You will have another Pavloff’s dog! Alternate praise in the form of verbal (high tones) praise, pats, &

food but in no set pattern, believe me they will pick up on any pattern when it comes to food!

Bullmastiffs adore their people and are more that 100% devoted to their families, they are the most

loving dog you will ever find, it’s because of this that they cannot stand to

think you are angry with them and will keep bugging you until you give them a pat!  They will also want to be were you are and will follow you around the house, you will trip over them more than once, so be prepared.

Somehow I skipped from toys to training to behavior…but it all ties in, really it does! OK, I’ll move on!

But really, if you EVER have any questions regarding training, behavior, medical or something someone

has told you that may not “feel” right, just let me know…I have had many, many years experience with animal medicine, behavior and training…and I DON’T mind answering questions!! I would much rather answer questions than have physical or psychological damage done unintentionally to the puppy/dog.

Even though technically I am a breeder I don’t not associate with other breeders or the breeders circles. There are so many that do such an injustice to originally perfectly good breeds of dogs, if a breed

becomes popular there are always people thinking they are going to cash in on it & don’t care what they breed and invest as little money as possible into their breeding, the health, temperament & longevity of

the dogs usually don’t matter. In the Veterinary business we see the end result of this type of breeding practices & it is heart breaking to the people who bought the puppy & often the puppy is so riddled with health problems they spend most of their life at the vets.

A lot of breeders will pass around information (good, bad & dangerous) like wild fire among their circles; we have seen so many ‘fad’ diets, raw meat, bones, and some very strange & dangerous stuff. There are

few Bullmastiff puppies conceived the old fashion way, they are now surgically implanted (again among the breeders circle).

I heard a breeder of Rottweiler recommending that a bitch with Mastitis (a nursing female with a

mammary gland infection) that the pups continue to nurse off of the infected breasts to drain them…ugh!!! That is infected, puss, that they are recommending the puppies consume…not healthy, nutritious milk!

They actually said that it wouldn’t hurt the pups! And some poor person buys one of these puppies

(if they are lucky enough to survive) with such a poor start in life, can cause damage to their immune system & set them up for a multitude of future health problems, because their poor little bodies had to

try to fight off infection at such a young age and had so little nutrition to grow on, which of course isn’t genetic so they wouldn’t be covered under the health guarantee (if they offer one) and the person

buying the pup would never know. Its practices like this that makes me not what to be associated with most breeders!

READ, READ and read some more (If I haven’t already sent you the list, I can recommend some good Bullmastiff books)…..the more you can familiarize yourself with your breed, Bullmastiffs, the more you will be able to understand certain things they do,  you will be able to expect things in advance, etc. So many people buy a pure bred puppy without researching the breed only to find this isn’t the breed of dog that would best fit their current lives! The puppies, whether they grow up to actually “do” what they were bred for or not, will do what they were bred for naturally….just like you can’t keep a Labrador Retriever out of the water, this is a big part of pure bred dogs!

Ask many questions  of your breeder, if they don’t want to answer the questions, go somewhere else! Your breeder should be willing to answer questions for the rest of that puppy’s life! Happily! J

Food: The puppies have been eating Iams Large breed puppy food dry (which is available to them at all times) then 4 times a day I mix Purina Pro Plan canned puppy food or Iams canned puppy food with the dry food mixed with some warm water. They have also been started in the supplements, Glucosamine & 3-V Caps (amino acids) to they're diets which is wonderful for a nice health coat & skin & helps joint tissue grow strong.

BOWLS: The best bowls are ceramic or stainless steel…plastic bowls (which are ok for water) can cause acne on the puppy’s chin, which can be cleared up using Stridex pads, but it breaks out because of their short muzzles having to jam it into the bowl & driving oils that build up on the plastic surface of the bowl into their pores.

Amounts of food to feed: VERY IMPORTANT!!  Free-feed a giant breed dog, always!! This means only leaving dry food down all the time for your growing puppy…..by having food available to them at all times they will not “gulp” their food…thinking it will be taken away or gone and not return for a long time….Also by sucking their food down quickly…which will happen if they are fed on a “schedule”, you will avoid a common cause of death in large-giant breed dogs called “Bloat” or Gastric Torsion, this happens when the dog consumes a large quantity of food very fast and gas builds up in their stomach and their stomach becomes a “hot-air balloon” and begins to twist, as the stomach twists slowly around it begins to twist off the intestines which are attached to it, and as if you were twisting a pliable garden hose…you could constrict off the water, this constricts off of any food/bile flow from stomach and also constricts the blood vestals that feed the intestinal and stomach tissue, resulting in fairly rapid death! It is just so much easier to free feed them the dry food only…just fill up their bowl as you see it getting low…easy right!? This way you dog will eat ONLY when he is hungry! It also keeps your dog from becoming obese which can cause a multitude of health problems including heart disease..no different than humans in that respect! Fat dogs don’t normally live as long as dogs at a good weight. This also keeps dogs from being aggressive while eating…..I find it unacceptable not to be able to be close to a dog while he is eating, the dog should let you put your hand in between his food and his mouth without a problem…in fact you should be able to remove food from a dogs mouth without the dog becoming defensive. Because the dog trusts you, and trusts that you are not going to keep him from his food…it is just a momentary distraction. When you get your new puppy, give him a treat, and occasionally…only occasionally take it away…just briefly, the puppy will look at you with a confused look on his face..like what is wrong with you….you just gave that to me???! But give it right back to him and praise the daylights out of him…do this occasionally and he will come to realize that it is ok to give some food treat up to you because he most likely will get it back! Also pat him, and touch his body while he is eating…again only occasionally…don’t want to bug him all the time, but this is just to get him used to having you around and very close to him while he is eating without worrying that you are going to steal his food. He will be used to having someone around and won’t worry about it in the least. Your new puppy will have already learned a lot of these lessons before he goes home, but do “practice” with him every once and awhile.

Food Treats: Iam’s puppy biscuits, Milk Bones-small size is good because you can use them for the positive reinforcement in pieces..they break pretty easy. The ONLY safe “real” bone are Sterilized Beef Bones, you can find these most anywhere, but if you can’t let me know, my VetzPets Bully-Boutique carries sterilized beef bones & sterilized cow hooves. Just get a size appropriate for your size puppy….stay away from anything small enough to be a chocking hazard! Also Stay away from PORK anything….very dangerous..or at least they can be, ham, bacon, bacon fat, pig ears, pork bones….anything from a pig can be potentially deadly to a dog (acute pancreatitis). A lot of people are under the false impression that they have been giving their dogs pork products for years without causing any problems, but it isn’t true, it causes a little more & more damage all the time until that one time could have fatal results. I have seen all the stuff that goes wrong working in the veterinary field for so many years…prevention is always the best medicine….an old saying, but very true…it will save you time, emotional energy, pain and suffering on your dogs part, and of course your wallet! With toys that can be torn or chewed and swallowed,  just save those toys for when the pup is supervised, and take it away should it become a swallowing hazard. Choking is always something you want to avoid…and it happens quite frequently (see Himlick for canines), also swallowing foreign objects…and believe me puppies will swallow almost anything! This can cause an intestinal blockage, much like a clogged pipe, your puppy will act fairly normal at first,  and will eat and act ok, but within an hour after he eats he will start to vomit up undigested food..this is because the food cannot go beyond that “clog in the pipe”. Puppies vomit occasionally…no big deal…kind of like human babies “spitting up” but if he vomits a couple of times within an hour after he eats his food then it is always best to have him seen by your vet (he may advise taking X-rays to see what is in there, possibly a Barium series which will show exactly where the blockage is or prove there is no blockage) in the worst case scenario, and there is a blockage, the puppy may have to undergo abdominal/intestinal surgery to have the obstruction removed, or he would most likely die. Often the pups will vomit the foreign body up, sometimes a day or so after they have swallowed it, if you do wait to see if he vomits up, just make sure he is holding water down! They will die of dehydration much quicker than of starvation! As you see it is MUCH easier to watch them and to make sure they DON’T swallow anything, than it is to risk their lives with anesthesia at their age with surgery!

****Training Tip: It is always good to have a few chew toys around so when you catch the little bugger chewing on something bad… like your shoes, or more dangerous, like electrical cords, discipline him….again ONLY if you actually catch him in the act…he won’t understand otherwise and will associate the verbal punishment with EXACTLY what he IS doing at the time of the discipline! Anyway, when you do catch him chewing something unacceptable, tell him “NO” (in a low voice..it doesn’t have to be loud, just low)…remove the object and immediately replace it with an OK thing to chew on…like a rubber toy or a sterilized beef bone….when he starts chewing that, praise and praise him…he will VERY quickly make the association! So many people discipline a dog hours after he has chewed something he shouldn’t have (this can all be avoided by crate training!) and the poor thing hasn’t a clue as to what he is being chewed out for (no pun intended!) This will only confuse the daylights out of them, and make them kind of scared of you, and nervous around you…because they will never know when they are going to be yelled at…..you have to remember dogs…just like little kids, have no real concept of time…5 minuet, 3 days….all the same to them….

Wouldn’t that be nice if we had no concept of passing time or of our inevitable deaths…a blissful thing of being Canine…live for the moment! We can learn far more from our dogs than they can learn from us!  As you have probably figured out by now….everything comes down to teaching your new puppy life’s lessons…no different than raising children, they count on you for their survival, they rely on your for all their physical & emotional needs,  and trust that you will be kind to them…this is why I cannot tolerate hearing of someone neglecting or abusing a animal or a child, they are just so helpless, and the worst part is that they trust you and love you unconditionally, and to have someone breech that trust…it is just unforgivable, but they will forgive these people anyway, both kids & dogs! This is why I am so careful about who gets one of my babies!

Make sure you have a reputable veterinarian ready in case you need him, it is a good idea to set up an appointment for your new puppy, before you get him/her. This way you will be sure to have your new puppy examined by your vet in accordance with the “Health Guarantee”. If your vet recommends another food besides the ones I have outlined and you decide you would like to change the puppies diet, for whatever reason, just do it gradually (this is important!), if you change the puppy’s diet all of a sudden, you will be dealing with diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems…I mean it’s not fatal or anything…but it can make your puppy pretty uncomfortable, and cause you a lot of avoidable clean-ups & trips out in the middle of the night! All of which is easily avoided by changing the diet very gradually.  Mix the new food with approx. half of the old food slowly increasing the new food everyday, until the old food runs out…(at least 4-7 days, if you have to pick up a small bag of the old food). I don’t make any money off of recommending the foods I have…I have just found them to be very good nutritionally…but there are surely other brands that are good too. It’s a good rule of thumb to make sure whoever is recommending the “new” food to you doesn’t stand to profit by selling it..that way you are sure the recommendation comes from a “good” place! If you do experience some intestinal problems you are surely welcome to call or email me and I will let you know what is safe to use to correct the problem and what amount. **See list of “First Aid Supplies”

** Human & Animal medicine is very much the same…but don’t think that your dog will metabolize all medications (or foods) the same way you will….such as Tylenol…that can cause severe liver problems ,  permanent damage or death in dogs, it is always FATAL when given to a cat….so be careful not to drop any and if you do, find it before one of your pets does! You will receive all your new puppy’s medical records and vaccination & worming records. It is also a good idea to give your veterinarian your puppy’s microchip ID number for him/her to keep on file. (ask him if he has a microchip reader in his practice…he/she should have one), if so ask him to scan the region (over the shoulder blades at the base of the neck) to make sure his reader picks up the microchip implant.  Also ask if he is available for emergencies..if he/she isn’t make sure that there is a 24 hr. Emergency Clinic near by that he/she uses in their absence…if not,  you may want to consider going someplace else…you want to make sure, especially with babies, that there is medical help available if you need it in a hurry!  If your have questions after you talk to your vet and/or still feel like you have unanswered questions or don’t feel comfortable with the information or course of treatment that they have recommended, please feel free to email me! I am not always available…but 99.5 % of the time I’m close by, and can get back to very quickly.  You can also call another vet and ask their advice to see if it’s in the same “ball park”.

There are some treatments that sound a bit crazy but really work…like if your puppy/dog does get a hold of a bone, especially poultry bones that are very brittle and sharp…but any kind of real bone (other than sterilized beef bones) that you dog might chew and swallow…or other sharp objects that might be chewed and swallowed…even if your not a 100% sure that they did eat it…give them 3-6 cotton ball…slightly pulled apart and mixed with a little gravy or soup….really anything that will flavor the cotton balls and let the dog/puppy eat them up.

How this works is much the same way a ring will get fibers stuck to it, the cotton will wrap around the sharp points of objects the dog has swallowed and allowing it to pass through the stomach and intestines without causing damage..it works amazingly well! And of course it doesn’t hurt them in the least if they didn’t actually swallow anything sharp…just a little bulk to their stool, that’s all…but better to be safe than sorry!

It is also an excellent idea to pick up some “Activated Charcoal Capsules” you can pick these up anywhere…they are not prescription and you can get them at Wal-Mart or any other pharmacy…they are over the counter..if you can’t find them just ask the pharmacist. Activated Charcoal also comes in a liquid form…and get that if you can’t get the capsules, it’s just messy… thick, black and tarry.

Use this is there is ever a question as to whether or not you puppy/dog might have ingested something poisonous or could cause gastro intestinal irritation! Even if there’s a slight chance….the charcoal will not hurt them in any way (might see dark colored stool for a little while) but that’s it. Again better to be safe than sorry….even if you are heading to the vet’s in a hurry, pop them down your pups throat before you head out the door….sometimes even a few minuets can make all the difference! The Activated Charcoal works the same way it does in water filters, fish tank filters, and air filters…it absorbs…very quickly…and that’s exactly how it works…it absorbs the possible poison or toxic substance your dog/pup might have swallowed…of course the quicker you get it into them the better the chances of catching it before it is absorbed by their body….but even if it’s been awhile..do it anyway! There is a Animal Poison Control number (1-888-426-4435) this is NOT free, in fact it is very expensive & you should be able to get the exact same information from your Veterinarian, but I will give you the number in the event that you ever need it. I will also give you a list of toxins, poisons commonly found in the home & what to do if you suspect they have ingested any of the poisons on the list.

You will need to be buying collars for awhile while your Bullmastiff Puppy grows; I always use flat buckle collars to get them used to wearing collars while they are still with me. I put these little collars on very loose so if they get caught on anything it will slip easily over their heads and not choke them, however when they are on a leash you defiantly want to use a no-slip collar…I recommend a martingale type collar since they can't slip out of them yet they will not constrict to the point of choking or causing damage to the puppies trachea, I do not recommend chain chokes for puppies especially since their neck muscles are not fully developed & can cause injury to their trachea. I can recommend good training collars for bully pups (see training too, for pictures of collars) They are very comfortable for the dog and they only time you tighten the collar with the leash is as a correction for pulling when you are walking..it’s a quick correction and then as soon as he is walking nicely by your side they collar is let loose again with the leash. This collar is perfect for leash training, but it also keeps your puppy safe by preventing the chance he may slip out of his collar.

You never want to leave this collar on when you are unable to watch him though, if he gets caught on something this collar is designed NOT to slip over his head, so take it off unless you are walking or training him. Keep a flat collar for in the house, and keep it loose enough that it can slip over his head if he ever gets caught on something.

Chain collars are tougher on their necks and tracheas, and the metal prong collars I think are just cruel, if you start working with your puppy teaching him to walk calmly on a leash you would never need to use a collar like that. If there is an instance where you don’t want to train & just go for a relaxing walk before your puppy is totally leash trained a Halter works excellent, the same principle as with a horse, you control the head you control the whole animal, VetzPets Bully-Boutique sells halters made just for Bullmastiffs short muzzles, with a safety strap that attaches to their regular collar.

Grooming supplies: I use a soft horse brush, a rubber horse curry comb and a horse scraper blade to groom my adult dogs. I found these work very well, I use the curry comb first, slowly working it over the dog in a circular motion to lift all the dead hair and dirt from his skin and coat, then I use the scraper blade on the serrated side, this will remove any dead hair and dirt from his coat after it has been lifted by the curry. Then I use the soft brush to smooth out the coat and bring out the natural oils in their skin for a nice glossy shine. (For the babies I use a soft human baby brush, this is nice and soft and gets them used to being brushed). Nail Clippers (if you feel comfortable doing this). If you are not well practiced at clipping nails ask one of your veterinarian’s staff to demonstrate how to do it. Now it happens that every once and awhile you may cut a nail to close…now no dog has EVER died from blood loss from a cut toe nail…however if you do end up getting one too close some styptic powder, or blood stop powder packet into the nail will stop the bleeding, if you don’t have that stuff on hand plain old corn starch…found in most kitchens will work to stop the bleeding. Dogs are very sensitive about their toes/nails so it is always best to go slow (especially because bullies have black nails so you can’t see where the quick is, so like I said if you aren’t well practiced at it ask for a demonstration at your vet’s office…of course if you don’t want to do this at all you can get it done at your vet’s office.

Your puppy will already be very used to having their paws handled & nails clipped, I have been doing it since they were just a few days old. They are also used to being groomed.

Tip: If your pup ever has a wound that is bleeding a lot you can use corn starch to stop the bleeding…this just helps to clot the blood faster. If it is venous blood…this is a lot of bleeding that wouldn’t stop on its own, it would be either fairly rapidly dripping blood or squirting blood, with this type of wound you want to get to your vets ASAP,  BUT before you leave…pack the wound with corn starch and pressure wrap it…use whatever clean material you have, a clean wash cloth rolled up & placed directly over the wound, then tie with a big tube sock snuggly (you Don’t want to cut off the circulation!), just slow the blood flow to the point that it forms a clot. DO NOT wash the wound if it is a suspected venous injury, injury to a vein or artery, this will only remove any formed clots & allow for further uncontrolled bleeding. Then get to the vets right away! Of course if you have gauze pads and bandaging use that, “Vet Wrap” works great & is one of the things on the list of first aid supplies.

**Bullmastiffs are very sensitive to heat and should never be left out in the sun on a hot day, or ever left in a car if the temp. in the car would reach over 80 degrees, not even if the windows are open! Dogs do not have sweat glands (except on their foot pads) so they do not have the fairly efficient cooling system we do. A dog’s cooling system is his muzzle (nose) the longer the dog’s muzzle the more effective cooling system he will have, the shorter the muzzle (as with Bullmastiffs) the less effective of a cooling system they will have. If you suspect your dog is over heated, excessive panting, cool him off gradually, but steadily & get him to the Vet’s ASAP, it doesn’t take long for their brain to swell & death follows shortly after. Again the best medicine is prevention!

I will be sending the list of first aid supplies to have on hand next. I am also in the process of writing a manual “First Aid & Prevention for Bullmastiffs” which I will send out (no charge) to all my puppy people as soon as it is completed