Exercise

Your young Bullmastiff puppy initially requires very "controlled" exercise. Within your house, on flat, non-slippery surfaces he should be allowed free exercise, outside however we recommend that the puppy remains on-lead until at least 6 months old. And then only off-lead in a confined area, slowly giving him more and more space. As a youngster, you should be careful not to "force" exercise. By this, I do not mean dragging him by his lead on long walks, it can be as simple as a game. Your puppy is likely to be very spirited, and not know when to give up a game with his new best friend, you need to make those decisions for him and ensure he has plenty of rest.

On-lead walks should only be of an appropriate length of time for the age of dog, we recommend 5 mins Max per day for each month of age, split into two separate walks. So at 6 months old, two 15 minutes walks is all he needs. 

Once 24 months old, your Bully can take almost any exercise you wish to give him, but work up to it slowly.

Hip Dysplasia is a relatively common disease in most breeds of dog, especially large breed. While HD is an inherited disease, it is now commonly accepted that Environmental factors have a large part to play in how bad a dog with HD will become in later life.

Even a puppy that has inherited excellent hips can have problems in later life if Environmental factors are not optimum.

The puppies diet should be specific for a puppy, giant-breed dog, ensuring all the correct building-blocks are present in the correct ratios. This will avoid the puppies skeleton growing too fast, or too brittle and ensure that joints are developed correctly.

But even a puppy with the optimum diet could incur joint damage through being allowed to jump and twist around. The puppies developing joints are very delicate and the puppy bullmastiff is heavy puppy, giving rise to the need to control his exercise while his skeleton develops.

The young puppy should not be allowed to go up and down stairs, nor jump in and out of cars etc. Even when picking your puppy up, lower him to the ground until his feet are on the floor, don’t let him jump out of your arms. Special care at this young age will help avoid problems in later life. You can't be over-cautious.