Following on from the interest generated from our Facebook Page, we thought a tiny look at what Natural Rearing entaills and with permission from Judi, we have produced a first hand account for your information. There is far more to it than this, but this article is in response to a comment received on our Facebook Page. For further information or advice, please contact us on: scottiehealth@scottishterrierhealth.com

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I am a natural rearer so actually the correct term is “naturally” rather than holistic. I have used different modalities on my scotties–homeopathy, aromatherapy, etc. My scotties are all naturally reared and eat a species appropriate diet.

There is no appropriate diet just for scotties. We all do the best we can with the knowledge we have. I mentioned that I am a natural rearer.

That means not only do I feed them raw food but have changed my lifestyle as well as theirs.

This means no chemicals in their environment, no harsh cleaners inside the house. No toxic chemical meds put on them for fleas, ticks, etc. No vaccines beyond their puppy vaccines, other than the rabies which is required by law in the US.

It doesn’t mean they don’t ever get meds, but I minimize the damage when it is needed.

Last year my wheaten little girl was bitten by a rattlesnake. Unfortunately I live in an area where we have snakes. By all accounts, she should not have survived. Her story is long but the 2 vets who saw her didn’t understand how she survived by the severity of the trauma to her body. Apart from keeping her hydrated and antibiotics, nothing that was expected to happen did.

Her skin was black from below her muzzle to her pelvic area. She was kept at the hospital in case she needed surgery and every day the vets would say, nothing is happening. She was home in 5 days, hungry and once again, her silly self.

The vets cannot explain it but I strongly believe that she had the “tools” to fight off the venom. My Siobhan only weighs 20 lbs. My closest neighbors, who I had warned about snakes being out and about, had a beautiful 100 lb. doberman. The next week, their dog was bitten. Taken to the vet immediately, but died on the way.

No, I have not “saved” any of my Scots from cancer. I have lost 3 to cancer. But as I said before, they have lived with cancer rather than dying of cancer. They have gone beyond the expectations of both the vets and oncologists they have seen. They run, play and go about living until the end.

Genetically our scots are already compromised so I help combat that in other ways.

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