Is it true? It is very hard to breed english mastiff because they lay on their pups & kill them not knowing?

Question

I have been told larger breed dogs are kinda like raising pigs, they just don't know how big they really are. That they may have 12 pups but only 2 live til 9 weeks old unless you watch them very closely every hour. ?

Answer 1

It is a problem in most large and giant breeds. You always have a LARGE whelping box (mine takes up almost the entire den) and it must have the pig rails to help keep the puppies from gettting squished. However, the most important factor to prevention is the diligance of the breeder. You stay with the puppies 24/7 for THREE WEEKS. During the first week, we alternate shifts so someone is always awake with them, then the second through third weeks, I sleep right by the box. If there is a stuck pup, we can easily and quickly get to it. I have never lost a pup due to this. It is always a difficult time and exhausting as well, but well worth the effort.
Usually after the third week, they are better able to vocalize and move out of the way easier.

Just having the rails alone doesn't do the trick. Many bit ches like to keep the puppies in the middle of the whelping box, and when she gets up and turns around or gets back into the box, she is likely to lay on one and it is too far away from the rails. All the ones I have "saved" from getting squashed were not near the rails. They are a must, but should not give a false sense of security.

Answer 2

There are many reasons why it is difficult and expensive to breed mastiffs. First of all, finding a puppy with proven bloodlines, waiting 22 months, genetic testing to help insure healty puppies, finding a dog who complements you *****. After all that, they have problems getting the job done if you know what I mean. They often have problems whelping. Labor might not really get going, they might get tired after just a few pups leading to an emergency c-section. The list goes on and on. Many mastiff breeders automatically schedule c-sections to avoid many of the whelping problems. Some mastiffs aren't good mothers. You might spend money on a c-section and get only one pup, or you might have a litter of 15 that the mom doesn't want to feed - that would make for a long 8 weeks!! Then there's the problem of the mom laying on the pups. Most breeders use a whelping box that has ledges for the pups to get under, but it doesn't guarantee the pups will survive. Breeding and raising mastiffs can be very expensive and time consuming. Just be sure to do your research before you make a decision to breed.

Answer 3

This can be true. A lot of breeders with large breed dogs will not leave the mother with the puppies unsupervised. They will crate the dog for 2 to 3 hours and then put the dog with the puppies to nurse them for 30 to 45 minutes. After they are done, the dog again goes back to the crate. This is done day and night to ensure the dog does not lay on the pups and kill them.

Answer 4

This can happen with all breeds. New moms especially may not quite grasp the concept of fragile things in relation to their size and weight. Larger litters obviously can be spread out more and if the whelping box is too small- it can happen. I don't think this is specific to mastiffs though.

Answer 5

Your best source of info on mastiff's is the breeder you purchased your dog from or another mastiff breeder. Any dog, big or small, can and do accidentally smoother their pups. Also, it is normal to have about 20% fatality in a litter.

Answer 6

Build a whelping box with a puppy rail, and you will almost totally eliminate this problem. The puppy simplly goes under the rail instead of being crushed against the side.

Here is a pic of mine, but a Beagle whelping box would be a wee bit small for your Mastiff ;)

pic
http://www.hunt101.com/img/317247.jpg

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Answer 7

Sometimes but the biggest problem that I know of for Mastiffs is that they often have more water puppies I only show Mastiffs not breed them but I help my clients find mates for the dogs when they ask for the help so I might not be 100% right.

Answer 8

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/nycqQ

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.

Answer 9

i have a pit, she had 13 pups and 5 died because she laid on them, so it could be because she was big. her first litter she had 12 and only 2 died because she laid on them, i don't know about an english mastiff specifically though,

Answer 10

Please, think about spaying, not breeding. Here's an interesting web site about breeding mastiffs.

http://journals.aol.com/smmastiff/englishmastiffpuppies/entries/2006/02/05/breeding-the-english-mastiff/651