Do male or female frenchies make better pets?
As a new pet owner I wanted to have all my information in place before I made a decision. So one of the points I looked up thoroughly was the pros and cons of having a male French bull dog as a pet or a female French bulldog as a pet. The question in my mind was which is a better and easier pet ? After all my online reading the many differing views of breeders and pet owners I learned firstly that better and easier may be two different things and that it is at the end of the day a trade off. Why, you may ask ? Well the female French bull dog has at times certain characteristics that make her
- moody,
- dominating and
- aggressive
more so than the male. At other times (for example when some times the female dog is in heat) the male French bulldog shows more aggressive behavior. They still may show this type of behavior even if they are fixed. I have seen on my own spayed females. I have several who are spayed and they still show the breeding desire twice a year—not as strong as a normal breeding female, of course.
Key Factors
On the whole however I arrived at the conclusion that it’s a matter of each individual Frenchbull dog’s personality and temperament. Of course keeping in mind the obvious physical differences between the male frenchie and female frenchie it comes down to the several factors that develop or build the personality and temperament of each dog itself. These could range from breeder information, genetics, training, social exposure as a puppy to something as simple as diet or food consumed. So is the male frenchie is more laid back and the female one more attentive ?
While reading online I came across many different views of french bull dog pet owners, dog trainers and breeders. Some say females are more docile. The female French bull dog does not usually display alpha behavior like their male counterparts for example like marking their territory or humping. Others say female frenchie’s are more feisty and can sometimes dominating especially with the males when there is more than one French bull dog. One breeder also said that even female French bull dogs do from time to time indulge in alpha behaviour like males. Another pet owner observed that often in mixed groups with both males and females females are not sociable with other females but maybe okay with the males of this type of pedigreed dog breed. To see the views of the other side many state that often it is the male French bull dog that is more mischievous and displayed characteristics of alpha behaviour. What I understood after reading all these views is that there is no hard and fast rule that the female of this pedigree or the male of this pedigree have certain fixed characteristics. There are the obvious physical differences between male and female frenchies such as the ability to have puppies and being the opposite genders. Apart from that as I said before it is all dependent on each french bull dog’s personality and temperament.
In fact, I have now started to believe that their personalities and temperament also depend how they were treated as puppies and whether they were socialized when they were puppies. Another factor is also the training they receive as puppies and even later with their pet owners and of course the magic wand is their level of bonding with the pet owner.
I always say—“What you put into your dog, thats what you will get out’.
No matter if it is a male, who is not socialized or trained—or a female which does not have enough attention from her owner—either will behave badly and seek attention in a good or bad way, just to be able to be around his or hers human. Always remember, frenchie is a companion dog, and that is what this breed is about.
Things That Can Decide
A great resource for getting a lot of accurate information on the background of the french bull dog puppy such as early training, sociability and even genetics, it’s behavior amongst peers and parent / grandparent behavior is the breeder from whom you purchase your puppy. The breeders background and the kennel can vouch for this information which can help you in determining your new french bulldog puppy’s personality. Yes, genetics matters, matters a lot. I have a girl, who does not like dogs. She is the best show dog, best people dog. She is very easily trained, highly social, she also produced several therapy dogs who are currently working at the hospitals. However, she does not like other dogs, being in her space. Well, she produced puppies—half of them inherited her personality. Some inherited father’s personality. Her last litter—litter of 5. The sire of that litter gets along with everybody, highly social, does not mind dogs being in his space, even males. So, the litter was 3 males, 2 females. 2 of the males are exceptional show dogs. One is a champion, he was so easy to train, went to the show and showed his heart out. But…he tried to dominate other males, which was easily corrected. 2 nd male is highly social, harder to train, but he is more of an introvert, does not like other males, tolerates them and not really excited about another male being around him. 3d male—pet, neutered. Loves everybody—males, females, does not matter. 2 girls from this litter. One—oh boy, does not like females, highly social. 2nd girl—loves everybody, does not care—male or female. So, you can see how it works. Mother who is highly social, people’s dog, but questionable “dog’s dog” bred to a very loving male, who is a total opposite of her personality.
I also have a male who gets along with anybody, so every off spring of that male gets along with both genders. If the confrontation arises, he simple runs away. So as his off springs. So, genetic matters to the point, as well, as training. It is important to know the genetics, no matter what. I have bred several generations of french bulldogs. I have kept in touch with their parents, as well, as I kept several generations at my own house. So, I saw and keep seeing the personality of a certain dog thru several generations. Very interesting and amazing to see it. Like my first boy Lui, 5 generations of his off spring.
Training Really Matters
Proper Training and development of this breed as puppies usually leads to well behaved fully grown frenchies. This holds true irrespective of whether they are male frenchies or female frenchies.
Usually most fully grown french bull dogs are sociable with humans in fact they prefer humans to their own peers.
Even so a well trained or well socialized French bulldog pup will almost Always grow up to be sociable with other humans and also their own french bulldog peers. Of course everyone is entitled to bad moods now and then and that also includes both male frenchies and female frenchies.
Personality Traits
- mischievousness,
- snugglyness,
- feistyness,
- dominating behavior,
- sociability,
- shyness and
- many more personality traits
all depend in individual french bull dog irrespective of whether it is a male French bulldog or a female French bulldog. So it is really difficult to say which one makes a better pet ? Is a male French bulldog really a better pet than a female French bulldog ? While I know some may disagree with me I arrived at the conclusion that a well trained and well bred french bull dog is the best pet and that is irrespective of whether it is a male French bulldog or a female French bull dog. And frenchies do make wonderful pets with their caring, reliable, exuberant, steadfast and intelligent behaviors.
Now having settled that point in my mind I moved into my next doubt. Now the next issue to be addressed in my mind was which one is an easier pet to have ?
A male French bulldog or a female French bulldog ?
Some dog trainers and even french bulldog breeder California feel female French bulldogs are easier to train since they do not usually wage a dominance power struggle with their new owner. They usually have their own unique and often endearing resourceful way if getting what they want. Male French bulldogs are tougher to train simply due to their playfulness and their power dominance issues they may have with their new owner.
Also it’s much easier in particular for pet owners when they opt for a spayed or neutered French bulldog. This is so as the individual dog’s personality is then less prone to aggression and moodiness which makes of course it’s much easier to manage and train. In case of neutered or spayed frenchies both male and female French bulldogs become much easier to manage and take care of as their aggression and moodiness is much lesser as hormones are less troublesome to them . This holds true more during the seasonal heats when breeding male French bull dogs and female French bulldogs can drive each other and also their owner /breeder crazy with their temperament. This rule actually holds true for all breeds of dogs.
And if course, it is one of the most obvious physical differences between male and female frenchies. French bull dogs are in seasonal heat twice a year which if you are the pet owner or breeder if a female French bulldog could mean that there is a bloody discharge on your carpets, bed, couches and other furniture in your home. This is in addition to the already Mentioned crazy behavior and moodiness. Also do be prepared when you take her out for a walk for other male French bulldogs sometimes even other male dogs following you both. If she leaves a strong scent during the seasonal heat there will be the male dogs in the area you may have camping in your front yard or backyard or even have males following you home and waiting outside for your female. The male frenchie on the other hand gets more aggressive during seasonal heats. If you take your male frenchie for a walk during this time and a female frenchie happens to be around or has left a scent be prepared for a crazy change of your walking plans and for several deviations from your usual path and routine. Your male pet will drag you sometimes for a long while till he has found her in seasonal heat or is at least satisfied at having tried hard enough to find her.
At breeding times when the female frenchie is in seasonal heat it drives both male and female frenchies crazy and episodes of moodiness not to mention humping legs or parts of furniture also much increases. If this happens while you have visitors ( and that can be very embarrassing) your or their legs, furniture or your sofa cushions are not a pleasant sight. It is impossible let me tell you and very difficult to train them out of this natural instinct or even to control it.
Of course with female French bulldogs who are not spayed there is also the process and experience of taking care of frenchie pregnancy and having puppies. With French bulldogs pregnancy is not always easy and oftentimes may require professional medical attention and help. Birthing of frenchie puppies also oftentimes requires c sections. As the owner of a female French bulldog ( who is not spayed ) you may have to go through with all this and the additional costs involved. Keeping her away from male frenchies while she is in heat is going to be an impossibility.
I have seen the accidental breeding results. I have met a pet owner who has two franchise—male and female. He bought them as companions from another breeder who insisted on not fixing them, even they were acquired as companions. Well, at 9 months, the female came in heat. The male was 10 months at that time. He bred her, they did not even have a clue. She was in a heat with no or very minimal blood. The pet owners did not know about it, they assumed that heat involves a big mess, with a lot of blood. For the most part, it does. However, not always. 60 days later, the girl is huge and ready to have pups. 6 bundles of joy, stressed out owners, one bundle of joy is lost in the process. He raised them, they went on to the wonderful homes. But at what cost?