Το παρακατω ειναι απο την virginia rowland απο τα blackslate bullmastiffs μια εκτροφεας με τεραστια εμπειρια.
DIET AND NUTRITION
When we give puppies their first meal of dog food at four weeks of age, we use the food that we feed our adult dogs, Martin’s K-9 formula which is 23% protein and comes in small enough pellets. We soften for at least an hour in warm water and grind up in the Cuisineart. Martin’s K-9 formula is not available in stores but is equivalent to Natural Life, Natures Recipe and Nutromax. These are all good dry foods because they are as natural as possible and do not contain dyes and a lot of preservatives. The question of how much to give and how many times a day can vary with the puppy. Be sure to buy your dog food from a dealer who has a rapid turnover of food and does not keep it in the warehouse so long that it is old by the time you get it - and gets moldy etc. before you can finish the bag.
Please note: we do not recommend feeding puppies a high protein puppy chow. The higher the protein count of the food you feed your puppy , the faster he will grow. If you feed a food that is between 22% and 24% protein you will prolong the growth period and reduce the risk of the Bullmastiff puppy developing skeletal problems. I have known some young Bullmastiffs that were growing so fast on the 22% protein dry food that they had to be put on a Senior Diet - 18% protein. Whatever you do, do not feed your puppy any food that is over 26% protein. Orthopedic specialists will tell you that the dogs they see with skeletal problems like osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) are typically dogs that have been fed a high protein diet. Disregard the advice of your veterinarian if he contradicts this suggestion. If your veterinarian were to talk to specialists in nutrition or orthopedics, they would agree with my recommendation that puppies from large and giant breeds be fed a low protein diet. Unfortunately some vets that are general practitioners spend more time listening to the salesmen selling the food and vitamin and calcium supplements.
Puppies usually prefer their food dry when they get to be three months of age or to have warm water added at the time the meal is prepared, but some may continue to like it softened. We usually add goat’s milk to the food - cow’s milk, however, is not a good idea. If we don’t have any goat’s milk, we usually add a little warm water plus a spoonful of Pedigree canned dog food to make it more palatable. We recently had a litter that developed a lactose intolerance when they were weaned at three and a half weeks of age. They were taken off all milk and have been fed a diet of the softened food and beef broth (to make the diet more tasty). You will have to experiment to see exactly how much your puppy wants. At eight weeks of age, we feed the puppies three times a day and they eat between 3/4 to 1 cup a time. The puppy should be fed three times a day until he is six months old when he can be cut back to two feedings a day. The typical puppy at this time would be getting a total of six cups of dry food a day.
Feeding the puppy free choice dry food is acceptable provided the pup maintains the correct weight. You will find that at six months of age your puppy will probably be eating as much as he will as an adult, between four to eight cups of food a day. The amount can vary with the exercise the dog gets, his size and metabolism.
It is extremely rare that the diet recommended above needs to supplemented with extra vitamins. Too much supplementation can lead to structural problems such as OCD. No vet should encourage you to buy Pet Tabs or Pet Cal or their equivalents unless the dog is showing some sign of skeletal breakdown - such as being down in the pasterns or very cow-hocked. If your puppy shows these symptoms it is best to take him to specialist for advice on how to correct the problem. It may be possible to help him by increasing the protein or he may require special vitamin supplements. If you do find it necessary to give your puppy a calcium supplement, make sure the calcium is in the form of calcium lactate; this type of calcium is excreted in the urine if the dog get too much. Other forms of calcium stay in the body and form calcium deposits, something which you definitely don’t want.
As a general rule, we give Fresh Factors or Glyco-Flex to our puppies at least through the first year of age and if they are males throughout their life. Fresh Factors and Glyco-Flex are orally administered GAGs (glucosaminoglycan) that is a chondro (relating to the cartilage) protective lubricant. Evidence suggests that GAGs help prevent joint problems such as hip dysplasia and osteochondritis dissecans. Glyco-Flex is made from the green lipped mussel and the source of GAGs in Fresh Factors is bovine cartilage. The proteins in it are identical to the dog’s cartilage and joint fluid components and when they are ingested they migrate to the joints via the bloodstream, with the greatest amounts entering the most inflamed joints. Glyco-Flex and Fresh Factors are also thought to help with the manufacture of prostatic fluid and that is why we give it to our adult males. Another excellent joint lubricant - probably the best, but also the most expensive - is shark cartilage. It is also helpful to dogs and human with skin problems brought on by problems with the immune system. The dosage is one capsule per 15 pounds - the total divided so that it would be administered three times a day - for a total of 21 days after which time the dog would need 3 to 4 pills a day depending on the weight. This would mean that a 130 pound Bullmastiff would get three pills three times a day (for a total of 9 pills) for three weeks, and 1 pill three times a day for the rest of his life if his condition warranted it. Scientists have recently isolated a component of shark cartilage, known as squalamine, which appears to be effective in fighting cancer; it attacks tumors by suppressing the formation of new blood vessels. At the end of this handbook, we give the addresses and phone numbers of places to order glyco-flex, fresh factors, and shark cartilage. Your Bullmastiff will enjoy and may benefit from nontraditional types of foods. Raw broccoli is high in vitamin C . Other raw vegetables like carrots and string beans are high in vitamins and make good between meal snacks for puppies or the overweight adult. Table scraps in moderation are fine and a little bit of canned food will help make the dry food more appetizing. Canned food and scraps have little nutritional value so don’t get your dog so dependent on them that he won’t eat the dry food which is the most important part of his diet.
Every dog requires a different amount of food to maintain the correct weight. Adult dogs need less food than they did as puppies. It is important to always measure what you give your Bullmastiff. Do not necessarily follow the recommendations on the bag of dry food If you notice he is gaining weight, then cut back on what you give him. The typical active adult males should be fed three to four cups of dry food, twice a day, active bitches usually need two to three cups twice a day. The amount depends on the activity and metabolism of the dog. As the dog ages the amount of food he needs decreases, an older male may only need two cups of dry food twice a day (senior or lamb and rice) and an older bitch one and a half cups twice day. They should always get a minimum of two meals a day. A Bullmastiff that only gets one large meal is not a happy dog and runs a greater risk of getting gastric dilatation (bloat).
