Adopted Bullmastiff - questions about food and entropion surgery

[SDMomma]

Hi everyone! I am SO glad that I found this site! I recently adopted a bullmastiff from a military family that didn't have enough time for her. (Their loss, my gain) While I have wanted a bullmastiff for almost 10 years now, I am still very new to the breed and welcome any information. My girl is 20 months old and has an AMAZING temperament. She is great with my small dog (shih Tzu) and my young son!! I can't believe that I waited so long to finally get a bullmastiff, but I think we were meant to be paired together! We have renamed her Juno (her original name Macy, was too close to my sister's name - Stacy, who happens to be staying with us for awhile). So for the questions - Juno's previous owners were feeding her blue buffalo wilderness puppy, they were feeding her 3cups 3x per day and were not allowing free water for fear of bloat. That actually sounded a *little crazy* to me, for a dog that is over 1 year old, but again I am new to the breed. I immediately eliminated her lunch meal. I switched her to Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice for large breeds, but her stool has not formed all the way. It was formed about halfway thru the transition of food, but then became loose again. I also wonder if the 6c/day I am feeding is too much... I realize that there are MILLIONS of food threads and I did my best to read a lot of them. Which made me realize that Diamond Naturals may not be the *Best* food I could choose. I would still like to find the most economical food, but I do realize that a little more $$ up front can pay off in the end with less feedings and smaller output LOL!. I was leaning towards TOTW Sierra (also a Diamond formula), but am up for suggestions. Next, I did take Juno to the vet as her eyes have been watering something terrible, and half of her right eye is cloudy. She is scheduled for entropion surgery bright and early Monday morning=(. But I know this will be for the best and she will be in a LOT less pain! The vet has to do both eyelids on both eyes. Does anyone have any experience with this surgery and have any tips on things I can do to keep her comfortable during her recovery period? Thanks for any information, I look forward to getting to know you... and seeing pictures of all the beautiful mastiffs out there! -Shelly

 

[musicdeb]

Congrats on new baby!

Did you do a slow transition to the new food? Re: amount of food, what does the bag show? How long has she been on the new food?

Check out dogfoodadvisor.com for listings of foods and their ratings. I researched dog food recently and found Earthborn Holistics is a great food. I would recommend going with grain and chicken free since most mastiffs are allergic to both.

 

[SDMomma]

I did do a slow-er transistion to the Diamond, could've probably been slower, I took about a week to fully transition. We have gone through almost the whole 40lb. bag which is why I ask. I need some existing food to transition her to a new food... or maybe not since she is still having soft stools. She has been on just Diamond for about 3 weeks.

 

[musicdeb]

Check out dogfoodadvisor.com and maybe try a diff food. Sometimes it's trial and error to find the right food. Add a probiotic to her food while transitioning to help with digestive upset. Add some pumpkin (not the pie filling) to her food to help with the diarrhea.

 

[SDMomma]

Thanks! I added a little pumpkin this morning, I will see how that goes. I appreciate your help!

 

[musicdeb]

YW. Keep us posted on how she is doing.

 

[musicdeb]

Sorry, I forgot to address the surgery. I've never had experience with the surgery but others on the forum have dealt with it. Do a forum search for the surgery and you'll find a number of posts.

 

[dheepakh]

Fromm family makes excellent food ranges and also not expensive. The price comes around TOTW range. Also consider Earthborn holistics. Both the companies are very good and they never had a recall even for once. Hope this helps!