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.

Puppy raising advice

mastinandlab

New Member
Hello,
I am new to this forum. I just put a deposit down on a spanish mastiff, the LGD kind not a presa, that will be coming in mid June. I currently have a mastador that I got as a rescue, but this will be my first time raising a puppy. Any general advice for raising a mastiff puppy that a newbie should know?
 

mastinandlab

New Member
Some general questions i have
What food is best for a puppy? Ive heard mastiffs shouldn't be given puppy food.
How should I go about socializing the puppy(especially if the coronavirus is still a problem in june)?
Would you recommend stomach tacking?
When is the best time to neuter and get stomach tacked?
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum. Generally it's recommended to feed a food that has proper calcium to phosphorus ratios to encourage slow and steady growth. There's some info about that in this thread. Scroll down a bit.

http://www.mastiff-forum.com/index.php?threads/cane-corso-puppy.31493/

I also posted some info about socializing from Denise Fenzi, who is a positive reinforcement competition trainer, in another thread.

http://www.mastiff-forum.com/index....ing-social-distancing-for-corona-virus.31473/

Stomach tacking. Well, I thing that's a personal choice. Studies are showing that there's a fairly strong genetic component to which dogs torsion and which dogs don't. Of course that's only one aspect to GDV and I think that if you're going to neuter it would be a good time to have his stomach tacked. Neutering is best done for our giants after two years old, or even longer. Those hormones are important for proper growth. Many people choose not to neuter, which I do think is fine if you can be sure that your male won't be able to get to a female. You should also be aware that intact dogs have a high instance of prostate issues later in life. If a testicle is retained, it's imperative to neuter. Retained testicles inevitably end up cancerous. I've dealt with that personally in a rescue.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have and we'll try to help. I'd also really love to see pictures of your boy when you get him.
 

mastinandlab

New Member
Welcome to the forum. Generally it's recommended to feed a food that has proper calcium to phosphorus ratios to encourage slow and steady growth. There's some info about that in this thread. Scroll down a bit.

http://www.mastiff-forum.com/index.php?threads/cane-corso-puppy.31493/

I also posted some info about socializing from Denise Fenzi, who is a positive reinforcement competition trainer, in another thread.

http://www.mastiff-forum.com/index....ing-social-distancing-for-corona-virus.31473/

Stomach tacking. Well, I thing that's a personal choice. Studies are showing that there's a fairly strong genetic component to which dogs torsion and which dogs don't. Of course that's only one aspect to GDV and I think that if you're going to neuter it would be a good time to have his stomach tacked. Neutering is best done for our giants after two years old, or even longer. Those hormones are important for proper growth. Many people choose not to neuter, which I do think is fine if you can be sure that your male won't be able to get to a female. You should also be aware that intact dogs have a high instance of prostate issues later in life. If a testicle is retained, it's imperative to neuter. Retained testicles inevitably end up cancerous. I've dealt with that personally in a rescue.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have and we'll try to help. I'd also really love to see pictures of your boy when you get him.
Thank you for the info. I get to choose a puppy at 6 weeks so I will definitely post pics when that happens.