again be very careful NOT to cut the skin..

The hairy leg.. I’d use thinning shears until you get the amount of hair down you don’t want it to look trimmed, just so it isn’t so hairy - honestly I rarely trim legs or bellies or any of that. - but sometimes it neatens the look..

I wash noses from time to time, the crud or scale on the nose is mostly dirt (some have more than others) and then keep vaseline on it.. If you keep the nose clean it will go a long way to looking its best. (editor note - I actually like vitamin E - I think it makes noses super shiny, but you can also buy ‘nose butter‘, including this kind, made just for Frenchie noses).

I use a dremel to trim nails. I refer to this article - http://doberdawn.com. On the left side is the link to “How to Dremel Dog Nails”

If there are little holes in the coat from a scrape or whatever - there are products to cover those spots some… it is better to use less rather than more… and there are all kinds of tricks for this… and all kinds of products. Obviously if the coat is really rough you might want to hold off showing til the coat repairs itself..

I hope this helps some…

I would suggest that you find a person who shows Frenchies or a French Bulldog breeder in your area that will mentor you and show you some the things that need to be done… I could explain for an hour or show you in two seconds…

Good luck

Pat

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Ask the Trainer - Frenchie Missing Family

gollygear March 14th, 2008

Frenchie Missing Family

Hello, I am hoping you may be able to help me out.  We have a two year old Frenchie, Floyd, who has been having problems while we are away at work.  To give you a bit of background, we had previously lived in a more suburban area with Floyd, our roommate, and his dog, Dora.  Floyd and Dora are brother and sister and have lived together their whole lives up until about five months ago.  At that time, we were married and moved to the city to be closer to work and not have to commute for an hour. 

The transition has been fairly remarkable with Floyd as I think it helps that he sees us more than two to three hours at night.  We also walk him twice a day, I take him for a short walk in the morning (about 3-4 hours after we left) and my husband does the same in the afternoon.  He also goes to doggy daycare on Wednesdays to get some time with other dogs.  He is very happy when we are home but gets very upset when we are leaving, and he always trying to dart out the door and sometimes even sits there visibly shaking.  We received a note today from someone that lives in the apartment building that he has been barking all day, everyday.  Neither Floyd nor Dora have ever barked much, so I was fairly surprised and was a bit skeptical but my husband heard Floyd barking when he approached the door.  There is a terrier four or five apartments down that barks, so I’m not sure if Floyd is reacting to that dog or it is because he is left alone. 

With the exception of increasing his days at doggie daycare, I’m not sure what to try next.  I am hoping, with your experience, that you may have suggestions or ideas.  I have also considered starting to crate him again, which he was used to and comfortable with as a puppy.  But I have not been able to find much information about crating older puppies/adult dogs when you are gone.  At most he would be crated for four hours then have a 15-20 minute walk then back in the crate for four hours then after the afternoon walk probably three hours.  Do you think this is too long?

I appreciate any thoughts you can provide.  Thank you so much!

Hope writes -

Your instincts about Floyd are right on target. Your boy is suffering from separation anxiety and crating him should help tremendously.

Think about the situation from Floyd’s point of view. He’s in a new, unfamiliar place, and almost half of his family disappeared and hasn’t come back! He’s probably terrified that you and your husband are leaving forever, too!

Get a crate right away. Leave it open, with a bed or mat inside. If he’s happy to go inside and investigate, let him. Don’t close the door when you’re home, let him have access to the crate. If he’s resistant, I’d put his food in the back of the crate so he has to go in to get his breakfast and dinner. Again, don’t close the door until he’s comfortable and at ease in the crate.

Get a “Kong” or other toy with a hollow center. Spread a little bit of peanut butter or soft cheese in the center, so that he has to work to get it out. Generally speaking, if dogs stay occupied for the first 10 minutes in the crate, they will relax and take a nap.

When you’re introducing Floyd to the crate again, make the first stay very short. Put the toy in the crate, say “Kennel up!” or some other phrase, put him in the crate, close the door and walk out. You can say “Be good!” but your departure should be as matter-of-fact as possible.

Walk around the block and come back. Your arrival should also be unemotional. Open the crate, say “Hi, Floyd!”, snap on his leash and go for a walk. Gradually increase the time away. If you’re able to leave for 15 to 20 minutes and Floyd is quiet, you may have the problem solved.

You don’t want coming and going to be melodramatic or emotional. As long as Floyd knows you’re coming back, he should look forward to his special “crate treat.” Most even come to enjoy their “off duty” time.

Some dogs like having a radio or television playing during the day. It may help block the noise of the dog barking elsewhere in your building. As far as daycare - it may help until the new routine is established.

Crates can be used for as long as six to eight hours without a problem. If you know you’ll be gone longer than that, they should get a “potty break” at the midpoint. Floyd’s schedule seems ideal - he just has to learn that “Mom” and “Dad” will always come home.

Hope Saidel

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Ask the Web Lady - Bred Here, or Born Overseas?

bullmarketfrogs March 13th, 2008

Ask the Web Lady - Bred Here, or Born Overseas?

Hi I have a question - how do I know on a website if the person bred the dogs or bought them from someplace over seas (imported)?

Carol writes -

The simple answer would seem to be to simply ask the person selling the dogs, but unfortunately there have been cases where sellers outright lie, claiming to have bred dogs that were actually imported.

There are a few ways to force the sellers to tell you where their French Bulldogs came from.

First, try asking them copies of the AKC* pedigrees of both parents, and a copy of the pedigree of the puppy. Tell them pointedly “I want a copy of the puppy’s pedigree, and I want to see pedigrees on both parents”. Any reputable breeder should be able to supply this for you.

Secondly, ask for a current photo of the puppy with its mother. There’s no reason why a seven or eight week old puppy’s mother shouldn’t still be there with her pups (dads are a different story, as there are some really great reasons for dad not being present, which we can discuss later). If the breeder says “Oh, mom’s not here”, ask them “Why not?”.

Finally, ask the breeder if they have filed an AKC* litter application yet for this puppy’s litter. If they answer with anything other than either “Yes”, ask “why not?”.

You have every single right to expect to get what you are contracting to buy - a puppy bred in the country where you are buying the puppy from. Puppies imported from overseas for sale at seven or eight weeks are risky - they’ve been separated from their mother too soon, have suffered a long and traumatic air flight, are at risk of carrying diseases due to poor veterinary care, and have no caring breeder standing behind them, willing to take the puppy back if anything goes wrong. For more on the risks of imported, brokered puppies, visit the Wrong Puppy website.

Use your head, not just your heart, and if something on a website seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.

*AKC is short for American Kennel Club. If your puppy is in Canada, the registry body should be the CKC, or Canadian Kennel Club. If a puppy is for sale is the USA, and is being sold as “CKC registered”, this likely stands for “Continental Kennel Club”, and it is a scam registry.

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Ask the Breeder - French Bulldog Housebreaking Nightmare

patpearce March 12th, 2008

French Bulldog Housebreaking Nightmare

I have a nine month old female French Bulldog. She has been absolutely impossible to housebreak.

She is in her crate at night for 8-9 hours without a problem. However, when not in her crate she will tend to go in the house. She is allowed in a few rooms in our house and is taken outside on a regular basis to go the bathroom to the same spot. If you put her outside by herself she will not relieve herself. Instead you have to go sit outside with her before she will “get busy”.

After coming back in the house she will sometimes still go. I know she can hold it longer but she persists in going whenever and wherever she wants. She is the perfect dog besides this problem.

Help! Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Pat writes -

Ahhhhhh - the housetraining question… I highly recommend the following housetraining article http://forpaws.org/articles/housetraining2.htm. If you will follow it exactly for 10 days to two weeks you WILL be successful.

It is perfectly normal for a dog not to go when you put it OUT… They don’t know if you are going to let them back in or not… If you go out with them and praise when they do their thing CONSISTANTLY - for the 2 weeks and not allow them to have an accident in the meantime - things will begin to make sense..

When the dog KNOWS that it will get back into the house - she will relax and do her thing…

If she has an accident in the house UNLESS you catch her in the act.. ignore it … clean it up and go on… remember that attention to a dog is attention… bad attention is as good as good attention

Frenchies are smart little dogs - sometimes too smart for their own good… so you must be consistant…

Good luck

Pat


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Ask the Trainer - Food Fighting Frenchies

gollygear March 11th, 2008

Food Fighting Frenchies

HI, I have two adult females that have grown up together from puppies but occasionally will get into fights, and they are hurting each other. It is always when we are around though, especially my husband, and the attention seems to be one trigger. Food is another and we feed in separate rooms and do not give treats when they are together. They can fight and then lick each other lovingly later. One female is more aggressive than the other and, yes - it is worse when one is near heat.

We are breeding them so, I do not want to neuter. What advice can you give?


Hope writes -

I don’t think you’re going to be happy with the advice I have for you -

Spay. Crate. Separate.

Firstly: I would recommend that you spay your dogs. Aggression is not a trait that should be perpetuated, or tolerated.

Secondly: how are you reacting when “the girls” start spatting? The correct response is to slam a heavy book or unbreakable object on the ground, yell “no,” and run in the other direction. When they’ve broken off their battle to see what the heck you’re up to - both should be crated for a “time out.”

If attention is the trigger - give the dog not getting direct attention something else to do, gnaw on a chew toy, fetch a toy, tug etc. Even practise obedience behaviors - “Down, Stay” is excellent.

Feed them in their crates - no interaction, no guarding, no battles. Remove their bowls in 10 minutes, if they haven’t finished, they’ll learn to be faster next time.

It sounds like your dogs are setting the rules in your house instead of obeying them. Everyone is happier when the humans are in charge. If you aren’t confident in your ability to train your dogs, do get some help. Get recommendations from friends, family, local veterinarians. Observe training classes, if you can, before signing up. Frenchies are best trained by positive reinforcement methods.

Separation may be your last remaining option. I know an excellent trainer who had to keep her intact females separated throughout their lives. When one was with the family, the other was crated. Keeping your girls intact may mean a lifetime of “crate juggling” for you and your family.

-Hope

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