Dogue De Bordeaux / English Mastiff Puppy. New Pic's Of Kirby

[Maddison and Shannon]

Sorry, I would tell them to take it back and report the breeder to local council for selling underage and most likely not microchipped puppies. Better a little disappointment now than possibly multiple thousands of dollars out of pocket to fix dodgy joints in the future. If they can't afford a purebred dog they cannot afford a dog that size. Food alone while it is growing is going to be a huge cost. I looked into a giant breed many years ago and found out that they cost more to feed than a horse. There is no way these young people could be described as responsible. They have bought a dog with no research at all. A dog can never get back the 6-8 week period when it should still be with the dam and litter, learning how to get on with other dogs. Removing puppies from the litter too soon leads to dog aggression which can be a serious problem if that dog grows to 70 kgs.

Sorry, but you are just being plain rude. My partner and I are very responsible, dog loving people. We do our research. We have been doing research for a long time and we are ready and committed to taking care of her. I don't appreciate your judgmental attitude. She was weaned, vaccinated and micro chipped when we adopted her. She is friendly, obedient and genuinely well trained. I have grown up in a house with several different breeds of dogs and not one of them have ever had an aggression or health problem (mind you that includes a Siberian Husky and Pomeranian, both of which are known to have a tendency for aggression). We know what we are doing and I would appreciate it if you kept your negative attitude to yourself. We may be young, but we are smart enough to know what we will be handling. We are more than ready to give Kirby a life of love, friendship and good training.

[persephone]

That face ......................... :)

[flame ryder]

Sorry, I would tell them to take it back and report the breeder to local council for selling underage and most likely not microchipped puppies. Better a little disappointment now than possibly multiple thousands of dollars out of pocket to fix dodgy joints in the future. If they can't afford a purebred dog they cannot afford a dog that size. Food alone while it is growing is going to be a huge cost. I looked into a giant breed many years ago and found out that they cost more to feed than a horse. There is no way these young people could be described as responsible. They have bought a dog with no research at all. A dog can never get back the 6-8 week period when it should still be with the dam and litter, learning how to get on with other dogs. Removing puppies from the litter too soon leads to dog aggression which can be a serious problem if that dog grows to 70 kgs.

Sorry, but you are just being plain rude. My partner and I are very responsible, dog loving people. We do our research. We have been doing research for a long time and we are ready and committed to taking care of her. I don't appreciate your judgmental attitude. She was weaned, vaccinated and micro chipped when we adopted her. She is friendly, obedient and genuinely well trained. I have grown up in a house with several different breeds of dogs and not one of them have ever had an aggression or health problem (mind you that includes a Siberian Husky and Pomeranian, both of which are known to have a tendency for aggression). We know what we are doing and I would appreciate it if you kept your negative attitude to yourself. We may be young, but we are smart enough to know what we will be handling. We are more than ready to give Kirby a life of love, friendship and good training.

Yeah you tell em!!

She is very cute. Would love to see more pics as she grows and look forward to hearing how she progresses with her training.

[VizslaMomma]

That face ......................... :)

And bootiful paws!!!!!

This be a honey of a puppy. Of course, we may need frequent piccies to confirm all this! :laugh:

[Maddison and Shannon]

I'm sorry if I offend anybody with my previous comment. Very defensive mummy and daddy here! Have sent many photos to BC Crazy!! Thank you all for the kind comments and feedback and thank you to BC Crazy for always offering to help us out. :)

[VizslaMomma]

I'm sorry if I offend anybody with my previous comment. Very defensive mummy and daddy here! Have sent many photos to BC Crazy!! Thank you all for the kind comments and feedback and thank you to BC Crazy for always offering to help us out. :)

Broad shoulders exist with most around here.

The point could have been Kirby might have had issues. That was why it was mentioned.

Thanks to your attitude and handling, she does not.

Go on loving her as you obviously do.

The cyber Aunties will eagelry await piccies and try to help if you ever have questions.

[Maddison and Shannon]

I'm sorry if I offend anybody with my previous comment. Very defensive mummy and daddy here! Have sent many photos to BC Crazy!! Thank you all for the kind comments and feedback and thank you to BC Crazy for always offering to help us out. :)

Broad shoulders exist with most around here.

The point could have been Kirby might have had issues. That was why it was mentioned.

Thanks to your attitude and handling, she does not.

Go on loving her as you obviously do.

The cyber Aunties will eagelry await piccies and try to help if you ever have questions.

It was mostly the comment about how we were judged irresponsible and incapable of caring for her. We were aware the whole time about BYB and the consequences. Both mum and dad were DDB cross English mastiff, I will attach a photo soon. We first met Kirby when she was 3 weeks, also meeting mum at the same time who had an amazing temperament and was very healthy. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet dad as he died from old age (8) a few days before we met Kirby. The breeders had bred before and were 110% aware of what they were doing.

I thank the people who pointed out any issues Kirby may have had! Luckily Kirby has no issues whatsoever. She is a bright, healthy and happy puppy with lots of love to give.

[Dame Aussie]

Your Kirby is just beautiful M&S :) you must keep posting pics

[OSoSwift]

No harness.

Harnesses are good as seat belts and for dogs with neck injuries. There is no reason why she cannot be taught to walk on a normal lead/collar.

[OSoSwift]

She is very cute.

There are some points that are valid though. Were the parents hip and elbow scored? If not the chances of her suffering from this is higher than a pup from parents with low scores. This will not show up unto she is older. I know this from experience.

I sincerely hope she does not end up with any health issues as it is totally heart breaking.

I would not consider death at age 8 just from "old age".

[Maddison and Shannon]

No harness.

Harnesses are good as seat belts and for dogs with neck injuries. There is no reason why she cannot be taught to walk on a normal lead/collar.

She has a harness and seat belt, we bought them for her as soon as we adopted her. There is a photo on here of her in a car and you can see her pink seat belt in it. Her harness wasn't on her at the time as we were only just putting her in the car. We don't walk her yet as she hasn't had her 12 weeks vacs (she gets them this coming week as she is 12 weeks on Monday) but she will be walked with a harness and lead. (and collar)

[Maddison and Shannon]

She is very cute.

There are some points that are valid though. Were the parents hip and elbow scored? If not the chances of her suffering from this is higher than a pup from parents with low scores. This will not show up unto she is older. I know this from experience.

I sincerely hope she does not end up with any health issues as it is totally heart breaking.

I would not consider death at age 8 just from "old age".

Thank you, she's an angel.

Parents had no problems at all, luckily. I know there are many issues we need to be aware of, so far Kirby is in perfect health and we will do our very best to keep it this way.

Dogue De Bordeaux's life spans are only 5-8 years. It is common for bigger dogs to only have a short life span, again, something we are aware of. It is unfortunate but we are willing to give her the best years, however many that is. Kirby visits the vets every week to be weighed, we will be sure to make regular checkups to cover any issues we may miss.

[Maddison and Shannon]

Also for anybody's concerns, don't worry, she is not for showing (clearly). She's a family pet and as long as she is happy, healthy and loved that's all that matters.

I appreciate your positive advice and feedback! :)

The only problem we are having with Kirby is her feeding. Coming from a litter of 11, she is so food obsessed and I'm wondering if anybody knows a way to slow her eating? I'm concerned about how fast she eats and don't want her to choke. We have already taught her to sit and wait for her food (which was a mission! :p) and she's eating Royal Canin Puppy food.

Thanking you!

[Dame Aussie]

We used to scatter our boys dry food when he was a pup to slow him down, you can also get bowls with obstacles they have to eat around :)

[OSoSwift]

Put her food in a 12 muffin, muffin tin or get her a no gulp food bowl.

I know Dogues have a reduced life Span compared to many but 8 is still very reduced, plus they are crossed.

Harnesses are good but as for walking, nope they aren't. Dogs and horses pull very heavy loads with a harness that they couldn't from a collar. All you do is give them something to pull against from the most powerful thing to pull with. Started early - as you are, there is no reason why she cannot walk properly on a collar.

Training to heel and walk on a lead can happen from 6 weeks easily, they don't have to be out and about to do it and infact you don't want them to be. You want them to train initially in a low distraction evironment.

Edited July 6, 2014 by OSoSwift

[Maddison and Shannon]

We used to scatter our boys dry food when he was a pup to slow him down, you can also get bowls with obstacles they have to eat around :)

We looked into bowls to help but our Doberman had one in his younger years that he chewed up! lol. Will try scattering food, she seems to be slowing as she's growing, probably because she doesn't have to compete with her siblings anymore. Thank you :)

[Maddison and Shannon]

Put her food in a 12 muffin, muffin tin or get her a no gulp food bowl.

I know Dogues have a reduced life Span compared to many but 8 is still very reduced, plus they are crossed.

Harnesses are good but as for walking, nope they aren't. Dogs and horses pull very heavy loads with a harness that they couldn't from a collar. All you do is give them something to pull against from the most powerful thing to pull with. Started early - as you are, there is no reason why she cannot walk properly on a collar.

Training to heel and walk on a lead can happen from 6 weeks easily, they don't have to be out and about to do it and infact you don't want them to be. You want them to train initially in a low distraction evironment.

Will definitely try the muffin tin. We are hoping Kirby definitely lives longer, with the crossbreed in consideration absolutely. English Mastiffs generally live to 7 on average. Plan to keep her in great health and condition so she will live a longer life!

We walk her around the back and front yard with her harness, we will have to practise without it! She is a very good walker from what we've seen so I don't think we will have any problems with that. But definitely more practise, she gets her 12 weeks vac this week.

Thank you for the advice! :)

(Just wanted to clear up about a comment made previously from someone about $$$. We didn't adopt Kirby because we couldn't afford a purebred, money was never an issue for us! We saw Kirby and fell in love instantly. )

[VizslaMomma]

We used to scatter our boys dry food when he was a pup to slow him down, you can also get bowls with obstacles they have to eat around :)

We looked into bowls to help but our Doberman had one in his younger years that he chewed up! lol. Will try scattering food, she seems to be slowing as she's growing, probably because she doesn't have to compete with her siblings anymore. Thank you :)

What you can think of doing is having variety of how Kirby gets her food.

Scattered in the yard sometimes, muffin trays other times. When she is older her meals might be frozen meat that she can slowly chew.

My heart dog was the absolute garbage guts. Suck the meal down and throw it back up. What I did was change him to frozen meats & hand feed him for a few weeks until he actually slowed himslef down to eat. For us it was also great bonding.

One thing I do is never feed at the same time.

Good Luck with all of this.

:D

[RuralPug]

Madison and Shannon, my Mastiff lived until 11, as did most of her line, but I do note that the Dogues do have a very short lifespan

Please familiarise yourself with Gastric Torsion (Bloat) and how to avoid it as it can cause a swift and painful death especially in these giant breeds. Also please research the joint disease OCD (Osteochrondritis Dissecans) and how to raise your puppy to avoid it - it is a very painful condition, that can occur very easily in giant breed puppies.

I agree with the comment earlier that you should report the breeder for releasing an underage pup - that is NOT a reflection at all on your ability to care for the pup. It is a reflection on the breeder. It is illegal in most states (including NSW) to sell a pup under 8 weeks old and there are good reasons for this. See section 9 here for the details of the law in your state.

Other recommendations for a good breeder include them furnishing you with written information on the optimum way to raise your pup (fortunately you have been supplied diet information from other sources, but it does reflect very badly on your pup's breeder) and for the parents to be tested and scored in genetically transmittable conditions where such tests exist.

Conditions common to both the Dogue and the Mastiff where health scores/ certificates of the parents are recommended are:

Hip Dysplasia

Elbow Dysplasia

Heart disease

Eye diseases

In addition, committed and responsible breeders test for thyroid issues in the Dogue before breeding. The above mentioned laws include in section 10 the recommendation that all health testing be undertaken, this is a best practice rather than an enforced law, thus it is not illegal not to health test but it is enshrined as good breeding practice.

I sincerely hope that you do hit the good luck jackpot and your puppy has inherited none of these diseases. You have fallen in love with her now and are totally committed.

I hope she brings you much joy, but I could never, in good conscience, recommend to anyone a breeder of either of her breeds that has not undertaken health scores or certifications as I have seen far too much heartbreak and sadness from poor breeding of these giant breeds. I pray that you do not have to learn the hard way, as so many have.

[Maddison and Shannon]

Madison and Shannon, my Mastiff lived until 11, as did most of her line, but I do note that the Dogues do have a very short lifespan

Please familiarise yourself with Gastric Torsion (Bloat) and how to avoid it as it can cause a swift and painful death especially in these giant breeds. Also please research the joint disease OCD (Osteochrondritis Dissecans) and how to raise your puppy to avoid it - it is a very painful condition, that can occur very easily in giant breed puppies.

I agree with the comment earlier that you should report the breeder for releasing an underage pup - that is NOT a reflection at all on your ability to care for the pup. It is a reflection on the breeder. It is illegal in most states (including NSW) to sell a pup under 8 weeks old and there are good reasons for this. See section 9 here for the details of the law in your state.

Other recommendations for a good breeder include them furnishing you with written information on the optimum way to raise your pup (fortunately you have been supplied diet information from other sources, but it does reflect very badly on your pup's breeder) and for the parents to be tested and scored in genetically transmittable conditions where such tests exist.

Conditions common to both the Dogue and the Mastiff where health scores/ certificates of the parents are recommended are:

Hip Dysplasia

Elbow Dysplasia

Heart disease

Eye diseases

In addition, committed and responsible breeders test for thyroid issues in the Dogue before breeding. The above mentioned laws include in section 10 the recommendation that all health testing be undertaken, this is a best practice rather than an enforced law, thus it is not illegal not to health test but it is enshrined as good breeding practice.

I sincerely hope that you do hit the good luck jackpot and your puppy has inherited none of these diseases. You have fallen in love with her now and are totally committed.

I hope she brings you much joy, but I could never, in good conscience, recommend to anyone a breeder of either of her breeds that has not undertaken health scores or certifications as I have seen far too much heartbreak and sadness from poor breeding of these giant breeds. I pray that you do not have to learn the hard way, as so many have.

We have looked into bloat and know how to prevent it, it was a very big concern for us.

We weren't aware that the laws were pups had to be of 8 weeks. We were called one morning to say we can pick up the pup at 6 weeks because of the parvo virus spreading through the region, (as we live two hours away). She was weaned prior to adoption. If she was any younger than 6 weeks it would have been a worse situation, but will definitely keep this information and laws into consideration for future! As soon as we adopted her she was fine without her siblings and mother, just so you guys know she wasn't in too much anxiety and stress! :)

The breeders weren't as uneducated as many think. All pups were vaccinated, microchipped and came with papers. We've seen her dogs from previous litters (she likes to keep in touch with those who adopt her puppies) and all are well with no problems at all. All Kirby's siblings are in perfect health too.

Just found out that you can't advertise puppies before 8 weeks? Not sure about that.. :s

We do hope we don't have any issues for Kirby, but if we do we will face it head on and help her as soon as we possibly can!

She is a hybrid of English and French mastiff (both parents were this cross). One of the advantages of breeding this hybrid (known as a Muscle mastiff (or Bordeaux mastiff)), is a lot of the recessive traits of either breed aren't matched leaving an overall healthier breed. (hybrid vigor)