5mth Bullmastiff pup feed and lameness advice please

[ShellNZ]

Hi I am brand new to this forum and urgently require some advice.
Ottis is a 5 month old Bullmastiff pup who has a few health concerns.
First of all due to excessive gas problems and the occasional loose motion we have had problems settling on a decent kibble. We have tried Proplan Large pup, Coprice puppy (under breeders recommendation), Eukanuba Large breed pup and a grainless dogroll.
I have just purchased a bag of Orijen large puppy kibble which I am going to gradually switch him to.
First question: Ottis has just turned 5mth a few days ago and weighs 68lb, he is lean and LOVES food.
I feed him twice daily, how many cups should I feed him once he is soley on Orijen?
I have had a fellow Rottweiler owner tell me 3 cups but want to know what mastiff owners think?
3 cups is alot less than he currently has of Eukanuba, so what can I feed him to full him up without extra calories if he is still hungry after his Orijen?

My other concern is, 4 days ago for no apparent reason, Ottis was lame in one shoulder when I let him out of his crate in the morning. He was in enough pain when I got home from work that night that he yelped when he tried to put weight on his leg. I rushed him to the vet. He had a fever and yelped when the vet manipulated his leg. After a shot of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory we returned home for the night and went back the next day for another check. His fever was down the next morning and pain less but still limping. The vet decided not to stress Ottis with sedation and xrays at that stage and sent him home with a weeks supply of antibiotics and pain relief. Today is day 4 and he is finally back to his excitable happy self with a slight limp. Does anyone else have experience with this? Ottis was not lame the night before all this happened and had had a quiet day inside, and isn't allowed to play with our Rottie (she's too much of a bulldozer). The vet mentioned cancer and Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy.
Last question: Ottis's dad weighs 70kg (154lb), is this bad? I was told by a member on a Rottie forum it is.

 

[wolfsnaps]

Have you ever considered a raw diet? I recently put my english mastiff on a full time raw diet and he is doing so well. He still has gas but it doesn't smell putrid anymore. I think they will always have some kind of gas because, being brachicephalic, they gulp and swallow air when eating.

I would check to see he doesn't have some sort of bone density problem. Too much calcium while growing is a bad thing for a large breed like that. Vet will have to check that.

If the father was 154 lbs. , that is about 20 pounds more than standard weight for that breed. However, he could have been larger boned or overweight, Did you see the father? Did he look fat or just large? Being fat is bad but it could be the owners over feed and won't be a genetic thing. Being naturally large might not be such a bad thing, it really just depends. Did the parent dogs have any health testing done?

 

[ShellNZ]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I would prefer to feed him kibble if possible, just seems easier and less time consuming. I have noticed he is much gasier when I give him beef cannon bones so might have to give them a miss now he has his adult teeth.

Will definitely have hip and elbow scores done when he is older anyway. Also will have xrays sooner if his lameness worsens. The vet was happy with him otherwise.

The dad is big boned, has a very solid head especially. The breeders are fanastic, dedicated people whose dogs do very well in the show ring and are very thorough with their testing. His dad is 'Ghostgum Caligula' (Bear) they have a website http://www.ghostgumbullmastiffs.com/ his dads photo comes up first on the welcome page.

This is Ottis. As you can see he is lean.

 

[chuckorlando]

Seems awfully young for hip problems but you never know. But truth is it could be anything. Our dane lost a leg one day. You could tell it was sore. Next morning he could'nt stand. Took him to the vet and know one could tell us anything. Best we can figure, he backed into a huge cactus we have. I once got hit in the hand by it and it locked up my hand for a week.

Far as food, how much they eat depnds on the brand and weight. PM smart-family and see if you can get some help on a proper kibble for a giant breed local to you. Or search some of the food post

 

[natsan6]

I agree with Chuck, there are certain levels of calcium and phos. that your growing pup needs and Smart Family can help you, she will probably weigh in soon if she is online. I know Orjen is a good food but you have to check the levels and no puppy food at all they have to much of those ingredients and the little ones bone growth goes to fast, an adult or all life stages food is what you want. The fever here is what is concerning to me. Jagger(EM) is 5 months also and he has growing pains and moves like an old man when he first gets out of his kennel, never any fever though. At one point he was playing hard and fell on a knee when his paw slipped and he slept alot and walked gingerly but was over it the next morning. Your having a vet look at it and your doing all the right things I am sure between you and your vet it will work out I hope someone here can give you some reassurance with an experience of their own, good luck to you and your little one.

 

[Smart_Family]

Hi! As much as I usually dislike large breed puppy formulas, Orijen's is actually fine. A caution though that sometimes Orijen is too rich for some dogs and what goes in one end will come out the other smelling exactly the same! You'll want to do a super slow transition with it probably closer to the 5 day end of things (3-5 days of 75% old food, 25% new, 3-5 days of 50% old, 50% new and then 3-5 days of 25% old, 75% new). As far as the amount, 3 cups is right. Whatever the bag says is what you want to do. The better quality foods will have you feeding less than foods you would find at walmart or the grocery store. I'm working on a dog food guide for this forum right now but there are pretty of threads to read about the different kinds of foods and why some are good and why some aren't. As far as the limping, that's not really my area of expertise but I wonder if pano has been considered? The fever throws me off though.

 

[chuckorlando]

Did'nt mean to put you out there SF. But your who I would ask for help in regards to this.

 

[ShellNZ]

Thanks for all your great advice guys. The food I have been feeding is the best we can get in my town and came recommended by the vet, but it had bad reviews on a dog food review website so I did my homework. I have searched and read so much regarding quality kibble. Orijen is the best dry food I can find in New Zealand, and my supplier is 5 hours drive away but they have awesome next day delivery. Started him on half a cup Orijen with 2 cups Eukanuba twice daily yesterday. The whole food quantity thing can be so confusing. The Eukanuba bag said for a pup Ottis's age and weight he could have 7.5 cups of food daily (at 4mth) then when he turned 5 months (last weekend) have 5.5 cups. I have been feeding him the 7 until a few days ago after being told it was excessive. I was only going by the instructions on the bag. I am one of those people who reads the instruction manual of any new thing. The same goes with the Orijen kibble, I have been told 3 cups by a Rottweiler forum yet the bag says for a 3-9 month pup that will grow to be 85-130lb feed 4.5 to 5.5 cups per day?
Ottis is looking good today. No limp and playful as. I am thinking maybe the fever was unrelated, or viral with muscle pain like humans can get, who knows?
The vet wasn't concerned about hips. HOD as i mentioned earlier does cause diarrhoea, occasional lameness and fever though. Hope it's not that, but for the moment just pleased to see my happy boy back

 

[chuckorlando]

If the bag say's that the thats what you feed. If to thin or thick, you can adjust a little. Totw was 6 cups a day where blue buffalo is between 3-3/4 and 5 I think depending on the variety we have

 

[NippyNeapolitan]

I guessed it's from the food of your dog. Have you tried changing the food or even the diet?

 

[mightymastiffs]

Tough to say on the lame leg. I had three vertebre chipped when I was a kid and to this day for about 1 week each month I cannot turn my head more than about 20 degrees to the right because of the nerve injuries. Sometimes joints and nerves and tendons and muscles get out of whack. Again, as the other people mentioned, I would not pay it much mind at all unless it did not fix itself after a period of time similar to the one described.

Reading your posts about the raw diet, I was exactly the same way when I considered it at first. Now, if it is a COST thing then it is what it is. Everyone has different budgets. However if it is a time/understanding thing, then I highly encourage a try. There are just too many benefits for the dog from feeding this way in comparison to kibble that I personally could not deny my dogs from it.

As far as the diet of a dog making a "lame leg"? I suppose anything is possible, however I think the odds on this being the case are quite slim. If all four legs had problems, you saw strange growth issues, or other developmental issues I would say YES. However with a quality kibble brand like yours, as well as a careful eye (which it is clear that you have), the pup is receiving what it needs to do well.

My 4 month old was right on the cusp of a fever for about a week and about once a day let some colored snot out. I spoke to my vet and we agreed the best course of action was to let her beat it on her own. Sure enough, about 1 week she beat it and she is back to torturing me and the other bruisers as she normally would. I am of the opinion that she having kicked the bug on her own has increased her strength in dealing with future similar issues.

FYI, you have a GREAT looking BM!