Can anyone help, we have a 13 week old DDB, he was a little under weight when we got him(5 weeks ago) but after some effort and several trips to the vets we have at last found a food he likes and he is eating well and gaining weight, my concern is he has since yesterday been very sleepy, not at all playful, late last night he seemed to be hot and unsettled he did settle and sleep all night(not normal!)after turning on fans to help cool him,this morning he ate and drank well but again stright back to sleep, i have arranged to take him to the vets ( the only time they can see him being this evening) as i am concerned, but now with two hours before we are due at the vets hes up and playing with my older dog! this is the second time we have had this happen and whilst i will still take him along this evening to ensure his health i am concerned that our local vet has little knowlage of DDB, (as do I other than all my reading before we got our pup), I wondered if this is a normal pattern during a growing spurt, am i being over concerned( a feeling the vet gave me on our last trip there) or am i right to worry?

Could be he is eating too much at one time and is simply bloated, how many meals are you feeding a day, would think he should still be on 4.

Dogue de Bordeaux are very prone to bloat,they can become over loaded, and will flop out for hours and become lathergic and uncomfortable, I have adult bordeaux's and at the moment we have a couple of 11 week old pups and in all the time we went into the ins and outs of the breed, we were told that it is really best to keep them on the lean side, untill they are between 15-18 months when there bones have hardened. If have was healthy, active and happy on a smaller amount of food do not worry, some mature slower than others, and while some look finished at 18 months others do not get to the same stage untill 3-4 years, please do not be tempted to put to much weight on a young puppy. |Can I ask what food you have them on at the moment.  What did the vet say when you went, could there be some alergic food intolerance

Hi thanks so much for your advice, the vet said he was fine no temperature and looking healthy, she didnt really know what had caused it, and he had become very playfull by the time we got into the vets(typical).We had tried just about everything we could to get him to eat at all and he is now and has been for the past week eating dry food (EUKENUBA for large breed puppys) but will only eat it if it has a liitle warm water and either tuna or tripe mixed in with it!, but I did try him with alittle minced chicken the day before yesterday, perhaps this may have been the cause.While im here could you tell me our DDB has a overbite, his bottom jaw is much shorter than the top, i asked the vet what she thought, she said it may grow out, is that normal?.thanks again for your help
Jenny

Can your breeder offer advice at all? I have a 16 week old puppy and I tend to go back to my breeder if I have any worries :)

Cheers, I am feeding him 4 times a day and i had increased the quantity a little to get him up to the recomended daily amount, perhaps little and often would be better at the moment, thanks for your help.
Jenny

It is worth noting that the *Recommended Daily Amount* mentioned on packets of food is often FAR more than the dogs actually require ;)

Cheers, I guess that makes sence, the more you fed the more you buy!, sorry my replys got a bit mixed up, as for going back to the breeder, I'm not sure she gave us the best advice in the first place, we did do a liitle homework on the breed but I think we also fell for a bit of a story on how our pup had been picked and then never collected,I would not change Doug(our pup)for the world now as he is very much a part of our family, but i dont think would fully trust what the breeder may say, i know we should have been more informed on the breeder before we got our DDB, but my only concern now is if or how will it effect his health.

The mouth should be undershot, the back of the  lower incisors not in contact with the front of the upper incisors. Are you member of the of the Dogue de Bordeaux Club, if you email me through my profile I can give you the phone number for the secretary, they give loads of good information in the news letters and meetings and fun days.

Hi bobanddug.

Just wanted to say about the recommended dailey ammount, i have a 9 month old lab and a 4 month old bullmastiff, both are on less then the daily amount and both are fine. The lab is on less than half the daily amount and my bully is on about 3/4 the daily amount.

Anymore than this they both start to get fat and as they are both breeds that may suffer later in life with joint probs it's best to keep them lean.

My bully has just started to bulk out in her chest, so from the front she looks really big but from the side and the back she looks really skinny.

She also has days where she isn't interested in playing and will just sleep.

Good luck

Debbie