Are French Bulldogs Smart?
Bred to be companions, French bulldogs are becoming more and more popular all around the globe. Due to their gentle temperament and kid-friendly nature, French bulldogs are considered one of the best family dogs. When it comes to cute looks, Frenchies are certainly hard to beat. But what about intelligence? Are French bulldogs smart?
In terms of smartness, French bulldogs come in the 109th position. This is certainly not that impressive. So, are French bulldogs dumb? Well, that’s not the case either. French bulldogs are quite intelligent. They can understand humans and are easier to train. The only thing that’s causing the lower rank is their stubbornness.
Keep reading to learn about French bulldogs’ temperament and intelligence.
French Bulldog’s Temperament
French bulldogs are a crossbreed between French Terriers and American Bulldogs. They were bred to be affectionate companions. These dogs originated in the nineteenth century to be lapdogs for lacemakers in England.
Today, French bulldogs have become one of the most popular family dogs all around the globe. This is due to their gentle temperament. French bulldogs have everything you need in a family dog. While they are good with kids, these dogs are playful, forceful, energetic, affectionate, and much more.
French bulldogs have a wrinkly appearance, making them cute and adorable. However, this wrinkly appearance also causes several issues. For instance, your Frenchie has a narrow nostril, reducing the airflow and causing several respiratory health complications.
Although French Bulldogs are prone to several health issues, they still have quite an impressive lifespan. On average, a French bulldog can live for around 10-15 years. They don’t bark a lot and are entirely kid-friendly, making them excellent family dogs for small families.
Are French Bulldogs Smart?
It’s completely reasonable to ask, are French bulldogs intelligent? First of all, keep in mind that French bulldogs are not humans. They cannot express their intelligence like us. You cannot expect them to talk to you like humans.
That being said, French bulldogs are quite intelligent compared to other dog breeds. They show their intelligence through other means. Frenchies can understand most human commands. Therefore, they are fairly easy to train.
You can teach a lot of things to your Frenchie. If you have just got yourself a French bulldog, you must provide obedience training as well as socialization training to your pet. Obedience training will give you more control by teaching your pet some specific commands.
Alternatively, socialization training is used to make your dog more social. With this training, you take your Frenchie outside to meet other people and dogs. With this approach, your Frenchie learns a lot of new things and becomes more social and comfortable.
How Smart Are French Bulldogs?
Okay, we get it; French bulldogs are intelligent. But how smart is a French bulldog? Well, according to a report, French bulldogs come in the 109th position in terms of intelligence. This is certainly not an impressive number.
The low ranking for a Frenchie is because of their stubborn nature. Although French Bulldogs are smart, they are still quite stubborn. So, if you are trying to train your dog, you’ll need a lot of patience and consistency. If your little furball doesn’t sit on your command, it doesn’t mean he is dumb!
Their stubbornness results in a low ranking when it comes to working intelligence and obedience. Alternatively, French bulldogs are quite smart in terms of communicating human emotions, understanding, and reading.
In other words, although Frenchies are not good at learning commands, they are superior when it comes to adaptive intelligence. So, don’t expect your little furball to do your bidding blindly. You’ll have to be patient while trying to teach them something new!
Are French Bulldogs Intelligent – Top 9 Reasons
Keep in mind that no two French bulldogs are the same. If one Frenchie is stubborn, the other one might be easygoing. In case you cannot train your Frenchie quickly, you don’t have to consider him dumb. Remember, your French bulldog is still an animal!
Generally speaking, Frenchies are extremely intelligent. They inherit most of their traits from their parents. Additionally, they learn several things from their surroundings. As they are a companion dog breed, your Frenchie will learn different ways to show their appreciation and affection.
Compared to other dog breeds, the French bulldog’s intelligence level is higher than most. Their overall intelligence depends upon several factors: discussed below!
Here are some of the most common reasons why French bulldogs are considered intelligent:
Great Babysitters
First of all, French bulldogs are great babysitters. Frenchies are excellent with kids. Due to their small size and gentle temperament, Frenchies are perfect family dogs. As they were bred to be companions, your little furball will become a buddy with your kid.
The best thing about Frenchies is that they are energetic and playful. Your little furball will play with your kid as much as possible. Although French Bulldogs are energetic, they are not hyperactive. So your dog won’t exhaust or hurt your kid while playing together.
Even though French Bulldogs are great babysitters, they are still animals. So, if your kid is playing with your Frenchie, keep an eye on them to avoid accidents.
Home Guards
Frenchies are part bulldogs that are considered the best home guards out there. Frenchies are loyal and brave, just like American bulldogs. They don’t like strangers. So, if someone is on your property, your little furball will start to bark to alert you!
Barking is not a problem when it comes to French Bulldogs. Generally speaking, French bulldogs don’t bark a lot. They will bark only to alert you about different circumstances. In addition, some additional reasons might make your French bulldog an excessive barker.
For instance, French bulldogs can get lonely quickly. They were bred to be companions. So, if you leave your little furball for a few hours, it will get anxious and start to bark intensively.
Territorial
French bulldogs are quite territorial. They get attached to their family and owners. Sometimes, they can even get attached to places and objects. That being said, Frenchies don’t like changes. They can get anxious if you try to change their environment.
Usually, Frenchies show excellent courage in difficult situations with new territories, strangers, and animals.
Understanding Nature
Did you know French bulldogs can understand you? Frenchies are known to “talk” back. Although they cannot talk with words, they express their understanding by using different gestures and activities.
To express their feelings, French bulldogs are known to utilize a complex system of similar sounds, growling and barking sounds. To understand these messages, you’ll have to pay close attention to your dog.
Jealous
Jealousy is not just a human’s feeling. Even your dog can get jealous of you. Jealousy is a sign that your dog is highly intelligent and understands intimacy. Frenchies can get quite attached to their owners. So, if you try to spend your time with other dogs, your dog might even become moody towards you!
Initiative
French bulldogs are known to take the initiative. They learn most of their habits by observing others. For instance, if you are stubborn but your dog is easygoing. Eventually, your French bulldog will also become stubborn.
Moreover, they can also learn new efficient behaviors depending upon the circumstances and situations. They can learn complex commands, recognize hundreds of words and give feedback.
Easy to Train
If your French bulldog is not stubborn, you’ll be surprised to see how easy they are to train. Compared to other breeds, French bulldogs are fairly easy to train. You can train them to learn several habits and even tricks.
Two of the most important pieces of training that you must provide your teacher is obedience and socialization. For socialization, you’ll need to take your little furball to parks or training lessons. Once they learn how to interact with others, they will adopt several positive behaviors.
Next, you’ll have to provide obedience training to your dog. In obedience training, you’ll teach your dog how to follow orders. You can teach him different commands, including sit, stand, jump, stop, silent, and more.
Build Emotional Connections
Last but not least, French bulldogs can build an emotional connection with other dogs, humans, and objects. They can get really attached to their family and owners. If your dog is attached to something, he will try to protect it at all costs.
This behavior can sometimes cause different issues. For instance, if you have kids at home, your Frenchie will get really attached to them. Sometimes, they can become overprotective, hurting others just to protect children.
To avoid this problem, socialization training can help a lot. With socialization training, your dog will learn to live with other people and dogs, helping them understand different interactions and interpret different requests.
Factors Affecting the Smartness of a Frenchie
As mentioned earlier, no two French bulldogs are the same. If one Frenchie is smart, the other one might not have the exact intelligence level. This is because several factors can affect your French bulldog’s intelligence, such as age, lifestyle, and much more.
Here are some of the most common factors that influence a Frenchie’s smartness:
Age
Age is one of the most significant factors that can affect the smartness of your French bulldog. You’ll see better results if you try to train a French bulldog pup. This is because younger dogs don’t usually have negative habits and are less stubborn.
Young French bulldogs are easy to train. They are excellent at acquiring action commands, remembering locations, and identifying objects. As young Frenchies will love to spend time with you and play with you, they will learn several new things daily.
Alternatively, when it comes to older French bulldogs, there’re fewer chances. This is because as Frenchies grow, their ability to understand begins to fade away. Moreover, French bulldogs get distracted and adopt several negative traits from their surroundings, making them more stubborn.
Keep in mind that an oldie does not get dumb. He will just get more stubborn and hard to train!
Lifestyle
Another factor that influences the smartness level of your French bulldog is its lifestyle. Whether we are talking about animals or humans, lifestyle is certainly a factor that cannot be denied, especially regarding intelligence.
Some Frenchies are more intelligent than others due to their lifestyle. According to many studies, high training levels can improve your dog’s problem-solving abilities. Moreover, if your Frenchie interacts with novel objects, it will make your dog more proactive.
In other words, you can train your dog to be more intelligent. All you need to do is be patient and work hard. You can help your dog learn different problem-solving skills by engaging him in different training games.
Context
The intelligence level of your dog also depends upon the context. How are you measuring your dog’s smartness? French bulldogs are superior if you are talking about their ability to understand. They can understand your words and even “talk” back.
Alternatively, if you are trying to measure your little furball’s smartness by training them, it could be the wrong approach. This is because French bulldogs have a stubborn nature. They can get distracted quickly, making them hard to train.
Final Thought
Learning all about your little furball is certainly fun and exciting. When it comes to Frenchies, the most common question that people ask is, are French bulldogs smart?
French bulldogs are undoubtedly a smart dog breed in terms of understanding and learning. They can learn a lot of things from their surroundings and get really attached to their family and owners. Moreover, French bulldogs can even understand your emotions and interpret your requests.
However, when it comes to training a French bulldog, they are certainly not the most intelligent dog breed out there. Frenchies are naturally stubborn. Therefore, they are quite hard to train. Their stubbornness is the main reason why they are not the most obedient dog breed with a high intelligence level!
