New Frenchie Owner In Training

[Alibassetgirl]

Hello everyone,
I am so glad I have found a Frenchie Owners Club. We have always had Basset Hounds & a Westie in the past. Our last beautiful Basset girl passed away 18 months ago and we said, that's it, we can't go through this heart ache again. Well, that didn't last did it. We started to miss having a little doggy around. We decided to start researching a different breed of dog and read a lot about Frenchie's and they seemed to be everywhere when we were out & about. We did read that they could be stubborn but, thought Bassets are stubborn so we will be ok with that. One thing for sure, was that it would be from a Rescue as our other dogs apart from two had previously been from one. We also wanted an older one as they tend to get left behind. We eventually got offered 'Pudding' from a Rescue we had one of our previous Bassets from. She was 9 year's old according to her paperwork (just turned 10 January just gone) ex breeder but had lived in a home, was house trained, socialised etc. We love her to bits, she is very cuddly & loving. We do have an issue, which I am really hoping some of you can advise us on please. When out walking her, Pudding is to the extreme end of stubborn. When she is walking, she walks great, she's quick which is what I like. The problem is, all of a sudden, she just stops in her tracks & refuses to budge. Now, what we are finding is that she seems to want to make the decisions on the route that we take. As an example, she can quite happily start to cross a road and then all of a sudden part way across, she decides no way does she want to go that way & breaks are on. I literally have to drag her to get her to move. This is happening a lot & it is spoiling our walks. I have tried the little treats to encourage her to move but she's not interested, she just wants to go her way. Can anyone please offer any tips for us? Thank you

 

[2bullymama]

Welcome to FBN and the wonderful world of stubbornness! Sorry, but it’s a Frenchie thing… they decided they have had enough walking or just don’t want to go in that direction. Won’t budge….

The best advice I ever got from a friend that runs a rescue.. “never walk a bulldog further than you can carry them”.

Luckily, none of our bulldogs ever did they, but they also do it…. Our French did it all the time , he is too old to walk much now so in a stroller, can’t tell you how many times we had to carry him home over the 13+ years

 

[Alibassetgirl]

Welcome to FBN and the wonderful world of stubbornness! Sorry, but it’s a Frenchie thing… they decided they have had enough walking or just don’t want to go in that direction. Won’t budge….

The best advice I ever got from a friend that runs a rescue.. “never walk a bulldog further than you can carry them”.

Luckily, none of our bulldogs ever did they, but they also do it…. Our French did it all the time , he is too old to walk much now so in a stroller, can’t tell you how many times we had to carry him home over the 13+ years

Thank you for your reply. Pudding has a very strong personality and lots of energy on walks considering she is 10 year's old. I do find she's better if I try & get her to areas where there are not so many distractions for her. She will walk a long way for her age so, I know it isn't because she does not want to walk anymore. She's just a very stubborn, nosey, little pudding bless her.

 

[2bullymama]

Thank you for your reply. Pudding has a very strong personality and lots of energy on walks considering she is 10 year's old. I do find she's better if I try & get her to areas where there are not so many distractions for her. She will walk a long way for her age so, I know it isn't because she does not want to walk anymore. She's just a very stubborn, nosey, little pudding bless her.

Yes, they are very nosy little buggers!!

 

[sheila]

My Tucker does that as well. I just drag him since he’s wearing a harness. (In the grass of course) He actually likes it. He’ll roll over on his back and I swear he’s smiling the whole time!

 

[Alibassetgirl]

My Tucker does that as well. I just drag him since he’s wearing a harness. (In the grass of course) He actually likes it. He’ll roll over on his back and I swear he’s smiling the whole time!

Aww, he sounds a right little character.

 

[sheila]

He’s a handful, but I love him to death! We just have a problem with HIM not understanding WHO the ALPHA is! He’s stubborn, BUT trainable thanks to his love for treats. I thought I was going to lose him last week when a stray PITBULL attacked him when he went out to potty. That dog hit him like a runaway freight train. Tucker actually held his own though thru the snarling, biting fray, which surprised me since I later found out that the PITBULL had killed another dog recently. Tucker ended up with a few bites, but that’s it. It could have been so much worse. The lady that jumped in to help ended up with a nasty bite on the back of her thigh. I’m crediting his “fighting skills” to all those daily trips to the dog park and him ALWAYS wanting to “play fight” with the BIG DOGS! He must have learned something from all those months/years of playing with them.

 

[Alibassetgirl]

He’s a handful, but I love him to death! We just have a problem with HIM not understanding WHO the ALPHA is! He’s stubborn, BUT trainable thanks to his love for treats. I thought I was going to lose him last week when a stray PITBULL attacked him when he went out to potty. That dog hit him like a runaway freight train. Tucker actually held his own though thru the snarling, biting fray, which surprised me since I later found out that the PITBULL had killed another dog recently. Tucker ended up with a few bites, but that’s it. It could have been so much worse. The lady that jumped in to help ended up with a nasty bite on the back of her thigh. I’m crediting his “fighting skills” to all those daily trips to the dog park and him ALWAYS wanting to “play fight” with the BIG DOGS! He must have learned something from all those months/years of playing with them.

I am so sorry I have not replied sooner, I genuinely thought I had. That sounds absolutely frightening for all of you. So glad no one was seriously hurt. I always dread something like this happening. Pudding can give as good as she gets but that's just dogs being dogs and not the situation you were in.