Hi we recently homed a 2 1/2 yr old frenchie, we are having probs when left alone even for short periods of time ie hanging washing out!! i know these things will take time, has anyone got any handy tips? i would be so grateful, he howls & cry's at night aswell, he had been allowed to sleep on the bed but his bed is in the kitchen now, so he's been pretty used to having his own way, i know time  & patience is the way to go as these are stubborn little things !!

Have you tried a stuffed Kong? Something you only give to him when you are about to leave and not make a big deal you are leaving, just leave. It will take time. Congrats on rehoming the lil one :-)

Ah congrats on your new Frenchie. :-)
Its always bound to be difficult in the first few weeks of getting a new dog. Being such social creatures, its natural for them to want to be close to you. I would suggest letting him sleep in your bedroom in his own bed on the floor near your bed. If he starts to whimper, a gentle stroke should calm him. This will help reassure him that your not going to abandon him. Do this for about a week, then gradually move his bed further to the door, then the landing etc.
I would go at his pace, if he starts to cry again, then go back a few steps until he feels secure enough to sleep on his own.

With leaving him during the day, again try to increase the time you spend away from him gradually. Giving him a chew to keep him occupied will help.
So you can give him a chew, leave the room for 5 mins, then come back in. Then increase it to 10 mins and so on. When you return to him, don't give him a big fuss as this will make it harder for him next time you go.

Your hard work will pay off and you'll find that your Frenchie will be more comfortable being alone knowing that u will return!

Hope this helps for you

i gave him a chew & he wee'd on it LOL yeh i will try sleeping in the bedroom, i noticed he'd pee'd around the house aswell, i know it's early days & prob expecting to much but i thought as he's an adult dog it wouldnt be that bad! There doesnt seem to be much of a personality either, he doesnt play at all, i've been reading up on the frenchies & thought they were quite playful, I guess it's gonna be time with this little man :-)

i gave him a chew & he wee'd on it

Lol! yeh I've heard they can be clowns too :-)

Sounds like he may have a bit of seperation anxiety like with peeing in house. But he could just be getting used to you and your routine.

Do you know much about his backround?

When we got our rescue, he was 6 months and he too had to be taught how to play with toys, learn to be left alone etc.

I'm sure he'll soon settle in once he comes to trust and bond with you.

i noticed he'd pee'd around the house aswell, i know it's early days & prob expecting to much but i thought as he's an adult dog it wouldnt be that bad!

You will have to treat him like a puppy to begin with - take him out into the garden at regular intervals and praise him when he has performed :-) He may well have been housetrained in his old home but not all dogs realise that they  aren't allowed to go in a new home but he should pick it up very quickly if he was housetrained before. If he has been in kennels for a while that also makes a difference as they have no option but to go where they are living.

There are lots of previous threads explaining house training and the best ways to clear up any accidents - use the search facility to find them and they will be full of useful information.

Enjoy your new dog :-)

You might find a crate helpful. But introduce it properly.

I'd suggest little separations and only return after a few secas of silence. E;g wait outside the door if he's barking and when he's quite open it and go in.

You might also find teaching him commands like stay and bed help build his confidence in being away from you.

Also knacker him out before you leave him.

Adam

I agree with mayvis regarding having the frenchie in the bedroom initially.  When my pups go to new homes, I always advise a cardboard box by the side of the bed, with a blanket in.  It is so easy to reach down and reassure them, instead of lying awake listening to howling!!

And you have been given good advice about housetraining.  Whatever the age, go back and start as you would with an 8 week old puppy.  Put them out on the grass every hour to start with.  HUGE amounts of praise when they do perform outside.  Try not to make a great deal about doing it inside.  It will only serve to make him nervous.  However, if you actually catch him in the act - a stern AH AH to let him know it's not wanted behaviour.  If you don't catch him in the act, there is no point in telling him off.  He won't have a clue about why he is being grumbled at!

If he hasn't had a life filled with love and toys, he won't know what to do with them, so be patient, and get him used to having fun slowly.  Don't see him as being stubborn, the move will be a huge upheaval for him, and he has to settle in.  Any accidents in the house, don't use bleach to clean up.  The ammonia will make him go in the same place again.  Use biological washing powder to take the smell away.

Congrats on your new frenchie :)

Excellent advice has already been given for bedtime ( we allow ours to sleep in our bedroom ) and house training. Teach him a command word for when he wees in the garden - say it while he's doing it and give him lots of praise and soon he will do it when you say it! We use 'go wee wees' but you can use any word you're comfortable with. They can be stubborn, but with lots of praise and positive rewards, will usually do what you want!!! :D

Frenchies crave human company so will want to be anywhere you are! He will follow you around and will take great pleasure in 'helping' you - unpack the shopping, sorting the washing etc. so will want to be ( and should be ) included in every aspect of your family life :)
A frenchie on his own will cry but will eventually go to sleep - unless he knows you are elsewhere in the house! He will play on his own for short periods but much prefers to have you to be his playmate. He will love to make you laugh and adores having an appreciative audience! ;)

Your frenchie has had a momentous change in his life, so is quite confused. Give him lots of love and attention and never use harsh treatment - they are very special dogs who need human interaction to physically and mentally thrive. As JeanSW says, if he hasn't had a lot of love or toys, he won't know what to do-you have to teach him and show him and then you will see his character develope. And they are ALL full of character :D

Don't 'knacker him out' especially in this weather!!!!!!!

Frenchies, with their facial conformation, find it more difficult to breathe and to cool down. Short bursts of play and plenty of snoozing is the norm for a frenchie on his own. And you should really only walk him in the cool of early mornings and late evenings.

Read everything you can about frenchies - they really are gorgeous dogs. Have fun getting to know each other :)

Hiya,

I would agree with the advise to have him in your bedroom at least initially, either that or sleep down stairs with him untill he is settled and move away yourself, probably more comfy for you to have him in your bedroom and gradully move him away though ;-)

I persoanlly wouldn't be confining him to a crate I would be dealing with the underlying issues.  Which one is that they love being near people and crave comapnionship so need to be taught that being alone is in fact a good thing.  He may have seperation anxiety rather than just be eseeking your attention particularly given that he ahs had a huge change in his life lately which will be causing stress.  So again I would be leaving him alone and waiting for a few seconds of quiet before you return because it is counter productive to have him getting to the stage where he is barking iin the first place as this means he will be unhappy and not associating being alone as a good thing - it is just dealking with the symptoms and not the actual problem!

So I would maybe introduce a couple of baby gates at home so that he can see you and not follow you while you are working on this.  If he is vey bad then just having him on one side of the baby gate while you sit right next to it ont he other.  Give him something high value like a kong smeared with primula cheese or stuffed with bits of chicken before you go the other side of the baby gate and then while he 's working on that just sit reading a book for a few minutes ignoring (or pretending to) what he is up to.  Then when he is finsihed before he has the chance to get upset go in and open the gate and let him out.  This way you can gradually build up the distane you are away from the gate and then build u the length of time then you can work on going out of sigh for very short spaces of time and building up on that gradually.

As others have said go back to basic with toilet training, go outside with him evrytime so that you re there to reward him for going and it's often worth giving a food reward to mark it more obviously as sometimes praise just isn't enough of a reinforcment at that stage.  I don't know if you are leaving the door open all the time for him to go in and out but it's better not ot leave him to go in and out as he pleases as sometimes they can tend to see it all as one area if the door is open all the time (just initially while he gets the idea).  It may also be down to him feeling a bit insecure about everything at the moment.  However getting him into a routine and removing stress from other ares like being alone may well help with that :-)

Teaching a stay may be useful as an exercise just to teach him something but I would advise against using that as something while you are working on leaving him alone as it is an exercise that means they are waiting for the next cue, particulraly if he worried about you going any way.  You are much better off concentrating on building up at a speed that he can cope with and making alone time and enjoyable experience for him.  You could also end up with a dog that really doesn't like 'staying' because he will associate it with being alone!

And yes you do have to be very careful about 'knackering' him out as tyhe do have breating restrictions due to the shape of their faces and in this weather need short bursts.  What would help though is doign some training with him and getting him to use his brain as brain work is often more tiring than physical exercise any way.

I left it too long to edit this but it should have been I wouldn't be leaving him alone and waiting for a few seconds of quiet instead of 'would' that I put/! That's what you get going between screens and not concentrating peoperly!

So again I would be leaving him alone and waiting for a few seconds of quiet before you return because it is counter productive to have him getting to the stage where he is barking iin the first place as this means he will be unhappy and not associating being alone as a good thing - it is just dealking with the symptoms and not the actual problem!

> We use 'go wee wees'

I thought I was the only person in the world that didn't say "be busy"   :-)

Neighbours always know when I'm training pups by my excited "OH he did a wee wees!"

What a relief.  :-)  :-)  :-)

We found that routine always helped with our rescues at first, we have been through exactly what you are experiencing now and I can assure you that with time they do settle down. We try to keep meal times the same, walk times the same etc just until they get used to me and my OH and their new home. Eventually when they know they are being fed, watered and walked and you are coming back they start to get calmer. Good luck, I've always found rescues the most rewarding dogs to have :)

I always say wee wee's be it for liquid or solid.

Had a pretty good nite last nite, he slept in my eldest's bedroom & seemed a bit more settled, no more peeing in the house, gave him a kong filled with spam & got bored after 5 mins! I dont think he has ever played but i'm sure it will come. Managed to go shoppin today & left him at home, my eldest shut herself in the bedroom to observe!! as my neighbours are quick to moan if the dogs bark but she said he got bored after a while, i'm just so worried about upseting neighbours as he howls a bit, took him to a fete for a social today, he thought it was great & got loads of attention, loves coming out in my truck, yeh i def think its the routine thing as i dont think he's ever had that. Thanks for all the advice very very helpful :-)