Divine Mastiffs

11/27/2024

Avoid a trip to the emergency vet this Thanksgiving!

Learn more: https://bit.ly/49pi1Al

10/21/2024

Today is , a reminder that knowing how to save a life—especially our furry friends—can make all the difference. While having to administer CPR to your pet can be terrifying, being prepared can help you act calmly and confidently in an emergency.

Stay Calm:
1️⃣ Breathe: Take a few deep breaths to steady yourself. Focus on the feeling of the air filling your lungs.
2️⃣ Delegate: If there are bystanders, assign them tasks like finding the nearest emergency vet.
3️⃣ Focus: Keep your mind clear. Concentrate on the steps ahead and stay in the moment.

When to Start CPR:
🐾 Your pet isn’t responding
🐾 Your pet isn’t breathing
🐾 You can’t feel a heartbeat or pulse

How to Perform CPR:
Compressions:
❤️ Position your pet on their side.
❤️ Deliver 120 compressions per minute (2 per second).
❤️ For every 30 compressions, give 2 breaths.

Breaths:
❤️ Close your pet’s mouth and seal it with your fingers.
❤️ Cover their nose with your mouth and give 2 breaths—enough to make their chest rise.
❤️ Check for a heartbeat after 2 minutes. If there’s no pulse, continue.

When to Stop CPR:
🐾 Your pet starts breathing and responding
🐾 You reach the vet clinic and they take over
🐾 You can’t continue physically
🐾 Your pet starts breathing but is still unconscious

Recovery Position:
Place your pet’s head to the side, slightly tilting down (unless there’s head trauma).

Compression Techniques:
🐶 Medium to Large Dogs: Compress one third of the chest depth.
🐱 Small Dogs/Cats: Use your thumb and fingers for compression, or compress directly over the heart.

Stay prepared and know that you can make a difference in your pet's life! ❤️

10/19/2024

I have posted this before but it’s so important not to over exercise your puppy

When you get your 8 week old puppies, please keep these images in mind. Their bones do not even touch yet. They plod around so cutely with big floppy paws and wobbly movement because their joints are entirely made up of muscle, tendons, ligaments with skin covering. Nothing is fitting tightly together or has a true socket yet.

When you run them excessively or don't restrict their exercise to stop them from overdoing it during this period you don't give them a chance to grow properly. Every big jump or excited bouncing run causes impacts between the bones. In reasonable amounts this is not problematic and is the normal wear and tear that every animal will engage in.

When you're letting your puppy jump up and down off the lounge or bed, take them for long walks/hikes, you are damaging that forming joint. When you let the puppy scramble on tile with no traction you are damaging the joint.

You only get the chance to grow them once. A well built body is something that comes from excellent breeding and a great upbringing-BOTH, not just one.

Once grown you will have the rest of their life to spend playing and engaging in higher impact exercise. So keep it calm while they're still little baby puppies and give the gift that can only be given once.

By Patricia Crespo
Photos Veteriankey.com @62 days

*Many Bones are not fully fused until 13mo of age.

07/22/2024

06/14/2024

Let's talk about this photo. It's cute, except it's not. I see a dog who cannot get up without telling the child to get off. How do you think a dog is going to do that?

The 7 Golden Toddler Dog Rules:
#1: If a dog walks away from you, you DO NOT FOLLOW.
#2: Always leave room for the dog to walk away from you.
---that right there is 90+% of dog bites eliminated---
#3: We do not climb on the dog.
#4: We do not grab or pull on the dog.
#5: We do not hit or throw anything at the dog.
#6: We do not touch the dog's food.
#7: We do not go into the dog's kennel.

I promise these are not overly difficult concepts for littles, nor will they rob a kid of their bond with the family dog. It will deepen that bond, while keeping everyone safe.

"Oh, it looks like Moose is walking away from you. She is saying she wants a break. Let's play with this instead!"

"It's Moose's dinner time! Let's give her space to enjoy her yummies."

"That is Moose's room(kennel) and only she is allowed to go in there."

"If Moose wanted a break, could she walk away from you right now? No she really couldn't. Let's move away from the play house. You can keep playing but now she can leave when she wants a break."

In conclusion, ***parent your child or your dog will do it for you, and you will not like how they do it.***

06/07/2024

Mastiff Health

Anesthesia is an important consideration for our giants! Our gentle giants have a few dos and don’ts regarding the use of anesthesia. Due to their immense size and breed proclivity to slow metabolization of certain anesthetics. If your dogs must undergo any sort of procedure make sure you remember this important information!

Aceprozamine: DO NOT GIVE
Interesting quick video on Ace in general and note: do NOT use for noise phobias! Makes them more sensitive to it!

Atropine: Have read conflicting things on this drug. My vet usually gave to my mastiffs to help cut back on any excessive drooling/saliva/mucous - never had any problems with its use. Can increase heart rate.

Butorphanol/Buprenorphine: Opioid/pain control.

Dexdomitor: Generally safe but can also decrease heart rate, etc. So do NOT use for dogs with existing heart failure, etc. NOTE: This is also the same drug that is used in the new drug “Sileo” -- a sublingual oral gel that is given to help with anxiety issues in dogs.

Can be REVERSED with Atipamezole: Administration of atipamezole after dexmedetomidine rapidly reverses the effects and thus shortens the recovery period. Within 15 minutes dogs and cats are normally awake and standing.

Ketamine: Usually combined with va**um as a pre-anesthetic. Can also add in butorphanol.

Medetomidine: DO NOT USE

Opioids: Can cause sedation but more effective for pain. Class if opioid drugs include: Morphine, Tramadol, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, codeine, Butorphanol/Buprenorphine

Romifidine: Do not use with pre-existing heart issues

Rompum/Xylazine: DO NOT USE

IV SEDATION before Inhalant (generally):
Thiopental/Telazol: IV sedation
Propofol: IV sedation
Thiopental (also known as “Pentothal”): Discontinued in the U.S.

INHALANT Anesthetics:
Isoflurane
Halothane
Sevoflurane
Desflurane

For more information and a handy dandy PDF visit the Mastiff Health page here:
https://www.mastiffhealth.org/anesthesia.html

06/04/2024

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have updated their guidelines on when to neuter 40 popular dog varieties by breed and s*x.

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/when-should-you-neuter-or-spay-your-dog?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3qWaJEDpKlwXDNLdGIJ4pxrkFXHbwpH9SXBIkqoEE6sUPcFuqimZMhNxA_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1322276/full

https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/1322276/fvets-11-1322276-HTML-r2/image_m/fvets-11-1322276-t001.jpg?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1kg8IKM3oldxlyHqUFmT4zwH1AMc1l9uTCooL7ETPCdI6RjMUaNeAn7kY_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

04/12/2024

Dogs are dogs. They're not fur babies. They're not children. They're dogs.

That doesn't mean I don't love my dogs. It doesn't mean you can't call them your "kids" or "fur children." But for their sake, respect that they are dogs. Treat them well, but treat them as they should be.

People humanizing dogs is actually what's getting a lot of them put down, rehomed, dumped, and loaded with behavioral issues.

The best way to honor and love your dog is to respect the fact that they are different from us. That's part of what makes them so amazing!!

Bringing home a new dog and giving it whatever it wants, whenever it wants, is not setting them up for success. It may feel good to "spoil" them. I get it, but what you're actually doing is creating a brat.

I hear this often: "My dog bit our friend on the couch because he thinks the couch is his." OK, who let them think that? The dog didn't just waltz in and claim your couch. The dog wasn't given boundaries to begin with. I let my dogs on the couch, but if I tell them to get off and go to their bed, they will without hesitation. They've earned that privilege based on respect, trust, and understanding.

If you want to "spoil" your dog, do it by setting them up for success. Exercise them, give them boundaries, give them a job, and give them what they actually need instead of the latest squeaky toy. The time you spend playing with your dog means more than the toy itself.

Love your dog. Cherish your dog. Respect your dog, but for the love of the dog, TREAT THEM LIKE A DOG.

(And before anyone wants to say something silly...My dogs are my family. They literally signed my marriage certificate, but they also have boundaries. Just like any healthy family should!)

01/03/2024

If you want to buy a dog and walk away, don’t buy one from me.
If you want to pick a puppy because it came to you when you sat down or gave you a cute look, don’t buy one from me.
If you don’t want to take my recommendations on what food to feed or what is best for the health and well-being of the dog, after years of experience, don’t buy a dog from me.
If you want a puppy in a hurry, because you need it for a Christmas gift or to be in senior pictures, don’t buy one from me.
If you never plan to update me on how the dog is doing, or send a picture once in a while, don’t buy a dog from me.
If you want a dog to live in the backyard, run loose on a farm, and never share time in the house with your family, definitely don’t buy a dog from me.
If you want a lawn ornament, you can buy one made of cement or plaster, not much care needed.
However, if you want a puppy that has parents with health testing, that was socialized, loved, and made a priority from the day it was born. A puppy who’s temperament and activity level has been carefully chosen to fit your lifestyle. A puppy selectively and purposefully bred to the standard set forth by our breed club, then maybe you do want to buy a dog from me.
If you want a breeder who will at any time in the dogs life take them back, no questions asked. A breeder who is there 24/7 for you and your dog for questions and concerns and will work hard to help you resolve any issues. Then you might want to buy a dog from me.
If you want a breeder who loves each puppy/dog with all their heart, considers you part of the family and will laugh or cry with you at any time. Well then, we might be a match.
Reputable breeders should never be lumped in with puppy mills, backyard breeders, or those who broker dogs. A reputable breeder will be able to provide clearances, a five-generation pedigree, an explanation as to why they bred the two dogs. While most of the time they will make little or no money. What money they might get is reinvested into the dogs one way or another.
A reputable breeder knows their dogs and can realistically tell you what to expect and when They can guide you toward veterinarians, training facilities, and products that will benefit your dog.
A reputable breeder will be your friend, a guiding hand, and a strong shoulder.
So whatever choice you make, make it with the best interest of the dog in mind and if that’s not your plan, then don’t buy a dog from me.

- Author unknown, but I'm sure most ethical, reputable, preservation breeders feel the same.