Question:
I just read that mastiff breeds should not be placed into new homes until at least 8 weeks old. I just got my second bull mastiff/rott mix, the dam was not a good mother and he was bottle fed for 2-3 weeks until he began to eat dry food at about 5 weeks old. That is when we got him. Are there any health or behavior concerns I should know about or look into. So far there have been no problems. He is hardly ever left alone and is already spoiled rotten. We have only had him for a week. As of yet there don't seem to be any problems and potty training is going great. I guess I'm just a worried dad. Thanks in advance for any help.

Answer:
8 weeks is the very youngest I would ever place a puppy in a new home. For large breeds like this 10 weeks is better.

The problems you might encounter could arise from the fact that puppies who stay with the litter and mom until 10 or 12 weeks learn very important socialization skills and bite inhibition. Basically, they learn how to be dogs.. The lack of these skills can cause problems later on.

I suggest that as soon as your puppy has finished all his shots, you take him to puppy kindergarten classes. Also, if you know someone with a gentle adult dog, you could allow this adult dog to help teach your puppy doggy manners. He's going to be very big and you don't want him to be fearful/aggressive with other dogs when he matures.

Housetraining is going great? At 6 weeks old? Really?

Answer:
I agree with LR....his most important issues as he grows will be in learning how to properly interact with other dogs, because he missed out on a period of really important growth & learning with littermates.
People with singleton (only one in the litter) puppies try to get the pup together with other pups, if at all possible. They learn manners, bite inhibition, etc largely from littermates.
It's not just mastiffs - any large breed dog should ideally stay with the litter for at least 8 weeks, small breeds longer.

Puppy kindergarden is a wonderful idea, he will learn so much! And don't stop there, ongoing training is a great idea, necessary, even. You don't want an ill mannered 150lb dog.
Also realise that when he is between 8-12 months old, he will probably go through being a typical rebellious teenager. If you do not have a good foundation in obedience & manners by then, you could be in real trouble, trust me on this.
Large untrained teenage dogs are commonly dumped at shelters, or relegated to being outside dogs, because they are no longer cute and earlier ignored behavioural problems become much bigger, and even sometimes potentially dangerous.
So....don't spoil him too much, remember he needs to be learning now, every day, from you!

I bet he's adorable though! I have such a soft spot for the big dogs.

Answer:
I have a dogue de bordeaux ( French Mastiff) and have to agree with Lucky whole heartedly on the placement of large breed pups at 10 - 12 weeks. They really do learn a LOT from their moms in that time and my belief is that they turn out to be better dogs the longer they stay with the mom.
We didn`t get Angel until she was 10 weeks and we would have left her the other two weeks if the breeder wanted to have it that way. ( Heck I had waited YEARS for one by then what is another two weeks LOL).
I think that all puppies need that much time with their mom and littermates. You mentioned that your pup`s mom was not a good mom....... just curious........ what was she doing that determined she was not being a good mom? Not condenming here, just wondering what things she was doing or maybe not doing that would help establish that she was not behaving like a good mom.
Do you know how old the mom was when she had the pups? Sometimes when a dog has a litter of pups too young they are confused and don`t know what they are supposed to do with them. ( Kind of like a 10 year old giving birth to a new born............ babies should NOT have babies). This could be the case and her owner you said was bottle feeding for two weeks until they went onto food, I am just concerned that the owner of the dog got tired of bottle feeding and "rushed" their time with the mom because they got sick of the feeding. If this was a large litter, and they were bottle feeding a lot of pups I can see that being an exhausting job. My personal feeling is that 5 weeks is WAY too young to be leaving their mom.

I`m really happy that things seem to be going well for you. I completely agree with the other members about puppy kindergarten and then more and more obedience............. you do not want a large breed dog to NOT have manners! Personally, I know four of them that my family members have and it is NOT fun to encounter their dogs. Angel had to have excellent manners because I don`t believe that any dog should be misbehaved or obnoxious. In large breeds, you run the risk of them hurting someone or even you if they don`t have boundaries set for them early.

In my experience working with a rottweiller rescue group, bottle feeding puppies takes a LOT of time, and I just hope that the owner of the mom didn`t take pups away from a first time mom before giving her a chance, or helping her to look after the pups. Personally, this dog should be fixed, since she is not a model mom, and is having cross bred pups.

If she was a show dog, or a champion breeding bitch I would maybe say that she didn`t have to be........... however, I am curious as to how old she is as that sometimes plays a HUGE role in what type of mom she would be ( In any case)

Good luck with your puppy, and try to remember to be firm and consistant with your training, trust me I know how "cute" they are and how easy it is to spoil them!

Answer:
First of all thank you all for your help and concerns. The mother was a healthy 3 yr old rottwieler and this was an accidental breeding the owner is a vet tech and the spay will be done. We live in a small town where there are no training classes or puppy kindergarten,however we have friends with dogs of all ages and sizes. So socialization will be done. When I said he was spoiled i didn't mean he gets his way all the time I was refering to the $200+ toys and things (bed, a collar and leash for evey day of the week, etc.) This is my fourth large breed (1 rott/gsd mix, 2 pure bred papered rott, 3 rott/bull mastiff mix, 4 Roman bullmastiff/rott) I have done all their training personaly, and everyone has commented on how well behaived they are in every situation, so I believe I will have no problem with training this one. Yes I was really suprised at how well potty training is going for him being so young. Of course he doesn't have much bladder control so we are constantly watching him, and we take him out after play, sleep, eatting and drinking. We've only had one acciedent while we were away for about an hour, (Pretty much the only time he has been unsupervised by myself and/or my wife.) But once we go out he knows what he is supposed to do, and goes right to work doing it.

DogueLover I have one problem with your post. IMO, and its only my opinion papered show dogs shouldn't be the only ones to breed. After reading several of your postes I realize you do not feel the same way. Which is fine, but don't you also state that breeders should only breed to better the breed?

"Personally, this dog should be fixed, since she is not a model mom, and is having cross bred pups. If she was a show dog, or a champion breeding bitch I would maybe say that she didn`t have to be..........."

Why would you not spay her if she was a show dog or champion breeder? How does allowing her to breed help to better the breed, when she could be passing on these traits?

Once again thanks to everyone for their help, this is only my second post but I beleive that I will enjoy this forum very much.

Answer:
Welcome and I love these big guys and I do agree 10-12 weeks for these large breeds. I have a 3 year old English Mastiff he is a rescue but he is becoming the most well mannered boy but it is constant work as I am sure you know. But keep socializing and especially if you have a large female around she mind help to nurture him because they do learn so much in that 8-12 week span this is when mom teaches manners. Good luck and we are always here but we need pictures of this cutie.

Answer:
It sounds like you're doing everything right with your puppy!! He's lucky to have such a good home. Can you post some pics??

Why would you not spay her if she was a show dog or champion breeder? How does allowing her to breed help to better the breed, when she could be passing on these traits?
This is because spayed/neutered dogs cannot be shown in conformation. Personally I don't agree with that but those are the rules.

Showing is the only way a dog can be deemed to be a near perfect example of the breed - temperamentally, performance-wise, and conformationally, and those are the only dogs who should be bred.

Since there are already 3,400 Rotties and Rott mixes homeless on Petfinder, there is really no reason to be breeding dogs for any reason other than to improve the breed. What other reason would there be?

It's kind of discouraging that a vet tech would have a 3 year old intact dog and an "ooops" litter of mixed breeds. I'm glad she'll be spayed now.

Answer:
WEll said Mastifflover, I agree!! Much of what I work on with Gypsy stems from ill learned manners. I had her and her litter, 4 all together since 3 weeks old (spca foster). I am not shy to admit that I was not aware that I had to teach these manners on behalf of the mother dog (dead--too sad a story)
Whereas yes, we saved them all, and they all have forever homes, they all needed extra socialization. Puppy classes are a great idea, and as soon as they are all vaccinated and the classes are going well, the local dog runs are also great for making furry friends. I find nothing teaches your dog better than exposure to other dogs. Alot is to be said for pecking order.(within a certain margin of safety of course.)

Answer:
Hi Romans Dad, hope I didn't come across too preachy in my first post...I've had Rottweilers for almost 20 years, and just know what pigs they can be growing up, even when they've had all the best training & all that!

Mastifflover is right on about an older bossy female to show an uppity pup the ropes, too.

I agree with everything LR said, although intact dogs in conformation is probably in part tradition. Since way back when, conformation (and many working trials) were a way to figure out which dogs were good breeding stock. And most people who go to all the trouble to train, show & work their dogs aren't the ones who let their dogs have "accidental" or "whatever" matings.

I know quite a few people who show/compete, both in conformation & various working trials. Most of these people breed their dogs very rarely; maybe every few years, if at all. And many people who are serious about showing & dogsports are also involved in rescue, or are at least big advocates of not indiscriminately breeding, or breeding for money.

And I'd like to see pictures too, if you have a way to post any!

Answer:
Originally Posted by LuckyRescue
It sounds like you're doing everything right with your puppy!! He's lucky to have such a good home. Can you post some pics??



This is because spayed/neutered dogs cannot be shown in conformation. Personally I don't agree with that but those are the rules.

Showing is the only way a dog can be deemed to be a near perfect example of the breed - temperamentally, performance-wise, and conformationally, and those are the only dogs who should be bred.

Since there are already 3,400 Rotties and Rott mixes homeless on Petfinder, there is really no reason to be breeding dogs for any reason other than to improve the breed. What other reason would there be?

It's kind of discouraging that a vet tech would have a 3 year old intact dog and an "ooops" litter of mixed breeds. I'm glad she'll be spayed now.

So very true.Also,this is why breeders do health and genetic testing before breeding.If anything does show up,they do NOT breed.

Answer:
I understand that dogs must be intact to show. But doesn't it make you feel a little bit hypocritical, to say that dogs should only be bred to help better the breed, and mix breed litters should not be bred, because they don't adhere to a breed standard. and then say that it is ok for a show dog to be bred with this bad characteristic because it looks good, or because a judge thinks it looks good? I'm not trying to start to start any arguements, but it sounds to me like we make an exception for show dogs, because they look like they are supposed to look. I believe if this problem was to happen with a show dog it too should be spayed.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Roman's Dad
I I'm not trying to start to start any arguements, but it sounds to me like we make an exception for show dogs, because they look like they are supposed to look. I believe if this problem was to happen with a show dog it too should be spayed.

Roman's Dad, I think you make some excellent points.
Luckily many people who do show agree with you....a significant proportion of CH dogs who have also passed all the relevant health certs don't actually get bred, they just stay intact until they've acheived whatever level of championship the owner wants & then neutered....none of the working or dogsports titles requite a dog be intact, so they can keep earning titles that way.

And then there's people that say a dog should only be bred if it fulfills all the greatest qualities of the breed, working ability, temperament etc as well as just looking pretty. I don't think a beautiful looking healthy Rottweiler should be bred if it's not a mentally sound, proven working dog either. <insert breed of choice> Were I to get another dog from a proper breeder (I've done this once) I would want sire & dam to have working titles too. (One of my dogs does come from very nice show & working lines.)

But allowing two different breeds to mate, or allowing two not absolutely brilliant representatives of a breed to do so, is IMHO unethical. There are thousands of Dumpsters full of dead dog & cat bodies thrown in landfills every single day in the US at taxpayers expense. :( I think that alone is reason enough not to produce any extra animals without very serious intent. (Beyond the dumb ones, like making money, or letting children see the miracle of birth etc blah blah.)

Answer:
I didn`t mean to sound like I thought that a show dog or champion dog should be allowed to have litters if she showed that she didn`t have the temperment for being a good mom. Most breeders who have show/championship dogs wouldn`t breed a dog that didn`t have the qualities and temperment they wanted to pass on.

My questions about the mom were only to find out what she was doing that made her a "bad mom". Sometimes it makes a difference if she is too young, but I still don`t know what she was doing that proved that she was not a good mom. And I wasn`t passing judgement, I just know that sometimes there are people out there that sell pups early to make money from them. ( Hell puppy mills do it ALL THE TIME).

I apologize if anyone took offense to my posting........ thank you Lucky for the post about show dogs and championship title requirements.

Just one other question though, what was the mom doing or not doing that made her a bad mom........... just trying to figure it out.

My best wishes for you and the pup. I asked questions because a lot of times if you don`t ask questions and just read the postings you can end up making remarks that are not very fair( YES lesson learned here, now that I am back I will ALWAYS ask questions first).

Answer:
Once again thanks everyone, I'm thouroughly enjoying this forum. Sorry there are no pictures yet. I'm having problems uploading them. (I'm not very patient with this computer stuff. Might have to have my fiance do it.)

Between one and two weeks the mother began ignoring the 2 pups. (Three in the litter, one was still born) The owner tried to help but the mother became aggresive toward the pups. She began bottle feeding and tried a couple of times to get the mother to take them back but she was still aggresive toward them. So she bottle fed them until they started on dry food at five weeks.

Updates:
At six weeks Roman has started to go to the door when it's time. Still have a few accidents now and then but I'm thrilled with his progress. Once outside there's no playing around he gets right to business then is ready to go back inside.
Being the pup he is he loves to chew. But is learning quickly what is ok to chew and what is not. (No shoes destroyed as of yet.)
We are giving him more freedom around the house, he loves exploring. Also has met my fiances parents dogs. Loves to play with them but was put in his place more than once.
Started to work on "sit", he thinks its all play but with more time and effort, and as he gets older i'm sure he'll pick it up quickly.
Well I could talk about him all day but I guess I need to wrap it up.
Once again thanks everyone.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Roman's Dad
Started to work on "sit", he thinks its all play but with more time and effort, and as he gets older i'm sure he'll pick it up quickly.
.

Cool! Keep it fun, training should be play!
He sounds like a real pistol.

Answer: