Puppy Availability
Availability really depends on the time of year and our waiting list. We have a waiting list up and going please feel free to contact us to be put onto our list of people to contact when we have had a successful breeding. Our waiting list is not always first come first serve and the order is determined by 3 factor’s:
1. Those that we have received a deposit from, that are paying Full Registration Price (Breeding Rights) for their puppy.
2. Those that I have received a deposit from and are paying Limited Registration Price(No Breeding Rights) for their puppy.
3. Those that have expressed interest in owning a puppy and supplied their contact information, but no deposit has been received.
Please feel free to contact me at anytime to talk about puppy availability and stay tuned for more information on Boaz & Sully’s Summer 2017 Litter.
Your New Puppy
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The most important thing you have to offer your puppy is time. Many things that we think are from having \”picked\” a disobedient, naughty puppy is actually stemming from a bored, intelligent puppy. You have a extremely intelligent dog on your hands that is used to having litter mates, people, and kids to entertain them. If your puppy is regularly left on their own, to their own devices, they are going to try and entertain themselves. The best thing you can do for your puppy to make this a successful life for your new family member is to give them time, training, socialization, and just involving them in your every day life.
Training
An English Mastiff puppy will go from 1lbs to 100lbs in a VERY short amount of time. What seems fun now(biting, rough housing, jumping, chewing) will not be when your 160 lb dog chews on people, or jumps on them on their way through the door, when they are chewing on your things, and too rough with your kids and visitors. Your puppy needs structure and routine. Retraining your dog is so much harder then starting with a good foundation.Don\’t let your puppy chew on things that are not his. Don\’t ever let them think it is appropriate to jump on anyone ever, for your safety and theirs.
Obedience training is something I think all puppies should complete and furthering their training is even better. If you can not get to a group obedience training (and I really push that you should) but would still like to start somewhere, there is a great article on MCOA that addresses training Mastiffs specifically. Most of the \”disobedient\” puppies I know are bored. They want to do something and having completed this training will give you something to practice with your puppy. You will be surprised how proud you are when your dog successfully behaves and obeys your commands in a sticky situation.
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We currently feed Diamond Naturals Large Breed Dog food. There is varying flavors but as of right now we use their Chicken and Rice version. Our dogs absolutely love it and the ingredients are some of the best we have found.
Diamond NaturalsLARGE BREED ADULT DOG CHICKEN & RICE FORMULA
- Proper nutrient levels needed for large breeds
- Glucosamine and chondroitin for joints
- Omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids for skin and coat
- Enhanced with superfoods and probiotics
- No corn, no wheat, no soy
Protein: 23% Fat: 13%
Calories: 3,499 kcal/kg (327 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy
Available Sizes: 6oz, 40lbYour large breed puppy CAN NOT eat any old dog food from the store. If they grow to fast they can develop serious side effects. Make sure that you are getting a quality dog food. Grain-based is a no go, the empty calories that come from Grain based dog foods are to calorie rich and nutrient deprived for your baby (Plus the empty calories makes them eat more to get the nutrient level they need. More Food=More Cleanup). You will end up with an overweight, malnourished puppy, that as he ages will have problems with their joints and other health concerns. Please get a hold of me if you have any questions on your dog\’s food and I will answer any questions that I can. If I can\’t I will ask others and research with you to find an answer!
Treats
Unless in a training situation we do not give our dogs treats very often. (We do occasionally give them a chunk of meat or knuckle to gnaw on) We have found that our dogs are perfectly happy to chew on carrots and other vegetables, especially if I am cutting them up in the kitchen.
For training we use very small treats, that way they do not get distracted chewing up their treats when they should be paying attention to me. I try to switch up what I am using so they do not get bored of them. I have used Mini milkbones, the tiny round flavored ones, and cut up microwaved hot dogs.
Water
I have never seen a dog drink as much water as our mastiffs take in on a daily basis. We have fresh water available at all times.
This is one aspect of your dog that I can not sugar coat, they take in a lot, and when they drink water, a lot gets stuck in their jowls and trails for awhile afterwards. This is something to take into consideration when deciding where to put your dogs water. Put your water wherever you are prepared to clean on a regular basis. They will get it everywhere. In the summer we set our water bowl outside, away from the front door. Purely for the reason that maybe they will have dripped all the excess water out of their jowls before they reach my house. However in the winter I have stepped through many spots of half water/half drool on my floor. Seriously, your dog is a drooly breed, some are worse than others. I have had a few that only drooled after they drank water and others that drooled all the time. This is an aspect of your puppy you need to be prepared for. Where are you going to have their water dish in the winter? They need access to large amounts of water at all times to remain healthy, and unless you are prepared for an early morning toilet seat surprise, I would find another source available inside your home.
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Our Mastiffs love their toys, especially our boy Boaz. He will play all day long with his favorite toys, but he also puts them to the test. The first 15 minutes of any toy he tries to rip it to pieces, literally. You have never seen a dog so happy as when he succeeds, sadly, I just don\’t feel the same way. So here is a list of some of our favorites, mine and his.
West Paw Design has a great line of Dog toys (tug-of -war, balls, treat puzzles) that are guaranteed to hold up to aggressive chewers (and your puppy is going to be an aggressive chewer) We have a couple of their Zogoflex toys and our dogs really like them. As they are indestructible these are some of my favorites that Boaz enjoys playing with.Jolly Pet Toys
One of his favorites is definitely his Jolly Ball, Boaz is 160 pounds and so has the horse sized Jolly ball. Their site has a lot of really neat dog toys and you can find most of them on Amazon for right around $10. They have some really neat floppy toys that are durable that our dogs love as well. Mastiffs have a strong prey instinct (so if you want smaller pets introduce them now, whether they are chickens, rabbits or cats) A nice floppy toy that gives them the feeling of dead prey makes them some of the happiest dogs around.Our dogs LOVE horns to chew on. We have had an issue with bones getting ripped into shards before but antlers and horns have always been great. Thankfully where we live hikes can amount to finding sheds. If not there are ways that you can find/buy horns from either locals or online!
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Some of the happiest dogs that I have met, and owned, were crate trained dogs. Our Georgia still looks for small spaces (we need to get our crates set up again) whenever she is stressed/anxious, whether it is from the weather, fireworks, or the company we have over. Crate training is not cruel when you understand the logic behind it. It is not a substitute for your company, and no dog was meant to be locked in a crate for 10+ hours. If you have a job that means your dog is going to be kenneled for the majority of the day, please take a second to reconsider whether a puppy really fits into your life\’s schedule. For everyone who is looking into a puppy, ours or not, we ask that you consider crate training your puppy.
I have supplied a link to the AKC\’s page on Crate Training, please read through it and reach out if you need any help. If you have questions don\’t stop there, do research, ask questions, feel free to contact me at anytime and I will do what I can to help and answer questions.
BeddingYou have a LARGE breed dog, your puppy is going to grow extremely fast. You can not expect them to lay on the hard ground. This does have side effects including Hygroma\’s in your growing puppy. At the moment our dogs have their own couch and a cot with the similar idea of kuranda dog beds but less cost.
Decent cots can be picked up at many military/camping supply stores and our dogs love them. They are easy to clean. We throw a blanket on them in the colder months but the mesh material is great in the summer.
This does not have to be an expensive feat. Pinterest and Google have tons of great DIY dog bed ideas. I have had thrift store pillows shoved in thrift store blankets before and my dogs love it. Get creative, your puppy does not care what it looks like, they are just glad you care.