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Everytime you interact with another dog or person your french bulldog seems to act up.
Which might make you wonder, is it normal for french bulldogs to get jealous? Or is this behavior unique to my frenchie?
Do French Bulldogs Get Jealous:
French bulldogs were bred to be companion dogs which means they get considerably attached to their owners. This also means they have a tendency to get jealous if you pay attention to other dogs or people. The best way to reduce their jealousy is by socializing them while they’re young.
In this post you’ll discover:
- 5 reasons why french bulldogs get jealous
- 6 signs your french bulldog is overly jealous
- 3 tips to help ensure your french bulldog doesn’t become overly jealous (Tip #1 the most important!)
- And much more
Let’s jump right in.
Table of Contents
5 Reasons Why French Bulldogs Get Jealous
1) Competition
When a french bulldog hasn’t had competition for your attention for most of their life, any new competition will generally create jealous behavior.
It could be adding another puppy to your family, paying attention to another dog while on a walk or at the dog park, or bringing home your newborn baby.
If for the majority of your frenchies life they never experienced you giving anyone else attention, this will be difficult for them to accept.
They’re used to getting 100% of your attention and don’t like that they now have to share.
Their standards are extremely high for how much attention they expect from you which makes them act jealous when you pay attention to anyone else.
They’re simply not able to accept that you can give other dogs or people attention and still love them as much as you do.
Related Reading: 9 Simple Steps To Create The Obedient Dog Of Your Dreams
2) Encouraging The Behavior
Many times owners unknowingly encourage certain behaviors that they don’t like and would prefer not to see anymore.
One of those certainly being overly jealous behavior.
Because french bulldogs are such small dogs, many people treat them differently than bigger dogs.
For example, when a big golden retriever jumps on you, excessively barks, or does something you don’t like, you’ll react differently than if a frenchie is doing these things.
When a big dog jumps or acts jealous, they’ll be told to get off, pulled back and even put in their crate to stop them from continuing.
But with a french bulldog, they can easily be picked up and held to stop the behavior.
It’s also much more cute when a small innocent dog does these things which changes peoples’ reaction to it.
And unfortunately, responding these ways only encourages the behavior.
If when they bark or jump on you or guests they get picked up, this is something they enjoy.
Which means if they want to get picked up, they’ll know how to behave to get this treatment.
Also, if their jealous behavior is dealt with by a loving tone telling them to shush as opposed to removing them from the situation and saying ‘no’ in a firm, low tone of voice, it’s sending a totally different message.
Many owners unknowingly encourage jealous behavior by the way they’ve always responded to their frenchie being jealous.
3) Big Changes
Big changes to your frenchies lifestyle can cause them to act out in unusual ways.
If you’ve recently moved, a family member has recently passed (canine or human), or if their schedule has changed, these can all make a frenchie behave differently.
While they can become overly attached during these times and want you to cater to them more, what appears to be jealous behavior is more sad behavior.
They’re having difficulties adapting to their new life and become more clingy/needy because of it.
Just like people, your frenchie isn’t too fond of change and can have an adjusting period where they can become overly attached to you.
4) Isolation
When a french bulldog is isolated from other dogs and people for most of their upbringing, they’ll be more prone to behaving jealously when around others.
They simply aren’t aware how to properly behave in these situations since they weren’t exposed to them from a young age.
They’re used to being the only one getting your attention and as soon as that changes, they react by throwing a temper tantrum or being protective.
If they don’t learn that unfamiliar dogs and people can be friends, their default reaction will be that they’re potential threats.
Which could mean a potential threat to your safety, or potential threats to their relationship with you.
Both of which will cause them to misbehave and act jealous when in situations with other dogs & people.
Related Reading: Can French Bulldogs Be Left Home Alone? The Truth + Tips
5) Separation Anxiety
If your french bulldog had one or many traumatic experiences as a young pup, this can cause them to develop separation anxiety.
Which can create the most extreme jealous behaviors in dogs.
When a dog has separation anxiety they’re emotionally dependent on you and have great difficulties being apart from you or seeing you interact with other animals/people.
Their traumatic early experiences made it hard for them to trust anyone.
But, now that you’ve gained their trust through showing them love and compassion, they’ve become extremely attached to you.
Separation anxiety creates some of the most extreme cases of jealous behavior.
Related Reading: 7 Ways To Eliminate Your Dogs Anxiety, Shyness Or Fear
6 Signs Your French Bulldog Is Jealous
After looking at the different reasons why your french bulldog might be acting jealous, it’s important to know what signs to look out for as well.
Certain behavior is much more common from a dog that has overly jealous feelings.
And when you’re able to spot them, you can then work to help them become less jealous.
Here are 6 common signs of a jealous frenchie:
- Not able to settle down – If when you’re around other dogs or people your frenchie isn’t able to settle, this could be a sign they’re feeling jealous. If they’re unable to lie down and relax when you’re paying attention to anyone else, they likely have feelings of jealousy.
- Excessive barking – When a dog excessively barks at seemingly nothing, this can be a sign of jealous or anxious behavior. If they bark a lot when you’re engaging with other people or animals, it’s a sign they’re unhappy with what you’re doing.
- Acting out when petting another dog, holding a baby or hugging someone – If any interaction with someone other than them makes them act out, they’re a jealous doggo.
- Following you everywhere – Sometimes a frenchie will follow you everywhere you go if they’re overly attached and have jealous tendencies. They want to know where you are and what you’re up to at all times.
- Jumping on you when around other dogs/people – If their behavior screams, “Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!” when around anyone else, you’ve got a jealous pup on your hands.
- Pawing at you/pushy behavior – Using their paw to poke at you whenever you’re interacting with someone else is a sign they don’t like that you’re giving attention to someone other than them.
Top 3 Tips To Help Your French Bulldog Not Be Overly Jealous
1) Lots Of Socializing While Young
To ensure your french bulldog has very limited jealous behavior, it’s best to socialize them as much as possible when they’re young.
The more they get used to you paying attention to other dogs and people when they’re around the less jealous they’ll be as they get older.
It won’t be foriegn for them to see you interacting with other dogs and people which means they won’t be so thrown off seeing you give your attention elsewhere.
Which means you’ll have a much more pleasant pup whenever guests come over to your house as opposed to them behaving overly clingy.
2) Don’t Encourage The Behavior
As mentioned earlier, many frenchie owners accidently encourage jealous behavior by the way they react to it.
The second best thing to do is not encourage their jealous behavior.
Which is definitely easier said than done.
But it’s super important to ensure your frenchie doesn’t continue to act jealous for the rest of their lives.
Something you can do is think, “how would I respond if my frenchie was the size of a great dane?”.
This can help make sure you’re not giving them special treatment because of their size which contributes to their jealous behavior.
Always remember to only give positive reinforcement (love, treats, attention) when your pup is behaving the way you want them to.
Whenever you accidentally reward bad behavior, it only encourages them to continue.
3) Keep Things Even
When bringing home a newborn baby or adding another four-legged friend to your family, do your best to spread your attention as evenly as possible.
Of course when bringing a baby home they’re going to require most of your attention, but do your best to make a little time for your frenchie as well.
The more evenly you can spread your attention the less jealous behavior you should see coming from your pup.
Other posts you might find interesting:
12 Best Beds For French Bulldogs: Beds That Last
French Bulldogs & Jogging | 4 Facts, 5 Dangers & Risks
9 Reasons Why French Bulldogs Scream (Dangers + Tips)
Can French Bulldogs Be Left Home Alone? The Truth + Tips