Feeding Your American Mastiff Puppy

We feed a combination of raw and kibble; however, Nutro lamb and rice is also very good. We will give you food to take home so you can mix yours with ours for a week or so should you decide to use a different brand. Remember, switching food abruptly can cause diarrhea. We also cook and debone chicken for all our puppies as well. I will explain this Procedure when you come. I will tell you how to wean the puppy off the chicken onto dry Dog food.

Clean fresh water should be available to your puppy at all times. However, if you are crate training your puppy be sure to offer the puppy a drink after night time potty breaks if not yet sleeping through. The American Mastiff puppy can go without water no more than eight hours overnight once s/he is sixteen weeks old and sleeping through the night, or if crated during the day for 3 hours or less, as long as you are conscientious about providing water at all other times, and your puppy remains well-hydrated. We keep water and food in front of all of our dogs all the time (24/7). Our puppies and adults are never without food or water. If you are crate training and have a nice large cage you can leave water and food in one corner of the crate thru the night. If you position the water and food at the back of the crate, it is less likely to be spilled or knocked over; Putting near the front of the crate means it will be more likely to be spilled when the puppy comes running to greet you!

Never feed anything (treats or food) preserved with BHA/BHT or ethoxyquin. These are believed to cause cancer in dogs as well as other problems. Look for food that is preserved with tocopherols, a source of natural vitamin E. It is a good idea to read labels and be sure none of these things are in the food you and your family eat. For instance, lard, (which some cooks still use in biscuits and pie crust) is still preserved with BHA/BHT!

Your American Mastiff puppy will eat a lot and grow at a very rapid rate the first year. Because a young puppy needs small amounts of food very often (they can only hold enough to last a couple of hours), it's important to keep dry food down where the puppy can eat all it wants, anytime it is hungry. This will also help them with teething since chewing the hard kibble helps their teeth and gums. (Most people find their mastiffs will not overeat.) After the first year, you will find your mastiff consumes no more food than any other large dog, such as a lab or shepherd. We keep our dogs on automatic feeders for their entire lifetime; They have food and water available at all times. They will not overeat, and having food available all the time helps prevent bloat (often caused by eating too fast and swallowing too much air). They know the food is always there so do not "gobble" their food.

Table scraps are ok in moderation after the puppy is eight weeks old. Take the food away from the table and place it in the puppy's dish, to prevent begging. Be careful with new foods as they may cause diarrhea. Do not feed onions, chocolate, nuts, grapes or raisins to dogs, as they can make them very ill or sometimes result in death.