THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



needed. There is a theory that raw meat is in- 

 jurious for dogs, but I know several experi- 

 enced breeders who affirm that a limited quan- 

 tity of lean, raw beef is positively essential for 

 growing puppies, and, of course, everybody 

 knows that a bone keeps a dog's teeth in order, 

 but what many people do not know is that the 

 brittle bones of poultry, game and fish are ex- 

 tremely dangerous, as they splinter, and have 

 been known to pierce the intestines. 



BREEDING 



Large dogs, like Danes, mastiffs or blood- 

 hounds, don't reach full maturity until they 

 are two years old, and should not be allowed to 

 breed until that age. It is possible to have two 

 litters of puppies a year, but it is not advisable, 

 as it weakens the mother dog's vitality, and the 

 youngsters will be inferior. Young females 

 should be watched for the first signs of matu- 

 rity from the time that they are six months old, 

 and kept under strict supervision for eighteen 



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