Are you planning to hike with your French Bulldog? Read this post as it can save the life of your dog. There are more than 400 species of dogs in the world, but the ones that attract most dog lovers are the French Bulldogs.
Their appearance, friendly behavior, politeness, and their adorable look can make anyone fall in love with them. But, they are quite sensitive dogs, and even your tiny mistake can lead them into big trouble.
Therefore, a question may arise in your mind: can you hike with a French Bulldog? I will cover it in detail in this article.
Any query that you may have related to this topic will be covered in this piece of writing, so invest your 10 minutes reading this, and I hope these 10 minutes are not more than your French Bulldog’s life.
Ensure you read this article thoroughly so you may not end up missing something crucial. Without lecturing more, let’s get to the topic.
Table of Contents
Can you Hike with a French Bulldog? Why and Why Not?
The simplest answer would be, Yes, you can, but wait… Please hear me up before taking your french bulldog hiking. Compared to other species of dogs, the French Bulldogs are more susceptible and have more health issues.
To learn more about the French Bulldog’s health and why hiking can be harmful to them, let’s have a look at the health issues they have.
French Bulldogs’ Health Issues
Some species of dogs are great for hiking, walking, running, and doing almost any physical work.
Also, Some species of dogs are lazy, have more health issues, and can’t do many physical activities. And French Bulldogs are one of such species.
The French Bulldogs are too lazy and get exhausted very quickly, which is why you can’t take them hiking as they’ll tire soon, and if you make them walk when they’re tired, it can be harmful to their health.
They can’t bear the heat; it’s the most dangerous thing for them. When the French Bulldogs are in a hot temperature, they start having a lot of health issues that will be visible in their appearance. The temperature which is good for them is 22–24; they can’t handle more than this.
Not just that, the French Bulldogs have breathing problems as well. When they run more than they can, they start having terrible breathing problems, which can be perilous for them.
So, these are the health issues that your innocent Frenchie struggles with if you don’t pay attention to them.
Is it means that you can’t go hiking with them? You can, but you have to rustle them up for it; you can’t just bring a Frenchie at home and then start hiking with it every day.
That would be the dumbest decision one can ever make despite knowing about their health issues. However, any health issue can be controlled by training, so you have to train them for hiking so that they don’t get affected by tiny things in the atmosphere.
How to Train your French Bulldog For Hiking?
After knowing about their health issue, you have two choices first, get another dog that can go hiking with you, or train your French Bulldog so it can go hiking with you and you both have a good time with each other.
I knew that you’ll go for the second option, a Good choice. The training is not as difficult or lightly, but you have to be consistent to teach your dog better. Make sure you follow all the steps, so your dog doesn’t have trouble anyway.
Training your French Bulldog For Hiking
There is something that you have to teach to your Frenchie before you even think of taking it hiking.
Teach you’re Responding to Your Commands
When you go hiking, you are more likely to go to public parks or somewhere around the forest where you can find a long road and greenery. Therefore, you must teach your Frenchie to respond to some of your important commands. Like, sit, come, stop and go.
The first command that you should teach your dog should“Sit command.” Tech your dogs with this command so whenever you say it they immediately sit down. The dogs love gifts and praises, so make sure you praise them whenever they follow your commands wells. Once you’re sure that your dog has learned to respond to the “Sit command,” You can now teach it other following mentioned commands.,
- Come- this command will help you to call your dog to you when it’s going towards something it shouldn’t, like a car or a bus that it can get hit by
- Stop- This command can help you when your dog is misbehaving with the people in the park, like barking at them or trying to bite them. When you say this command, your Frenchie will immediately stop as The french Bulldogs are very intelligent.
- Stay- When your dog is running ahead of you but you stopped to bend your shoelaces or drink water, then you can command it saying stay, and it will stay for you there.
- Leave it When your dog has started playing with something dirty or useless, then you can tell it to leave it, and it will do the thing. It’s beneficial when you’re walking around a forest where the trash is spread out.
- Sit Down- As the command itself suggests, it will make your dog sit down whenever you say.
These commands are a way of communication between you and your Frenchie; when your dog doesn’t understand you, you can’t make it do anything.
At times, it can be dangerous for it too, especially when you’re hiking outside. So, it’s Cardinal for them to know these commands in order to be safe.
Remember, don’t be hurry while teaching them commands, just teach them one at a time so they don’t get mixed up.
Things you Have to be Careful Of
1) Choose Easy and Safe Routes For Hiking
The place you’re planning to take your French Bulldog hiking should not be rocky or where small animals can harm them.
The route should not be full of traffic where the dog can get hit by any vehicle. The route should be straight and distraction-free. Also, ensure that the road you’ve taken to hike with your French Bulldog on has not so many trees on it.
Why? Because The french Bulldogs love to play in the trees and greenery, whenever they see any tree, they tend to run towards it, and it’s hard to bring them back. Also, you may lose them when there are too many trees.
The French Bulldogs can’t swim, so taking them to a route where there is the sea or a river would be a bad choice because, once the dog falls into deep water, it won’t be able to survive.
However, if you’re planning to go to the beach with your dog for hiking, ensure that it’s wearing a life jacket so it is safe even in the water.
2) Take Breaks While Hiking
As stated earlier, the French bulldogs have a breathing problem, and they get exhausted very quickly. So, taking short breaks is the best thing you can do while hiking with your dog.
Keep an eye on the condition of your dog, see if it’s struggling to breathe and if it is then immediately stop.
Things to take with you for hiking with your Frenchie
- Umbrella — When you’re hiking with your dog, you must have an umbrella to prevent your Frenchie from the heat. As noted above, the French bulldogs can’t bear the heat. The weather can be changed anytime, anywhere, so it’s better to be rustled up already.
- Dog backpack — Having a dog back with you while hiking with your Frenchie is another important thing. Why? Because, sometimes the hiking gets too much and your dog may need something, like food or any product that it may need. So, don’t forget to take a dog back with you.
- Take a collar or harness –You can take either with you; both help the dog to maintain balance on the ground and walk better by covering its entire body. The harness is the latest and preferable, but still, you can choose according to your availability.
- Dog poop bags – It happens a lot of times that your Frenchie ends up pooping while hiking due to some reason, so having a poop bag is crucial to keep the road clean.
- Fresh drinking -water Sine, the French Bulldogs, get tired quickly; they need to be given water immediately, so keep clean and fresh water with you in case you need it.
Point to note
Hey, Frenchie loves, I hope now you got the answer to your question which was, can you hike with a French Bulldog. Yes, you can definitely hike with it if you follow the above-mentioned instructions, or else you may unintentionally put your dog in danger. If you have any queries related to the topic, put them down and I’ll be there to help you out.
Dino is a passionate French Bulldog lover and owner who has dedicated himself to learning everything there is to know about these charming and charismatic canines. Born and raised in a dog-loving family, Dino’s fascination with Frenchies began when he welcomed his first furry companion, named Napoleon, into his life.