New mastiff owner - problems with feeding

[Opie]

I do have a path snowblown right down to the grass and Its about 5 ft wide and its 30ft long. He doesnt seem to mind the cold as much now because hes sniffing around and eating snow and digging in the grass to pull up leaves and eat them etc. I just took him out to go potty again and he went pee three times and than when we got back in the house i gave him a treat turned around and there he was going pee on the kitchen floor already. So I yelled no and he went and hid under the coffee table. So i cleaned up the pee in the kitchen and I would say about 30 min later he gets up goes to his crate with his stuffed monkey and drops the monkey outside walks in to the crate and goes pee comes out and grabs his monkey and its just like its never happened.. G Dangit this is so frustrating..

 

[Hector]

How big is the crate your puppy is in? I don't have experience with potty training, but maybe dividing the crate and giving him a smaller area to stay in might limit his movement and therefore limiting him pottying in his crate.

 

[musicdeb]

Good point, Hector! @Opie, there are some pups who take longer to potty train. I've read some members on here that they were not able to potty train their pups until around 10 months or so.

Hang in there, it will happen. Believe me, I know how frustrating it is. Been there, done that...

Consistency in what you are doing. Keep at it. I would recommend keeping him on leash so you can control his actions. If you see him start to potty, grab the leash as gentle as you can and take him back outside. Keep on him on leash while he's outside and tell him to go potty. When he pottys, reward.

 

[Opie]

I do have him in a very large 48in crate I could divide it in half with the divider. Last night I took him out to go potty and he went pee and poop and than I brought him in he went to his crate and layed down and was sleeping on his blanket and so I was going to go to bed so I closed the gate and not even 10 min later he was freaking out and pawing at the door and barkng and whining so I went and let him outside again. He went pee and than we came back inside and he went right to his crate. I have one side set up with puppy pads and the other with his blanket and he gets so wild in there he messes them all up and he ends up going to the bathroom on his blanket and not on the pads and than he sleeps on the blanket so I wake up with a poo covered puppy. I know he is still young and its going to take time but I just kinda assumed that a dog wouldn't wanna lay in his own feces. And as far as letting him out side I need to go out there with him every time because for what ever reason this dog wont do stairs. He doesn't go up them or down them he just looks at them and whines..

 

[musicdeb]

Yes, buy a divider so he doesn't have enough room to potty in the crate but he will be comfortable sleeping in the crate.

Puppy pads are giving him permission to go in the crate so that could also be the issue but I understand why you put them in there.

Mastiffs should be on leash and have aid to come and down stairs. Maneuvering stairs that young can cause some serious injuries to the joints. Are the stairs carpeted? If not, I would not allow him up and down them until he's around 10-12 months. Carry him up and down the stairs. Uncarpeted stairs are scary to the pup. Hell, I don't like uncarpeted stairs. hehehehe

 

[Opie]

I have been carrying him since we got him but by the time hes 12 months old hes gonna be a big boy don't you think? Thats alot of dog to be carrying up and down the stairs ha ha. They are not carpeted they are just wooden stairs coming down off the deck to the yard. We do have carpeted staris in the house but she has shown 0 interest in exploring the rest of the house. Opie just prefers to lay on the rug under the coffee table with his stuffed monkey. So are there any other tips or tricks I should know about? So far this site has been a great deal of knowledge. Like I said I am new to owning a Mastiff and we are excited about owning one and we cant wait till he is Fully grown lol

 

[Hector]

I wish my dog would be like this lol. You need to get us a picture with him and his stuffed monkey! I agree with putting a light leash on him and just guide him down the stairs. Encourage him with a treat or some exciting talking like slapping your legs and say "come on". Either get him a divider or get him a smaller crate. Smaller wire cage foldable crates are not very expensive. Have you done any training with him at all? I would use mark and reward system and teach him to respond to his name.

 

[Hector]

You don't have to buy anything if you can find a way to block off half of the crate. Use big boxes stacked on top of each other and stuff the side with a blanket or a pillow if you need to.

 

[musicdeb]

As long as he has assist up and down the stairs while on leash, he should be ok. It is true, he will be way too big to carry up stairs but I'd recommend doing it as long as you can because it could prevent some major vet bills.

 

[Opie]

 

[Hector]

Awwwww thanks for sharing

 

[musicdeb]

Opie is just precious! Titan has that same toy. He loves that toy!

 

[Opie]

Well Opie is strictly on dry food now but hes only eating about 3 cups a day. Hes doing well he is 3 months old today and he only weighs 30lbs should I be concerned about his weight everything I see online says he should be about 40 to 50lbs already. I hope hes not going to be a small Mastiff ray: He is getting better with Potty training except when the kids are home than he just goes where ever he feels he needs to go but when its just me and the wife he will go to the door and whine. Im guessing its just because there is to much going on to focus on going potty. He is also sleeping better in his crate since we put him in our room and he loves sleeping on the pillows. HE also has had no accidents since we reduced the size of the crate. I guess the one major problem I have with him is when we go outside he needs to be in front if I try and get him to follow me he just sits down and pulls back as hard as he can and wont follow me for nothing.. Is this normal?

 

[musicdeb]

Well Opie is strictly on dry food now but hes only eating about 3 cups a day. Hes doing well he is 3 months old today and he only weighs 30lbs should I be concerned about his weight everything I see online says he should be about 40 to 50lbs already. I hope hes not going to be a small Mastiff ray: He is getting better with Potty training except when the kids are home than he just goes where ever he feels he needs to go but when its just me and the wife he will go to the door and whine. Im guessing its just because there is to much going on to focus on going potty. He is also sleeping better in his crate since we put him in our room and he loves sleeping on the pillows. HE also has had no accidents since we reduced the size of the crate. I guess the one major problem I have with him is when we go outside he needs to be in front if I try and get him to follow me he just sits down and pulls back as hard as he can and wont follow me for nothing.. Is this normal?

Can you post a pic of Opie standing from the rear, side and front? Is Opie on leash when walking with you? Train him to heel meaning he walks on the right side beside you. It will require a lot of patience since he's used to leading you. When training him to heal, show him where he should walk beside you. Tell him, "heel." When he heels, reward with motivating treat and praise. When he tries to pull forward, stop walking and tell him to stop. When he stops, make him sit. Walk up beside him and stand for a few seconds. Tell him, "let's go" and then "heel." Again, lots of patience and consistency. If you become frustrated, your frustration will cause him to shut down and stop listening. If you become frustrated, stop training until you are able to compose yourself and then start again.

 

[Smokeycat]

It could just be he's a small puppy. Kryten was just under 30 lbs @ 12 weeks. He was 175 lbs @ 22 months, so small puppies can still become big dogs. Instead of going by his weight you want to judge his body condition. You should be able to see the last couple of ribs easily. I went with touch instead of sight because of Kryten's brindle coat, I wanted to feel his ribs without having to push on his side but not have my fingers dip between them.