Bullmastiff Feeding Information
Guidelines and Schedule
For Puppy or Adult

When it comes to Bullmastiff feeding information it's important to remember that they are a huge breed of dog that genuinely loves and protects their owners, and feeding them properly will be one of the best things you can do for them (or any dog for the matter). These big boys and girls will need adequate nutrition throughout their lives and a lot of food to boot to remain healthy and happy. So, what do you need to know?

Bullmastiffs need more food than the typical dog throughout their lives. The best food for them will depend on the individual dog’s digestive system or allergies, but dog food that uses high-quality ingredients is always encouraged.

We will be going over everything the average person needs to know about feeding Bullmastiffs throughout their lives and recommending a few dog food brands that we think are great. If you would like to learn more, read on!

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Bullmastiff Feeding Information...Their Food Requirements

Dogs need 5 nutrients in total: Protein, Fat, Vitamins, Minerals, Carbohydrates with protein and fat being especially important as it makes up a large portion of their diet.

Bullmastiffs require adequate nutrition balance to thrive. For puppies, 25-27% protein and 12-15% fat content from their daily calories is ideal.

Adult mastiffs can thrive on 18-25% protein and 10% fat from their daily calories.

Feeding a Bullmastiff Puppy

For adult feeding information Click Here

A Bullmastiff puppy’s nutritional needs differ from when they become an adult. They require more protein and fat in their food and should be fed more often throughout the day.

Bullmastiff Puppy Feeding Guide and Schedule

Mastiff puppies, as you would guess, are big puppies that will require more food than the typical sized pup. At just 8 weeks old, a Bullmastiff Puppy already weighs approximately 29 pounds! Due to their size, the amount of food they need will differ from a generic feeding guide. We will walk you through the critical stages of puppyhood to set you up for success with your furry friend.

Dog food is measured in cups, this provides an easy way to accurately and properly feed your pup, and so the proper amount to feed is actually pretty simple!

Remember too, the feeding amounts below are just an approximation. Pet owners should always talk to their vet and consult their pet foods feeding chart to determine the exact amount their dogs should be fed. The dogs’ weights and energy levels should be the main factors considered when determining how much food they need to eat each day not so much precise food measurements.

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1-2 Months Old

The recommended amount to feed a Bullmastiff that is 1-2 months old is 3 to 4 cups a day. Many people get stuck on how frequently they should be feeding a dog in general, but it is relatively frequent in this case. You should feed 1 cup of food as a meal 3-4 times a day.

Puppies, in general, need to be fed more frequently than adult dogs or older puppies because it is easier for them to digest, and it helps to keep energy levels consistent. Puppies are typically playful, and thus they burn through calories like a hot knife through butter.

2-3 Months Old

The recommended amount to feed a Bullmastiff that is 2-3 months old is 4 to 6 cups a day. As your dog rapidly grows, he will require more food. If you are unsure of how many cups you should feed exactly, doing the middle amount of cups is a great start.

3-4 Months Old

The recommended amount to feed a Bullmastiff that is 3-4 months old is 5 to 7 cups a day. We strongly suggest not to use feeders during the puppy stage; feeding your puppy yourself creates a social experience that puppies need to thrive.

4-6 Months Old

The recommended amount to feed a Bullmastiff that is 4-6 months old is 6 to 8 cups a day. You’ll start to see the food bag disappear quite a bit faster! We recommend always having at least 2 food bags at hand for emergency purposes. Make sure to rotate them and don’t let food expire.

You can transition your puppy to a 2-3 times a day feeding schedule that most dogs are on.

6-18 Months Old

The recommended amount to feed a Bullmastiff that is 6-18 months old is 8 to 12 cups a day. At this point, your puppy is developing into an almost fully grown Bullmastiff. He now needs a lot more food than before.

The feeding schedule can be transitioned into a twice a day feeding schedule, once in the morning and once in the evening. However, you can still do 3 meals a day if that works best for your dog. Below we have a great video demonstrating this:

How Long Should I Feed My Bullmastiff Puppy Food?

The main difference between puppy and adult dog food is the nutritional balance, namely the amount of protein in the food. Puppies need more protein and calories relative to their weight than adult dogs for their bodies to develop adequately.

An adult dog can technically eat puppy food, but it isn’t a great idea since this can cause possible weight gain, and the nutritional balance isn’t going to be fit for their age.

Once your puppy is 18 months old, you can generally transition (see above video) to adult dog food, but you can still keep them on puppy food for up to 24 months in some cases.

When transitioning to the new food, it needs to be a gradual process over a week or so. Start with a small amount of the new food mixed with the old and gradually work your way up to entirely replacing the old food. Suddenly changing your dog’s diet can lead to gastrointestinal issues.

What Is the Best Dog Food for My Bullmastiff Puppy?

Choosing the right food for your puppy isn’t always easy. Understanding the nutritional requirements and what ingredients to look and not look for is an entire discussion in itself.

To summarize: the ingredients should be real food with meat as the first ingredient and generally no by-products (with some special exceptions) or anything that would be unsafe or undesirable for human consumption. You should also be wary of fillers that are just there to bulk up the food quantity.

Below we will recommend 3 dry and 3 wet puppy foods that use quality ingredients and are well formulated for puppies. All foods we recommend come thru Amazon.com, a name we all trust.

Best Dry Food For A Bullmastiff Puppy

Purina Pro Plan Dry Puppy Food
from Amazon.com

Purina Pro Plan is an easy recommendation for dogs in general, they use good ingredients, and the food is priced well, making it a great dog/puppy food for any dog owner as long as the individual dog can stomach it, and they like it. Most dogs on Pro Plan thrive off of it, and that is what we are looking for: real results and ingredients that provide those results.

The only qualm with Pro Plan’s puppy food is they include ingredients such as chicken-by-product meal and corn gluten meal, which isn’t the best. But looking at it as a whole, it is a decent, affordable option that contains real meat and healthy grains. It is understandable if you are not comfortable feeding food containing such fillers, however.

Acana Dry Dog Food for Puppy
from Amazon.com

Acana is one of the best dog food brands in general when it comes to ingredients, but it is also one of the more expensive ones. You do get what you pay for though if you read through the ingredients list, everything has a purpose and are things that are good for your puppies, such as real meat, peas, and eggs.

Price is a huge factor for dog food, especially with a Bullmastiff since they are huge puppies/dogs and need to eat a lot more than medium and small breeds. Overall, this is an easy recommendation for those who don’t mind the higher than average price!

Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food, Puppy
from Amazon.com

Science Diet is another easy recommendation for most puppy and dog owners due to the combination of affordability, availability, and good ingredients. Like Pro Plan, you can find Science Diet in most grocery and pet stores, which is important to many people if they need to buy an emergency bag when they run out.

As of writing, the dry food has a perfect 5-star rating on Amazon, which shows how effective it really is for a growing puppy!

Best Wet Food For A Bullmastiff Puppy

Purina Pro Plan High Protein Wet Puppy Food
from Amazon.com

Like the dry versions, Purina Pro Plan wet food is a decent dog food. The ingredient list is nutritionally balanced, and many dogs are reported to thrive off of it. However, people who are especially careful about their dog’s diet will notice some questionable ingredients that higher-end food doesn’t have.

Wellness Complete Health Natural Wet Canned Dog Food Puppy
from Amazon.com

Wellness is another excellent dog and puppy food brand that uses quality ingredients and is properly formulated for canine nutritional needs. Wellness promises no meat-by-products, fillers, and artificial preservatives, much like other dog food brands that pride themselves on “real food.”

Like Acana, Wellness isn’t cheap, but it’s also not the most expensive. One benefit Wellness has over Acana is availability. You’ll find it in more retail stores than you will with Acana, and so this is something worth considering when cross-shopping the two brands.

Hill’s Science Diet Wet Dog Food, Puppy
from Amazon.com

Science Diet makes for good wet dog food as it does dry food. It is Nutritionally balanced while keeping fillers to a minimum. It is both affordable and will keep your Bullmastiff strong and healthy! We’ve also noticed that Science Diet generally has a slightly higher quality ingredients list than Purina Pro Plan, so if you are cross-shopping the two brands, that is something to keep in mind.

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Bullmastiff Feeding Guide for Adults

Once your Bullmastiff has fully matured, they can weigh anywhere between 120-170 lbs (54-77 kg) for females and 160 - 230 lbs (73-100 kg) for males. The amount of food they will need will vary by weight, but generally, it’s going to be a lot more than your average dog.

A Bullmastiff will eat anywhere between 6 to 12 cups a day, with the lower end of the spectrum being small female Mastiffs while the upper end being for the ones that grow large.

You also have to account for their activity level; the more active they are, the more hungry they will be. Individual dogs have different needs, and thus a generic per pound calculation isn’t going to be too accurate unless your dog is relatively sedent with the typical amount of exercise.

How Many Times a Day Do You Feed a Bullmastiff?

Like people, some dogs prefer the traditional 3 meals a day, while some other dogs prefer bigger meals fewer times a day. The general feeding guideline for Bullmastiffs is to feed twice a day, once in the evening and once in the evening. But some dogs simply hate feeling hungry for a long time, even if they are getting an adequate amount of food and just waiting for their next meal and thus 3 meals a day might work better.

How to Tell if Your Dog Is Truly Hungry or Just Food Obsessed

The weight difference across individual Bullmastiffs can accurately judge how much and how many times you should be feeding your dog.

Dog behaviors such as begging or being obsessed with food are generally passed off as them being in love with food a little too much, but it can also mean that your dog isn’t getting enough food. You should consider a few things when deciding your dog is either hungry or just wants the taste of food:

Does your dog get table scraps, leading to begging behavior?
Does your dog inhale food?
Does the food you're feeding have enough nutrients?
Is your dog mentally and physically stimulated?

Feeding table scraps is usually the cause for excessive food begging; your dog is learning that sitting and whining at the dinner table means rewards, or if you immediately pour your dog some food every time he starts to beg.

A dog eating too quickly can mean that he is genuinely starving, or it simply can mean he is a fast eater out of habit.

Poor quality dog food will leave any dog hungrier than normal since it will contain too much filler and not enough of the nutrients your dog needs. This is why it is essential to avoid bottom shelf dog food - it is essentially like living off of borderline junk food.

Lastly, a bored dog will look for something to do, and that something could very well be the thing that gives most dogs great joy: eating.

There are various factors at play for a dog being seemingly food-obsessed vs. being genuinely hungry and starting to understand which one will take asking yourself these questions.

Best Dry Dog Food for an Adult Bullmastiff

Like puppy food, choosing the right dry dog food for your Bullmastiff requires some degree of understanding of quality ingredients and nutritional balance. Below we will go over 3 dry and 3 wet dog foods that we recommend all from Amazon.com

Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food, Adult, Large Breed
from Amazon.com

Once again, Hill’s Science Diet is an easy recommendation for most dog owners. The availability, price, and good ingredients make for a great dog food overall.

The dry food recipe consists of chicken and healthy grains such as barley and wheat. Our only qualm is the corn gluten meal, but it doesn’t make up a massive portion of the bulk, and the food is nutritionally dense overall. It isn’t top-shelf like Orijen, but it is an excellent value overall!

ACANA Dry Dog Food
from Amazon.com

ACANA continues to be a great dog food for all stages of a dog’s life with its excellent ingredient list and balance of nutrients. There is a wide selection to choose from, and you can’t go wrong with any one of them, assuming your dog likes it, and they can eat it without issues.

It’s pricier than your Science Diets and Purina Pro Plans, but it doesn’t contain some of the questionable ingredients (still good overall dog food, however) that they do.

Wellness Complete Health Natural Large Breed Dry Dog Food
from Amazon.com

Wellness is another dog food brand that uses excellent ingredients that all serve a purpose. This recipe contains chicken and brown rice as the major ingredients, which are go-to staples for a grain inclusive dog food.

Best Wet Dog Food for a Bullmastiff

Like with dry food, we will be going over our picks for our recommended wet dog food all from Amazon.com. These options range from mid-level to high-end foods.

Hill’s Science Diet Wet Dog Food
from Amazon.com

The wet food recipes for Hill’s Science Diet are similar in ingredient quality compared to the dry counterparts but contain a lot more water in the weight of the food; whether you want to feed a wet or dry dog food diet, Hill’s Science Diet will work well either way.

Orijen Freeze-Dried Regional Red Formula
from Amazon.com

This is definitely the most expensive option in this entire article. Still, Orijen is a top-shelf dog food that uses top-shelf fresh ingredients with none of the questionable ingredients you find in more common brands. Freeze-dried dog food is a wet food that you rehydrate by adding warm water, making for a great meal that dogs love.

Orijen is extremely high in protein and meat content, and the ingredients show it. It definitely earns its price, but considering we are talking about feeding a Bullmastiff, that will add up very quickly! But if you can afford it, we say go for it if you want the best for your big pup!

Wellness Complete Health Chicken & Sweet Potato Wet Dog Food
from Amazon.com

Sweet potatoes are another common ingredient that is great for dogs, but that’s not the only plant-based ingredient. You’ll also find carrots, flaxseed, and barley. And as always, real meat is the major ingredient.

Bullmastiff Feeding Information...Final Thoughts

Feeding a Bullmastiff is unique because since they are so large throughout their development, they will need a lot more food than the average dog, which can throw some people off when a puppy is the size of most full-grown dogs.

But we hope we were able to help you with feeding your furry friend. Bullmastiffs are excellent dogs and loyal to their owners. Giving back to them with a quality diet is a great way to show that you care a lot about them.

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About the Author...
Ken Alden, a dedicated Mastiff owner for over eight years, is acclaimed for his expertise in care, grooming, and training. Read more About Me and my dog Shadow.

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