Our Neapolitan Mastiff Basic Care Routine
Are you wondering how high maintenance these beasts are? We've decided to share our basic care routine with our readers so you can see what it takes to keep your Neo happy and healthy.
In the morning after breakfast, we check the dogs over for any changes. Eye discharge colour change, rashes, sore toes/feet, ear infections, stinky face etc can pop up pretty quickly.
If there are no changes, we will start by wiping any eye discharge with a warm wet cloth. Then, it's time for eye drops. If your Neapolitan Mastiff has had cherry eye removal, they will need eye drops twice a day or as needed to make sure their eyes stay lubricated. If your Neo has any sign of entropian, a gel lubricant will help stop the cornea from getting scratched until they either grow out of it, or have it fixed.
We clean out our dogs ears with baby wipes. Never use cotton swabs or anything pointed or you will just push the dirt deeper into your dogs ears. Wiping from the inside out helps remove any dirt or debris without pushing it in deeper. Not all of our dogs need daily wiping, but we do check them daily and clean as needed.
Last, we clean their faces. After eating, their chins and wrinkles can keep food and bacteria trapped in the crevices. Giving them a quick wash up after their meals really helps keep the chin acne away. We have been trying out e- clothes recently since they trap bacteria and they seem to be working really well.
Note - I do not recommend Norwex since there is some debate on whether the silver in the clothes harms the skin. I would rather stay on the safe side, especially since dogs skin is much thinner than ours.
Once a week we clip our dogs nails, but when they were puppies we clipped them every other day to get them used to us handling their feet. Now that they are adults they just relax while we give them their manicure.
A proper teeth brushing is done once a week. For the rest of the week they are given teeth cleaning toys or bones to help with oral hygiene. If you start this when they are puppies it will be much easier.
Ears are cleaned once a week with ear cleaning solution. This paired with the daily wiping seems to keep their ears healthy and infection free. Make sure that the ear cleaner that you use is free from hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, since those ingredients can irritate your dogs ear canal.
A good brushing is done once a week to help with the shedding. We absolutely love the furminator, but I have heard mixed reviews from others.
I know some people bath their Neos weekly, but we don't. We bath as needed so we aren't stripping their natural oils from their skin too often.
The old saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" fits perfectly with how we do Neapolitan Mastiff care. Keeping on top of their care and giving them a good once over keeps your neo in good health and often helps reduce vet bills as well.
The release of nanosilver from consumer products used in the home: https://www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov/pmc/articles/pmc4773917/
