How much more do Mastiffs eat than other large breeds?

[Tim]

We have the opportunity to buy a mastiff puppy and we like the idea but aren't sure about buying food. Where we will live dog food is expensive but we are planning to get a large breed dog of some kind. What I need to know is if there is a major difference between how much a mastiff eats and how much a different breed like a German shepherd, would eat. How often do you go through a bag of dog food and what size bag? Thanks for any info you can share.
Tim

 

[ruthcatrin]

The amount eaten depends on the size and activity level of the dog. GSD's have an average weight of 60 or so lbs, English Mastiffs regularly top 175lbs. Thats a signifigant difference in size of the dog which translates to a signifigant difference in the amount of food eaten. The more active the dog the more he's going to eat as well. For a starting point take a bag of your prefered dog food and compare the "suggested daily intake" for a dog the size of 60lbs and one the size of 175lbs.

 

[GM2009]

It definitely depends on the breed - I know a Mastiff usually eats more than a Great Dane. So while I can tell you that an adult Great Dane on good quality kibble as an ADULT only eats about 4 cups every day, I cannot say for certain how much a Mastiff would.

During the puppy years, we were buying huge 40lb bags of kibble every other week I believe. Our highest food bill was about $120 for a single month. Then adult years I think we spent about $70-80 on food a month, but this was a couple years back so I'm not certain on that price anymore.

Hopefully some Mastiff owners will see this and tell you exactly. What I can say, it's not cheap!!

 

[ruthcatrin]

It also depends on the food itself, good quality foods with little to no fillers generally mean the dog eats less, where foods with more fillers (ie: Science diet) often result in larger meals so the dog can get enough of what it needs.

It depends on which mastiff breed you're looking at. Cane Corso's are generally smaller 100lbs give or take, English mastiffs (like I said above) frequently hit 200 or more.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

We had a Sheppard/lab X and he was 95lbs. He was on the bigger size of his breeds. But he was in perfect weight. People use to ask us if we were raising a HORSE when he was a puppy. He was on high end food and ate 5-6 cups a day. If we were extra active on a day (beach, nature walk) he would get the 6 cups. We paid about $80 a month on food
We just adopted a 2 1/2 year old English Mastiff and he weight 165lbs. He was on Chicken kibble when he came to us and we were told he ate 7 cups a day of blue buffalo. He never ate that much here. I would put it out and he would eat and walk away with food left in his bowl. Because of the drool the left overs went to the garbage...waste.
We took him off Blue Buffalo and put him on chicken/grain free due to ear infections. It cost a little more (something to keep in mind if pup/dog gets ear infections) be ready to possible fork out more money on food. He is on high quality food and now he eats 5 cups a day. In a month we spend $90. I am about to up his food to 6 cups due to the fact that I find him thinning out due to the activity level he has now. So if I do that the price of food will go upwards of $110-120 monthly. That is if he eats more.
I hope this helps
Also I want to add something more before you consider a Mastiff or any breed for that matter. Please be careful when buying these guys. They are amazing dogs with lots of love. They are called VELCRO dogs here on the forum from a lot of members. And it is true. They last thing you want to do is buy a sick pup. Listening to the heartbreak of people when they hear or have a sick dog is so sad. And some of it is because of breeders using sick dogs and passing on the disposition. Please make sure it is a respectable/reputable breeder. You want to see the history of his parents/grandparents and papers. I was shocked to hear of the needless suffering of dogs/owners from backyard breeders and not so honest breeders.
I thought I knew a lot about Mastiffs through the reading and talking to breeders, but was surprised once on here of the TRUE life with Mastiffs. You don't get the reality till you talk with owners. I would say spend time on here and read threads to learn. I have learned sooooo much and I appreciate the time everyone puts out to help. Also obedience training and socializing is important with any dog.
I am sure others will chime in and possible correct/add more to what I have said. Please don't re think getting a Mastiff. They are a wonderful addition to a family. My guy is laying on my husbands lap cuddling as I type this lol

 

[Smokeycat]

Between my 6 month EM puppy and 16 month Irish Setter X a 25 lbs bag lasts about 10 days.

 

[Robtouw]

My 15 week old pup is going through a 15lb bag of Blue Buffalo Basics a week, about $35. My last OEM at 4 yrs would devour a 35 lb bag of TOW in about a week and a half along with additional meats, veggies and treats. I would say on average around $125 a month to feed. Be cautious of the food choice, if you feed a low grade food, you could end up with enormous vet bills, a premium feed does have good benefits despite the extra cost. You will also need to think about flea prevention, heartworm prevention, etc. Mastiff sizes require quite a bit more than an average sized dog.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

The vet bills are way different. We went from $300 to 500 yearly. That's not including the random vet visits. We just forked over a $140 for an ear infection lol. Oh and I never thought I'd have so much dog laundry lol

 

[Smart_Family]

We have a shepherd and a mastiff pup and they go through one big bag and one little bag of Earthborn a month. We spend maybe $60 bucks a month on food.

 

[DennasMom]

And don't forget the other extraneous items...
Here's a slightly humorous view, and a few years old based on the prices (or in a lower cost location that Seattle) - but, all-in... not too far off...
He put in $80/month for food:
http://www.bigpawsonly.com/dog-blog/the-cost-of-owning-a-big-paw

I think we're closer to the $120/month point now (just for kibble), with Denna 4.5 months old, eating about 5 cups a day.
We're looking at going raw soon, and expect to up that a bit... probably closer to $175 depending on where I can source the meat.

 

[sethmp]

Porter is a 1yr old DDB weighing about 80lbs now and he is eating between 4-5 cups of Acana per day.

 

[angelbears]

We feed a raw diet, meat is cheap here in Texas. Our 165 pound Fila eats a little over 3 lbs. a day at about 1.00 to 1.25 a pound, it cost about 30 to 35 dollars a month. Vet bills are less now because the dogs have been healthier since we switched.

 

[dogman#1]

it has been my opinion that it really all depends on the dog. I have had "easy" keepers and "hard" keepers. Working dogs from working bloodlines tend to be easy keepers... I have a lil rottie X GSD that can eat over 4 cups of food a day, sleep all day and not gain an ounce (laziest dog Ive ever owned), she weighs between 65-70lbs. I also have the fila that weighs 130 ish and she eats 2.5-3 cups of food a day and goes for at least 5-9 miles a week on walks...sometimes 5 miles a day (depending how I feel). I feed high quality kibble, "vets choice Hollistic health extension" (say that 3Xs fast) and have never had an issue with vets for any of my dogs. I have also heard others that have different bloodlines of filas feeding their dogs over 6 cups of food and even up to 9 cups of food after they were 3 years old... cant imagine a rancher having to feed a dog that much when they have so little to begin with. I have heard some filas in farms in Brazil living off of bread and left over from cheese makings... dogs dont look great but they dont look starved either... like I said some need alot less than others and I would take an easy keeper over an eating machine any day of the week.

 

[rmk]

@smart....where are you getting earthborn that cheap? with a 15% discount (if i did autoship) i was paying $64 per 28lb bag (including shipping)....no one close to me has it so i had to go online and thought i searched everywhere but if you are feeding 1 1/2 bags that cheap i must have missed it

 

[angelbears]

We feed a raw diet, meat is cheap here in Texas. Our 165 pound Fila eats a little over 3 lbs. a day at about 1.00 to 1.25 a pound, it cost about 30 to 35 dollars a month. Vet bills are less now because the dogs have been healthier since we switched.

WHOOPSIE!!! Bad math. Should be 90.00 to 115.00 per month for Cane. Big Turd got an extra handful of meat for dinner. Now that I realize how much he is costing me, I guess tomorrow I'll have to put my thumb on the scale.

 

[DDBsR4Me]

A pup is generally going to eat quite a bit more in the beginning as they are growing - that's all my pups ever seemed to do when I first got them was eat, eat and eat some more.

Now that my boy is an adult, he eats 4 cups of dry kibble per day (maybe 4 1/2 cups on a hungry day). He also gets a little bit of canned mixed in, but not really very much.

 

[dogman#1]

A pup is generally going to eat quite a bit more in the beginning as they are growing - that's all my pups ever seemed to do when I first got them was eat, eat and eat some more.

Now that my boy is an adult, he eats 4 cups of dry kibble per day (maybe 4 1/2 cups on a hungry day). He also gets a little bit of canned mixed in, but not really very much.

This is correct. I can remember some of my dogs eating as much as 8-10 cups of food a day as pups during high growth times.

 

[awestruckgsd]

I have had German Shepherds for 20 years and now have a male Mastiff who is almost 2 years old and there is a definite difference as the GSD is a large breed and the English Mastiff a giant breed. My male GSD(75 - 80lbs) eats 5 cups of Eagle Pak and my Mastiff (175lbs approx.) eats 8 cups which is divided in half 4 in the am and 4 in the pm. I might also add my boy is still growing and filling out too and I am told that could go on for another year yet so yes there is a huge difference male for male from what I am seeing...

 

[mmyrto]

My Cane Corso is abt 95 lbs and she goes through 1 29 Lbs bag of Acana every 3 weeks approximateley.