Natural rearing
What is natural rearing?
Natural rearing is a term used by those of us who believe in a more natural way of raising and caring for our animals. I have been feeding raw foods to my dogs since 1998. When I got my first Bernese I joined a very popular email list called Berner-L. The list is host to thousands of Berner owners from all over the world. One thing that everyone seemed to have in common was cancer. It seemed like this was an inevitable outcome for anyone owning a Berner. For me, it seemed more logical to be pro-active with the high cancer rate in Berners, rather than reactive. It was not even a year of owning my first Berner that I switched to raw feeding. I haven't looked back. I have raised many dogs and litters using my natural methods and figure it's a way to help "stack the deck" to what can be a very precarious health journey.
What to feed
In short, my dogs are weaned onto and fed raw meat, bones, organs and veggies throughout their lives. I strongly recommend raw feeding. The health benefits are numerous. We can discuss this in detail at a later date.
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no chemical pesticides
Natural rearing also includes eliminating all chemical pesticides from my dogs regime. I know you're thinking this can't be possible. I will tell you, I haven't used any flea treatments since 2000 and I have not ever had a flea problem with my dogs.
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Reduced vaccinations
I also am of the firm opinion, and my research can support the reduction of vaccinations (and elimination of many), along with the optimum timing for any vaccinations given, will help build disease resistance.
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