Playmate for Frankie?

[Mike]

Hi,
I currently have a 11 month old male Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Frankie and I am looking for a companion for him. He's great with other dogs, never shown any aggression toward other animals. He regularly plays with a friend's Golden Retriever and Labrador and they get along great(I have considered getting a Golden, but I am a true lover of the "bully" breed). My question is, how active are your Frenchies? I know that they can be prone to heat exhaustion, but I live in southern Cali, near the beach where the temperatures rarely get about 75 with low humidity levels. No doubting, Frankie is a high energy dog, would it be wrong to get a Frenchie as a companion? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[Maria Casanova-Richards]

Hi,
I don't know whether a Frenchie would be a good companion for your puppy. I can tell you that Lexi is a "high energy in short spurts" Frenchie. She will run around like a maniac for about 5 to 10 minutes then she is done for at least a half hour. Then it starts all over again. Actually, that is only true when she is around my kids or another dog. When she's with my husband (computer potato) or me, she's quiet. When she's at the dog park, she chases the other dogs for a couple of minutes, then plops down on her belly for five minutes, then up again, and so on. It's pretty funny to watch.

You might want to wait until your puppy is grown to see what kind of companion he would do well with.

75 with low humidity, huh? I'd trade my 95 with high humidity for that any day!

[Trish]

I think it would be a better if you waited about another year, until Frankie was 2 years old. You will have a better idea of what his adult personality is going to be like, and you'll have a better idea of what his adult energy level is going to be like. Typically the American bred French Bulldogs are pretty low energy, but there are always exceptions. The Russian bred French Bulldogs have a reputation for being more high energy and terrier like. My dog is from American lines, although his breeder does have some imported lines, from Germany in some of her dogs, I don't believe he has any in his lines but he may. He is VERY low energy. We take him for walks but he doesn't enjoy them a whole lot. He loves going to the dog park but tires easily. It is very hot and humid in Ohio during the summer right now, so if I take him to the dog park or for walks, it's early in the morning or at night after it has started to cool down. Even indoors my dog will maybe run around for 10 minutes at the most, but that's when he is provoked by my other dog. I have a Boston Terrier who is much more high energy than my Frenchie.. she requires twice as much exercise, likes going on walks, and runs around the house a lot, and can handle being at the dog park much longer than Louie the Frenchie. Oh-- and you are right about them overheating very easily, even 75 with low humidity can be a very dangerous temperature for Frenchies to be exposed to. I remember someone telling me about a dog that died from heat exhaustion in I think it was 68 degree weather. In my own experience, anything above 70 is too hot for either of my dogs.

[Tatiana]

The question you really need to ask yourself is whether you want to add another dog to your household? Domesticated pets don't need the companionship of other dogs and are perfectly content with their masters. Frankie really isn't a part of the equation and should have no say in the matter since he won't be paying for the dog, or the additional food and vet fees, and he'd be fine being top banana. That said, you need to concern yourself with the added expenses and whether you have the time to devote to the house-breaking and obedience-training of an active puppy.

Many dogs can cohabitate just fine but it also depends on the temperaments of the dogs and also on the mindset of their master(s). What you should know is that many French Bulldogs have been surrendered to rescue organizations because they've terrorized other beloved family pets... We know of homes with Pugs, Boston Terriers and Bulldogs that surrendered Frenchie puppies because they made life a living hell for the owners and their dogs... All of these puppies were imports, by the way... So do your homework, do a great deal of research, and especially learn proper dog-training skills beforehand so that you can introduce and socialize the dogs with one another.

Good breeding is key and you should discuss your concerns with a breeder, being forthright and upfront about what you want in a dog. A good breeder should be able to guide you in the selection of a well-tempered puppy that is suitable as a play-mate for your Staffie... An ethical breeder will also be willing to take the puppy back in the event that things don't work out in your household.

There are 3 French Bulldogs in my home and I happen to have adopted a 70-pound Olde English Bulldogge from a friend and they all get along just fine... The big mutt has a great deal of stamina so I enjoy longer outings with her, but most of the time she just curls up with the Frenchie females and they all snooze or pamper one another... They enjoy hopping in and out of a plastic baby pool and playing with the hose... Dogs usually suffer from overheating due to human negligence (i.e. locking them in parked cars or leaving them unattended / unsupervised)... The key to avoiding these kinds of emergency situations is to be prudent and prepared... Most of us learn to curtail or dogs' activity levels when it's hot and we know how to cool them down.

Hope this helps a bit in your decision-making process. Cheers!

[karin hamlin]

staffies are one of my favorite breeds!!! I do know that they are much less likely to be dog aggressive than a pit but I would really wait til Frankie is around 2, like Trish mentioned. He may do great with other dogs now still being very young but may get more territorial the older he gets and that would be such a tragedy. I really believe there is something to be said about a one dog household. I only have Lola and I only had a Dobie before her and the one time we tried adding another dog it was just to much. We are a pretty busy family and it just made our household to hectic. I dont think a Frenchie could keep up with a Staffie though and might get overheated trying. But you are doing the right thing finding info.
Good Luck!

Good