In general, the Czechoslovakian wolfdog is neither exigent in diet, nor pickpy. It can work both on fresh food or on dry granulated food. The puppies of the Czechoslovakian wolfdogs are, however, expressively growing in front of our eyes, so because of the possible growth problems, we prefer a quality granulated balanced diet and in the period of rapid growth we add a joint supplements free of calcium. But we are not reluctant to fresh or cooked food if the owner of the puppy is well-educated and follows these principals. In practice, unfortunately, feeding with fresh food often appears to be balanced for the first month. Every other month something is removed and something is added. The result may have unfortunate consequences. Especially if the correct ratio of calcium and phosphorus in the food has not been kept for a long time. Puppies can not regulate the amount of calcium intake. Excessive phosphorus intake or vitamin D deficiency may also have an effect. For this reason, especially in the first year of puppy´s life, we recommend a quality granulated diet, which can also be enriched with meat cans if it has the correct calcium and phosphorus ratios. However, when fed with fresh flesh, folic acid (vitamin B) is often forgotten. Just like people, even dogs need it. It is contained in grain, leafy vegetables, liver and eggs. Its deficiency is reflected in fertility disorders.
Bref Karpatská svorka
Due to the origin of the breed, we have always instinctively rotated dry foods from the same producer at our kennel, and we tended to red meat and venison. However, from preferential tests we know poultry meat has the best results, so we do not avoid them in feeding. Particular emphasis is placed on a reasonable rotation of meat sources and the overall diet richness, lack of which can lead to food sensitivity and intolerance. From the practice of breeders of larger breeds (a survey with a sample of about 200 kennels from Slovakia and the Czech Republic), recipes with small content of grain appear to be more suitable than recipes with no grain at all, although this trend is spreading rapidly. We suppose it is because the dog beasts know the digested grain and grass seeds from the stomach of their prey, but not the potato that they can not meet in this form at all. The dog is, however, a relatively quickly adapting beast. If it has not been for its adaptability, it could not have survived 30 thousand years of domestication side by side with human being. Thanks to this adaptability, it is now able to adapt quickly to a new type of diet and new nutritional trends. Therefore, you can definitely meet with breeders who would say that feeding is best with fresh meat, but also with those who have good experience only with granulated food. There is not just one right solution. We can never compare quality fresh food diet to poor quality granules. Also, we can not compare feeding with quality granules to feeding with poorly managed fresh food. Our opinion is somewhere in between. Feeding with granulated food is not natural to a dog. Granules exist for only 100 years and the dog is 30,000 years old. However, eating fresh food is also not a return to natural dog´s feeding. It’s a return to a wolf’s diet, not a dog´s. During these 30,000 years, the dog has never been fed regularly with fresh meat. In short, it was expensive even for people. They had meat, from ancient times through the Middle Ages to the World Wars, only during feasts and on Sundays. The dogs were therefore fed by the leftovers from the table and survived only those dogs that adapted to this diet. If we were based on the theory of what is the most natural food for a dog (not for a wolf), it would be a can. A common argument in the discussions is that the dog and the wolf share 99% of their DNA and therefore the dog should eat like the wolf. However, humans also have 98-99% of their DNA identical with chimpanzee, 90% with cats, and 84% with aquarium fish (Danio Rerio). Not only the relatedness but also the environment and the evolution must be taken into account. In particular, it is important to be guided by the sense and breeding intuition. The dog needs a varied diet; various vitamins and minerals it can only gain from the diversity of the diet. We had the unpleasant opportunity to witness many cases of poor animal health caused by malnutrition, and those were dogs fed with poor-quality granules, as well as dogs fed with poor quality and poorly managed fresh diet. The topic of dog nutrition is extensive as a separate science discipline, and in a short article we can only include such a brief reflection. For the breed Czechoslovakian wolfdog, the theoretical conclusions are all the more complicated, that this breed can show the anatomical features of both the German shepherd and the wolf, including the digestive tract. Finally, we will only give the idea that can be the key to decision-making.
Quality granules can not be produced cheaply. Their production requires a lot of technology and distribution. Quality fresh food can not be produced quickly. Its preparation requires snapping, storing, defrosting, and proper preparing of a menu.
We reccommend book: Sprievodca výživou psov (Lukáš Michalička a Mária Michaličková) “Dog Nutrition Guide” unfortunately only in Slovak language