Puppy care
Your Puppy Care Guide
Our advice for the first months at home. Your veterinarian always has the final word.
What to have at home
Frenchie Essentials
Raised bowls
We feed young puppies from raised bowls to support good posture and protect the front paws. A preference, not a rule.
A play pen, not a cage
Bed at one end, pee pads at the other, food and water in the middle. Our puppies sleep through the night this way.
A cooling vest
Frenchies overheat easily. Bring one on summer walks and outings.
A slow-feeder bowl
They eat fast, which causes bloating and gas. A slow feeder helps.
A harness, never a collar
Their short noses make breathing harder. A harness spreads the pressure away from the neck.
Gentle and short
Exercising Your Frenchie
Puppies: free play
Age-appropriate toys and socialization are the best exercise. Daily walks can harm growing joints.
The 2-minute rule
If you walk a puppy, allow about 2 minutes per month of age. No public walks before vaccines are complete, around 3 months.
Adults: 15 to 20 minutes
Short daily walks and play at home are enough. Frenchies tire quickly and love a nap.
Mind the heat
Walk in the morning or evening, below about 21 °C (70 °F). Always bring water and find shade.
Heat exhaustion signs
Heavy panting and foamy saliva. Cool your dog with cool water and a fan, and call your vet.
Too much exercise
Watch for worn paw pads, sore muscles or a dog who suddenly avoids walks.
Potty training and manners
Training
We start at 3 weeks
Frenchies can be stubborn, so our puppies begin potty training early.
Confinement first
Keep your puppy in the pen or on a leash while you're home. Freedom comes once they are housetrained.
Every hour, on the hour
Leash on, walk calmly to the spot, say “Go pee and poop”, wait, then praise. Three treats for pee, five for poop.
Then play
Play for 5 to 10 minutes, then back to the pen with a stuffed Kong. No luck? Try again in 30 minutes.
Door manners
Leash on and treats ready. Say “yes” or click the moment your dog stops at the door, then reward. Repeat often.
The first year
Vaccine Schedule
- Before going home
First vaccines and deworming
All veterinary records go home with your puppy.
- 6 to 8 weeks
First exam and first DA2PPCV
A full check of health, heart and lungs.
- 10 to 12 weeks
Second DA2PPCV and Bordetella
With a full exam and deworming.
- 14 to 16 weeks
Third DA2PPCV, Bordetella and rabies
With a full exam and deworming.
- Every year
We recommend titer testing
A blood test that checks protection before revaccinating. It cannot replace the rabies vaccine.
DA2PPCV
Distemper, adenovirus type 2, parainfluenza, parvovirus and coronavirus, in one vaccine.
Parvovirus
The most dangerous of these. Puppies under four months are most at risk, and it can kill within 48 to 72 hours. Call your vet right away at the first sign of vomiting or bloody diarrhea.
Bordetella
The main cause of kennel cough. Often required for boarding, daycare and group classes.
Rabies
Attacks the nervous system and can pass to humans. Ask your vet about the 1-year or 3-year vaccine.
There is no single schedule for every dog. Decide on vaccines with your veterinarian.
Parasites
Deworming
Before going home
We deworm every puppy with vet-provided dewormers at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. Our mothers are dewormed during pregnancy.
After that
Monthly until 6 months, then on the schedule your vet recommends.
What it prevents
Roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms. Heartworm spreads through mosquito bites, so ask your vet about prevention.
Everyday prevention
Pick up stools daily, keep play areas clean, use flea control and keep your dog from eating other dogs' feces.
The first months matter most
Socializing Your Frenchie
Start at home
Let your puppy settle in with the family before going out.
Friends, then their dogs
Once your puppy is comfortable, invite friends, and later their vaccinated dogs.
Car rides
Short rides to quiet places, with a safety harness on longer trips.
Quiet first, busier later
Avoid concerts and crowded streets. Carry your puppy the first time in a busy place.
Everyday sounds
The vacuum, a bath, furniture. Introduce loud noises only from a distance.
Read the signals
Yawning can mean your puppy needs a break. Reward each success right away, and never force it.