Caring for your new Dogue de Bordeaux Puppy

This will give some tips on what you need to know about your Dogue de Bordeaux puppy and how to prevent disease. It's a compilation of advice from seasoned Dogue de Bordeaux breeders over the years.

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Your new Dogue de Bordeaux puppy will have had its first set of vaccinations and been wormed before being given over to your care.  Please bring your puppy to your vet as soon as possible for them to check your puppy out. 

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The first thing you need to be aware of is that even though your puppy has been vaccinated, your pup is NOT fully protected from diseases, especially PARVO. Your puppy will need to get a booster shot 2 weeks after it’s first vaccination, and then again at 6 months before it is fully protected. In the meantime, to protect your puppy from diseases such as Parvo, follow these steps:

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1. Do not bring your puppy to any place where other dogs may have been, such as public parks, trails and paths frequented by other dogs, and public streets where others walk their dogs. 

2. Do not let the puppy greet or play with strange dogs.

3. Do not let your puppy sniff where other dogs have relieved themselves. 

4. Do not let your puppy eat from a dish that another dog has used.

5. If you are traveling with your puppy and it needs to exercise or relieve itself, take it to a spot where it is not likely other dogs have been.

6. Even though your Dogue de Bordeaux puppy will have been wormed by me, you will have to have your puppy wormed again.  I recommend that when you take the pup to the vet for its booster vaccination you ask the vet to worm the puppy with a “BROAD SPECTRUM WORMER”. While your puppy was with me it was too young to be protected against all worm types and was possibly just wormed for the most common types of worms.  Always best to be safe than sorry.

 

Feeding your Dogue de Bordeaux puppy

For the first 14 days, only feed your Dogue de Bordeaux puppy the food I provided/recommended and no table scraps for the first 14 days. After 14 days you can slowly start introducing new foods and snacks. The reason for this is if the puppy you have just brought home gets sick you can rule out a change in food or diet. Also your new puppy, even though looks happy, is stressed because it is in a new environment away from its littermates and old home, and this in itself can cause stomach upset. After the first 14 days your puppy can also start chewing on LARGE beef soup bones (preferably frozen). NEVER feed pork or chicken bones. EVER.  Even lamb/mutton can be too soft for a Dogue de Bordeaux, even as a puppy, but larger beef bones are fine (removing any hanging bits that might be small enough to swallow), and will not only help with teething and keeping their teeth clean throughout their lives, they are also tastier than shoes or furniture, and somewhat more nutritious.​

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For the first two weeks you can give your pup strong Kong chew toys.  Never leave them unsupervised with soft squeaky toys and ropes.  These can break apart and get lodged in their stomachs or throat.

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Also please supply your puppy with a joint supplement from the time you bring him home, and limit their calcium intake.  A good supplement must have glucosamine, chrondonite, and MSM - there are several available online (e.g., Chewy.com).  This helps prevent growing pains because your puppy will grow extremely fast.  Please do not ever feed them puppy food or food with high levels of calcium.  All life stages kibble with toppings (ground beef, freeze dried toppers, Dr. Harvey's Raw Vibrance, etc.), fish oil, probiotics and joint supplements will take care of all of their nutritional needs. Regular puppy food, even those designated for large/giant breeds, will cause them to grow way too fast and will definitely cause growing pains.  Also, food sensitivity to chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cow dairy products (milk, cheese, ice cream, whipped cream) and corn are found to be common to the Dogue de Bordeaux and should be avoided if skin issues, yeasty ears, or digestive issues should start to present in your puppy.  Goat milk products are fine.

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Only use bottled or filtered water - one thing that can really cause upset tummies in puppies is a change in water; do NOT give your pup tap water as the chlorine used in tap water often causes digestive issues, as well as bladder and kidney stones.  Especially when traveling, only give bottled water because you never know what is in the local water supply. 

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Exercising your Dogue de Bordeaux puppy

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HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU EXERCISE YOUR DOGUE DE BORDEAUX?

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Puppy Skeletal Structure Information (click for link)

 

Remember, even though your Dogue de Bordeaux puppy is large, it is a very young, delicate baby. Your puppy will sleep a great deal the first month and much like human babies will start to get more energy and be awake for longer periods as they get older.

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Dogue de Bordeaux puppy buyers should not take a puppy for a walk any farther then they can carry it back. When your puppy is tired it will lie down and not move.

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As your puppy grows you must not them play too hard with other dogs or over-exercise. I strongly recommend restricting exercise. There will be periods of growth when your puppy is gaining up to 5 pounds a week (normal is 2 to 3 pounds a week).  The muscles and tendons do not grow at the same rate as their bone structure, so sometimes the muscles and tendons are tight over the bones. When this happens, if the puppy is jumping or playing too hard, it is very easy do permanent damage your young dog or pup. A Dogue de Bordeaux's joints don't fuse until they're 2 years of age, so it's vital to their long term joint health to be extremely careful during this initial growth phase.

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NEVER let your young DDB jump up or down off of things greater than their height, and NEVER let your puppy ride in the back of a truck.  Also never let your puppy play rowdy with other dogs, as they can inadvertently injure themselves.

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It is very common when your puppy is between 5 to 14 months of age to wake up in the morning acting stiff and sore. Watch your pup carefully, and if as the young puppy walks around a bit the soreness and stiffness goes away then do not worry. But ask yourself if the puppy had an overly active day the day before, and you'll know then that your puppy is going through some growing pains and the muscles are taut over its structure.​  If the soreness gets worse as the day progresses, you will need to take your pup in to the vets to have it checked out.

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Exercise for a mastiff puppy is a very INDIVIDUAL THING.  One 6 month old puppy may not walk for more then 3 blocks because they're very large and growing very fast, whereas another puppy that's growing very evenly, with hardly ever being "butt high" and very athletic could go on a mile long walk without thinking twice.  If your puppy is growing fast and is stiff some mornings, restrict exercise. No walks, only normal yard exercise and restrict hard play. 

If the puppy is growing evenly and the puppy jumps up in the mornings and seems very athletic, then 1 to 2 city blocks per month of age is a good gauge to go by.  NEVER TIRE THE PUPPY!!  If the puppy is tired by the walk you have gone too far, so shorten your next walk.  If the puppy is stiff after resting from the walk, you have gone too far and shorten the next walk.  A tired puppy can injure tendons and ligaments more easily.

No running on concrete!   If walks are on concrete shorten the walk. Concrete is hard on the bones and joints. Always try and have walks on trails or grass. Also, slippery floors (marble, tile, smooth wood/vinyl plank) can wreak havoc on those delicate joints.  Be aware of the surfaces the puppy is running and playing on, and limit their access to slippery surfaces.

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Any other questions you may have feel free to give me a call or drop me an email.  Please remember I am here for you always.  This is my baby that I have entrusted you with and I want to be kept informed on their growth and anything that is wrong with them.  I love photos so please keep them coming! 

 

To prepare for your new puppy you should have the following ready for them when they come home with you:

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• An extra large dog crate – Size 42 wire crate.  Crate training is essential to their wellbeing!! They will be used to a crate already and it will also serve as their "safe space" as well as an ideal babysitter when not under direct supervision. However, they shouldn't be left in a crate longer than 4 hours at a time.  

• Baby gates/ex-pens to keep them in a confined area when not under direct supervision for more than 4 hours

• Puppy pads - even though they will be somewhat housebroken by the time they leave here, and will understand what a puppy pad is for, they're still babies and accidents will happen. Make sure they know where the pad is just in case until they learn your routine for going outside to relieve themselves

• Blankets and bedding

• Food and water dishes - increase the height of their feeding dishes to chest level as they grow

• An adjustable dog collar (harness is fine for the first couple of months, but a training collar and/or martingale is needed for those initial training sessions)

• Leash - non-retractable, flat or rounded leather is best, as nylon can be hard on the hands, especially as the pup gets bigger (and stronger).

• Lots of chew toys

• Dog food 

• Bottled water

• Drool towels for paws and lips.  DDB owners always keep these handy in their homes.  Have them placed by every door and in your living room just in case.  They're sneaky with their slobber.