About Susan & Nature's Way Carolina Dogs

I have received quite a few questions about how I got involved with Carolina Dogs and with Natural Rearing. I am going to attempt to explain without writing a complete book, which some people say that I should... maybe someday! 

Growing up, we had pets my whole life, mixed breed dogs & cats we got from friends, or from the animal shelter. 

Daisy & Cooter in Aiken SC

 Cooter, Daisy & Bit

'PR' Banbury's Tennessee Daisy Jane

BC Tennessee Whiskey CooterBug

Baby Bear Moore

When I was 18 my parents gave me an AKC Rottweiler for Christmas. Baby was a wonderful dog & my constant companion. She was my rock through lots of really hard times, she helped me raise both my kids & kept them safe through their young childhood years. She was from excellent show bloodlines, but she was always problematic health-wise. She had chronic yeasty ears & feet, bad smell, she shed awfully, had numerous skin problems, and in later years she had digestive issues & eventually seizures. She died of a seizure or a stroke at age 13.5 . Nothing the vet ever did or suggested helped her. I was heartbroken when she died, my whole family was. It was several years before I even thought of getting another dog. She was so in tune with me & I felt that no dog could ever compare to the bond I had with Baby. ( I realize now of course that all her problems went back to diet, chemicals & vaccines.)

Then, 3 years later  I watched a TV show one day, called "In Search of the First Dog". Danny, my husband (not a big dog person), said of the CDs that they sounded like great dogs and he might could handle having a dog like that... well it was on...lol I started searching. I was not on FaceBook back then, but I did have the internet!  CDs are not a common type around here in East Tennessee, we have mostly hounds & fiests. So I emailed every breeder & CD contact I could find(not many). I struck up a good conversation with Jane Gunnell and learned more about Carolina Dogs.

Asheley, my 1st CD

Finally, after much discussion, begging and even crying, I got a trip to Aiken, SC & my first CD Asheley (male) for my 10th wedding Anniversary. I was in love!!!! But, at about 4-5 months of age, Asheley was accidentally killed in our yard by my dad's truck. We were all devastated. I called to tell Jane and she was crying with me. I told her my Dad was going to buy me another CD puppy when she had another one available. 
She had a puppy she was holding from her other litter but she let me get him, so my dad drove me back to SC & we got Cooter, whom she encouraged me to show in the ARBA show in Atlanta that fall. My daughter was having major surgeries and medical problems at the time, so I wasn't able to commit to showing him. We discussed breeding him at a later date if everyrthing worked out.   

Cooter on the way home from Aiken, SC

I was going to be the best dog owner ever and I did everything the vet said to do. But then he had a vaccine reaction, which the vet treated as a bee-sting & then as Demodex Mange for several months. When those treatments did not heal him,  The vet then said (same as he had with my Rottie) that he had "allergies" and would need to be on lifelong steroid treatments & allergy meds... I asked him about diet changes & vaccine reactions, and he treated me like an ignorant child.

So I began researching, which led me to raw feeding, which led me to not using chemicals & learning about vaccinosis. I found an awesome Holistic vet who assisted me in detoxing Cooter & with proper appropriate diet he is completely healthy, even now. We were very lucky that his reaction was not as bad as some I have since heard about!  

When Cooter was 2 we got Daisy, as a gift from Jane, as a mate for Cooter. Daisy was immediately switched to a raw diet, no more vaccines (except rabies) and no chemicals ever on her. 

PR Banbury's Tennessee Daisy Jane

In July of 2016 I learned about a little dog an acquaintance was giving away on craigslist and when I saw pictures of her I thought she might be a Carolina Dog. I arranged to go see her in person. Upon learning about her history and meeting her I decided to take a chance on her and brought her home with me. She has went from a smelly, oily, underdeveloped terrified 7 month old pup to a healthy, vibrant, muscled, happy dog. She still has her idiosyncrasies but she has made so much progress and still continues to make strides forward. We are still working on her evaluation for addition to the Carolina Dog studbook but hope to have that done soon. He name is Dixie, or "Tennessee's Dixieland Delight". To read more about her history see Dixie History

Over the years I have fallen more and more in love with and in awe of these wonderful beings of nature's creation . They are so basic and primal in their actions and reactions yet so in tune with their human companions that it is uncanny. I could (and frequently do, to the frustration of my husband) spend hours just openly or covertly watching them interact, hunt, and do all the fascinating things that they do, even lounging on the couch! I can not imagine not having a Carolina Dog in my life now. 

Cooter is now retired from his career as a pet assisted therapy dog and Daisy never got to participate in the program because of their fear-based ban on raw fed dogs. But that is another story... These are the most loving, sensitive and healing dogs that I have ever had the blessing to live with.
   My Carolina Dogs have totally won over my Husband, the non-dog-person, so that now he even lets them sleep in the bed with us. Cooter has laid by my side all day when I had a stroke, he has brought happiness and comfort to many Alzheimer's sufferers, and laid patiently beside a child as they struggled to learn to read. They have comforted a family member as she was battling and dying of cancer, tended a newborn baby, been a playmate for a toddler and a teenager, a hiking, farming and gardening companion and provided me a place to sob during the worst time of my life(when my baby grandson died) and dried my tears with their fur & kisses. Carolina Dogs are so much more than I can say, more intuitive, more fascinating, more fun, more versatile and more challenging than I ever imagined or can describe. I truly believe they are DOG, what God created when he made the first dog to be a companion for humans, before we humans started tinkering with them for our own purposes. Carolina Dogs are what a dog is supposed to be. 

I have been researching raw feeding, and Natural Rearing since 2008, Since 2012 I have been teaching pet owners how to help thier pets become healthier, and in 2014 I began studying Small Animal Naturopathy with American Council of Animal Naturopathy (http://www.animalnaturopathy.org/). I have completed the Naturopathic Carnivore Consulting course and my exam is scheduled for August 18, 2017. After I gain that certification, I plan to continue my education towards Natural Rearing Breeder certification when it becomes available. 

I am a member of the Natural Rearing Breeders Association ( NRBA Home )and the Natural Rearing Breeders Directory ( NRBD Home ). My dogs are Naturally Reared, and the puppies are Second Generation NR or beyond,  meaning the parents/ancestors are fed a Biologically Appropriate Prey-Model Raw Diet, have been minimally vaccinated in the past & I do not use harmful chemicals in, on or around them. They are checked regularly by my Holistic Veterinarian & the pups will be examined as well before going to their new homes, and certainly guaranteed to have no illness or communicable diseases! Additionally, I am a Naturopathic Carnivore Nutrition Consultant. My focus is helping individuals build true thriving health Naturally in their pups, through species appropriate raw nutrition, No vaccines or chemicals in, on, or around the dog, rather than treating conventionally and then treating chronic illnesses later on. Continuing Mentoring is something I do for the life of each of my puppies, no extra charges, no matter where they go. 

Daisy, Cooter, Ellie Mae & Dixie hunting

I have been a responsible Natural Rearing breeder of Carolina Dogs since 2011, with 4 litters to date. All puppies are placed with approved homes. Over the years I have evolved as a breeder and become more insistent on NR-minded homes for my puppies.  I learn from every litter, every puppy, every family. I have gained and I have lost, the hardest is to lose one of my own dogs or one of my puppies. It is always hard to let my puppies leave but I know they are going to wonderful homes that will stay in touch with me. I have made good friends throughout the years, with puppy families, breeders, clients and people in the dog sport world. 

I look forward to many more years of learning, teaching, puppy cuddles and life with my ever changing pack of Carolina Dogs.