apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

When you run out of your MH products and carpet sanitizer, do not buy more.

Instead, go to your local pet store, Target or grocery store and pick up a big bottle of Nature's Miracle. The stuff is great. All you have to do is blot the spot with a paper towel or cloth, sprinkle or spray Nature's Miracle where the spot was, let that sit for a few seconds, and blot again. It works on carpet (and even gets down to the mat if you let it) and hard floors. It's the best.

It's not necessary a tip for preparing your home, but your home will definitely benefit, I promise.
Enroll your puppy in obedience training. Too many friends have brought home puppies only to be frustrated when the puppy acts like a puppy (biting things, chewing everything, potty accidents, running around, barking). A little obedience training goes a long way no matter how small or large the dog.

I *love* your dog. Frenchies are so freakin' cute! Congrats on your new puppy; sounds like he's got a great home!

oh my GOODNESS he's so cute!! So so SO cute!

I'll second the Natures Miracle! Great stuff.

Umm, please more pictures. I have a boston terrier and would already have a frenchie too if my fiance would let me. God my heart is melting.

Yikes! Disembodied puppy head in that first photo

I stared at that first photo fro a good thirty seconds, wondering why you'd show a decapitated puppy head sitting on a brick sidewalk.

This dog is DARLING!

I third, or fourth?, the Nature's Miracle, that stuff is a life saver.

And I definitely second the obediance training! My parents enrolled our then-8-lb puppy in Puppy Play School (which was pretty much socialization and Obediance for Dummies), and I'm pretty sure it's the only reason that our now-130-lb dog is so manageable.

Before reading the comments, I was about to say Nature's Miracle is a must (especially for hunting breeds with stronger noses...). I think establishing the laundry room as his space was a good idea too (need to make sure dog's understand that they are dogs and not people)...

Sooo cute!

Erin @ SYL: Slipcover Your Life

He's so cute! Nature's Miracle was what we used and it worked great. Also, there's something called bitter apple spray you can spray on wood furniture and things that the puppy is chewing on and it makes it taste bad to them. Ours was obsessed with chewing on the back of the slipcovered sofa, so we sprayed a bit there and she stopped. Also, the best trick for teething dogs (which I got from the dog trainer) is to take a washclot and cut it into pieces. Submerge them in chicken broth or stock and then roll them up and freeze them. Dogs LOVE them--they are cold and yummy to chew, super cheap and environmentally friendly (when they're done with them, wash and repeat). Good luck!

Ok going to repeat what others said: nature's miracle is a god send. Puppy classes are not only helpful but dang they are all so cute.

And I LOVE the floating puppy head pic.

I myself just got a puppy about 3 months ago. He is a major chewer but thankfully he has yet to chew up any furniture or shoes. When we first got him we watched him like a hawk and as soon as he neared the nelson bench or eames lounge we thrust a bone in his mouth and he quickly learned what was or wasn't appropriate to chew on and now we have nothing to worry about.

Agree to everything you said...our first puppy is now 10 months old, and our second puppy is only 11 WEEKS old. We are going through the same things right now. One thing we learned though, is that with the pigs ears is that they are harder on a puppies digestive system. Try lambs ear, they are much gentler on their digestion, AND they aren't as fattening. Pigs ears can end up racking on the pounds! I love the tip on the wash cloth broth too!

Although i agree the pooch needs their own space growing up, i myself wish i never locked my dog up in the bathroom while we were away when he was younger. Although westies are notoriously stubborn, my dog at 2 years old will still escape to the bathroom sometimes to do his business in there. Just be aware that it might not be a good idea to let them go to the bathroom somewhere now, that you might not want him to go in the future. :)

One tip i've also learned is to invest in a quality dog food. Especially if your puppy will mostly be inside. when they do their business it will be more solid and less smelly. (sorry to bring up poop so much everyone!)

I would suggest buying toys that they can't chew through while you are away (you have no idea how many pieces of yarn we have pulled from their rear ends from those braided tug toys). I love West Paw Designs because they are tough and your dog (hopefully) won't be able to chew through them while they are teething (or bored). The toys are also eco-friendly which is an added plus. Other suggestions: Gummy Bones (mint flavored, safe and great for tender teeth) and TurnUp (you can hide treats in the hollow center).

(Also, can't say enough about Nature's Miracle too!)

Eeek. Good sentiment but... hurts me a little. Adopt don't buy. Crate, don't let them go to the bathroom in your house. House-training won't progress otherwise. And don't leave him home all day. Doggy day care or a walker is necessary for a dog that young. Socialization and house training won't progress otherwise. Good luck!

SO CUTE! Does he have a cork tree to lounge under? I just love that story.

Cables and poisonous plants were a big thing for me when I got my kitten. The ASPCA has a list of plants on their website so you can find out it whatever it is is toxic to dogs or cats. It's been helpful.

Um...that pup is too precious. I want a couple. I hear frenchies are good apartment dogs too, quieter than most.

i would like to second (and third and eight, etc...) these comments:

please ADOPT/RESCUE!!!!

nature's miracle is where it's at

good quality dog food will help in so many ways. check www.dogfoodanalysis.com to learn more

and def enroll in an obedience class

and Kongs rule for keeping pups occupied.

slipcovers rule. or just put blankets/sheets something over your couch.

Congratulations ... you adopted a puppy! Oh, wait. That's a purebred Frenchie puppy. You must've bought him. So, um, congratulations ... you purchased a dog that is highly inbred and will suffer breathing problems throughout its life! You had a chance to save the life of a wonderful shelter puppy and you didn't! Congrats all around!

Save ya money. Club Soda and Nature's Miracle are the exact same thing!

editrix, not all purebreds are inbred and many are bred by people who hold genetic soundness in the highest regard. Some people want a dog they know will grow into an adult with a temperament and size that is predictable. They want a dog whose parents were checked for genetic disorders. You are not at all likely to get that with a shelter dog. If you want to rescue a dog, do so. But if you want to condemn people who buy purebred dogs, try focusing on the people who don't research and buy from breeders who don't breed healthy dogs for a purpose beyond just producing puppies. Right now, you're doing rescue dogs more harm than good with your holier-than-thou rhetoric.

One thing I did with all my dogs during their teething period is take an old sock and place it in cold water squeeze and put into freezer till it hardens. Give to pup on the kitchen floor or outside to chew on. This keeps them busy for a bit and very soothing on their teeth.

Keep shoes off the floor, take anything they can reach away, like books or anything on lower shelves away. Don't set them up for failure.

A tired pup or dog is a happy dog!

if you have carpet, I recommend a cleaning tool called the Bissell Spotbot. That's been handy for our cat (who pukes) and our dog when she was housetraining.

I love frenchies..I'm so jealous of yours! I'd love to get one if I could afford it. I have a little boston terrier that would love a boyfriend..

I just put together a collage of all my french bulldog pictures I've clipped from magazines last night! How funny this would pop up :) I've wanted one since I was really young. I visited my grandparents country home, and the neighbors got a frenchie named Spanky. It quickly became my best friend when I visited, and he would trot up and down the road with me all day long, play fetch, watch me swing. But he wouldn't dare let anyone around me! And he didn't like anyone nearly as much as he took to me.

He was hit by a car and died :( But I found out my hairstylist got a frenchie puppy... named Spanky too! She brings him into the salon for me to play with. These great memories make me want one :( Oh, to have a fenced yard!

I use the Bissell Little Green Clean Machine for rug and upholstery spot-cleaning. It's perfect for those, ahem, *messier* messes, and way less time-consuming and gross than the spray-and-blot cleaners. Nature's Miracle and Folex are both awesome for little messes, though.

Also, editrix, try not to be such a buzzkill, eh? Maybe Ferdinand was a rescue, or maybe he wasn't, but either way, it's none of your business.

shirley-temple-of-doom; that was hilarious!! This is the cutest dog I have ever seen and I am a die-hard cat person! Thanks for the tips on dog-proofing. Most people don't understand that puppies are no different than babies in that they are very curious and can get hurt if the house is not puppy proofed.

editrix, we hope you have a better day; that was very cranky of you!

1. yes Nature's Miracle
2. Yes puppy training (I loved Denise at Empire of The Dog f you live in NYC)
3. make sure your puppy always has something delicious enough on hand that it will prefer it to your favorite pair of shoes.
4. I actually got my hyper pug 100% accident free way before the one year mark, so don't think daily accidents are unavoidable.
5. be prepared to physically exhaust your puppy every single day. we took ours to the park, or to doggy daycare every single day, and this alone corrected nearly all "puppy misbehavior"
6. Whatever treats you stumble upon - remember you'll have to change them up regularly for them to have the same magical effect. Otherwise, puppy gets bored and moves on to your stuff.
7. Socializing them as soon as they have all their shots also really helps. It made our little guy really happy and friendly.
8. consider feeding your puppy it's meals in a king toy. This worked great for us - the puppy had to work on the toy to get the pieces of kibble to come out. Again, burning puppy energy is key!

oops # 8 should have said Kong toy.

Editrix26, I hope you take the same hard line condemning people who choose to selfishly have children on their own terms instead of adopting one. After all, puppies like children, are for life - except of course with puppies you have some control over traits like size, temperament, lineage and dietary and exercise requirements. But other than that...

my two cents...

1. invest in slip covers for your couch until they're trained to not jump on furniture
2. Introduce your puppy to your neighbors, friends, landlord, maintainance people, etc. You want him to be comfortable with anyone who could be in his environment
3. HIDE ALL SHOES!!!

If you live in Los Angeles, join the Hollywood Hills French Bulldog meetup group! It's the best. We meet semi-frequently in the Lake Hollywood Dog Park. Lots and lots of frenchies running around and their owners standing by laughing. Here's the link:

http://frenchbulldog.meetup.com/32/

exercise is you and your dogs best friend! the more tired the dog the more well behaved they will be.

also throw away all the tic tacs and candy you have laying around that contains xylitol. it's highly toxic to pets and i learned this the hard way when Lola ended up staying at the vets for 3 days.

instead of the laundry room, you might want to crate train instead. a puppy peeing inside is really hard to stop, you'll find they have fewer accidents if they are confined to a smaller space.

if you work all day you should have someone come over to relieve Ferd 2 times. puppy's can only hold pee-wee for about 2 hours. also they need to pee within 20 minutes of eating and drinking.

teach a pee word or phrase that you can use during your walks. I use "do your business". people don't really know what i'm talking about and it's a bit more innocuous than "go poopie".

Re: Potty-training.

I'm a member of the Keep-a-Bottle-of-Nature's-Miracle-Handy-and-Yell-and-Scream-and-Generally-Scare-Your-Dog-When-He-Pees-on-the-Carpet School.

I've pet-sat for more than one very smart little dog who was crate-trained, but then thought the rest of my floor was free peeing and pooping territory.

It's best that dogs learn to associate grass, trees and bushes with peeing, rather than associating being inside a little box with not peeing. (Though that can backfire as well. I had my dog trained to pee and poop in trees and bushes. So he thought it was perfectly OK to pee on the Christmas tree.)

One more tip:

Consider your furniture arrangement.

I guess this sort of goes along with moving potential hazards. But I think there's more to this one than that idea.

I've always kept my living room floor completely open (no chairs or sofa, except against the wall; no coffee table, etc.). That way, I can play inside with the dogs when it's raining or snowing. I've always had and pet-sat pugs or pug-mixes (my first pug was purchased because no one would let us adopt and my second was adopted from a pug rescue), and none of them have been keen on going out in the rain. My dogs and cat also understand that the floor is for playing, and the couch is for snuggling.

You don't have to do that. But I think it's pretty convenient.

So cute--he looks a lot like our Frenchie girl. As far as the buying vs. rescuing debate, we have done both. Our current Frenchie was a rescue, and she is the most loyal dog. If anyone reading this post caught the Frenchie bug, I suggest you check out this rescue: frenchbulldogrescue.net.

Whoops! I meant frenchbulldogrescue.org.

These are great puppy preparation tips, especially giving them their own area - that is key and eliminates most of the typical puppy problems. We gated off the hallway which has hardwood floor and nothing dangerous (like wires) - everything our puppies need is there and we never have to worry about accidents ruining anything.

I screamed -- screamed! -- when I saw Ferdinand's decapitated head. Now that I realize his head, ears and all, remains firmly attached to his soft, pink-tummied, plump little body, all is well. Except... now I can't stop staring and making woogie-woogie noises. Whose little face needs to be kissed? Whose?

Nature's Miracle, bitter spray, and two rounds of puppy classes saved our sanity, and that of our six month old lab.

The other miracle we experienced was the Gentle Leader - maybe not necessary for all breeds, but our Phyllis is a puller and kind of stubborn; the Gentle Leader works to remind her that we are in charge. The transformation is remarkable - as soon as she gets it on, you can almost feel the stubbornness draining out of her.

Rawhide and hooves have been good for her chewing - we just watch her like crazy with either of them, especially the rawhide, and take it away and trim it when she starts to work a portion of it free.

Lots of exercise, walks, play dates and socializing are a part of our daily life.

Never leave a shoe, sock or anything you value unattended in their vicinity. I have lost too many shoes :(
I understand your pain about your dining chairs too- my pup ate all but two of the low leg supports on our dining room chairs.

Also, make sure your carpet cleaner is one that neutralises the scent of urine- if not the dog will keep peeing on your carpet.

To stop accidents watch the dog, usually they'll give a sign their about to pee. With my Corgi it was that he started to sniff the floor, hunting for a good place to pee. He only ever had 2 accidents but each dog is different. Some prove a bigger challenge to toilet train.

Whilst leaving a dog alone all day is something that should be avoided don't think of it as an evil practice. It's a reality and not everyone has something such as puppy pre school to take their dog too. We were lucky in that someone is home every day but this isn't an option for everyone. Just try and limit their time alone- come home as soon as possible and if you can return at lunch to let them out.

As for everyone saying adopt don't buy- well I too believe adopting is a wonderful thing and fully support it I don't think we should chastise everyone for making the decision to buy a dog. Whilst I understand the logic of not buying and therefore decreasing demand for puppies, a lot of puppies have already been born and need homes. Should we wait for them to be taken to a shelter because no one is buying them and then adopt them? I bought my dog and whilst I support shelters I am not going to apologize for giving him a home.

If you want a purebred dog due to size/temperment predictability (something I care a lot about myself, personally) there are a lot of purebred dogs in shelters and breed rescues.

If you're uncertain about signing on for a puppy that could end up 15 or 150 lbs, or have the activity level of a Basset or a Border Collie, that could work for a lot of people.

I'm sorry for sounding like this, but why didn't you just go to the pound and get a rescue puppy?

The limited pool of genetic information makes purebreds highly susceptible to illness. I know there are traits and look of dogs we like, but the dog suffers.

Unless you need a dog for a specific job, like a Rat Terrier for killing rats, or a Golden Retriever for foul hunting, it's best to get a mutt.

I have had both rescue and purebred dogs, and I can say that sometimes you really need to know what you're getting. I needed a dog that would be small and calm inside and not a barker. I rent, and I genuinely need to be able to claim those things and to have references that can back it up. With research, those things are exactly what I got.
When I was younger, we got a couple of rescues that seemed great until we brought them home and then they had serious behavioural / emotional problems. We finally found one that's amazing, but I don't have the luxury of that unpredictability. I really don't understand people who condemn other peoples choices just because they don't understand them. Holier than though is a pretty horrible way to be.

Please fine some sort of substitute for the pigs ears - those things have been linked to multiple salmonellosis outbreaks, both in dogs, people who own them, and people who handle the ears. Whether it's local or not, there's a very high risk of Salmonella infection associated with them. Other than that, I totally agree with designated chewing items. Puppies eat a lot of stuff.

The strident protests about getting a dog from a breeder rather than adopting are perfectly obnoxious. If you get a dog from a good breeder, you know the puppy had good socialization, get to meet both parents, garantees of freedom from common genetic defects and get to train them from a young age. That said, as owner of the nicest dog in the world, adopted as a two year old, with respect to the issue of knowing the personality and behavioral patterns of shelter dogs, the humane society's "meet your match" personality tests for dogs and adopters really do work pretty well to help people get matched up with a pooch that works for their lifestyle, so there are more options out there than there used to be. See for example: http://www.warl.org/animals/mym.php