About Nature's Way Carolina Dogs

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Seymour, Tennessee, United States
Welcome to my site about my Naturally Reared Carolina Dogs! Carolina Dogs are a relatively new, rare breed recognized by the UKC, AKC-FSS & ARBA, and are quite possibly America's own indigenous wild dog. CDs make wonderful companions, athletes, hunters, and bedwarmers! Natural Rearing is the philosophy wherein we raise our dogs and puppies by following the 8 Laws of Health, employing Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and no toxic chemicals on, in or around our dogs. We have found this way of life fosters balance, health and longevity in our beloved companions. For our puppies, we welcome homes that have a very similar philosophy about dog rearing, or wish to learn. Check us out, follow us and share us in other places!!! YouTube@ Susan NaturesWayCarolina Dogs NaturesWayPets and FaceBook @ https://www.facebook.com/mycarolinadog on Twitter @https://twitter.com/NaturesWayCDs Thank you so much for visiting our site, feel free to leave us a comment or send us an email! susanlewelling@yahoo.com

Friday, December 21, 2012

Takoda's Parvo Survival Story




This is Takoda. He is one of Daisy & Cooter's Naturally Reared pups from 2011. He is a UKC registered Carolina Dog. He lives with Lauri in Georgia. Lauri and I decided to tell his story here in the hopes that it may help others. This post is our combined effort, but any errors in dates, etc are mine. Thanks for sharing Lauri!  

Takoda was born in my home on August 26, 2011. He was from my raw fed, Naturally Reared very healthy pair of Carolina Dogs. He was healthy and was the largest puppy in the litter. At about 3 weeks the litter was introduced to raw meat and weaning was began naturally according to their mother, Daisy. Everything about his upbringing was normal and healthy. He was not vaccinated and was checked by a holistic vet at 7.5 weeks and at 8 weeks went to live with his new family(Lauri). Where he was continued on the Natural rearing protocols of raw feeding, no vaccines, and no chemicals or drugs. He was healthy and accompanied Lauri on a few trips to the pet store to pick out new toys and stylish new collar & leash sets. Lauri provided him with the best of foods; grass fed beef, free range whole chicken and other meats from an Organic farm she found nearby to her, as well as other high quality sources of raw meat for dogs.



In order to comply with Georgia law at the urging of the vets in her area, Lauri took Takoda for his rabies vaccine on 3-12-12, when he was about 7 months old. A couple of weeks afterwards, Lauri had to go out of town on business. Takoda stayed at home with her husband Randy. 


In mid-April, Lauri had just flown back into town. She was still at the airport and so she called her husband to see how Takoda was and let him know she was to be home soon. 
Lauri said, "Randy told me he was going to take Takoda to ER and  I said: "no, why?" "  Randy said that Takoda was not feeling too good and threw up once and kind of mopey since Lauri had been gone. 

Lauri immediately called me (the breeder & her mentor). I asked Lauri to have Randy call me so I could hear directly what was going on.  Randy reported that Takoda had only thrown up once and he had not observed him having any diarrhea. But he had watched him chase the cats in the yard just that day.   Based on what Randy told me, we decided to wait until Lauri got home and could assess Takoda herself. We were thinking he was just missing his Special Person.

Lauri got home very late at night and Takoda greeted her, but she could tell he was not quite up to par, so the next morning she called the holistic vet, J. Partin DVM that had given him the Rabies vaccine. Dr Partin was an hour away and told Lauri she needed to bring him in for testing. They did the Parvo test first and it was an immediate high level Parvovirus result. They retested again and quickly got the same result. The vet did state that Takoda was having diarrhea although nobody had seen him have any at home.  
Dr Partin started him on an IV with fluids. He also received the following meds: 
B-12 injection
Cephalothin injection (antibiotic)
Cerenia Injection( anti-vomiting med)
Vitamin B-complex injection
electrolytes Lactated Ringer's Solution
That vet had a very small practice and wasn't set up as a hospital, so Lauri loaded Takoda up and too him to Dr Carpenter at the local allopathic Veterinary Hospital that was near her home. They decided to continue on with the course of treatment started by Dr Partin, although Dr Carpenter(Lauri's previous vet for past dogs) wasn't very happy about treating him with a more Holistic approach, limited medicines and simply keeping him on IV fluids overnight. He did not give Lauri much hope of Takoda surviving the night let alone making a quick recovery.
The next day Lauri called first thing in the morning to see how Takoda was doing and the Vet Tech said he did good all night and if he will eat he can go home! Lauri took him some lightly boiled chicken because the hospital staff was trying to give him kibble(against Lauri's wishes). We were uncertain if they would actually give him the chicken , but they later reported to Lauri that he turned his nose up at the kibble but happily ate the chicken! 

That afternoon, after a grand total of only 1 day and a half at the vet, Takoda was eating and was allowed to go home! Lauri says "We came home, he ate his raw chicken with bone and went outside and chased squirrels and cats as if nothing ever happened and he has been well every since!"
The Holistic Vet Dr Partin said: "I'm just going to tell you the reason Takoda pulled out like he did is because he is fed raw and no vaccines, he has built his immune system." 

Lauri and I are very proud of how quickly Takoda recovered and how much he amazed all the "professionals".

We are not ever going to be sure of exactly where Takoda got infected with the Parvovirus, but we suspect that he picked it up at the Vet's office in March, when he went for his Rabies shot. Veterinarian's offices are typically one of the easiest places for any dog to 'catch something". In my opinion another factor was the Rabies vaccination and it's suppressive effect on his immune system. Many dogs are not so fortunate to be Naturally Reared, or survive parvo, many die or are sick for many weeks. We believe that kibble, chemicals and most of all vaccines contribute to the high death rate in otherwise healthy puppies that contract this man-made virus. Lauri and I have learned a lot along our respective Natural Rearing journeys, most of all we learned that Natural Rearing IS the way to go and we both now feel stronger and better prepared to face health challenges in the future.  

We would like to encourage everyone to learn more about natural rearing and to not be scared by all the fear mongering that is thrown at you by the Veterinary community, drug companies, and kibble companies. Raising your dog as nature intended is healthy and safe when done responsibly and in accordance with nature's laws. .

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Natural Pet Care Radio Show

Dr Kim Bloomer & Dr Jeannie Thomason are great advocates for true pet health. They have a web-radio show on every week on Wednesdays, check out the "Listen Live" link. I highly recommend puppy families listen to at minimum, these Downloadable podcasts to start with. Each and every show is packed with lots of great information, so consider creating a routine of listening to them daily or whenever possible! Animal Talk Naturally

Vaccines:
Show 429 Natural Immunity
Show 431 Why Vaccines Can't Immunize
Show 435 Why Vaccines Can't Immunize Part 2

Raw Feeding
Show 3 The Totally Raw Truth

There are so many more I could list but I will leave it to each individual to explore what interest them and what you are uncertain about.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Easy Directions to Make your Own Ground Eggshell Powder

Ground Egg Shells — How To Make Your Own Ground Egg Shell Supplement and How Much To Give

A lack of calcium, or the inability to properly assimilate calcium has been known to cause dental facial problems as an example. Reports, photographs and x-rays made during Dr. Pottenger's 10 year cat study clearly illustrates this fact.
Many of the cats eating a deficient diet as deemed by Dr. Pottenger had dental facial problems such as an underbite, cramping of the teeth, and in general, under-developed faces.
Although, these problems are irreversible once they have occurred, with puppies and kittens it is important to try and prevent these problems with good wholesome foods and a quality calcium supplement. With mature dogs and cats, good food and a good quality calcium supplement simply help to provide the calcium needed for living.
There are many other functions and benefits beyond the obvious of minerals like calcium. Calcium not only is important for strong bones, but it also is said to help with blood clotting, activating enzyme action, and helps normalize the contraction and relaxation of the heart muscles.
Don't underestimate minerals. They are the spark plugs of life.
As mentioned earlier, calcium is the single most important supplement
you can provide your pets with. An excellent source of calcium for your pets is finely ground egg shells.
The goal that we want to achieve when providing a calcium supplement is to help provide our pets with twice as much calcium as phosphorus. Our pets require a 2:1 ratio between calcium and phosphorus. This is the ratio I personally follow but others suggest lower ratios, anywhere from 1:1 and everything in between up to 2:1. One reason why I provide or follow the 2:1 ratio is because ultimately it is better to have more calcium than less calcium. If you follow the 1:1 ratio, then your room for error is non-existent. At the same time, the nutritional content of foods naturally fluctuates. So sometimes the food we feed will be naturally lower in calcium and on other days, higher. I also follow the 2:1 ratio as this is what veterinarians such as Dr. Pitcairn and others have suggested.
While it's impossible to purrrfectly obtain this ratio (or any ratio) we can, at the very least, get close to creating this ideal ratio for our pets by using finely ground egg shells as a calcium supplement.
When the body is getting the proper ratio of calcium to phosphorus, then this will help prevent a calcium deficiency, will further help prevent calcium related health problems and will also help prevent problems that are indirectly caused by an imbalance in the calcium to phosphorus ratio.

Suggested Doses of Ground Egg Shells

Ground egg shells are extremely high in calcium and contain virtually no phosphorus.
1 teaspoon of ground egg shells contains approximately 1900 mg of calcium. This is a whopping amount of calcium!
Different meats contain different amounts of calcium and phosphorus. Therefore, ideally I would like to provide a specific amount of calcium based on the meat being fed to help create the 2:1 ratio. However, since ground egg shells are so concentrated and the difference in the amount of phosphorus in meats is relatively speaking minute, it would be difficult to successfully make serving amounts for ground egg shells that could easily be given for each meat. So for simplicity's sake, I have created 1 chart for all meats.
Based on my evaluation of the nutritional analysis of various meats, the amount suggested is quite close to creating the ideal 2:1 ratio.
Now wait, I know what some of you are thinking! You are thinking... how do I know how much meat I am going to be feeding anyway?
Well, not to worry — Part 3 of my book explains how to make and feed. You can also read the page earlier about feeding.
So add the following amount of ground egg shells using the table below:
Weight of Meat 	                Ground Egg Shells



100 grams                       1/4 tsp
200 grams                       1/2 tsp
300 grams                       2/3 tsp
400 grams                       3/4 tsp




1/4 pound                       1/4 tsp
1/2 pound                       1/2 tsp
3/4 pound                       3/4 tsp
1 pound                         1 tsp



1 Jumbo Egg or 1 Large Egg      1/8 tsp
2 Jumbo Eggs or 2 Large Eggs    1/4 tsp
4 Jumbo Eggs of 4 Large Eggs    1/2 tsp
6 Jumbo Eggs of 6 Large Eggs    3/4 tsp
8 Jumbo Eggs of 8 Large Eggs    1 tsp

How To Make Ground Egg Shell Powder

If you have access to enough egg shells and if you have the inclination, you can make your own finely ground egg shell powder.
Remember, even if you don't have enough egg shells, you can always ask friends, neighbors, relatives and others to save their egg shells for you.
Choose the direction based on the type of eggs you are using...
Free Range Eggs:
  1. Simply collect egg shells.
  2. Wash egg shells (optional). If you do wash the egg shells, it's easier to wash the egg shells before you crack them than after.
  3. Let the egg shells dry on the stove top, in a gas oven (the pilot light will dry the egg shells) or in the sun.
  4. Once the egg shells are dry, bake them at 300° F. This helps to make the egg shells even more dry and brittle for easier grinding.
  5. Add egg shells to a blender, grinder, etc and grind. Keep grinding until there are no sharp pieces. The egg shells should become a powder although most likely it will not be a fine powder. Use a sifter or strainer to remove large and sharp pieces of egg shells.
Non Free Range Eggs:
  1. Simply collect egg shells.
  2. Wash the egg shells. It's easier to wash the egg shells before you crack them than after.
  3. Let the egg shells dry on the stove top, in a gas oven (the pilot light will dry the egg shells) or in the sun.
  4. Once the egg shells are dry, bake them at 300° F. This helps to make the egg shells even more dry and brittle for easier grinding. In addition, this helps to get rid of the mineral oils that have been applied to the egg shells to keep them from drying out in the store.
  5. Add egg shells to a blender, grinder, etc and grind. Keep grinding until there are no sharp pieces. The egg shells should become a powder although most it likely will not be a fine powder. Use a sifter or strainer to remove large and sharp pieces of egg shells.

Editor's Paw Note

If you are unable or don't have the time to make your own ground egg shell supplement, then you can order a ground egg shell supplement which is found in my online store.

Well, That Was Eggshellent Information

I know that was eggshellent information but there is more to come. Keep reading:

Source: Pets Need Wholesome Food Also @ pet-grub.com
Copyright 2012 by pet-grub.com. Used with permission.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Time to Interview Your Vets!

***Puppy Families****
We are a few weeks prior to breeding and there are some things you can be doing now to get ready for your new best friend!  this is one suggestion. Watch for more as the weeks go by! 

Now is a great time to be getting your Vet picked, whether it is a traditional vet that respects your choices in how you will care for your puppy, an Integrative-Holistic vet, a vet practicing classical homeopathy or a Small Animal Naturopath. Interview a few and then make your decision. Right now there is no rush and no pressure to make a choice. You have time to research, v

isit the practice and talk one on one with the vet.
Some tips on things to look for and to consider.
1. Do not compromise. If you dont feel like you click with one vet, there are 20 more waiting to get your business! Walk away now!
2. You should be the one making decisions about your pet, not the vet telling you what you will & wont do. Refer to #1
3. You should feel your questions and beliefs about your pet's care are valued and respected. If you are not feeling that refer back to #1.
4. You should not be constantly bombarded by sales pressure and advertisement. Whether the decor is solely furnished by pet food and drug companies or the vet seems more like a high pressure car salesman, that is not a good place to be, refer to #1
5. If the vet does not support a 100% raw diet, refer to #1
6. If the vet tries to scare you into buying products you didnt come there for or vaccines you already said you dont want, refer to #1. 
7. Your vet should not be-little, poo-poo, or automatically disregard information and opinion you bring. If this happens... you got it! see #1!
A good vet will admit they may not know as much as they could about some subjects. A good vet will get down on the floor with your pup(barring physical limitations) and will gently coax your puppy to come to them, not force the pup or grab them and hold them roughly. A good vet will be a gentle teacher and will offer you alternatives and flexibility and a chance to learn about something before insisting you go along with their way. You should always feel comfortable taking to your vet just like your own physician. You should be able to have open and honest discussions about how you want your pet cared for, bring in literature for discussion, and expect your stance to be given consideration and respect. Ultimately the decision is yours, it is YOUR dog.
I have not always completely agreed with everything my vet suggests, but I do feel she respects my opinion and I listen to her and she listens to me and she ultimately accepts my carefully considered decision.

Dont put it off until it is time to pick up your puppy or time for his/her checkup. Get this out of the way so you can concentrate on that bundle of cuteness coming your way in a few months!
If you need help finding someone or some preliminary literature regarding Natural Rearing, please message, email, or call me!