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What to feed my Mastiff puppy

BrittneyM

Member
Hi Everyone! I'm new to this forum, and I have SO many questions for you all. I'm the proud mama of an almost 5 month old Neapolitan Mastiff, Moose. When I picked him up from the breeder at 8 weeks, he was on Puppy Chow. I immediately started weaning him off of that, and on to Blue Buffalo's Large Breed Puppy foood. Chicken and brown rice, if I'm not mistaken. He's been on that food alone (3 cups of food twice a day (he's a monster). His stool has been soft for so long now, and sometimes it's diarrhea. I've taken him to the vet tons of times, and she's checked for all the parasites, worms, etc. He was on a round of antibiotics, too. But still, nothing. I'm switching him over to Merrick's Dry Puppy Food (chicken, brown rice, and green pea). Do any of you have experience with this puppy food? I was talking to the owner of the local pet store, and he was saying that with a high quality food like Merrick, getting the large breed puppy as opposed to regular puppy food wouldn't make a difference. I've read so many things on having big pups like Mastiffs on both. Moose is already almost 70 lbs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My vet is fairly useless, she constantly recommends that I put him on Iams or Purina. Thanks so much in advance! mooooose.jpg
 

Lori

Active Member
Hey there,&nbsp;<br>I am also fairly new but I can tell you that I have had the same experience as you in regards to food and loose stools. My pup is just shy of 6 months and is approximately 70lbs. I had him on all sorts of Large Breed Puppy formulas and then finally switched him to an adult (all stages) formula, Orijen Six Fish to be exact. He hasn't quite finished the bag yet but his poops are already WAY more solid than they were on the puppy stuff. Orijen is real expensive but you feed a lot less according to the guidelines on the bag....Abel gets 3 3/4 cup a day....three times a day (I'm gonna start the twice a day this week).<br>So like I said, I am super new here too and this is my first Mastiff pup so I don't actually know what I am talking about but that was/is my experience with food!
 

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
The loose stool was likely an intolerance to chicken and/or grains. I usually recommend avoiding both to be on the safe side. How are his stools now?
 

BrittneyM

Member
That's great to know! Thank you so much! Abel is too cute. I'll definitely try out the Orijen if the Merrick doesn't work out. It's insane how much they're charging for Blue Buffalo. I was paying nearly $60 for the 33lb bag, and I've been hearing that it really isn't any good for the dogs. I don't mind paying top dollar if I know that the food is good and good for them. My last dog (an American Bulldog) was on a raw diet. He only ate a couple cups a day, so it wasn't that expensive. I'd have to start getting food stamps if I tried giving it to Moose, lol. Fingers crossed the Merrick works out. I hope the Orijen continues to work for you!
 

BrittneyM

Member
Thank you! I just started giving him the Merrick this morning (mixed in with his old food), and so far, so good. He's not a picky eater at all. He wolfed it down faster than normal!
 

BrittneyM

Member
I'm just worried that because it's a regular puppy formula, and not particularly specified for large breed puppies, that it'll hurt him growth-wise. Joints, hips, etc.
 

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
Calcium and phosphorus levels are what affects growth. Large breed labels are usually nearly identical to the adult formulas, it's often just a marketing gimmick. Do a search around here, there are tons of threads about feeding pups. I'd type more but I'm just about to run out the door.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Unless the puppy is under-weight, you might also see if feeding less helps solidify things (if you don't see total improvement with the new food). Sometimes just eating too much will cause loose stools as the system just pushes the 'extra' on through...

Hope he likes the new stuff!
70lbs is a big bundle of joy! :)
 

Iymala

Well-Known Member
The Merrick Puppy food you are feeding is within the acceptable calcium/Phosphorus ratio for a giant breed in growth stages. Calcium is the main contributor to skeletal disease and needs to be kept under 1.6 for a growing puppy. The ratio is 1.2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus

Here is a good academic article published on it : https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/hips.htm

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+news/Developmental-orthopedic-disease-in-large-breed-pu/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/804547
 

BrittneyM

Member
Thank you so much! Y'all have been so helpful. I really appreciate it. I've continued to do some reading through these forums, and found that a lot of other people were having the same problem. I never came across the allergy to chicken/grains before, so that could definitely be it. I was assuming that the Blue Buffalo was just too much for his belly. If the Merrick doesn't help him, I'm thinking of switching him to the Earthbound Holisitic. I see that a lot of people have had luck with that. Also, the reason I upped his food (he's supposed to get 5 1/4 as directed on the bag of BB), was because I could see all of his ribs. He was looking way too thin. He's been getting the extra 3/4 of a cup for the past 2 weeks now and looks much better. Still thin, but healthy looking.
 

knewsome

New Member
We feed Merrick to our two dogs (a 14 month old Cane Corso and a 2 year old Am. Staff. mix). They have thrived on Merrick with soft glossy coats and very compact, small and firm stools. They like the taste as well. We used to feed the puppy chicken, brown rice, and green pea but switched to the adult early on because the formulas are virtually identical and the adult comes in larger bag sizes. They are both all-life-stages foods (meaning a complete assortment of the amino acid building blocks from the proteins). Neither of my dogs have had any problems with either the chicken or the grain content. An added plus is the 440 calories per cup means they need less volume for the same calories as many other foods.
 

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
Of course not all mastiffs have issues with grains or chicken but if they do show an intolerance, it's not good for their digestive systems to switch foods again so quickly. That's why I prefer to avoid both, to avoid a possible reaction.
 

dsmith91163

Well-Known Member
My Neo is 4.5 month and 71lbs..he is on TOTW Taste of the Wild Lamb and he gets 2 cups in the morning with 1 table spoons of 100% pumpkin and 3 cups plus 1/2 cup of Merrick wet and same for dinner ...and the vets say he looks great..I did try other kibble and found out he can not have chicken...he get 2.. 20 min walks everyday with a 15 min training and puppy play time twice a week with a trainer and 2 dog training classes 1 time a week ...he is a busy little guy..I am hoping in the long run he will be a great dog when he gets to the teenage or at least I'll have a little handle on it heard that is the worse time for them ...good luck..
 

cayeesmom

Well-Known Member
Iymala, that is the second article in dvm360 I read that suggest that adult food can result in to much calcium, since pups need a little more calories and often eat more then the recommended feeding guideline on the bag. Interesting!
 

Iymala

Well-Known Member
What I have noticed is most quality foods now are All Life Stages and do not often run into that issue. I know I was once concerned about the Calcium in ToTW but when I did the math for the feeding amounts vs what I would be feeding a lower quality grain inclusive food, it came out to be much less in the ToTW. So I think that article does make a lot of sense.

Most times it is a balancing act with dog food, just like out food. Puppies need calcium, protein, fats, calories etc but they need them in the right amounts. When we lower the calories and lower calcium, we end up feeding more of the food and it can result in the balance being thrown off.
 

Jerilyn

Active Member
Ive just been feeding just kibble (cstco brand) Mia is 5 mos now should I add anything at all she is eating 5 cups a day.
 

Vj regala

New Member
I was experiencing the same thing with blue buffalo, loose stools only when I mixed the dry with the can.. I stopped with the can and added rice to the dry kibble till his stool started getting harder then slow took the rice out and did straight kibble twice a day in a twelve hour span..2 3/4 of a cup.. Sometimes I'll add a little boiled hamburger meat or boiled boneless chicken for flavor.. How ever does anyone have any opinions on feeding adult food at 5 months old to slow his growth a little
 

Opiesmom

Active Member
Hi Everyone! I'm new to this forum, and I have SO many questions for you all. I'm the proud mama of an almost 5 month old Neapolitan Mastiff, Moose. When I picked him up from the breeder at 8 weeks, he was on Puppy Chow. I immediately started weaning him off of that, and on to Blue Buffalo's Large Breed Puppy foood. Chicken and brown rice, if I'm not mistaken. He's been on that food alone (3 cups of food twice a day (he's a monster). His stool has been soft for so long now, and sometimes it's diarrhea. I've taken him to the vet tons of times, and she's checked for all the parasites, worms, etc. He was on a round of antibiotics, too. But still, nothing. I'm switching him over to Merrick's Dry Puppy Food (chicken, brown rice, and green pea). Do any of you have experience with this puppy food? I was talking to the owner of the local pet store, and he was saying that with a high quality food like Merrick, getting the large breed puppy as opposed to regular puppy food wouldn't make a difference. I've read so many things on having big pups like Mastiffs on both. Moose is already almost 70 lbs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My vet is fairly useless, she constantly recommends that I put him on Iams or Purina. Thanks so much in advance! View attachment 23674

I had the exact same problem with my Neo - he to was on Puppy Chow and through the help of this forum, I now have him on the Acana - Pacific blend and his stool is hard - I also found out that the Neo may have a sensitivity to Chicken and Grains..... Hope you find what will work for Moose.
 

Daniel

Well-Known Member
I had my Cane Corso on Pro plan which he liked. His stools were always solid. I tried switching him to Blue Buffalo, runny stools, Wellness same. I think these are too rich. I decided to do raw. He loves it! Hunter is excited about eating now. Before it would be so hard to make him eat. I calculated the pricing for the quality kibble and raw and its really the same price.
 

BrittneyM

Member
Thanks so much to all of you! Moose is doing really well. He's on Merrick Grain Free Texas Beef & Sweet Potato (all stages), and seems to be liking it a lot. I originally had him on the Merrick Puppy; Chicken, Brown Rice & Sweet Pea, but he started getting rashes in between his toes & armpits, and he got his first ear infection. I made the switch a couple weeks ago, and he seems to like it. Rashes are almost completely gone, and his ear infection is being treated daily (poor guy). He's 90 lbs, and fit as a fiddle! He'll be 7 months old on the 18th. Time is flying! Thanks again!