I have a bull mastive black lab mixed 3 1/2 month puppy. when i got him i was told that he was full blooded lab. Three weeks later i was told he was mixed. I have no idea how to take care of such a large breed dog. I have taken care of labs before but not a dog of such great size. Right now he weights over 30 pounds, and his paws are huge. Please give me some tips on the kind of diet and exercise that he needs on a regular basis.
thanks
Amanda
emssoccer@yahoo.com

Hi
I dont have large breeds, but, at a guess (ish) id say, GENTLE exercise only, certainly no running up and down stairs, or long walks or hours galloping about. Just stick to playtimes, and very short training sessions.
Too much exercise will put unnecessary strain on muscles, joints, etc.

Food, well, i forget anything i have ever known about usual dog food, as i feed raw. Definately do not over feed, if anything , you are better off under feeding slightly, rather than over feeding! Carrying too much weight will also damage a pups growth.

Errrrrr, plenty of stuff to chew on, if you are familiar with the BARF diet, then large raw meaty bones, which, going from the experience i have had with my pup, will cut out on a lot of puppy chewing, an also use up a fair bit of energy, doing something that isnt harmful to his joints.

Oh, an it goes without saying DONT leave pup unattended with bones of any kind, and definately dont feed cooked bones!

Em

hi ive got a dogue de bordeaux (french mastiff) he is 2 now. my advise to you is dont over feed him and when you do feed him dont give him large amounts. you should be feeding him about 4 times a day any way. i have to feed my dog duke 4 times a day and hes 2 this is because when i first got him i fed him one large meal a day and he ended up with bloat(twisted gut) this is common in big dogs like mastiffs. you need to be very carefull no exercise for at least 1 hour( before and after) food and dont give water at the same time as food. i learnt the hard way duke just had an op for twisted gut it is life threatning and the op cost us £350. when your feeding him raise his food bowl up so he dosnt have to bend over.