Have you ever looked at a cute little Frenchie in a sweater and thought to yourself – I wonder how intelligent that little guy is?
No? Me neither, just asking for a friend.
But seriously, if you have a French Bulldog you probably want to know if he’s smart or not.
The bad news is that no, French Bulldogs are not considered to be a smart breed.
In fact, they are not even considered to be of average intelligence!
But don’t worry, below we’ll give you more information on what this means for your little Frenchie.
And rest assured, we think Frenchies are just as smart as you do.
How Intelligent Is A French Bulldog?
According to Smart Canine, the French Bulldog ranks #109 out of 138 on the list of smartest dog breeds.
That means 108 other breeds are considered to be smarter than a Frenchie.
Canine psychologist Stanley Coren came up with an intelligence test for dog breeds, “Coren’s Dog Intelligence Criteria,” that was used to measure the intelligence of the dogs by breed.
Coren’s criteria used the following for the test:
- how many repetitions are required for the dog to learn a new command
- the rate as which the dog obeys a command the first time
If you’ve got a French Bulldog, then you know that their stubborn nature is likely why the breed didn’t score higher in the intelligence rating.
Because this intelligence test is basically an obedience test, right?
Based on the ranking for Frenchies in this study, they are considered to be of below average intelligence.
The Truth About How Smart French Bulldogs Are
While French Bulldogs didn’t score well on Coren’s intelligence test, I think most Frenchie owners will agree that this is a smart breed.
But they’re not very obedient.
However, despite that stubbornness, French Bulldogs are relatively easy to train. This proves that they are not as dumb as the Coren Criteria scoring leads you to believe.
The truth is that French Bulldogs have amazing adaptive intelligence, which is how the dog can solve problems or learn things on his own.
Specifically, Frenchies excel at recognizing and understanding the emotions of humans, which is what makes them such great companions.
Can I Make My Frenchie Smarter?
Even though your Frenchie is a smart dog, you still may want to improve his intelligence even more.
Luckily, yes, there are a few ways that you can do that.
Early Training
The sooner you can start training your Frenchie, then the smarter the dog will be.
Ideally, you get your Frenchie as an young puppy and can get started on the training immediately.
The sooner you can start training a French Bulldog, the more the dog will be able to absorb from the trainer.
Use Smart Dog Toys
Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of smart dog toys as these are great intelligence boosting tools for Frenchie owners.
Interactive toys and puzzles for dogs stimulate mental activity and boost intelligence in French Bulldogs and other dog breeds.
We recommend the following:
- Nina Ottosson by Outward Hound Dog Hide N’ Slide Tan Interactive Treat Puzzle Dog Toy
- Outward Hound Hide A Squirrel Plush Dog Toy Puzzle
- Starmark Treat Dispensing Bob-a-Lot Dog Toy
Final Word
As you can see, French Bulldogs do not score well when their intelligence is scored based on their obedience.
These stubborn little rascals are actually highly intelligent, but they’ll only show it when they feel like.