French Bulldog

iprawn

Hey, i am currently living in an apartment on my own in a city, I am thinking of getting a French bulldog as a pet but am having second thoughts since my apartment isn't very big. I work a rotating shift, one week 6am-1pm and the next week 1pm-9pm. Is this to long to leave the dog on his own? When im at home id be very attentive and give hime lots of attention and bring him for walks. I have a couple of questions:

Is it foolish or cruel to have him in the apartment?
Do they BARK alot?
Can they stay home alone?
Do they get sick alot?

Cheers!

hfallada

I have a Boston terrier which is very similar to a French dog. But I think the boston is more energic than a French bulldog. Our Boston is only kept in the kitchen(which is quite large) and utiltiy room and she is fine with it. The main reason is that when we first got her chewed anything that so could fit her month around including a laptop cable.

We keep ours in the crate and she loves it. She sleeps the whole day and even if she is keep in the kitchen from 9-5 she most likely hasnt moved from the chair at all. She only likes about 15-20 mins walk max and hasn't left scratch marks on our floors and doors.

I say a French bulldog is fine for an apartment as they are quite common in NYC because they're perfect for apartments. Ours likes the garden but I imagine she would be content with a balconey. Have you check that dogs are aloud in your apartment? I would recommend a Boston as a house dog but as an apartment dog as even on the other side of the house downstairs we can hear her sleeping and grunting.

boomerang

Definitely too long to leave him alone on his own.

Whispered

Frenchies are so cute! But I do think the time you said is very long. Maybe you could have a dog walker to take him or her out, or use a daycare every second day.

I'm not sure of the illnesses associated with them, but I would recommend doing some research into it, just in case they're prone to anything. I absolutely love frenchies - they're like compressed staffies :pac:

eoglyn

I have a frenchie, and they are great. As dogs they do seem to be suitable for an apartment - as they don't need that much space but they do take forever to toilet train, so bear that in mind. Our lad sleeps all the time when we are not there so we don't mind leaving him for a while. However, you would be leaving him for very long stints at a time and one thing i think every dog likes is routine and interaction. Because of our work hours we don't have to leave him for any longer than 5 hours a couple of mornings a week - after which time he is rearing to go for his lunchtime walk.
They are a particularly sociable dog - our lad's favourite things are other dogs, children, the vet and other strangers, in that order - but we don't even feature on the list, loyalty is not a frenchie trait.
He doesn't bark that much - unless you purposely wind him up when playing. He chews a bit - but is focused on his toys. Healthwise - you need insurance and they have some common issues - you may be lucky or unlucky. Our lad has already had an operation on his kneecap but this is not breed specific - there are health complications associated with the breed.
While they don't need as far a walk as other dogs - i spend more time walking him than i ever anticipated, you will want your pup to get out and meet people and things and this takes time and effort.
Google is you friend when researching the breed - there are american message boards dedicated to them - you will get an idea of the personality and health issues from browsing them.
As other have suggested, if you are in a position to regularly have a dog walker and/or doggie daycare, then yes a frenchie might be for you. If not you may need to rethink the idea.

iprawn

All very helpful comments. Thanks everyone! I've had a think and I'm gonna hold off for a bit longer until i can dedicate more time to the dog. I would feel bad leaving him alone for that length of time.

I am pie

Depends where you are. We are both out from 8am to 7pm, every day during the week we have a dog walker come round and take our mini schnauzer out for a walk with about 10 other dogs for a few hours. He picks her up from the porter in our building and drops her back off to the same. She has vastly benefited from the socialisation and exercise. I also take her out for 20 mins in the morning...mostly to let her do her business. The dog walkers doesnt over exercise them, I'd say its 50% walking 50% lets them loose to socialise in an enclosed dog run. Depends where you are living and what services are on offer? Over here there are a variety of services on offer as dogs are much more common that at home and the prices are much more affordable for walking services. The fact that each building has a live in porter helps with access also.

Also, just because you would be on a late shift you would need to still get up early to the dog out to pee etc.

No such thing as a lie in if you want clean floors !

crazyFeet

they are definitely the easiest dog to look after, but i wouldn't leave my lad for that long that often, no way, it is cruel, never mind foolishness... however you might always find somebody who will be more than happy to walk him when you are at work, i never have that problem they are crazy cute and every1 loves them!