July 6, 2011

I'm just going to date these to start with, since they're pretty much going to be boring puppy-tales, and family things. After he starts training, I'll give them proper titles.

Today I slept in until 7:00. I wanted Jake to sleep in, as he had an appointment to get neutered today, and was not allowed food or water. Since I routinely cook breakfast for The Boys, it just made life easier. When I did get up and went to check on Reilly, he was waiting, wide-eyed, and happy to see me and go out. He did his business like one of the big boys, and was ready to come in and play.

After taking Jake in to the clinic, and Murphy for a vaccine update, we came back and replaced all the food and water bowls, and made breakfast for Murphy. Normally The Boys get scrambled eggs from our free-range chickens, with rice, and broth or dog-appropriate leftovers. Mostly rice, with flavoring, really. Having them get "people food" on a routine basis makes them less likely to have digestive issues such as bloat when a guest invariably slips them a "treat" without asking. And dogs developed as scavengers, so are evolutionarily able to handle a wide diet. (We've managed to create commercial dog foods out of waste products and tried to convince people that it's the best thing for the dog, and not the company pocketbook, but all dog foods are not created equally.) If it were practical for us, I'd have The Boys on a natural raw-fed diet, but it's not something I can manage well, so I feed grain-free Taste of the Wild dog food, and supplement with our own food. Corn, wheat and soy are at a minimum, and chicken will be limited on Reilly, as it appears that chicken may be the culprit in his dam's allergies. He won't get any at all for some months.  The rice breakfast evolved in our household because of Murphy having digestive issues on three occasions, which put him on the mild rice-and-egg diet. He loved it, so we kept it.

Reilly has refused soaked kibble since he arrived here. He wants dry food rather than the wet stuff. He's also decided that he doesn't want what is in his bowl. Oh, no. He wants the stuff that's in Murphy and Jake's bowls. It's the exact same stuff, as giant breed puppies are raised on adult dog food rather than high protein puppy food. But Reilly doesn't seem to understand that.

I'm rather impressed at Reilly's ability to entertain himself. He came from a household with five adult mastiffs, out of a litter of nine puppies, and had constant attention from his human family. You would think he'd be attention-hungry, feeling lost, even depressed. But he's not. He's perfectly capable of entertaining himself with toys. If he wants attention from either me or one of The Boys, he'll come get it. But he's just as likely to simply stretch out on the kitchen floor and watch everything going on around him. Or scamper off to "his room" to nap or play. I'm quite pleased with his calm nature. Mastiffs are normally calm puppies, but Reilly is even calmer that either of The Boys were.

11:20 am:

I had someone tell me yesterday that they tried to post a comment and couldn't; it just sent them back a page.  I tried to post a comment in reply to one, and I can't get it to post, either.  I've only rarely posted comments elsewhere, so I have no idea how to troubleshoot this.  Suggestions are welcome!

I also can't edit the posts, and I totally botched typing his parents names in.  I'd like to fix it.  Edited to add:  The edit seems to be working now.  Maybe there was a glitch the first time I tried.

In the meantime, Linda commented on the pics of Reilly and his parents.  Murphy and Jake are not representative of mastiffs as a breed.  Particularly Murphy.  Although their breeder took great care to have her pair health checked for nasties like hip dysplasia and a few other things, temperament and soundness were the criteria there, rather than breed standards for conformation.  They both have the true mastiff temperament and mindset which is what made us fall in love with this breed, and they are without a doubt the best dogs we have ever had, but Reilly is going to be quite different.  Reilly's parents are both show champions and show the proper type for the breed.  His breeder, Martha Hartley of Machree's Mastiffs  (http://www.machreemastiffs.com/) was also very careful selecting for temperament.  It took her a year to find a dog whose temperament suited her bitch, to produce the puppies she wanted.  But I think you'll find that what you will notice most is the size difference.  Reilly will be a proper sized dog.  He's not one that has been bred for massive size for the breed.  I didn't want one of those, as I was concerned about joint breakdown, not to mention just too big to work.  His sire and dam are average sized mastiffs.  Which means he will likely turn out to be twice the size of Murphy.  Moose weighed in at 215, and Lucy at 170 pre-pregnancy.  Reilly will likely be in the 200 pound range.  Murphy is a 90 pound dog, and Jake is about 120.  Jake has the height, but is light-boned and slender.  Murphy is just small.  Small, and he doesn't have any flews (hanging lips), so despite the care given to his breeding, I have a sneaking suspicion his daddy was a fence-jumper.  Jake should be his full brother, but Jake has the height if not the bulk, and has the flews.  They have very different body types as well.

Regardless, Murphy and Jake are our buddies, are great dogs, and we don't care if they are show dogs.  We never wanted them to be.  Nor do I want Reilly to be.  He just has a different purpose, so needs to be from a different background.