Feeding the Russian Wolfhound--let us suppose the puppy has just been weaned from the mother....A young puppy must neccessarily have soft food, and milk, raw eggs, beef and lamb broths, from which the meat has not been removed, but has had added to it finely chopped vegetables and made into a vegetable soup, makes excellent food.  If this soup is poured over any of the finely kibbled biscuits on the market (I think  these kibbles at that time, 1931, may have been rather  different than what we call kibble today, and were probably not meant to be complete diets by themselves. Y.M.) it will be changed to a more solid food and still be soft.

    The vegetables that should not be fed are those containing much starch such as potatoes, peas, beans and corn.  As to the feeding of stale white bread even though it has been thoroughly dried there is much dispute. It is not fed in the writer's kennel and her opinion is that it has much to do with a certain form of indigestion...

    Just as soon as your puppy is abled to eat anything solid let him know the taste of raw, lean beef.  Do not be misled by anyone telling you a puppy should not have meat....If your puppy is to develope into what  a Russian wolfhound should be, he certainly requires meat and plenty of it.

    Added daily to his food should be one of the reliable products on the market containing calcium phosphate and other ingredients necessary for the formation and developement of bone.  From a half to a level teaspoon a day is sufficient.  Most or perhaps all breeders recomend the addition of cod liver oil to the puppy's diet.  This should not be fed too generously as in over doses it is a laxative and a teaspoonful once a day will be more beneficial than a tablespoonful three times a day.

    The rule laid down for feeding is at three months of age four times a day, at five months three times a day and at nine months twice a day.  After a year one meal a day is usually sufficient.  While this rule may be adhered to generally the wise owner will use his own judgement and at no time feed his puppy so much that the body may become too heavy for the legs and thereby cause weakness.

    Don't allow anyone to sell you a Russian wolfhound puppy by telling you they cost almost nothing to raise and can be brought up on the scraps from your table alone.  True, however they can, and table scraps usually contain everything essential including the vitamins ( Note: this may have been true in 1930 but may not be true now depending on the quality of the human diet. Y.M.), but unless your table is a tremendous one and the scraps most plentiful, they will not go far toward feeding your wolfhound.

    During the cutting of the permanent teeth, between four and six months, do not fail to furnish him with hard puppy biscuits fed whole.  These require considerable effort on the part of a small puppy and are excellent in asssisting nature with the developement of the jaw and teeth.  Do not however depend on these hard biscuits too much as a form of food but rather as playthings.  The same may be said of a goodsized knuckle bone from which he can get the raw marrow.  Once a week during puppyhood fresh knuckle bones in quantities of from fifty to one hundred pounds are distributed freely in our own kennels.

    The food of the maturing wolfhound should consist of as much variety as possible, and at all times plenty of meat both raw and cooked, one half to two thirds meat being none too much for any meal for the dog that lives outside in the kennel.   House pets do not perhaps require quite so much.  A change from the regular routine to fish, tripe, liver, heart and so forth, as well as from one kind of biscuit to another, will be appreciated and beneficial.

    As to the vegetables, from which we have barred potatoes, peas, beans and corn, any others that are fed should be as fresh as it is possible to have them.  When the leaf vegetables--cabbage, lettuce, spinach, and the like, are wilted, they have started to ferment and this causes gas in the intestinal tract and often a considerable amount of pain.  While some continue to boil cabbage I always feed it and lettuce raw and well chopped and often carrots, onions and spinach are fed the same way and these mixed with the evening meal make a dish that the puppies and grown-ups both relish.

    Rice and macaroni are recommended if fed sparingly.  In any great quantity they contain too much starch and form a sticky mass in the roof of the mouth, thereby causing much annoyance to a young puppy.
 
 

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