The Unlikely Heroes: How French Bulldogs Can Make Great Service Dogs

Frenchies are known for being beloved family members due to their loyalty, playfulness, and cuteness. In this article, we will discuss French Bulldogs’ capability to become useful service dogs. Let’s see if Frenchies could prove that size does not matter, performance does.

French Bulldogs as Service Dog

These pups can make fantastic service dogs, companion dogs, and emotional support dogs even if they are too tiny for some vocations requiring service dogs.

They would make excellent autism support dogs, psychiatric service dogs, and hearing dogs, but they wouldn’t make effective mobility assistance dogs or guard dogs, for example.

A French Bulldog service dog might be trained to help persons with PTSD or depression, alert hearing-impaired owners to sounds, collect objects like medication or a mobile phone in an emergency, and do other tasks.

How To Train Your French Bulldog To Be A Service Dog

According to the international standard, your dog will need an average of 120 hours of training spread out over a period of six months in order to become a service dog.

Additionally, it is advised that 30 of those hours be spent in public settings so that your dog can become accustomed to particular noises, people, and circumstances. Once trained, you should test your dog in various scenarios to evaluate how they perform.

For instance:

  • They must maintain their composure and refrain from pleading for attention or food.
  • They should refrain from acting hyperactively in public.
  • They shouldn’t act aggressively at all.
  • Service dogs should not exhibit any sniffing behaviors.

Where to Register my Dog as a Service Dog?

You don’t even need to register your service dog in order to use it in the US. People mostly do it to avoid being disturbed in public and to have identification in case any business owners inquire, even though they are not allowed to demand proof.

However, it is extremely simple to register your service dog online, for instance on the Service Dog Certifications website.

What is the difference between an emotional support dog and a service dog?

A service dog is trained to assist its owner who is dealing with a physical or mental condition. Most public spaces also permit service dogs.

Emotional support dogs are not taught to do any particular jobs. They merely provide emotional support for their owners. They do not require any additional funding and do not have public access like service dogs.

French Bulldogs can be either service dogs or emotional support dogs, however, many people believe that their emotional support dog role may be superior.

Conclusion

Training a Frenchie to become a service dog is doable, but they’re mostly used as emotional support dogs. If you require a service dog in a normal sense, a French Bulldog probably won’t do. However, a Frenchie can be the perfect breed for you if you’re looking for a lovable pet that will cheer you up, provide emotional support, and even aid in treatment.

FAQs

Should You Train Your Frenchie as an ESA or Service Dog?

French Bulldogs could be trained as service dogs, however, they would make better therapy or emotional support animals.

How To Get Your French Bulldog To Be A Support Dog?

Your French Bulldog must first be in excellent health for it to qualify as a service dog, and the ADA should confirm this. You have two options for training your Frenchie: either at home or with a professional.

What other breeds make good service dogs?

The following are a few of the top dog breeds for service dogs:

Labradors (American and English), Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Poodles, Border Collies, and other big dogs.

What Services Can A French Bulldog Provide?

A French Bulldog Service Dog might be trained to comfort persons with PTSD or depression, alert hearing-impaired owners to sounds, or retrieve objects like medication or a mobile phone in an emergency.

What Traits should a service dog Have?

The most popular service dog breeds have the following key traits in common:

  • an eagerness to work 
  • a cool and attitude.
  • Intelligence. 
  • a pleasant demeanor.