Any St Bernard people? *puppy pics!*

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here_i_am

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Meet Rocky! He's just over 8 weeks & is currently weighing in at 9.2kg.
Our other dogs are tiny little crossbreeds. Never had a giant before. Tips welcome :)

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One tip I have is ' please do not feed puppy food to him'

It is soo high in protein that it kick starts growth before they are ready, I always feed chicken wings to pups, and my girl has grown bigger than she should be on that!!!!

Wings have the correct amounts of vits for pups :)

Just beautiful
 
Thanks everyone. He's gorgeous :)
Mulledwine, we've read so many different things regarding protein levels for giant breeds. It's so confusing! He's currently on Arden Grange 'Giant Puppy' biscuits. The vet said this was ok, but other people would beg to differ... Our tiny dogs are so much simpler! :)
 
Lovely pup - agree with MulledWhine about large breed puppy food - it can make them shoot up way too early which causes growth rate probs later down the road, AG is not the worst though x
Not to get at vets (I LOVE my vet :p) but as mentioned in another post, some only get one day of nutrition training so do as much research as you can with people who have been involved in the breed if possible.

In a similar vein, if you are used to littlies, who mature early, this guy will not be physically mature until he is about two, so you'll need to go easy on his weight-bearing joints - elbows, hips, back - keep him lean (IMO!) and avoid too much jumpies (inc up and down stairs, on and off sofa, in and out of car) road work, high impact stuff on hard surfaces - use the early years for bonding, training, manners, socialisation etc :)

Also beware of bloat and torsion in this breed - some things to look at are feeding at a height, not exercising or doing anything exciting with the dog/running/car rides (not at this age, when he is older) within 90 mins of feeding. I am not sure if there is an official statistic so don't take this as gospel, but I have never heard of a raw fed dog of my own breed (also prone to these conditions) taking either bloat or torsion, but plenty of dogs on dry.
 
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Thank you again, esp cavecanem :)
Our dogs are not allowed upstairs or on the sofas, so that's ok :D He's a proper little podge atm, but hopefully won't be like that when he's all grown up! That's something that we will keep a very close eye on. My sister is dying to take him for walks but she knows they can only be tiny ones.
Our other dogs run around like little whippets - he seems to be in slow motion compared to them! Just heffalumps himself around :D
The breeder has been really helpful. She fed hers on James Wellbeloved, but i think we preferred the protein levels of the AG. He has those, along with some raw things too. He's a VERY good eater, which we are so not use to! We're used to fussy little snobby tiny dogs! At least we don't have to worry about them stealing his food...:) One of the cats tries though! :D
 
What great pics!! I am also a Giant owner with a Newfoundland, getting old now but had since 8 weeks. Like you, not on the sofas but big dogs are wonderful and, contrary to popular belief, mine doesn't eat much more than the average lab!! I believe their problems come in later life from lack of exercise, so i echo limited walks as a pup then regular and not too far as an adult. Plus my secret weapon has always been a cod liver oil capsule a day for her. Best of luckx
 
What a gorgeous pup! My father had two when I was very young, and I still have a soft spot for them. Best of luck with him, and enjoy!
 
He is gorgeous! I really want a St Bernard or a Newfoundland but I know they're big and obviously harder to keep than our little cavalier king charles :p Maybe in the future haha! We need lots more photos of him :)
 
re the bloat st.bernards are quite prone to it. i've done quite a lot of research on it. don't believe everything written in books as when you examine the scientific evidence some is contradicted and some has been done with very few dogs in the trials. One thing is feed a good quality high meat content food that does not have oils and fats listed in the first 4 ingredients.(or raw but i dont know much about that) also consider when/if you get him neutered to have a gastropexy done at the same time. this attaches the stomach to the body wall and greatly reduces the chances. Costs more and slightly longer procedure time but having had two dogs have the condition and only one surviving (and no longer quite the same dog) it is definately something to think about.
Otherwise enjoy he looks lovely!
 
Thank u g16. He will definitely be having his bits off (apparently not until he's 18 months?? Is that right? Can't u just whip 'em off when they drop?!) We'll certainly ask about the gastropexy though. Sounds like it could be worth the extra cost :)
He'll only be getting very high quality food, & we are looking into the raw diet for him.
Thank you for all of the advice :) Will look into the cod liver oil capsules too :) x
 
Mine was weaned onto raw...I don't know whether it is a coincidence as neither of his parents were big, but he is a lovely compact size, not a giant as some of his breed seem to be turning into!!
 
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