How can I exercise an English Mastiff puppy without injuring his joints?

Question

PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION ONLY, AND ONLY IF YOU HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE ACTUAL BREED...NOT JUST DOGS!

Hi, I have a 10 week old male English Mastiff that I am feeling low protein, low fat kibble. He is currently about 18 pounds and will grow to be approximately 160-180. He definitely has some pent up energy in him and is expressing it through unwanted behavoir (chewing, whining, restlessness, etc.). He does not enjoy going for walks...after about 5 minutes he just sits down on the sidewalk and pretty much refuses to move. I assume this is partly because of this breed, genetics, and some growing pains. He is getting the huge joint" knuckels" which the vet says is perfectly normal. Overall, he's a very healthy, aloof, happy-go-lucky dog. Now my question is, how do I get out that excessive energy and frustration through means other than physical exercise (I dont want to injure his joints)? Training does not do much for him as he just gets frustrated.

Thanks

Breeder says that likely he will grow out of it.


We try to keep him on softer surfaces (grass, soil, etc.)

Has PLENTY of chew toys!

Too cold to swim, even in California!

Answer 1

Hi. I own an English Mastiff who is 15 months now and live in the city. I also run a near hundred member mastiff group. We have lots of puppies in the group ( kind of a junior division:)...) I get asked this question a lot and it is one I asked myself a lot as well. They definitely need TLC at this age for their growing joints and yet I understand needing to get their energy out. our solution for a while was to play fetch on carpet in a small space making a big deal of him coming back. It helped him learn the command "come" and it got some of his puppy energy out. Also, if there is a dog park in your are that is grass, I would consider taking him after he has finished his vaccinations. You could drive there, park and put him in for play on the grass under supervision. He does not socialization as soon as possible. We meet with my group every couple of weeks and it is healthy to let them play. The big guys generally laze around and the little ones goof off and visit the big ones in their quiet way to find where they are in the pack. If you want to find a playgroup in your area, go to meetup.com and type in mastiff in the search engine. It really is so helpful to have a community of people with the same issues you have and their experience can give you a head start. Some people like a poster before me are very strict about exercise for near two years but others are somewhere in the middle of the road which is where I am. We have been cautious with Monty from the start but have still managed to walk him slowly and take him with us in the city making sure not to overdo it. He also swam a lot this summer and loved it. A supplement like the one already mentioned and/or salmon oil is also a good idea. When I spoke to my vet, she told us that keeping him slim was a huge deal too so we have been very careful about food and treats. He is a slender 135 lbs and still growing very steadily. His Dad is 235 and his Mom was 185 so I figure he will get there but keeping him slender and letting it happen gradually means not putting too much stress on his joints.
One last word of caution about joints. Do not let him anywhere slick like on concrete after the rain, or tile in the house. If he slips in that situation, he could really hurt himself. They are very clumsy growing so fast and dont know how to balance or break a fall.
Monty has never destroyed anything by chewing but we gave him bones, hard chew toys, and frozen carrots and bananas when he was teething. When he tired of one thing, we introduced another and circulated them through the day. Unlike other breeds of dog I have had, mastiffs seem more pliable about "dont do THAT, how about THIS?" They truly do want to please. I also used kibble for treats when training and started training from the moment he arrived at 9 weeks. We trained four times a day or so for five minutes each but I am home working so this was easy for my schedule. They learn fast if you are patient and slow with them about it. They train differently than other dogs I have had. It takes them longer to process sometimes even if they are being obedient. You might say "sit" and your mastiff might take 3 seconds to negotiate himself into a sit. My trainer told me I needed to wait 3 seconds longer than I seemed to want to. You might try this if he seems frustrated. Dont try to teach more than one command a week at this point. By twelve weeks, he might be able to focus more.
hope this helps and congrats on your new pup. It is a marvelous breed for sure.

Answer 2

English Mastiff Exercise

Answer 3

While I have never owned a Mastiff, I have owned large breed dogs before. It seems a little strange that he does this after only 5 mins. Yes, excessive excercise of bigger breeds as pups in not advisable, but 5 mins is not excessive exercise. All of my dogs have loved walkies, and I find it strange that yours does not. Do you make it a pleasant experience for him? Have you tried getting him to a dog park so that he can play with other dogs? This would allow him to get some exercise, as well as socialisation - which all large dogs need. Another point you have made: that he gets frustrated. All puppies have a very short attention span - 5 mins is the max you should be training him at a time at this age. You can do it multiple times on one day, but only for short periods at a time. As he gets older, the training periods can be longer. Always make sure to end training on a happy note - or else they just don't want to do it at all the next time.

Answer 4

I love giant breeds. You're smart to watch his joints carefully. But you have to walk him anyway. He has the potential to get bigger than you. Never let him figure this out. If you want him to walk, he better walk! Mastiffs can be pushy and stubborn. He's playing you already. If he gets frustrated, break training sessions into shorter intervals. Make it as fun for him as possible. For exercise, you can also try fetch. His prey drive will make this a great game, even if retrieving doesn't happen right away. Keep the walks just a bit longer than he'd prefer. Keep your standing as alpha and keep him from getting fat and really ruining his joints.

Answer 5

I would suggest checking out World Mastiff Forum. Lots of great people with great advice. I have 2 OEM's and i would suggest Canidae all life stages. Many other mastiff owners will suggest Eagle Pack hollistic and feeding raw. If you go to the dog food reviews Canidae ranks higher then eagle Pack and is less expensive. the main concern is slow steady growth so protein no more then 26% Congrats on the new puppy.

Answer 6

Yes....NO HARD SURFACES!!!!!!!!! Concrete and asphalt walking increase the impact on the joints and can cause many problems!!!!
Grassy area only!!!!!!! For 18-24 months! I have adult Newfs and I still hate to walk them on hard surfaces!!
Also limiting his exercise to no more than 10 minutes at a time. He does need to build up muscle, which helps stabilize the joints, but over exercising the joints causes damaage also.
Ask the vet about gining a Glucosamine/Chondroition supplement. We start puppies on it at 10-12 weeks and keep them on it for life. Glyco-Flex is a good one.
Limit training to 5 minutes twice daily at this age. He needs to get some in daily, but not so much that he is always getting frustrated.

Answer 7

I've never owned an English Mastiff but, I own Saints. I usually just play with them until they are older. I train them behaviors and don't work on strenuous exercises until after one year. Starting gradually working up slowly.

Yeah, that Glyco-Flex is great stuff. You can get it at Tractor Supply in the horse section.

Answer 8

Hi! first off, your mastiff pup needs some exercise and training whether he likes it or not. That's sort of the point of training---getting your dog to do something whether he wants to or not. Yes, it's frustrating, but he has to learn---both you and he will be much happier if he's well trained. Exercise will not injure his joints IF you do not OVERexercise him. A good rule of thumb is to not walk him any further than you can carry him home. Mastiff's muscles and tendons do not grow at the same rate as their bones, which is why it's so important to not feed them too much protein and why you shouldn't overexercise them. It's better to take him for a few short walks each day, than just one long one.
Good luck with your pup. It sounds like you have a good handle on how to care for him. Lots of toys will really help with his energy levels.

Answer 9

You want to keep him from jumping since they have a tendancy to get hip dysplasia (I have a mastiff with this). My pup likes to play "lazy"tug-of-war where he sits and leans back while tugging on a rope instead of standing up and thrashing around. Also chew toys and wrestling are some favorites. You can pretty much do everything you can with other dogs just try to look at it as how a "lazy" dog would want to play. I'm not saying they are lazy, but it is just a good way to look at it for dogs with possible joint problems.

Answer 10

Since you want someone with knowledge of the actual breed, it would seem that your puppy's breeders would be your best source of info. They not only have, or at least should have, an in-depth knowledge of the breed, but they also know their own line best.

My 170 pound Irish wolfhound most definitely enjoyed his walks as a puppy. He went on several walks daily, keeping him on grass rather than hard surfaces. He also spent time running through the field and playing with the greyhounds.

Giant breed puppies still need exercise, just not forced exercise of too long a duration and you need to avoid hard surfaces.