NFT: Cane Corso (Mastiff) Feeding Advice

Used it for all my dogs and they are/have been very healthy. As far as being picky. I guess I’ve always subscribed to the theory that they’ll eat it eventually as mean as that sounds. You can always use the hot water and mix it up trick but my dog gets it dry.

Would probably do 😂

In comment 16022251 eli4life said:

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Would probably do 😂

LOL

He doesn’t have a taste for human yet…that’s not until he turns 3

But I will contribute nonetheless.

My dog (yellow lab), just turned 15 years old, and he still jumps up on the couch. Don't get me wrong, he still moves around like an old dog he is, but I just had a vet appointment and the Doc was shocked to hear he can still jump up on the couch at his age. He still likes to chase and fetch the ball, too. Pretty peppy for his age and a pretty happy boy, as well.

So here's what he gets for food (2x per day, breakfast and dinner):

1/2 cup of kibble (yup, that's it, he's about 60 lbs so obviously this would be more for your dog). Being an old dog, his kibble is Merrick Senior Dog Food - Grain Free. https://www.merrickpetcare.com/recipes/grain-free-senior-real-chicken-sweet-potato-recipe-2/

Instinct Raw Boost Mixers for Gut Health (about 10 pellets per meal): https://instinctpetfood.com/products/raw-boost-mixers-gut-health-frozen-dog-food-topper/

Freshpet Dog Food, about 3-4 Tablespoons. Something like this: https://freshpet.com/dog/freshpet-select/grain-free-chicken-potato-spinach-dog-food/#/

We add about 1/3 cup of beef bone broth to that.

Top with a handful of frozen peas or green beans. Sometimes will add some blueberries (great for dogs), or a few chunks of pineapple or cantaloupe for a special treat. Occasionally we'll add some skinless rotisserie chicken to replace the Freshpet food.

We try to change up the veggies and fruit (as long as it's good for him, have to be careful there), as well as add in something else to keep things interesting for him.

Since he's gone to this diet, he's maintained a healthy weight and is always excited for dinner time, and I really believe it's greatly contributed to his longevity and his quality of life in his senior years.

We also add a dropper-full of canine CBD oil to his food (wife thinks it helps with aches and pains), and he gets a glucosamine and chondroitin chew in the morning for joint health, and a dental chew.

Whew, I think I covered it all.

I think any dog gets tired of anything over time.

observations:

1)My dog gets disinterested in his dry food if the bag has been open for a while. I reason that it made be because it went stale, or is going stale. When I open a new bag, he goes right for it, even though it's the same brand and flavor food!

2) I occasionally treat him to a canned wet food once or twice a week. Mixing it up keeps his interest as well.

3) If not canned as a mix in, you can also add in things like pumpkin puree, which is good for digestive health anyway and certainly cheap enough by the can to keep on hand. Probably cheaper than canned dog food. Mix in a tablespoon if he enjoys the taste. (Be sure it's canned pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling please.)

Mastiff diets are complicated.
I have had Boerboels (South African Mastiffs) for many years.

Boerboels are a little bigger than Corsos, mine ranged from 160lbs-180lbs but they can go up to 220lbs.

As big as they were they can be picky eaters prefering to eat once a day, because they are so large they can store fat.
So they eat only when hungry.

One way to improve their desire for foods is exercise.

Mastiffs require a lot of exercise. They can become couch potatoes and lose their desire for food if they are not hungry.

Exercise is not short walks or letting a dog loose in the rear yard.
I would hike with my dogs through the woods for at least one hour a day. The walks should be challenging.

As for food.
I tried every diet that there is RAW, Premium kibble, canned foods, par cooked foods, etc.

Ultimately they preferred the RAW diet but it comes with its own issues.

The problem that I was having was that I would get them to eat but without proper balance they would develop allergies, skin rashes, and stomach ailments.

Do not feed your dog exclusively RAW chicken. The hormones and antibiotics that are fed to the chickens will affect your dog's kidneys.

Your dog will need a balanced diet. I wish I could recommend a specific diet, but I have not found it yet. I do highly recommend diet supplements.

I have seen my parents have a bunch of dogs and they have all had major health issues like diabetes, cancer, tumors, enlarged hearts, etc. I swore that I wouldn't feed my dog what they fed them.

I have a mostly raw diet for my dog. He eats 3 times a day. I give him a variety of raw food.

Breakfast: a third of his portion of raw meat (beef, chicken, turkey, venision, salmon, something else that I forgot), either carrots or pumpkin, pumpkin seeds as a natural dewormer, cod liver oil, and maybe brewers yeast.

Lunch: one of beef hearts, beef liver, gizzards, bone marrow, etc.

Dinner: the rest of his raw meat which was two thirds of his portion..

This dog is over 8 years old, very energetic, unbelievable coat, and healthy.

My wife & I share our home with an almost 12 year old 130lb male Cane Corso. My guy is also a picky eater. Everything you've put in your post I've been through. His staple food is dry Diamond Naturals Senior Dog and I supplement it with different wet foods mixed in to change things up occasionally I'll crumble up a jerky treat or add scrambled egg into his food. If he doesn't eat immediately just leave the food out he'll eat it eventually. I also feed him 2x a day. Don't sweat it keep doing what your doing it sounds like your boy is growing well.

But, have you tried mixing up how you feed him? Is he generally food motivated otherwise?

Our mutt (he’s like 45 pounds, some shepherd, some pit, a lot of everything else) went to puppy kindergarten last year and our trainer was pretty clear about making feedings different and enticing. In other words, food in the bowl is boring. So we do scatter feeds now, or put his dry food in a box and put toys on top, or puzzle feeders, so he has to work for it, or we do training with dinner so he’s thinking and reacting to commands, rather than just head in the bowl and eating. Our pup is very food motivated, but he loves a puzzle toy or working for his food. Over the summer we put food in bowls in our yard and took him out on our long leash so he had to sniff and find the food, and he seemed to enjoy that.

Again, I have no experience with larger dog breeds. But ask your trainer about that maybe. If he’s a working dog and wants to work, maybe him working for his food will entice him to eat more of it.

....eater. I have an English Bulldog that would literally eat himself to death if you allowed and scavenges for non-food stuff like some kind of hobo. He once shat out 27 Shopkins and 4 Barbie dresses over the course of a couple days. As of this morning there's a pair of my wife's underwear in the back yard courtesy of his ass.

In comment 16022457 Ryan said:

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....eater. I have an English Bulldog that would literally eat himself to death if you allowed and scavenges for non-food stuff like some kind of hobo. He once shat out 27 Shopkins and 4 Barbie dresses over the course of a couple days. As of this morning there's a pair of my wife's underwear in the back yard courtesy of his ass.

LMAO, hope it was the granny panties.

In comment 16022457 Ryan said:

Quote:

....eater. I have an English Bulldog that would literally eat himself to death if you allowed and scavenges for non-food stuff like some kind of hobo. He once shat out 27 Shopkins and 4 Barbie dresses over the course of a couple days. As of this morning there's a pair of my wife's underwear in the back yard courtesy of his ass.

Ryan, that's funny but also worrisome as that can get lodged inside and kill him. My dog is kind of like that but not as drastic. We have a pull out garbage can. The track broke and I was too lazy to fix it. We would bring the garbage in the garage but if we forgot he would get in everything. I also can't give him any toys with sting/rope. He rips those things to shreds and eats it.

Going back to your story, one of our dogs when I was younger once did something similar. I was cleaning up their shit in the backyard and got to one log. When I tried picking it up it was different. I looked at it closer and saw some good in it. I started poking at it to break it up. It was one of my dad's dress socks. It was black with a gold toe. Lol.

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In comment 16022457 Ryan said:

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....eater. I have an English Bulldog that would literally eat himself to death if you allowed and scavenges for non-food stuff like some kind of hobo. He once shat out 27 Shopkins and 4 Barbie dresses over the course of a couple days. As of this morning there's a pair of my wife's underwear in the back yard courtesy of his ass.

Hahaha. I have an American Bulldog who's almost 1 and we've had some close calls like this. He snagged one of my daughters socks and swallowed it as we were chasing him. We gave him a few drop of hydrogen peroxide to drink and made him throw it up.

He is not necassarily picky, but he gets a scoop of dry food and half a can of wet food in the AM and then the same at night..

he wont est just dry food, he looks at it and then looks at us like we are crazy

In comment 16022509 nygiants16 said:

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He is not necassarily picky, but he gets a scoop of dry food and half a can of wet food in the AM and then the same at night.. he wont est just dry food, he looks at it and then looks at us like we are crazy

Yes, mine does something similar haha

In comment 16022377 Paul326 said:

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My wife & I share our home with an almost 12 year old 130lb male Cane Corso. My guy is also a picky eater. Everything you've put in your post I've been through. His staple food is dry Diamond Naturals Senior Dog and I supplement it with different wet foods mixed in to change things up occasionally I'll crumble up a jerky treat or add scrambled egg into his food. If he doesn't eat immediately just leave the food out he'll eat it eventually. I also feed him 2x a day. Don't sweat it keep doing what your doing it sounds like your boy is growing well.

Thank you! I think I am going to stick with his food but add in some wet food. Do you have any recommendations?

I love the breed. Its my first one (I have wanted one for a while) but I dont think I will ever get another breed.

In comment 16022457 Ryan said:

Quote:

....eater. I have an English Bulldog that would literally eat himself to death if you allowed and scavenges for non-food stuff like some kind of hobo. He once shat out 27 Shopkins and 4 Barbie dresses over the course of a couple days. As of this morning there's a pair of my wife's underwear in the back yard courtesy of his ass.

LOL. Mine has gotten a hole of some panties for sure. He is a little bastard that way, but as others have mentioned, it can be dangerous. Glad your boy is okay haha