Taking Care of English Mastiff Puppies

If you are planning to own a dog at your home, then you should be aware of various dog breeds so that you can get one that suits your requirements. There are more than hundreds of dog breeds and each breed is different in the aspect of nutrition, grooming, and exercising requirements.

An English Mastiff belongs to the giant breed of dogs. Apart from the English Mastiff, there are other types of Mastiffs, such as Brazilian, Argentinian, and Tibetan Mastiff.

English Mastiff puppies are giant breed puppies, which require unique care. Nutrition plays an important role in their growth and development. When you talk about nutrition, keep in mind the quality and the quantity of food you feed your Mastiff puppy.

When the puppies are about 16 weeks old, they lose the immunity against various diseases that they receive from their mother's milk. Hence, it is very important to take them to a vet for vaccination shots.

It is necessary to exercise your English Mastiff puppy regularly. However, do not overdo it. Exercises would help the puppy to develop muscle tissue that supports the strong and heavy bones. You can take it out for a walk everyday. This would establish a bond between the puppy and you. Throw a stick or a ball and ask the puppy to fetch it to you. Do not allow it to jog or jump over the hurdle, until it becomes an adult.

As puppies, an English Mastiff is playful, but as it becomes an adult, it can easily overpower its owner. To avoid this, proper training has to be given when it is a puppy. The basic obedience commands should be taught. An untrained English Mastiff will become unmanageable and would display destructive behavior when it becomes an adult. If you cannot train it, enroll it in a training class.

As a pup, expose the English Mastiff to children and other family members. You should also expose it to various objects, scents, and noises. Do not allow it to play with other puppies or dogs, until it is given the vaccination shots.

• Never ever hit or scare your Mastiff puppy.
• Do not allow it to play with stray or other dogs till it is vaccinated.

• Never discourage the puppy from experimenting with new things or socializing.
• Tying up your Mastiff puppy can make it aggressive. So, avoid doing it.
• Do not over feed a Mastiff puppy. Avoid treating this breed to chocolate or caffeine products.

To an extent, you should encourage submission. The reason behind this is that in many situations, you would need to take your pet in an environment to which it is not used to.

For example, if you have to take it to a vet for vaccination, or for any other ailments, your pet should be submissive enough, and allow itself to be examined. You could teach it certain command words such as 'settle', 'lay still', and so on. This training would be helpful at the time of nail trimming and grooming.