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

Applicants Read Before Applying


Naturally Reared Carolina Dogs from Nature's Way  Carolina Dogs

You may have found out about Carolina Dogs and are thinking, “That is the perfect dog for us!”.  You may be right! 
You may have owned a Carolina Dog/Dixie Dog/Southern Indian Dog/LTPM type dog previously, or you may even own one now. 
If you are interested in a registered healthy, happy Carolina Dog puppy or dog, please check my most recent UPDATE blog post for litter announcements or future litter plans.   
First check out the other pages on the website and see if you think a Naturally reared Carolina Dog is right for you.  If you are interested in providing a lifetime NR home for a Carolina Dog and think a Naturally Reared Carolina Dog puppy is right for you then please continue reading this page and then fill out the linked application questionnaire and email it to me and we can go from there. If you do not think a Naturally Reared CD is right for you then please check out these links to The Carolina Dog Society Breeders List  for listings of other (conventional) CD breeders, and for a CD rescue- Saving Carolina Dogs .

OK, you have decided a Naturally Reared Carolina Dog may be right for you, so what now? This page will describe the procedure and process we take from application to picking up your puppy and beyond. Please read it carefully, then fill out the application giving me as much information about your family,  lifestyle, activities, experience, or in-experience, and willingness to learn in regards to dogs, Carolina Dogs, and Natural Rearing, as possible. Your information will be kept private and I will not share personally identifying information with anyone.  Do not worry about writing too much, the more you tell me, the better able I will be to match you with a puppy you will be completely happy and compatible with!
*Please DO NOT CALL me to check for availability or to ask about puppies. I will not answer, and will not return your call until I receive an application.  I live in a mountainous region and where my home is, is on the edge of a "dead zone" for cell coverage, so my phone cuts in and out during calls and frequently drops calls with no warning. Once I receive an application, if you wish to talk to me, we can set up an appointment for me to call you, as I have to drive out to town in order to get reliable reception. 

Approval Process

After reviewing your application, and possibly chatting further with you, I will make the decision whether to approve you for a puppy or not, based on whether I think a Naturally Reared dog is right for you, a Carolina Dog is right for you, and whether you are a good fit for one of my puppies. This is not personal, but my dogs and puppies are my number one priority. I am a Natural Rearing Breeder , so I will not sell puppies to anyone not willing to commit to a lifetime plan of natural care for the puppies I breed. I love to teach about natural rearing and CDs, so experience is not necessary, but willingness and commitment is. Sometimes a person isn't the right fit and would mesh well with another breeder, again, nothing personal. If that is the case, I will gladly refer you to other  breeders or rescues.  I will let you know if you are approved or not via email as soon as I make that determination.


Price & Payment Schedule


The current price for a puppy from NWCD is $1,000.00 USD. This includes your UKC/ARBA/UKC  registerable Carolina Dog puppy, UKC  registration, lifetime mentorship for raw feeding, natural care, training, and behavior,(basically anything to do with your puppy/dog), Puppy information folder, Health check by my vet, Travel certificate for under 4 months old if requested, ID Tattoo(personal registration of the tattoo is your responsibility), also any food you will need for travelling home from picking up your puppy, comfort blanket, reusable pee pad,  & toy.  

  Deposits

If I do not currently have a litter planned or expected, I accept applications and approved applicants go on my Wait List, no deposit required at that time. When I plan a litter I first contact my Wait List families to offer the opportunity to place a deposit of $100.00 USD to confirm/reserve your place on the list. * Once the breeding takes place, this deposit will become nonrefundable, it reserves your place in line for a puppy and demonstrates a commitment to a puppy from that litter. I depend upon your commitment to the litter. The only exception to the nonrefundable deposit would be if the breeding did not result in a pregnancy, in that case, deposits would be refundable. 
* If the puppies have already been born and you are approved for a puppy from that litter, a payment of $500.00 USD will be due to reserve your puppy. This will  bring you up to date with all the other families on the waiting list.  

Payments

 When the litter is born, if you have only paid the $100 deposit, the next payment of $400.00 USD will become due. 
 The $500.00 USD balance is due the day you pick up your puppy. Puppies do not leave my home unless paid in full. 
If you wish to make a payment plan at any time after paying your deposit, to make payments toward the balance, just let me know and we can work that out. I have had several families do this. The same rules apply regarding the deposit. 
I can take payments via cash/cashier's check in the mail, PayPal, or debit/credit card. No personal checks are accepted. 

Until The Puppies Are Born
This waiting time is a great time for us to get to know one another. It is also a great time for you to learn all you can about the concepts of Natural Rearing. Once I receive your deposit I will add you to the NWCD Family Facebook group. This is a private/secret group on Facebook that I set up for only my puppy families. No one else on Facebook can see it or what is posted in it. The only members are myself, my husband, and owners of NWCD puppies. It is a great place to ask questions, browse past topics, post pictures or videos of your pets, and find learning articles that I post. Families can share pictures and progress of their puppies on the group wall. It is a great way for us to keep in touch in the future for mentoring. I post tons of learning/informational articles to the group wall as we are waiting on the puppies and afterwards as well. We are one big extended family! This group is my main form of mass communication with my puppy families. I post updates, information, pictures, & videos of my dogs, especially the ones that are planned for breeding. When the puppies come, this is the easiest and quickest place for me to post all the daily updates and pictures of the puppies. All videos get loaded to my YouTube Channel, at least weekly. I then share a link to them in the Family group. I have had several families that joined Facebook solely to be on the group and did not use it for anything else. If you do not wish to join the group, I try to post weekly updates and pictures on the website, but with limited internet, it is harder to post to the website. You can always email or text me for updates as well. 

Planning the litter

When I have several families, usually at least 4 or more,  on the waiting list, I will begin to plan for the litter. I do not plan to have puppies in the late fall or wintertime because it is just too cold and muddy, making it hard to get the puppies outside to play and begin potty training.  We also have to wait on the timing of the female's heat cycle. This is entirely up to Mother Nature. Once it all is in line we will go ahead with the breeding. When the mating has been accomplished, I will notify everyone. Carolina Dogs can have one, two or more heat cycles in a year. This is a specific adaption from living wild for many generations  that helps ensure survival of the pack in a harsh environment where many dogs don't live very long. How many cycles each bitch has is individual to her.
When I confirm the pregnancy(about 3-4 weeks after breeding) I will let everyone know the happy news and an approximate due date. I will continue to post updates about how the expectant mother is doing, pictures and week by week in utero puppy development information. I count the puppies by Palpation. I have been very accurate with every litter, getting it exactly or within 1 puppy.


Puppies are Born

When the puppies are born I alert everyone as soon as I can. I take pictures of each puppy and try to video as many births as I can(posted to YouTube & shared on the FB group.) I will post information as soon as I physically can. Many times I am busy working with the new mother & puppies.
Once the puppies are born and we know that there are enough for everyone, that next payment ($400.00 USD) is due.  We have had instances of there being not enough puppies, or not enough of one sex, color etc. 
Like I said before, in my opinion, Personality is the MOST important trait when choosing a dog for your family. Each puppy will be specifically selected for each family, consideration given to order of deposit paid and requested sex/color/coat. This will require open minds and good communication between myself and each puppy family. We will work together to pick the best puppy for you, your family, preferences and situational needs. Every puppy develops a distinct personality and energy and I want to make sure you get the pup that is best suited to you! I have always said that God/Nature gives us what we NEED, not always what we think we want. I do reserve the right to refuse a puppy to anyone if, for any reason, if I think that decision is in the puppy's best interests.

My Carolina Dog girls are wonderful mothers so mainly I step back and let the dam do her thing, especially in the first couple of weeks. Carolina Dogs are very instinctive and that quality shines with their puppies. I do weights daily, Early Neurological Stimulation(SuperDog Program) from days 3 through 16 and short periods of handling the puppies. Once the puppies have their eyes and ears open they begin getting around better. 
 Weeks 3-8 they are starting to learn to play and interact with the world around them. This is a really fun time of growth and  development. I provide enrichment opportunities, outdoor playtime, toys, and employ the Rules of 7's.
 When the dam indicates the puppies are ready, usually by regurgitating for her puppies, we start introducing solid foods.  Pups will be weaned to the raw diet and I will supply you with information about this (if you are new to raw) as well as additional information regarding Vaccinations, alternatives to chemicals and other topics. 
 At about 6 weeks we do the puppies Identification tattoos. For more detailed information, please see our page NR CD Puppies (until updated find it HERE )

Pick Up Day

After the puppies are born we can start scheduling the pick up days for each family. Puppies can be picked up any time AFTER they reach 8 weeks of age, unless I decide they need more time with their dam and litter. That will be determined with each litter and for each puppy. I can work with people's schedules regarding the pick up date.  I do prefer everyone pick up their puppy in person, as I think it is important that we meet in person and you are able to see what your puppy’s home life has been like and to meet your puppy’s parents if they both live with me. Also I feel that flying a puppy is too stressful on them, so I will not have them transported as air freight. It is acceptable if you fly here and take the puppy on the flight home with you as a "carry on".  I will consider a ground transportation options, with Exec Pets Transportation who is comfortable transporting Naturally Reared puppies and provides door-to-door service, but both parties must be in full agreement for this special circumstance. Any shipping costs will be the responsibility of the buyer. But I greatly prefer you come in person & I am willing to work with you & keep your puppy until you are able to arrange to come & get it.
On the day you pick up your puppy we need to schedule several hours for your visit, 3-5 hours at least. This is VERY important. Time will be spent meeting the dogs, getting to know your puppy, as well as going over the puppy packet, contract, tattoo information, registration, and time for some education, demonstration and hands on experience with raw feeding and Natural care of your puppy, as well as Q&A. 
East Tennessee is a great place for a vacation & some of my puppy families have combined their vacation with the trip to pick up their puppy. We are within 30 minutes(or closer) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge, DollyWood, Gatlinburg, Townsend, Cades Cove, campgrounds & numerous lakes, Knoxville, Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, University of Tennessee Sports complexes, minor league sports teams, & much more!

After you go home with your puppy

I recommend that you have another person with you for the trip home (if driving) to hold or attend to your puppy safely. It is also an option to have a small travel crate to kept your puppy safe on the trip home. Frequent bathroom breaks (about every 2-4 hours) will be advisable during your trip home. I send several days worth of raw, frozen food home with you if you need it for your puppy, so bringing a cooler is a great idea.
It will be ideal to have several days to a week at home with your puppy. This will be a scary time for him/her. So many new sights, smells, people, other pets, unfamiliar surroundings, plus being separated from his mother & litter mates for the first time. You spending several days helping her get into a new routine and adjusted, potty training, etc. will help your new puppy tremendously. CDs are very adaptable and bond with their families quickly, you will just need to be patient and consistent.  I am always there via facebook, text, call or email if you need advice. I appreciate updates and pictures, as these are my babies and I worry about them constantly! 
  I do ask for at least one picture and update every 6 months throughout their lives. I like to keep up with and track all my puppies development and challenges, this is necessary for me to make future decisions about breeding quality CDs in future generations. If any health or behavioral issues do occur, please check in with me.
 I give puppy families general protocols and resources  but sometimes unlikely situations arise. I can be of help making those challenging decisions for Natural Rearing care, especially in a world that automatically chooses conventional methods. Lifetime Mentor means for your NWCD's entire life, ANY health, behavioral, or any other issue you have with your pup, I am here for you, as much or as little as you need. (I'm your Pup-In-Law!)  I will advise, or provide you with referrals or resources for any situation that arises. Natural Rearing is a lifetime commitment to raising and maintaining your NWCD in a Natural way, a way of life that employs following the 8 Laws of Health for your dog's entire lifetime, not just while he or she is a puppy. I am committed to Natural Rearing and I want homes for all my puppies that will be committed for a lifetime as well. This is how we give our dogs the best chance to thrive and live as long and as healthy a life as possible. 
I do have a Lifetime "take back" policy. If you cannot keep or properly care for your pup for ANY reason, at any stage of his/her life, I will take the dog back and make sure it has a wonderful NR home with me or I will re-home the dog(after any rehabilitation needed) with an approved family.
 If you need or want to re-home the dog at any point, by contract, I get the first option to take back the dog. CDs are a special breed and need owners that know how to deal with their specific needs, I can make sure that is taken care of. I do not want any of my puppies ending up on the street, euthanized, in the animal shelter or with a person that is not educated about Carolina Dogs. This is of utmost importance to me, so this is included in my contract with you. 

NWCD puppies are guaranteed to be healthy when they are transferred to you, a health check is done by vet at approximately 7-8 weeks of age, and  if requested, you will get a Interstate Health Travel Certificate from my Holistic Vet, Dr. Sandra Priest (or other holistic vet in the event she retires). 
I can not be responsible for any injury or health issues that arise as the result of conventional care practices such as food other than the advised Raw diet, any vaccinations, preventatives, or other medications, chemicals or toxins you pup becomes exposed to once he/she leaves my home. Carolina Dogs do not have any known genetic(inherited) health problems/illnesses so far in their history as a breed. All this information will be included in detail in the puppy contract that we will both go over and sign when you pick up your puppy. As always the welfare and best interest of the puppy is most important. 
All NWCD are eligible for registration with the United Kennel Club, American Kennel Club- Foundation Stock Service, and American Rare Breed Association. I will either provide the UKC Application for Permanent Registration in your puppy folder when you get your puppy, or I will register all the puppies with UKC and the permanent registration will be mailed directly from UKC to you. Registration with AKC-FSS &/or ARBA is up to the new owners and solely their responsibility. I will help you find the correct information of you wish to register your puppy with those registries. 
Puppies are ID tattooed by me at approximately 6 weeks of age. Their tattoos are registered to my kennel/name though NDR's kennel registration program. I collect the price and information to transfer the ID Tattoo to the new owner and submit that information to the National Dog Registry. There is a small fee involved in the transfer, payable when you pick up your puppy and fill out the paperwork. It is the new owner's responsibility to keep that information up to date when your information changes to ensure quick notification and return of your dog should he/she ever become lost. It is the owner's responsibility to make sure the ID Tattoo is visible and legible over the life of the dog. If the tattoo ever becomes faded or otherwise unreadable, it is advised to have it touched up by me (for free) or by another NDR authorized tattooer (at your expense). For more information see NDR's website HERE.

If you think a Naturally Reared Carolina Dog is right for you, you can find the Application here. click this link  --> Puppy Application

NOTICE
This page is to serve as merely an explanation of the general policies and procedures I follow with my puppies and families. With dogs ( and unseen circumstances), we do have to be somewhat flexible. This page is valid as a guideline of NWCD policies and procedures as of March 9, 2016 and thereafter, until another update is made. Any previous description, policies, procedures, statements or any contracts or agreements made before this update will be governed by the rules, description of policies and procedures, or contracts that were in force at the time the contract was made. 

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updated: 7-4-2016
Updated 11-6-2018

1 comment:

  1. UPDATE:
    *I can now also take credit/debit cards (visa, MC, Discover, AmEx)!
    *It is acceptable for the puppy to fly WITH you as carry-on. But not tin the hold & not on a different flight.

    ReplyDelete