What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

13 week old Puppy - questions

Henrybull

Member
Hi all,

This is my first time posting. We have a 13 week old Bullmastiff puppy Henry. We have never had a puppy or a Bullmastiff before and I have a few questions I was hoping someone could help with:

How many hours a day should puppies be sleeping? We have a crate for Henry at home, but currently I bring him into work during the day (no crate there). He is getting more active than a few weeks ago and I want to make sure he is sleeping enough during the day.

He seems to be 90% toilet trained but still keeps having the odd accident inside, even if he has recently been taken outside. Is this normal? I keep reading that lots of pups seem fully toilet trained by this time. I don't quite know how to stop these odd accidents as we go outside ALL the time. As soon as we get outside he goes straight away, so he seems to understand that part.

When will teething start and how bad is it? He is chewing but doesn't seem to be crazy chewing. What should I be looking out for/expecting?

What age did everyone get their pup desexed? I have read so many conflicting reviews, don't desex until 18 months or others that say you should do it at 6 months. Confusing!

Thanks for the help guys!
IMG_0423.jpg
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Welcome aboard and congrats on your new family member~ Henry is adorable!

The following tips/suggestions are based on my experience as a dog mommy, forum member*s posts and volunteering at an animal shelter for a year.

*CRATE THE PUP

You want to crate train the pup. Make sure you have a blanket, stuffed animal (about their size) and white noise (ticking clock or ipod with soft music) so the pup can sleep. The pup is used to cuddling with siblings.

Make the crate the pup*s happy place to go to when he wants to sleep, decompress or just hang out.

*SECURE THE PUP NEAR THE FAMILY

You want to keep the pup in a room with a family member. Mastiffs need to be near their family members.

*FOOD

Find out what kind of food the shelter/rescue/breeder was feeding the pup and continue to feed it to the pup until you transition to a newer food because most shelters/rescues/breeders use the cheapest food, meaning it is not very good for the pup.

Slow transition to the new food is as follows to prevent diarrhea. If at any time during the transition, the pup has diarrhea return to previous amounts of food per feeding. If you are switching flavors made by the same manufacturer, you should not have to do a slow transition.

Amount per feeding:

Day 1-4 ¾ cup of old food and ¼ cup of new food.

Day 5-9 ½ cup of old food and ½ cup of new food.

Day 10-14 ¾ cup of new food and ¼ cup of old food

Day 15 Start 100% of new food

OR

You can feed the pup boiled meat and boiled white rice with canned/raw pumpkin (not the pie filling) usually start with 1 teaspoon or the pumpkin for young puppies and 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin for pups older than 8-10 months for 4-5 days to reset their system. After the reset, start the new food.

Generally, mastiffs are allergic to grain and chicken found in kibble. You can check www.dogfoodadvisor.com for dog food ratings and customer feedback. Mastiff puppies should eat Large Breed adult food or All Stage food because puppy food has too much calcium causes fast growth. Slow and steady growth for a healthy mastiff. Protein in the food is not an issue unless the pup has kidney issues.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659&aid=652

Dog Food FAQs: Protein

Check out Acana Regionals, Wellness Core, Castor & Pollux Grain Free, Earthborn Holistics, Fromm*s, Innova Natures Table, Victor*s Grain Free or Taste of the Wild grain free. Chewy.com is a great place to order dog food and they offer free shipping on orders over $49.

You may want to check out the raw diet for your pup. Raw diet can be fed to young pups. Check out the sub forum on raw diet that has a wealth of information. It is not recommended to feed the pup kibble (one with grains) and raw food. Do your research re: raw diet and form your own opinion.

*PUP NOT EATING WHEN YOU FIRST BRING THEM HOME

They are not used to their new environment and this is a natural behavior. Take the pup to a quiet place at meal times and sit and hand feed the pup. This will help the pup to eat when they are placed in a calm atmosphere, help you to bond with the pup and help the pup establish trust with you. As they become settled, they will naturally follow your routine.

*PROTECT THE PUP FROM DISEASE

Keep the pup in your yard and place newspapers down where they will walk on the ground. Keep the pup away from dog areas unless they have had their 2nd round of shots, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] round of shots is best so they will have some immunity to the infectious diseases, i.e. Parvo. This is very important!

*HOUSE TRAINING YOUR PUP

Keep pup on leash when you take them outside. Train them with a potty word, like “potty.” Generally, it takes a pup 20-25 minutes to do their business. When the pup goes potty, do the potty dance. The potty dance is a dance while you are singing the pup*s praises for going potty. It works!

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/house-training-your-puppy

*SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE AND SOCIALIZE SOME MORE

Socialize after they*ve had at least 2 round of shots preferably 3 rounds of shots to be safe. Prior to the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] or 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] round of shots, keep the pup in your own yard. If that is not possible, bring newspapers with you for the pup to walk on. Avoid dog parks and areas with a heavy traffic of animals.

Socialization can be the human park while the pup is on leash, riding in the car, sitting at the park or shopping center/mall, etc.

Tell strangers and strangers with pups “no touch, no talk, no look” at your pup as they approach. Bring your pup to sit while they approach. Have your pup approach the strangers and allow the pup to sniff them. Have a calm, controlled meeting. This shows your pup the correct way to greet strangers and other pups.

*TRAINING YOUR PUP

Start basic commands and reward with motivational treats (fav food or fav toy). Train for about 5 minutes per day and slowly increase the training time. Teach one command at a time. Once they master one command, move onto another command.


Number one command is sit. Teach the pup to sit, by placing a treat in front of his head and move it to the back causing him to sit to get the treat. When the pup sits, tell them good sit and give them the treat.

Second command should be "focus/look" This will help you tremendously when the pup is over 100 lbs. Put the pup into sit. With a treat in your hand (let the pup smell it), put the treat up to your eyes and tell the pup to look or focus. They may only do this for about 1-2 seconds. As soon as they look at your eyes, reward them. Generally, mastiffs do not like to look anyone in the eyes for long because that means a challenge to them.

Other commands are "down/off", "leave it," "wait" (short pause), "stay" (pausing until you release), drop it and "quiet/calm".

When you are training and when the pup does not do as you ask, then tell him “no” in a calm, stern voice and redirect back to the command. The only time a stern and loud NO should be used is when they are doing something that can cause harm to themselves or others.


Praise is the most powerful tool you have and the dog WANTS to please you. Show them clearly what you want, notice and praise when they comply, and learning goes much faster and pleasant for you both.

Mastiffs can be extremely stubborn and if you get frustrated with them, they will shut down and stop listening to you. Mastiffs do not do well with yelling or hitting. Hitting can result in some unwanted mastiff behavior meaning fear aggression, which equals biting.

The key to successful training is consistency with motivational rewards and LOTS of patience.

*LEASH TRAINING

Have the wear the leash around the house to get used to it. Once they are used to the leash around their neck, then you can start the leash training. Have lots of motivational rewards on hand while doing the training. Consistency and patience is key.

If the dog pulls, do not walk until they stop and turn to look at you, then thank them with a motivational reward and start walking again. Tell him it's ok to walk by you start walking. When you have to stop, tell him stop or wait and tell him sit. Titan knows that when we are walking and I say, "wait," he has to stop and sit and wait for me to begin walking again. Requires a lot of consistent training and patience. Do this inside the house and then move to outside.

If they nip at you because they want to play, do the same. Stop, sit and wait. Reward the dog with motivational reward when they do the commands.


*PUPPY BITING/NIPPING/AROUND CHILDREN

Puppies will chew/bite anything they can find unless you re-direct the chewing/biting. Provide frozen washcloths or small towels (make sure the cloths are big enough the pup cannot swallow them), ice cubes with treats frozen in the middle, nylabones, ropes, deer antlers, Kongs with frozen yogurt so they can chew to their heart*s desire. Some give their pups cardboard boxes to destroy, just make sure they do not eat the cardboard. Titan loves to destroy any kind of box.

If you puppy is biting/nipping, then try the following. This behavior can sometimes take a lot of patience and consistency in training.

They bite and growl because that is how they played with their siblings.
When they bite, tell them “OW” in a high-pitched voice and “NO” in a stern, calm voice. NEVER HIT OR YELL AT A MASTIFF. Hitting can lead to fear aggression and yelling causes the pup to shut down on you and ignore you.

When the pup stops biting, tell them to sit and re-direct to one of the chew toys, i.e. ice cubes with treats, freeze small bowls of water, freeze large hand towels (large enough they will not swallow), cardboard boxes, deer antlers, ropes or nylabones.

Teach the pup “leave it” is another option. When the pup “leaves it” meaning your body part that he is biting, then bring to a sit and reward with motivational reward.

**Do not allow children and pup on the floor together. Pup will see them as playmates and nip at them. Picture the pup playing with their siblings.

Keep the pup on leash while the children are on the floor so you can have control of the pup. Pup and children should not be allowed to play alone.

Have the children hand fed the pup and help with training, i.e. teach the pup to sit, stay and come. This helps the pup to see them as non-playmates but as people in authority. These activities are great bonding exercises.

*EXERCISE

Puppies can exercise with natural movements and free play like running, stretching, playing on soft surfaces (grass and dirt). This type of exercise is actually healthy and good for their developing bodies but they do need to be able to pace themselves.

Structured exercise/play on hard surfaces and where they don't have they ability to pace themselves is where you need to be very careful. This type of exercise could harm the pup*s joints and bones. Puppies should not do any excessive exercise, i.e. walking, jumping, running and navigate stairs for the first 12 months to avoid injury.

Stairs should be maneuvered while on leash (even in the house) especially going down the stairs. Stairs should have carpet or rubber matting to give the pup traction. Mastiffs should be assisted up and down stairs until they are about age 12 months to prevent injury.

Most mastiffs can be very lazy but they still need to exercise. Generally, the amount of time to exercise is 5 minutes per each month of age.

*YOUR PUP AND HEAT (NOT THE FEMALE HEAT)

Remember, mastiffs do not tolerate heat. In the heat, reduce walk/exercise times. Have clean water available at all times. I freeze towels to either place on Titan or put on the floor for him to lie on in the summer to cool him off. Buy a kiddies* pool for the pup to play in to keep cool.

*DE-SEXING YOUR PUP

Mastiffs should not be neutered/spayed until 18 months to 2 years. NO MATTER what the vet says. Early neutering can cause growth problems and health issues. **Remember, you must be a very responsible dog owner to not neuter your pet to prevent unwanted pregnancies.**


Health Issues Linked to Spaying and Neutering Dogs


Enjoy your baby! Have lots of patience! The pup will reward you with love and loyalty!
 

SG1

Well-Known Member
Congratulations Henrybull on the new addition. This is going to be one heck of a roller-coaster for you for the next year and a half to two years.

Keep him leashed and close to you when he is not in the kennel so you can watch him. Be wary of the sometimes suttle signs he has to pee, they may not be obvious to a newbie. Whenever you let him out of his kennel take him outdoor first. This should take him the last ten percent. Do not hesitate to correct the pup when he pees in the house.

Every pup is different. If you don't have to disturb him then let him sleep as long and as much as he can.

The chewing is also individual thing. I owned an EM who was a very heavy chewers and would render his nylabone uses in two or three weeks. Just keep chew toys available . If you are not aware dogs chew to relive stress just like humans chew their nails,e eat or pace the floor. The severity will depend on his genetic make up.

I am not a proponent of neutering a dog because it will not lessen his aggression. A friend of mine needed to rehome his renaissance bulldog because he bit his girl friend. The dog was five years old at the time and was neutered by the time he was six months
MY friend tried to rehome the dog with seven different people. The total amount of time the dog spent with the seven people did not equal an hour. That is my experience and position on neutering. If you feel you must I recommend waiting till he is at least three
years old. I am no doctor but I don't need to be to know that his body is going to need the hormones to reach his full physical stature.

One final bit of advice because you are new to dog ownership do not rely solely on this forum for your dog training info. Get professional help preferably someone who has trained dogs like the ones on this forum. These dogs are not beginner dogs and my be more dog than you bargained for.

Good luck with your pup and enjoy the adventure.
 

AR-HICK

Well-Known Member
Take Lots of Pictures, you will be amazed at how fast he grows!
Find a local trainer and take to public classes for socialization.
Take him to work as long as possiable and socialize him with everyone.
90% potty trained? Only time will tell if that is true and be prepared for setbacks(accidents) they will happen and just when you thought it was all over.
My opinion is to keep him intact for at least a 1 1/2 years or until you have problems with females, properly socialized and trained his behavior should not be a problem.
Get ready to be amazed! Its a fun and upredictable ride!
 

Brinsdad

Well-Known Member
You have a great pup like others have said training and socialisation is a must , when full grown he is going to be a lot of dog and you will need mental control over him
Also do take lot of pictures because like has been said they do grow fast lol , we have a six mth boy and he has been putting on 2-3 lb on a week a untrained and unsociable bullmastiff is not a nice thing but if well trained and well socialised you will have one of the most loving dogs to can ask for . They love being with there humans lol good luck and enjoy
41291e31ae838f76c55b8754fe938aed.jpg



No love like a bully love
 

WyomingWild

Well-Known Member
If it's any consolation, our 15 week old fila pup is what we say a "late bloomer" He has just now grown out of having the odd accidents, both in his kennel and out of it :) I think they just need time :)
 

ruby55

Well-Known Member
Congratulations on your new baby. Pictures are required. :)
Our boy, Sunny, was not neutered until 5+ years old. He comes from a line of slow growers. Bella was spayed at 3 years; Ally (our rescue) was spayed at 10+ years, and Ruby is still intact at 4+ years. They all take a lot of time to mature. You 'll think he's done growing and...son-of-a-gun; that collar is getting tight again. Remember they usually grow up, and then they grow out. A lot. Neutering him early could do some damage to bone growth and muscle mass. These guys are bulky as adults. And they're strong. Socialize, socialize, socialize. Try to maintain control, and be prepared for crazy teenage times when almost everything they've learned gets forgotten. Puppy classes are great; just be prepared for some of the little dog parents to be uncomfortable around your "monster".Every waking moment is an opportunity to learn, so keep in mind that everything you do with your pup could have an effect on him.
Our house is a mess of chewed cupboards, tables, clawed walls, etc. But then, we've always had at least 3, and usually 4 or 5, bullmastiffs at once, for over 20 years. Some of them started chewing at an early age; some never chewed at all. Sunny, who just turned 10, never chewed, but always has a stuffed toy in his mouth. He's such a softie!
The biggest requirement these guys need, IMO, is lots of love. Enjoy.
 

Henrybull

Member
Thanks everyone for all the tips.

I have been taking loads of photos, I have a folder for each week we have had him and boy has he gotten bigger. You can see the change almost day to day!

We are crate training, he has been going to puppy school since we first got him and we are really focusing on socialisation and training. He has lessons every day and is getting really good (although I am nervous about the teenage years where apparently everything will be forgotten). I walked my neighbours bulldog today and he was pulling so hard on the leash he nearly pulled me over and I have calluses on my hand from gripping on. It made me more determined to get it right with Henry- if he pulls there wont be anything I can do, he will weight more than me!

I will wait to get him desexed until much later then and will persevere with the potty training. It discourages me sometimes because I take him out immediately after waking, after meals and every hour he is awake ad still we have accidents. Thanks WyomingWild your comment has made me feel much more positive about finally getting there!
 

Attachments

  • Photo 2.jpg
    Photo 2.jpg
    92.6 KB · Views: 82
  • FullSizeRender.jpg
    FullSizeRender.jpg
    90.6 KB · Views: 74
  • Sleeping 1.jpg
    Sleeping 1.jpg
    89.2 KB · Views: 80
  • Sleeping 2.jpg
    Sleeping 2.jpg
    87.1 KB · Views: 86

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Do you leash him when you take him outside to go potty? It can take a pup 20-25 minutes to do their business. Tell him to go "potty" or whatever word you want to use. Do not allow him to play when it's potty time. Once he goes potty, do the potty dance, dance and sing his praises in a high pitched voice, and give a motivational reward (treat or toy). Seriously, it does work.