Any tips for a new Bullmastiff puppy? Questions

Have you said how old he is? I'm assuming he's around 8 weeks.
In the days that I bred puppies, they would still have been on four meals a day at this age. Methods and dog foods have changed a lot over the intervening years, but I used to give a milk and cereal breakfast, and a moistened meat and kibble meal for the other three. The fact that you are giving a smaller portion at each meal means that it is more likely to be completely consumed - if not, pick it up, and try again at the next mealtime. It is very early days yet, so don't worry if things are not progressing exactly as you imagined. He has a lot of new experiences to internalise, he will probably change a lot over the next couple of weeks. There is nothing to stop you starting to lead train him in the garden though.
Re. exercise, I have very little giant breed experience, but I do know that you have to be careful with the amount of exercise you give when they are puppies. Though the general rule of thumb is, (post vaccination), 5 minutes for each month of the puppy's life, I would refer back to the breeder about this - she is likely to know the specific recommendations for the breed.
It might also be worth you having a look at your national breed Club website, - Google, American Bullmastiff Association. I haven't checked, but a breed club website usually has a lot of interesting information.

Sorry, the sentence about lead training should have been inserted in the second paragraph, after, - recommendations for the breed.

He should be on 4 small meals a day at this stage of his life, then when he is around 5/6 mths you can reduce it to 3, then 2 meals as he gets older, this is only a guide line, all dogs will be different, so you will have to judge that for yourself, but basically his tummy is to small to take in to much food at one time, just like your babies, you feed little and often,

The food you feed will have guide lines on the packet (your breeder should have advised you on this) so lets say for instance at his age/weight the guide line says 50grms .. then you split that into 4 ....3....2 meals a day, obviously as he grows the amount with increase.

All dogs are different, some are greedy so and so`s and will woof it down, others take their time, what you find in many cases is single dogs don`t need to rush their food as they have no competition....my boy will leave his food all day and eat it when he feels like it, he even takes a midnight snack finishing his food off.

Some people will tell you to take it up if they don`t eat after 10 mins, this is supposed to encourage them to eat it as its put down, but that`s up to you to decide if it fits your lifestyle.

I don`t have a problem where you feed your dog, that`s your choice, you children need to learn not to bother him when he is feeding regardless of where that is, the only issue you might have with feeding outside if the weather and the type of food you feed, wet food in hot weather does not make a good combination if its laying around all day.

As I said you can teach your boy the "give it up or "swap" command to encourage him to give up food /stuff he is not supposed to have.

the picture of him laying by the empty water bowl is cute I can see why anyone needs to get their knickers in a twist over it, nor the size of the bowl, it does not matter how big or small the bowl is, as long as he has water.

We don`t need to jump on someone because they show an empty water bowl, jeezzz if that was true I would get it all the time, dogs drink water ,sometimes their bowls get empty...

As long as he has access to water in or outside the house, at all times ( just remember to refill the bowl ) then he is fine.

re- exercise, I repeat what Carole C said, there is a golden rule, 5 mnis per mth of life, now again this is a guide line, use it wisely, for instance when he is around 12/16 weeks a 15 min walk will suffice, as he gets older you can do a littl emore, by the time he is 12 mths you will probably be doing 1/2 hr maybe a bit more depending on the type of exercise, you would`nt be taking him for a 5 mile hike...

This breed is not a particularly active breed ( does not need hrs of free running ) he will be a heavy dog so be aware of that , he will not be physically mature ( his bone structure) till he is around 3 yrs old, he bones need time to mature, dense up. and fuse to each other.... there is a diagram or two floating around the web of the rate of a dogs bone growth from puppy to adult, its worth looking at, it will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

In short terms, don`t run his feet off him, till he is at the very least 1 yr old..

i would have hoped your breeder hip scored your pups parents so at least you have a good start to a healthy life.

I have no experience with BM, my pups have mostly been hearty eaters but if it wasn't eaten within 10mins I picked it up and they had to wait till next feed, if he’s being a picky eater, I would try feeding smaller amounts, more frequently, I always fed 4 times a day up to 3 months, 3 meals till around 5/6 mths then id divide daily amount into two meals per day for LIFE!

Since all puppies are individuals, some may need more and some less than the indicated amounts, keep an eye on his condition, you can then make adjustments to avoid him becoming under - or overweight.

As for feeding him outside, do you have a ‘Baby Gate’ or something that you could feed him in the kitchen but blocked off from the kids.

Being a large breed I wouldn’t do much exercise, but you can take him in the car , sit outside supermarkets ect:to get him used to different places and noises.

Just to settle your mind a little, my Border Terrier (smallish breed) has a large water bowl. It really doesn't matter what size the bowl is and sometimes bigger is better especially in a family environment as they are easier to see and, therefore, less likely to be tipped over by kids running and knocking them.

Four meals a day is the recommended for a very young pup. My girl will be 5 this year and still has four meals a day because it's what suits her (she does have an iffy tum so smaller meals better for her).

You will get to know your pup and what suits him best. Bit like kids, there are guidelines that are useful, but at the end of the day they are all individuals

Like the others have said feeding guidelines are for a 8 weeks to 6 months old pup 4 small meals a day, 7 months to 12 months 3 meals a day, 12 months to 16 months 2 meals a day then 16 months onwards 1 meal a day but these are only guidelines, some dogs still need to have 2-3 meals a dog & some dogs need only 1 meal a day, but after saying that I have 6 JRT's & I have dry food down 24/7 mainly because my dogs will just take a bite when passing by dish then walk off, the fresh food (chicken/fish) I hand feed them, I do this mainly to teach them not to snatch & nip (stops them from snatching/nipping when given a treat)

As for the water bowls the bigger the bowl the better, water should be available 24/7 specially over summer & during winter months when you have central heating on, Like I have said previously I have 6 JRT's (small dogs) & all my water bowls are washing up bowls, which are down 24/7, I have 6 bowls scattered all round house 2 in kitchen, family & dinning rooms, have 4 water bowls & water fountain in garden (dogs claimed the water fountain as theirs) plus I give my 6 frozen ice lollies (made with one of the following yogurt/carrots/meat/gravy/fresh fruit) they are very messy so best given outside.

Thank you Carol. Yes he is 8 weeks and I will try this. I was giving 3 meals a day, i'm thinking I will try 4 smaller meals for awhile. I think he has a intolerance to milk as he gets diarrhoea pretty much straight aways so I have been staying away from that. He doesn't like the soft wet biscuits either. . Recommended dosage on the back of a package is just the total amount he should be eating a day. Sort of like formula for babies. I just need to divide that by four instead of three. It might be too much for 3 times a day and he is already full.
Yes the breeder said that I should be careful with exercise and I didn't know until what "age" and what does "careful mean". I assumed just a walk around the backyard or to the neighbours yard and back. I will look up the guidelines for mastiff exercise and see what they recommend, until what age. Thanks again for the great feedback Carol.

she did and he has a perfect score.

Great advice thank you. And I live in Australia so it can get hot here, so i did have similar reasoning there. Thanks you for your great advise. I didn't actually know there was guidelines for feeding which i'm glad i know now. Is there a reason that dogs should have raw meat or wet meat, or are they getting the same nutrients from just dry food.?

My 6 won't touch raw food so I only give them cooked fresh food, but many on here feed raw & their dogs are thriving on raw food.

Ok great. The breeder didn't feed them raw food, just tin meat and cooked things. Our local pet shop said that the food we are giving them is great full of the nutrients and protein they need. I'm not sure if they sell raw food there and thats the reason why they didn't suggest it, thats why i asked. He hasn't had it before so I'll just stick with what I am giving then.
They gave us some dried pig ears or something like that. I know that if it gets too small take it away as they can choke. We are not giving it to him yet, is this something that should be given at a certain age do you know? google says 9 weeks, but again these resources are not always right. And they say that these chew treats can cause runny stools. I'm sorry if i'm being a pest, ill lay off the questions soon. I have just picked simple things especially with food on this site

Hi fave place to sleep. And no the fire isn't on and the lounge cannot squash him if anyone this thinking this
. I I will put him on his bed through the day and we will make his way back to the little hidey hole and sleeps for ages. He won't fit this spot for much longer.! These puppies are super cute.

Who has perfect score, I`m not sure what you mean.

Regarding the food, the reason he is probably not eating it all is because you are putting a lot out in one go, when I say 3/4 meals I mean small meals, as I said, look on the back of the packaging it will give you a guideline on how much to feed, divide this amount into 4 (is best) meals a day.... first thing in the morning, 11ish then around 3/4 o clock, them one at about 7/8 o clock....ish...

Young puppies stomachs wont take a lot of food at once, to much and they will do one of two things poo it all out, or be sick, just like us if you eat to much you will feel full.

As he grows you can reduce the feeds to 3, then when he is fully grown keep him on 2 for the rest of his life, a breakfast and tea. this is the best way to feed it helps their digestive system process the food , I accept for some dogs this will not suit , but generally 2 meals a day is a better way to feed.

Dont forget he is going to be a large dog, and will /could be in danger bloating , this is why 2 feeds a day is best.

Think about it, how would you feel if you could only have one meal in 24 hrs, you would be starving, your tummy would start to rumble and you would not feel to good.

transfer that to your dog, you only have one meal a day, you not going to feel happy. also when a dogs stomach is empty the stomach acids intensify and that`s when a dog eats grass because its tummy is upset , it eats grass and them is sick, if the dog has more than one meal a day it evens out the balance .

Large breeds can suffer from Pano (Panosteitis ) it is a case of the dog growing too fast, and its advised to feed I recommend a slow growth diet, which means you have to skip the grains and carbohydrates, these are energy dense foods that promote rapid growth.

This link will explain http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...rticle/animal-health/panosteitis-in-dogs/1051

It might help using a high riser for his food/water bowls.
I used them when I had my Rottweiler's, Doberman's & GSD's & now have the small high riser for my JRT's dry food.


Few of the type of high risers




measurement guide for high risers

I had this in mind when i purchased the bowls. I have seen the 3rd picture feeding stand and its great as it adjusts. Thanks for the tip.

Sorry I meant that "she did the hip check with the vet and his score was perfect, he has no problems. I took him for his first vet visit to have a look over and wormed while we were there. 7Kg he weighed in at, and he said the same thing as you did about the food thanks.

Elevated food bowls were tied to an INCREASE in risk for large/ giant breeds to develop bloat/torsion Approximately 20 and 52% of cases of GDV among the large breed and giant breed dogs, respectively, were attributed to having a raised feed bowl.

http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/ab...arch=allfield:(bloat risk)&searchHistoryKey=&


Dogs are animals “designed” to eat with their heads down to the ground, which is where it is natural for them to chew and swallow. With a raised feeder, a dog is eating at his knee level or at chest level (depending on how tall the dog is and how high the feeder) which is an unnatural position for the way dogs swallow, causing the intake of air. People were told the wrong thing when they were advised to raise the feeding bowl, which interfered with the dog’s natural position of putting her head all the way down to eat and drink – but then nobody told those owners to get rid of the feeders!

http://www.radiopetlady.com/radio-p...th/raised-feeders-dangerous-large-breed-dogs/


I know people who do feed on elevated bowls and have had no probs, but I think its worth knowing and making your own decision.

Thanks for the advice and the links. I would of actually thought that it was better for them as they become full grown as they are Large dog. I think I was thinking in a human point of view not dog. Us as humans it can be damaging to lean over for a long period of time (I'm a nurse we are taught not to), Lenny will be a large dog and I thought it would be similar reasoning. My judgement is probably wrong, I sometimes relate dogs and humans to closely as I'm only used to humans. Thanks for the guidence, I haven't purchased one yet, I thought it was a practical idea for the future. You see all these things when your a new mum and want everything without thinking properly or doing research

The dogs hips would need to be scored once he is mature. Any scores at this age aren't worth much. My Nigredo eats one meal a day now because he began to eat too fast (again) when I split the meals up. My last dog got one meal a day because he absolutely refused to eat in the morning. It isn't recommended but whatever works best for your dog.

Oh, and I find large water bowls better than smaller ones. Your dude will be large and slurpy, a big bowl that he drinks from the middle of will be less messy. He will also drink quite a lot, so it'll need refilling less. BTW - with regards to "bloat" in large dogs, drinking a ton can cause it too. Big dogs shouldn't be allowed to totally empty a large water bowl at once

If my Nigredo (100 lbs) starts sucking down water after some exercise, I always stop him after a while. He is allowed to return to the bowl in a while after some of the water goes through him. I knew a lady with a Saint Bernard who put ice cubes in the dogs bowl to slow the dog down and when a dog eats ice cubes, it doesn't expand their stomachs as fast.