Cage training is the best way to house train a puppy. What I have always done with puppies is take them out every 20 minutes or so. Praise them big time when they go potty. Take them right back in the house this gives them the idea they are out there to go and nothing else.  After eating, puppies usually need to go about 10 minutes later. Always, always have fresh water available for the pup. Depriving them of water can lead to health problems, dehydration being one. When you are not able to keep an eye on the pup, place him back in his kennel. It will keep him safe and you wont have to wipe up any wet spots.

From our experience bullmastiff pups will put anything in their mouths paper, plastic, leather, rocks, tree branches, clothes, shoes, baby toys, and the list goes on and on. Small objects can be life threatening if swallowed. They can block the airway. Rawhides ARE NOT the safest treat to chew on. A bullmastiff pup or bullmastiff dog can chew up a large rawhide in a matter of minutes and then try to swallow the last chunk. I have had to put my hand in a throat to pull out a chunk. Needless to say we don't give rawhides anymore. Proper training in what's acceptable to have in their mouths is ESSENTIAL.  The only thing our bullmastiffs get to chew on are super size Galileo bones. These are very hard and last a long time. Our dogs love them.

Food training is essential as well.  Bullmastiffs LOVE to eat.  They will eat whatever they can and won't stop till every morsel is gone and search out for even more, even when there is nothing left!  Never feed your bullmastiff human food or bones.  Only feed treats when a meal is NOT being served.  Also, humans eat first, not the dogs, if you don't do this in this order your bullmastiff will believe he/she is the DOMINATE one and will bother you at the table inferring that he/she should be the one eating not you.  Remember BLACK & WHITE ... no GREY.

Take your pup to training classes. We highly recommend training with a trainer experienced with large breeds, especially bullmastiffs. Bullmastiffs are very solid, powerful dogs. They are stubborn and will test you.  You need to affirm that you are the pack leader not the dog.  They need guidance on behavior in a social setting. Puppy classes are a great way to start the socialization with other dogs and people. Puppies are released to there new homes from here at 8 weeks. Give the pup some time with the new environment (3-4 weeks) then they are ready for their bullmastiff puppy training classes. I recommend getting a kennel cough vaccine before entering a class. Kennel cough is covered in the health issues section.

Grooming is also a part of training. Bathing, brushing and nail clipping should be done regularly from a young age. This gets them use to being handled. Play with the feet everyday. When you need to clip nails it wont be a big task. Brushing is done with a rubber brush. If you don't want to do this at home find a groomer. You will need to trim nails once a month at least. Long nails can be painful to the feet.

Do your homework, ask around, your vet, other people with large dogs will have some recommendations. Go visit trainers. If you don't feel comfortable with the person find someone else.