What is a French Bulldog’s Temperament Like?

Deciding on a dog breed to adopt is an incredibly important decision. A compatible breed often depends on how active you are, what your household is like, and your personality. The French Bulldog is a popular choice because of its friendly, outgoing personality traits and adorable looks.

10 French Bulldog Temperament and Personality Traits

  • Intelligent
  • Stubborn
  • Playful
  • Athletic
  • Sociable
  • Intuitive
  • Attention-seeking
  • Anxious
  • Energetic
  • Adaptable

If the French Bulldog breed is one you’re considering adopting, you may want to know a few things about the French Bulldog temperament to see if the breed is right for you. French Bulldog puppies are some of the cutest you’ll ever find, but this small dog may not match what everyone looks for in a companion dog. As a potential French Bulldog owner, it’s important to educate yourself on the French Bulldog personality to ensure that you and your new family member are right for each other.

10 French Bulldog Temperament and Personality Traits

You may have already heard that French Bulldog health problems, like luxating patella, hip dysplasia, and allergies, can be significant. They can even affect the lifespan of your furry friend. However, if you’re a Frenchie owner who keeps up with routine veterinary care, your little dog can live a relatively long and healthy life.

Still, finding a good match between a dog and its owner goes beyond potential health problems. It’s non-negotiable to make sure that the French Bulldog temperament and personality—and trust us, they have a lot of personality—are matches for your family and lifestyle. To guide you toward an informed decision of whether the temperament of French Bulldog breeds could work for you, here’s a list of the breed’s common personality traits:

1. Intelligent

The Frenchie is known for being a smart breed, especially when bred by a reputable breeder. When you give French Bulldogs plenty of opportunities for play and mental stimulation from the time they start moving around, they’ll be able to target and boost the intelligence they inherently have.

While being smart is a significant perk for this breed, it can also be a downfall for some owners. The dogs are so intelligent that they may even learn to outsmart their owners if they don’t get time with a dog trainer and learn consistent obedience training. Obedience can also be challenging to teach the French Bulldog breed because they prefer to use their intelligence to think on their own rather than having someone tell them what to do.

2. Stubborn

From a French Bulldog puppy to an adult, there’s no denying that these dogs are smart. But with their intelligence often comes stubbornness. As we mentioned, obedience doesn’t come naturally to Frenchies. It could take a while for your pup to learn basic obedience—if he decides it’s something he wants to learn at all!

Crate training and housebreaking can be incredibly difficult for a French Bulldog puppy to master. These dogs typically do best when training involves play and rewards, which isn’t easy to do in the case of housebreaking and crate training. However, training your stubborn Frenchie isn’t impossible; you may just need to work in some creative techniques to get it to work.

3. Playful

If there’s one excellent feature of the French Bulldog temperament, its playfulness. The French Bulldog loves to play, whether you visit the dog park, play fetch outside, or introduce new dog toys in the home. These playful pups do well with children who love to play just as much, so long as kids know how to play safely with a small dog.

This personality trait could be a problem for people who don’t have the time or energy to match their dog’s playfulness. People who work several hours each day may not feel like playing with their pooch as soon as they arrive home, but a Frenchie probably has other plans and may be left disappointed when its owner isn’t up for playing.

4. Athletic

Just from looking at a French Bulldog, you can probably tell it’s an athletic breed. These dogs come packed with pure muscle, from their neck and chest all the way to their hind legs and glutes. Although some Frenchies look chubbier than others, there’s a good chance that their stockiness comes from all that muscle. Because of their athletic bodies, Frenchies can generally excel at agility training and activities—if you can get past their stubbornness challenges, that is!

While the French Bulldog breed usually loves running around, playing, and participating in athletic activities, their breathing troubles sometimes prohibit them from doing so. The Frenchie is known as a brachycephalic breed because of its flattened nose. This face shape can cause severe breathing and airway troubles, especially when the French Bulldog is hot or participating in exercise. Short bouts of exercise are usually okay for a Frenchie puppy or adult, but they may not be able to handle long walks or periods of activity.

5. Sociable

Generally, the French Bulldog is a friendly breed. They usually bond well with their new families as puppies and continue forming and growing that bond as they get older. Frenchies are also open to meeting new people and, if socialized well as puppies, other dogs. As a relatively easygoing breed, the French Bulldog may be a good option for families who plan to bring their pup around other people and dogs frequently.

If your Frenchie is sociable, you’ll need to give him or her plenty of socializing opportunities. Some Frenchies crave meeting new people and dogs, and providing them with opportunities to do so is an integral part of their enrichment. A Frenchie may not be the best breed for your family if you and your dog usually spend your time at home or don’t get much time to interact with others.

6. Intuitive

French Bulldogs seem to have an extra sense at times, which you might refer to as intuition. They can generally sense when a caregiver is sad or not feeling well and may need some extra love and affection. Their instinct is actually what leads them to become protective over those closest to them. It’s not uncommon for a Frenchie to follow its family around, just to make sure that everything is okay.

Some Frenchies have the potential to become service dogs, like the Labrador retriever breed often is. Unfortunately, the French Bulldog temperament trait of being overly stubborn can sometimes be the downfall of these dogs when it comes to becoming a service dog that needs to react to certain situations regardless of the circumstances.

7. Attention-Seeking

The French Bulldog temperament affectionate trait is one that owners, unsurprisingly, love about their Frenchies! These dogs can, however, be very attention-seeking, meaning that they could get jealous when you’re doing something that doesn’t involve them. Your attention-seeking Frenchie may love to cuddle, but they could also turn to destructive and harmful behaviors if they don’t get their way.

Attention-seeking dogs may jump, bark, chew on things, destroy furniture, or even become aggressive toward their loved ones. The good news is that many of these behaviors can be worked on with the help of a trainer.

8. Anxious

French Bulldogs are somewhat of an anxious breed, so it’s not unusual for them to experience stress or fear in certain situations. Some may just be generally anxious, causing them to react to situations with shaking or an overall sense of nervousness. If your dog is anxious, you may notice behaviors like panting, barking, whimpering, urinating or defecating in the home. Some dogs act out with aggressive behaviors, like nipping or biting, or hyperactive behaviors, like pacing, running, and jumping.

Frenchies also commonly exhibit separation anxiety, which stems from their attention-seeking behaviors. Separation anxiety, once it starts, can be challenging to break. Some dogs may never ultimately grow out of separation anxiety, no matter how much they work with an experienced trainer.

9. Energetic

French Bulldogs have a seemingly infinite amount of energy, which makes them lively and fun to be around. Their energy also keeps them active. Frenchies love to play and exercise, but as we mentioned, being a brachycephalic breed can sometimes interfere with their ability to exercise as much as they want.

On the plus side, Frenchies can keep up with an energetic owner, so long as they’re given rest periods during exercise to prevent overheating and breathing troubles. The downside is that people who are more laid back and prefer a laid back dog may find that the French Bulldog has a bit too much energy. Some Frenchies can have intense energy levels that lead to hyperactivity, jumping, and other unwanted behaviors that may require additional training to curb.

10. Adaptable

The French Bulldog temperament is generally adaptable, meaning that these dogs usually do well conforming to the situations they’re in. Unless your pup is overly anxious, you’ll find that the Frenchie blends in well with their new family and can accept changes to their regular routine, like a new baby in the family, a move to a new home, or the introduction of another pet. The Frenchie is a go-with-the-flow breed, which typically makes them an excellent match for people who exhibit similar personalities.

Some Frenchies may become so adapted to their usual lifestyle, though, that changes to their health or family could disrupt their peaceful mindset. Once stuck in their ways, their stubbornness can take hold and make it challenging for Frenchies to adapt to new situations. You may see this happen in older French Bulldogs, especially.

Royal Frenchel Bulldog Temperament

Did you know that there’s a breed that looks similar to the French Bulldog and has many of the French Bulldog personality and temperament traits you love? It’s known as the Royal Frenchel. These pups come in different sizes (there’s even a Micro Mini that looks like a Micro French Bulldog!) and exhibit many positive temperament characteristics as the French Bulldog.

Here are a few in which Royal Frenchels excel:

Training

One of the most common French Bulldog temperament problems is stubbornness. Although any dog can be born with a natural stubborn streak, those in which it’s typically a breed standard can be especially challenging to train. Royal Frenchels, on the other hand, are extremely intelligent just like the Frenchie, but they’re also very open and willing to train.

Good training starts with a responsible breeder who works with puppies from the moments they open their eyes and start walking and socializing. The more practice a dog has from the start, the easier they’ll be to train in the future. Royal Frenchels are given a head start in this area with a breeding and adoption program that ensures that each adopting family understands the importance of training and how to do it properly for a Royal Frenchel.

Affection

What is one thing all Royal Frenchels love? Attention, especially when it’s mixed with genuine affection. This is one way in which the French Bulldog and the Royal Frenchel are incredibly similar in personality. Both breeds adore their loved ones and love to receive the same amount of affection as they give.

While Frenchies tend to give affection only when they want to, the Royal Frenchel tends to be a little more open to affection when you want it, too. With the right amount of attention and affection focused toward your Royal Frenchel day in and day out, your dog may experience less separation anxiety than the average French Bulldog puppy or adult.

Intelligence

Want a pet that’s intelligent but not necessarily stubborn with their smarts? That’s the Royal Frenchel. These dogs pick up on tricks and obedience quickly, making them a pleasure to train. The thing about Royals is that they’re willing to work on just about anything as long as they get some love, praise, and rewards for doing it.

Royals enjoy making you happy. If they see that their accomplishments during training and learning new things make you happy, they’ll simply continue to do them. Royal Frenchels respond exceptionally well to play-based training, hand gestures, and word signals, so you can find the right mix of training that works for you and your dog.

Intuition

French Bulldogs can sometimes be too stubborn for their own good, which is why they don’t always make good service dogs. In fact, there’s no dog breed in which all dogs of that breed would be good service animals. But as a whole, the Royal Frenchel is an excellent choice for a service dog, not just because they’re smart and easy to train, but also because they’re intuitive.

Their intuition allows Royals to sense when there’s a problem or a potential problem. They pick up on feelings and cues around them and lead tasks with that information in mind. Intuition is a true mark of a service animal, and this trait is incredibly strong in most Royal Frenchel puppies and adults.

Full of Personality

All dogs have a personality that’s all their own, but not all have a character like the Royal Frenchel breed. These dogs are all about personality, and they can’t wait to show it off to anyone who’s around them, from their family to their breeder to their groomer.

Royal Frenchels are loyal and loving, playful and silly, and super intelligent and intuitive. And each of these traits comes through with everything they do each day, whether they’re hanging out with their family or spending time with a trainer. With their fun-loving personality, it’s nearly impossible not to fall head over heels for the Royal Frenchel breed.

Is the French Bulldog Temperament and Personality Right for You?

The French Bulldog puppy temperament and adult temperament makes these dogs unique and excellent companions. They’re smart, playful, energetic, and friendly, which helps them blend right in with many families who like to stay active and make their dog a part of their activities. But Frenchies can also require a lot of attention and activity and be quite stubborn along the way, so they won’t be the perfect match for everyone.

The Royal Frenchel breed incorporates so many things we love about the French Bulldog temperament with some additional personality traits that make them stand out from the pack. Royals are intelligent without being stubborn and usually strike a good balance between energetic and calm, which can make their personalities and actions a bit more consistent than the Frenchie’s.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Royal Frenchel and the adoption process, we invite you to contact us today to set up a phone call, Skype call, or an in-person visit.

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