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Bullmastiffs of Tailwynde, Registered and Penny Lane Registered Polled Herefords
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Some of the reg. Polled Herefords we raised.
Bullmastiffs of Tailwynde, Reg'd was maintained at lovely Penny Lane Farm..also home of Penny Lane Reg'd Polled Herefords.
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watercolour of the arab and the englishman.......
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Watercolour of my three favorite Babes:
977, aka "Puppy", 936, aka "Porsche" and 27N, aka " 'cedes"
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..my used-to-be-buddy Richard, helping while I photograph the "dastardly deed"
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Tailwynde's Hilde and Tailwynde's Gretchen
sired by Ch. Beau Cheval's Padre x dam Beau Cheval's Polly....from my first litter of St. Bernards
Handling the mating
by Adele M. Pfenninger
I have been breeding dogs for 35 years. My early years were engaged in breeding Saint Bernards. My mentor was Marlene J. Andersen, who owned Beau Cheval Kennels that was located in Pennsylvania at that time.
I adored going to Beau Cheval! There was a huge number of gorgeous Saints kenneled there. There was a building that was solely for whelping; one that was for young pups, a separate facility for visiting bitches, and the main kennel. The place was always immaculate. It was so much fun to see such a large number of lovely Saint pups cavorting in various runs; they always looked so clean! I fell in love with Ch. Beau Cheval's Padre, a mamouth-headed dog with the gentlest disposition. He was gigantic, but lithe and light on his feet.
Mrs. Andersen was a third generation dog breeder. To say that she forgot more than most of us will ever know about dog breeding is no overstatement. She was always ready to share information with me and she taught me the nuts and bolts of breeding dogs.
I co-owned my Saint bitches with Beau Cheval. I must say that I learned more about hands-on breeding from my association with them than I have ever learned from Bullmastiff people. One of the things Marlene impressed upon me was that a stud dog should be the very best representative of the breed possible. Because a male is going to produce far more puppies than a female can, he should be as fault free as possible, and exemplify breed type to the enth degree.
The other thing that Marlene was a stickler on was a stud dog being able to perform. In other words, she would not use a male in her program, no matter how good he was, if he was a wuss. If he wouldn't actively want to breed a bitch, he had
no place in her program. I adopted that requirement for my males when I began to breed Bullmastiffs.
Right up front, it is not easy to physically handle a mating of two large dogs. That is the main reason so many people in the breed have resorted to artificial insemination. While I employed AI at times, I much preferred getting as many ties as was possible when mating a bitch. I broke my stud dogs in early. I handled my male pups from an early age, and if I could, I bred them to a bitch before they were a year old. By the time a male is 9 or 10 month's old, an experienced
breeder should be able to tell whether he should be used for breeding or not. Inexperienced breeders might need some advice from an old timer on that score.
When the time came to breed a dog to a bitch, he already was used to me touching him and coming up from behind him and handling his hindquarters. Young males will often be so exuberant that they try to mount a bitch's head, her side, anywhere but the proper place. That being the case, I worked from behind him, guiding him around so that he could mount her, and when
he did so, I gently guided his penis to her vulva, and usually that was all it would take for him to find her and tie her.
Sometimes, a young male would show no interest in a bitch, and that would irk me no end! In a case such as this, which was rare in my kennel, thank goodness, I would place him on her back and stimulate him to enter her. If it worked, he would usually get the idea and be off to the races and tie her. If, within a few days, he showed me a "wuss quotient", he would be out of my program.
Richard and I used to do the breedings. Many of my stud dogs were so good that I could handle the breedings myself on cooperative bitches. We had an indispensable aid we used for most breedings: a breeding rack. It was a simple affair, 2 U shaped iron straps covered with foam and tape that were welded on to upright pipe that was screwed into
flanges and fastened to a piece of plywood. Breeding racks are not cruel, they help to keep any injury to the bitch at a minimum and they help the stud dog in case she is one of those that sits down at "the moment of truth".
A breeding rack is also a godsend to a human spine! It minimizes the rough and tumbling that can go on during a breeding, ke you feel like you were in a gang fight the next day. Using the rack with a cooperative bitch is simple Most bitches like the confinement and security of the rack. I let
the dog play and court with the bitch until things between them revved up. At that point, we place the bitch in the U straps, and then quickly work to get a tie effected. The dog will tie the bitch and then he can be turned to stand rear to rear
with her.
Sometimes a bitch, usually a visiting bitch that is also someone's pet, gets snotty or frightened about the prospect of being bred. The rack is especially useful for getting a fractious bitch bred and tied. We use 2 inch tape to muzzle her, and more often than not, once she is standing in the rack, she will calm right down. . (There was only ONE bitch we had in for breeding that no matter what we did, we could not get into the rack. We tried inseminating her, but she was NOT letting us
near her hindquarters. We didn't breed her. I heard later that she had to be anesthetized to be bred!!! If she were mine, she would have died a virgin! No need to perpetuate THAT kind of behavior!)
It is true that if you breed the dog to the bitch, get ties, and keep breeding the bitch as long as she will stand for the dog, that you have the greatest chance of a pregnancy. And, that is, after all, why a breeding is done in the first place: for
a litter of puppies.
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four pups sired by Tailwynde's Nine One One x dam, Tailwynde's Church Lady
drawing by Adele Pfenninger
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Tube feeding the neonate:
Tube feeding is really really easy to do. It scares the shit out of you the first time you do it, but I have done it literally hundreds of times. It saves whelps' lives!
There is no substitute for observing someone doing it, and for sure, have your vet show you how. However, in a pinch, you can do it if you remember a few things:
The stomach lays behind the lungs. There is the trachea where the air goes and the esophagus where the food goes. Trachea NO, esophagus, YES. The trachea is smaller than the esophagus, so a number 10 or number 12 rubber catheter will do quite fine. I use a 12 cc syringe initially.
To feed the pup, lay it out and run the tube outside of the pup from his mouth to the last rib. Mark the tube at the mouth when you have done this with a magic marker. Most pups will be nearly the same size, so the mark is good for all of them, give or take a few millimeters. When you have done this, put whatever you are feeding, either Pedialyte or
formula, warmed to at least body temperature into the syringe. Each pup can easily take about 5cc, unless they are weak, then use 2 cc. of pydialyte. To insert the tube, moisten it in warm water, and slowly insert it into the pup's throat; if he is strong, he will swallow and so you simply feed the tube in as he swallows. When you get to the mark, you will know the tube is in the stomach. Let the pup take a few deep breaths before you slowly
inject the fluid into his stomach.
How do you know if you are in the lungs? Well a strong pup will fight the tube and gag and choke. It will not be inserted to the mark you have made. A pup with a tube in his stomach will breath normally and ALWAYS watch for those normal deep breaths!
It is wise to put the pup on a table on toweling to do this procedure. It makes it easy to see what you are doing. Also don't allow any distractions while you are doing this. The only time I ever drowned pups was when people were bugging me to do something for them...ie: late for Little League, etc. One time I was exhausted from putting four loads of hay up in the barn mow, and then I drowned a big male because I was so tired and didn't pay attention. If you watch you won't do that.
Husbandry of the Neonatal Puppy
Part one.
Adele M. Pfenninger, Bullmastiffs of Tailwynde, Reg'd
For the purposes of this article, we will stipulate that your litter has arrived healthy and vigorous, either by "natural" whelping or by C-section. Further stipulated that the pups have not been stressed by either birth or anesthetic from the
section (another crucial topic!).
In order of their importance, I will list what you as the provider of litter husbandry can do to ensure the continued good progression of your litter:
1. WARMTH: Once the pups are all whelped, this is an essential environmental provision. As your bitch is whelping her litter, make certain that the pups aleady born are kept warm. If you are bringing a litter home from the vet's, be sure that from the MOMENT of birth on, these pups are kept warm as well. Use hot water bottles under
toweling.
A chilled pup is a pup headed for big trouble. It is my belief that the so-called "fading puppy syndrome" is nothing more than a situation of a chilled pup (s) going from bad to worse.
To define "warm": I use two infrared lamps suspended over my whelping boxes which are four feet x six feet in size. The floor is covered in faux sheepskin cut to fit the box. By suspending the lamps, as the bitch enters or exits the box, the
lamps will swing out of her way. I always keep a thermometer on the floor of the box where the pups are, and I adjust the lamps so that the temperature directly under the light is 100 to 110 degrees, and elsewhere on the whelping box floor, the
temp is not under 90 degrees for the first week.
2. COLOSTRUM: See to it that your puppies each have the opportunity to nurse the bitch for her colostrum as soon after birth as is possible. Again, we are stipulating a strong and vigorous litter. Do NOT feed the puppies any supplementation before they have nursed colostrum, as once you do, the colostrum will be ineffective. Each hour after birth, colostrum becomes less effective, so get to it to do it.
3. BITCH'S MILK OR ESBILAC, JUST BORN,etc.
This is the stuff of LIFE: in order for the puppies to flourish, they need to get nourishment from their dam (or from bitch's replacement supplement, such as Esbilac or Just Born, etc. in case there is doubt that the dam is furnishing enough of her
milk) The puppies must be able to digest the nutrients, which translates into growth. I have often read or heard that puppies "normally' lose some of their birth weight the first day of life, but this is unacceptable to me. Once my pups have
nursed their dam for colostrum, if there is ANY doubt in my mind that she has sufficient milk, I supplement them until I KNOW that she has. I use Esbilac for this purpose and have for 25 years....recently, I have used Just Born with great
results as well.
The point of supplementation is that you don't want whelps to lose ground, so for the first few days until you are positive they are getting enough milk, offer them a bottle 3 to 5 times a day. If they aren't getting enough from Mom, they will take
up to an ounce each pup each feeding.
4. DIGESTION: Help to establish and maintain healthy and proper digestion by the use of Probiotics (microbials).
About 20 years ago, I started using Lactinex on my litters. Lactinex is a live culture of lactobacillus acidopholis, a culture
found in yogurt. I prefer it to using yogurt in neonates because you can never be sure the culture is live in purchased plain yogurt. Lactinex can be bought at a drugstore; it must be kept refrigerated. It comes in small foil packets and for one litter, use a packet dissolved in a teaspoon or two of warm water, then administer to the pups by dropper several drops per pup, 2 to 3 times per day.
About 15 years ago, I began using probiotic gels on my litters as well. These are wonderful products which also contain strains of lactobacillus acidopholis as well as streptococcus strains, vitamins and minerals, combined in a very tasty paste or gel. Some commonly sold probiotic pastes are Orlac Pet Paste, Beneback Gel, LBA Gel, to name a few. These come in
15 ml syringes. I give each pup 1 ml per day through weaning time. I personally use a probiotic gel for foals called "Enliven" which is the same stuff. This probiotic gel comes in 30 ml syringes and is half the price. I have used it for several
years with excellent results.
By using probiotics, you help to establish and maintain good intestinal flora (bacteria) that MUST be present for good digestion and assimilation of nutrients by the pup's digestive tract. Administration of probiotics and Lactinex will prevent diarrhea from occurring because of the lack of ability to digest. The stool will be nice and dark and of a good consistency.
Probiotics are essential for the pups whose dam is on antibiotics.
How can you tell if your litter is digesting well? By observing the color of the stool. The darker the color, the better. Ideally, the stools of nursing pups should be umber to dark sienna in color. If digestive disturbances develop, the degree
can be determined by the color and consistency of the stool. The lighter in color, the looser the stool, the less those pups are digesting. Curds present in the stool also indicate lack of proper digestion. As the stool color progresses in lightness
from Gulden's mustard color to French's mustard color, you can be sure the pups are headed for a big problem. If the stool looks like Gray Poupon mustard, or is light green or white, these pups are in real danger of becoming ill as well, because
they are open to infections from all manner of bacterial opportunists. You can head off this potential trouble by preventing it altogether.
(With all due respect to hot dog lovers everywhere.......)
Husbandry of the Neonatal Puppy
Part two
Adele M. Pfenninger, Bullmastiffs of Tailwynde, Reg'd, 1964~1995
The first article dealt with the husbandry of a healthy litter, when everything is going "right".
Now comes the hard part:
NEONATAL MANAGEMENT includes nursing sick puppies and litters. One of the first signs of trouble is when a pup stops nursing. If may cry, or it may lay limp and flat looking. It may scream constantly; it may gasp for air.
One of the more difficult problems when confronted with a sick pup or litter is to figure out what is going wrong. There may be one pup not doing well, or he may be the first in the litter to signal what will go through all of them.
Many times, chilling or a bacterial infection is the cause. Viral infections such as herpes or parvo are more serious but not impossible to treat.
When you see a pup quit nursing, observe him closely for several minutes. See how he moves. If he is weak, check for dehydration. Take the rectal temperature. In a pup a week old or less, the temperature should be in the range of 94 to 97
degrees. Anything above that should be considered a fever and anything below that is chilling. It takes over two weeks of life for the puppies' bodies to be able to regulate their own temperature. You must provide an environment of 90 degrees during this time.
Puppies can get gas or colic. If a pup is screaming his brains out, but it is strong, suspect gas. If you think a pup has gas on his tummy or bowel, hold him up to your ear, and if you hear a lot of gurgling and noise in his abdomen, that is probably what is wrong. In a well pup, borborygumus is not audible. Administer by stomach tube 2-4 cc of an antacid such as DiGel or Mylanta, which will dissipate the gas. Or you can use Mylacon Baby drops, several dropped onto the tongue. If the problem is gas, the pup will be fine within the hour.
One of the most important skills a breeder needs is the ability to tube feed. Don't be afraid to learn to do this! Your vet can teach you this simple skill in a few minutes. Tube feeding is not difficult or mysterious. Just remember to concentrate on what you are doing. Tube feeding weak pups is the only chance you will have of saving them.
An experienced breeder never hesitates to administer antibiotics to a litter at the first sign of trouble. Prophylactic use of antibiotics is NOT harmful and may be very beneficial in heading off a serious problem. You will need to consult with your vet and obtain medicine from him . Don't be surprised if you meet with reluctance on his part, but do press, as once infection has taken hold in a litter, the problem is magnified and you might lose some pups.
Since a sick pup loses its ability to digest, never feed formula to it!!! Instead, tube feed it an electrolyte solution, such as Pedialyte for human infants. This should be done at the rate of 10-20cc per pup each hour, depending on the size and the response you see. Dehydration occurs rapidly when pups are febrile or have diarrhea. Electrolytes are rapidly absorbed by the gut. If dehydration has progressed too far to correct by oral administration of electrolytes, your vet can instruct you on subcutaneous injection of Ringer's lactate. However, hydration can usually be achieved and maintained by oral administration.
A puppy's temperature should be monitored if he is showing signs of illness. The temperature in a pup a week old or less should not be below 94 degrees or above 98 degrees. If a pup is chilled it needs to be warmed gradually. NEVER use a heating pad for this purpose, because even set on low, it can be too hot and cause the puppy's blood to pool, which will kill him. Instead, use a warm hot water bottle, covered in toweling. Infrared head from above is excellent as well.
If a pup has a fever, you should get his temperature down. NEVER USE ALCOHOL RUBS ON PUPS; IT WILL KILL THEM. Instead, lay the pup on a cool, damp cloth for five minutes at a time, monitoring the temperature until it returns to
normal. Liquid baby aspirin is useful for keeping the temp. down. Any puppy with a fever should be put on antibiotics immediately, and in my opinion, the whole litter should be medicated as well. It is wise to have a post mortem done on any
pup that dies, but you can't afford to wait for the results to treat your litter. As an aside, very, very few veterinarians are interested in neonatal care and problems. If you have one who is, treasure him/her/!
In a healthy litter, there is a "rhythm". All pups look the same: round, firm, with activated sleep and vigorous nursing. If the dam is doing her job, the whelping box is clean. Stools should be normal, as described in Part One. If the rhythm of the litter is disturbed, you will see it immediately. Observe, monitor nursing, maintain correct environmental temperature, and treat your pups at the first sign of illness. Getting the jump on the situation before there is puppy mortality is extremely important. With prompt, vigorous nursing husbandry and medications, most sick puppies can be turned around in 8 to 24
hours.
Don't forget to use probiotics on your litters from Day One. They are especially important in nursing a sick litter. Many satisfactions come from breeding dogs. One of the most satisfying experiences is to save those wonderful puppies you worked so hard to get.
YOU CAN DO IT!
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Tailwynde's Victoria's Secret
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Tailwynde's Joyful Noise
"Cha Cha"
This is totally off the subject, but I wanted to share this with you:
Do you like BBQ sauce? This one is worth the effort:
Spicy Southwest Barbecue Sauce
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 cups ketchup
2 stalks celery, chpd
1 cup water
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
Put all the ingredients in a cuisinart and pulse the hell out of it....then cook over low heat to reduce the sauce. It will keep about 3 weeks in your fridge, unless your fridge is also your science project........in that case, you're on your own.....
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Two 8 week old males sired by Tailwynde's Nine One One x dam Tailwynde's Puddy Tat
Feeding your new Bullmastiff puppy
There is very little written about the husbandry of feeding a puppy of a large breed. Large breed puppies can tend to develop orthopedic problems. When all is said and done, improper feeding is usually at the root of these types of developmental problems.
Several years ago, a renowned orthopedic veterinarian told me not to feed high protein foods to fast growing puppies of the larger breeds, and that includes Bullmastiff pups. He told me that these types of foods encourage more rapid bone growth than is desired. I used to pride myself on raising puppies that weighed about 30 pounds at 8 weeks of age. Now I know that this is sheer stupidity. A puppy's skeletal system is not any where near developed at birth; it takes until at least seven months for the puppy's skeletal system to "gel". It is during. this time that puppies can develop bone "growth" problems, such as hip dysplasia, hypertophic osteodystrophy, osteochondritis dessicans, panosteitis, etc. During this time, it is essential that a puppy not be kept too fat. It is also extremely important to feed a lower protein food, and this should be done until the pup is a year old.
If you would like to feed what I feed my puppies, you can order it from the dealer I get mine from. I use Martin's Formula and can be ordered from Martin's Formula, 1224 Glen Cove Ave., Glen Cove, NY 11542.
(516)671-9600.
This food supplies 22% protein and 22% fat. Fat is an energy food, not a growth food. Puppies need a higher fat content for the energy they need to run and play to develop muscle tissue. This food also contains probiotics which is good for digestion. It does not contain beet pulp, soybean meal, or ethoxyquin. It comes in 55 Lb. bags.
There are some beneficial food additives that you can use to help your puppy develop strong connective tissue. Connective tissue is muscle, cartilage, ligaments, and skin. I use shark cartilage, the patented form is "Cartilade" which is made by Solgar and a few other manufacturers. (available in health food stores), buffered Vit. C, (and preferrably this should be Ester C), 400 IU of Vit. E, and flaxseed oil in my puppy's diets.
*Shark cartilage, Flex Free, Cosequin, etc. are all forms of mucopolysacharides. Some are also referred to as chondroitin sulfates. These materials are made either from the cartilage obtained from calves or cow tracheas, or the cartilage obtained from sharks. I highly recommend that you get a copy of "Sharks Don't Get Cancer", by Dr. I. William Lane and Linda Comac, it is in paperback, published by Avery Publishing Group. There is a chapter in the book about the use of shark cartilage in dogs. According to this book, Shark cartilage is 1000% more potent than cartilage obtained from bovine sources.
Shark cartilage comes in a powder or capsule form. The capsules contain powder and are easier to administer by breaking them open and sprinkling on the food.. One capsule contains 740 MG of shark cartilage; a puppy should initially be fed one in the AM meal and one in the PM meal . At 3 months of age, give 2 in the AM and 2 in the PM. Continue this until one year of age. If at any time the puppy should become lame, increase the dose at that time to double whatever your are giving him. The Vitamin C I use is Ester C. I give 500 MG in the AM meal and 500 MG in the PM meal. The Vit. E is given in the AM meal. A teaspoon of flaxseed oil in the AM meal and one in the PM meal provides one of the best sources of unsaturated fatty acids.
Do not supplement your pup's diet with calcium. If you do, you may cause the very problems you are trying to avoid. ( There is some calcium and phosphorous in the shark cartilage, but not enough to do any damage to your puppy's growth pattern.) It is now known that exogenous calcium given to growing puppies may cause the parathyroid glands, which are responsible for the metabolism of calcium in the body, to malfunction and actually cause a calcium deficiency. Some cottage cheese or yogurt occasional will not have the same effect as administering calcium tablets.
Fresh vegetables either cooked or raw can be fed on occasion. If you must ad meat, ad very small amounts for palatability only, as the whole idea is to keep the protein level low in your pup's diet.
Fresh water should be available to your pup 24 hours a day.
As your puppy grows, you should carefully watch that he doesn't get too fat. Extra poundage is going to strain his skeletal structure and ligaments. You should always be able to see a clear indentation just behind his rib cage. There should be a layer of flesh covering his ribs, but he should look on the lean, rather than pudgy side.
If you have any questions about this feeding regimen, don't hesitate to call me with your questions. Nothing I have listed here will harm your puppy in any way. It is some added expense, but for the sake of building a sound puppy, these feeding suggestion may sound unorthodox, but they are not. Horse breeders have found that when foals suffer from developmental bone problems, (they have basically the same problems as puppies of the larger breeds during growth) special attention to the diet, restriction high protein, and the additives I have mentioned here all have the effect of having a sound colt at the end of the fast growth period. The whole idea is to slow the growth process so that the bones do not grow faster than the connective tissue that supports them.
While nothing about raising an animal is written in stone, and despite this regimen, some pups will develop faults in conformation, but that is a different set of problems and has to do with the genetic makeup of the dog.
The Bullmastiff Puppy Owner's Manual
Part of buying a puppy from an experienced breeder is that you have a reservoir of knowledge only a phone call away. If you have any questions at any time during the rearing of your pup, never hesitate to call me. If I don't know the answer to your question, I will try to find it for you.
If you wish to show or to breed, we appreciate the opportunity for some input. We put a lot of work and effort into our breeding program we must rely on our puppies' owners to keep us abreast of the dog's progress. But we also do not have a proprietary attitude towards those who purchase puppies from us. You pay a lot of money for a Bullmastiff, no matter where you get one. We don't sell our pups with strings all over them. It is your dog, and you are free to do with it as you wish. In other words, we won't bug you. We trust that you will do right by this puppy, otherwise, we would not have made the decision to sell him/her to you in the first place.
A good veterinarian is sometimes difficult to find. If your pup ever needs veterinary attention, other than routine exams, ball means, call your vet first. Make your next callto me. Experience has taught us that, just as in any other occupation, there are different levels of experience, skills and talent in the veterinary profession. Some are excellent, some are good, and some merely adequate. Adequate is not good enough! There are also situations that might occur when the vet may alarm you more than necessary. (For instance, an owner was told that his pup's juvenile acne was demodectic mange!) Check it out with us.
Great care and attention have been given to your puppy by us. He has been held and loved and cuddled since birth. He has been raised in our home in a room just off of my kitchen. It now becomes your responsibility to see to it that the puppy is introduced into the world he will live in, your world.
Socialization
between the time you take your pup home, and when he attains the age of 5-6 months, is all the time you are going to have to make this puppy become the dog of your dreams.
The period is critical, and cannot be delayed. So train him, bring him under your control at this early age, and develop that famous Bullmastiff intelligence; then you will end up with a grand adult that you and I can be proud of!
There are any number of excellent books available on raising and training puppies. There are also videos available. Any book store or pet shop or animal supply house usually has many of these to chose from.
The main thing about training a puppy is consistency. Don't confuse the puppy by allowing a behavior one time, and punishing him for the same thing the next time. If you don't want him on your furniture, don't ever let him get on it. Don't let any behavior occur now that you won't tolerate later.
Raising a pup is just like raising a child, except that you don't have to worry about sending him to college. You are now his professor of the "behavioral arts".
Children, AND Puppies... Learn What They Live
If a child lives with criticism, or a pup with a harsh hand
He learns to condem, a pup learns to be churlish..
If a child lives with hostility, or if a pup does.....
THEY learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, or a pup with no socialization
THEY learns to be shy.
If a child or a pup lives with shame,
THEY learns to feel guilty and skulk.....
If a child lives with tolerance, and a pup lives with consistency...
THEY learn to be patient.
If a child or a pup lives with encouragement,
THEY learns to be confident.
If a child or a pup lives with praise,
THEY learn to be appreciative...and well behaved...
If a child lives with fairness,
He learns justice; pups don't need Justice...Just good care!
If a child lives with security,
He learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval,
He learns to like himself.
If a child or a puppy lives with acceptance and friendship,
THEY learn to find love in the world.
....so you see? Raising a puppy isn't any different from raising a child......it is common sense!
Your new puppy is being fed three times per day. Start with____cup per feeding.
Measure exactly, dry measure, and don't guess, because you can overfeed doing that. Moisten with warm water and soak for a short time. Put the food down and let the puppy eat undisturbed in a quiet area. He should finish in short order, but if he doesn't eat all the food, take it away after about ten minutes. DO NOT FREE FEED A GROWING
BULLMASTIFF PUPPY.
It behooves you not to make a Bullmastiff a picky eater. They are voracious eaters if they are not spoiled by Mom's good ol' home cookin'. However, they can be transformed into the most difficult to please gourmets, so if that isn't your style, don't start it now.
Some pups will drop the midday meal at about four months of age, or a tad earlier. If your pup starts leaving some at the mid meal, now is the time to go to two feedings per day. The Bullmatiff should be fed twice a day for life. Increase the amount of food as the puppy grows by a scant quarter cup. Do not overfeed, a fat puppy is not a healthy
puppy, and great strain is put on his skeletal system by the extra weight which predisposes him to all manner of orthopedic problems. You should be able to see an indentation behind the last rib.
Set up an appointment with your vet to have your puppy checked over. This is for several reasons, not in the least of which is your vet will see the pup in a healthy state. He will have already been examined by my vet. At this time you can set up appointments for the remainder of his inoculations. On your second visit, take in a stool sample to check to see if the pup needs a further worming. We worm the puppies from the age of two weeks,
and then every two weeks until they leave for their new homes. Maintaining the puppy in a worm-free state is very important for the puppy's continued good health, and that of any small children who may associate with him. So, periodically check for paracites.
Good luck with your new puppy, and thankyou for waiting for a Bullmastiff of Tailwynde. May this pup bring you as much happiness and joy as we have
experienced from his ancestors for over 25 years. Beware! Bullmastiffs are like
Lays Potato chips: ONE IS NEVER ENOUGH!
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"Flying" Ears
Sometimes when a Bullmastiff pup is teething, his/her ears will "fly"......that means instead of laying close to the head as in the illustration, they stick out away from the skull. If the ears are not weighted and taped during this time, the pup will carry this ear carriage into adulthood.......tres' unattactivo.....By weighting and taping the ears for a few weeks, this problem is easily corrected.
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"Sharon"
Tips for crate training your new puppy:
Make sure that your attitude toward using a dog crate is positive. Remember that you
are doing your puppy a real favor. Crate training will reduce fear and insecurity and stress
related problems for your puppy.
Use a collapsible wire crate with an epoxy coated floor large enough to hold your pup
when he is an adult. An adult should be able to stretch out comfortably in his crate. Keep
the crate in a semi-private spot in a people area such as your kitchen or family room. The
spot should not be in a draft or near direct heat. Well before bedtime, place the puppy in
the crate and offer him a treat. Close the door to the crate.
Immediately establish a routine, using the crate for nap times, and whenever the puppy
must be left alone for a time. Take it directly from the crate to the chosen spot outside for
him to eliminate, and when he does, praise him to the hilt. Then take him back inside
immediately. The puppy will be able to make the association and will housebreak easily
and quickly if you do it this way. You will have a better relationship with your dog if you
keep his life structured. He will know what is expected of him at all times.
Treat any resistance to crate confinement with a no-no-nonsense manner. You are not
being cruel. At the first sign of any separation responses such as barking hr howling,
intervene with a firm sharply `raised voice. Usually, the pup settles quietly in the crate
after three to a half dozen attempts at getting you to respond emotionally and let him out.
Don't do it! Keep the pup in the crate until he is quiet for about ten minutes. Don't praise
him when you let him out. After an interval of 30-45 minutes,repeat the procedure.
Extend the pup's quiet time in ;his crate to about a half hour. Gradually extend your
absent periods, and in a short time, you can be gone for several hours.
Provide soft, washable bedding and a safe chew toy or two in the crate. Don't put food in
the crate. Also, remove his collar to prevent him from possible entanglement.
Adele Pfenninger, March 1995
A well trained puppy grows into a happy dog!
The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"
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Tailwyne's Designer Genes, BMF503
"Gloria" was one of my all-time favorite bitches
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Puppies from my second Bullmastiff litter: Ch. Tailwynde's Gentleman Barney, ROM and Ch. Tailwynde's Armageddon......and me with big hair.....yeck! Barney was a group winner and won the National Specialty in 1975. Mugs was the dam of Ch. Tailwynde's Centerfold, who won Best In Sweepstakes under Eydith Pyle of Pocantico fame at the same National in 1975.
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Tailwynde's Paine Webber, OFA353,ROM
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For one brief moment in time......I lost my head and thought I could breed French Bulldogs......
here is Ch. Tailwynde's Sidney Siddall
(Ch. Terrette's Snafu de la Orage x Terrette's Gloria de la Orage)
I'm here to tell ya that I am a failure at that.....love those little bat-earred Tasmanian devils though....always have, always will....but compared to breeding Bullmastiffs, it's like working in miniature, and ol' Fumblethumbs Moi just couldn't hack it......sigh
Bullmastiffs of Tailwynde, Reg
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One of my babies.........