‘The percentage of deaths among puppies is enormous. We believe it is no exaggeration to say that not more than one lives out of every three born and the chief cause of this great mortality is injudicious feeding. Bitch’s milk is a highly concentrated food, rich in casein and cream, being more than three times as strong as cow’s milk which contains a much larger percentage of water. A puppy’s digestive organs are small, being adapted to the digestion of bitch’s milk, and become seriously deranged if the puppy is weaned on cow’s milk of which he must take three times as much as of his natural food to get an equal amount of nourishment. When cow’s milk is given the stomach gets over-distended, indigestion, with persistent diarrhoea often accompanied by fits, follows, and the puppy loses condition. The kidneys, also often get out of order owing to the extra amount of work thrown on them by their having to excrete from the system such an unnatural quantity of water as is contained in cow’s milk as compared with bitch’s milk. These troubles may be avoided by giving Lactol, a food that only requires the addition of hot water to make it ready for use, and when mixed as directed, is practically identical with bitch’s milk in taste, appearance and analysis. Puppies love Lactol and the tiniest of them will take it readily from the day they are born, some even preferring it to their mother’s milk. Lactol is now used in nearly every kennel of importance and no-one who has tried it would think of rearing puppies on anything else. When the bitch has not a large family to rear and provided she has plenty of good milk, no other food is required until the puppies are about five weeks old. After five weeks of age, or at three weeks when there is a large litter, a little Lactol may be given four or five times a day; at six weeks old, when first weaned, six times a day; and at two months old four times a day is often enough. Small and delicate puppies should continue with Lactol for some time, together with meals of scraped raw meat, but strong puppies at two months old will do well on the following diet;

Lactol, broth and Lactol Biscuit, Lactol Biscuit and Lactol, and minced raw or underdone meat, given alternately four times a day in small quantities.

From four to eight months three meals a day will be sufficient consisting of Lactol Biscuits and Lactol (mixed as for invalids) in the morning, raw or underdone meat with soaked stale bread at noon, and in the evening Lactol Biscuits; but for the large breeds give meat at two of the three meals, and delicate puppies may have four meals a day.’ (35)