u/IcyThursdayNext

We got our pit/mastiff puppy in winter when there was a ton of snow in our back yard and he was limited in how far from the house he could get. So we tolerated him going on the deck, as our older dog does too sometimes when weather is nasty and snow is high. Now that the snow has finally melted we are struggling to teach him to go off the deck, even with an escort to appropriate areas and treats when he goes off the deck. He will literally spend 20 minutes running around off deck then pee right by the door when we walk back in.

Anyone have any suggestions to help?

I am struggling with knowing how much to feed my very low energy mastiff/pitbull. I feel like I underfeed him because I feed my other dog who is smaller a lot more.

He gets 1.25 cups of dry food and about 1/2 cup of wet/meat a day. Plus about three treats. I’ve calculated that it is about 550-650 calories. However, he is the same size as a 5 ft woman. My other dog who weighs about what a 12 year old child does gets closer to 1000 cal a day and maintains perfect weight with that year round. But he gains if I give him any more. I make sure to walk him at least 20 minutes daily and he gets lots of outside time in our big backyard year round. In the summer there are long outside adventures in the woods or on the beach every weekend (like 8-12 hrs a day for 3 days). Every week.

I don’t feel I can cut his food any lower but he is still chubby in the winter. Usually he slims down in the summer. It stresses me out because I want him to be a healthy weight always but I worry that even though he is my biggest dog, he gets the least amount of food. I don’t think I can reasonably cut it lower.

My vet says that she sees nothing to concern her…that he is just one of those dogs who is built kinda chubby, who are rare but exist.

I guess I’m looking to hear if anyone else has a similar dog or if anyone has insight I am missing.