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We are working on adding a page with more information on health & diet and other related articles and links related to being “owned” by a cavalier. Our goal is to add this as an educational and reference piece to our website.

Flea & Tick Medications:
(This is our opinion) We are not a fan of ANY oral flea and tick medication. We specifically state in our contract that we will not guarantee a dog if they are used on our puppies.
We also do not just proactively just treat for flea & tick. We do not believe exposing our dogs to those chemicals on a routine basis is good for them. That being said we do not live in an area prone to them. “If” it is needed then personally we have used Revolution without side effects. 1 – 2 doses at most. However all of those medications are known to cause neurological side effects in dogs. Many cause seizures. So we believe in limiting their exposure.

There are many natural good products:
Wonderside & Wondercide yard spray
In Kind Spray- by DVM Judy Morgan
Diatomaceous Earth- food grade
Richard’s Organics – Flea and TIck Shampoo

Revaccination vs. Pulling Titers
We send a copy of the article Revaccination and Dogs printed in Dogs Naturally magazine, by Dana Scott in every puppy packet. Though our puppy contracts do not force pet owners to do one thing over another we do try to educate our puppy families to being an advocate for their dogs. We take a more holistic approach to veterinary care. You do not just have to revaccinate your dog. There are other options.

Please research for yourself: DVM Jean Dodds & Dr. Ronald Shultz PhD. are a great place to start researching. We also like DVM Judy Morgan, Dana Scott (Dogs Naturally Magazine)

Nutrition

We utilize many types of feed for our dogs. We use high end kibble (Orijen, Acana Regionals, Farmina with ancestral grains, Merrick Backcountry Raw Coated), Raw mixed with fruits & veggies, Sardines, Canned Mackerel or Chub, and Answers Raw Goats milk. Our dogs are fed a variety of protein sources, and we rotate between them. We have also fed lightly home- cooked diets exclusively to our older dogs based on health needs. We have a number of dogs in our home, so we use the high-end kibble as a base. However, if we only had a few I would feed raw or home-cooked exclusively.

Becky’s Story – How nutrition can change hearts
I used to be afraid to “make” my own dog food. Would they get everything they needed? Certainly kibble was better. Wow, I have learned so much over the years! Many times we learn things based on the new challenges presented to us. This is true in Becky’s story also.
We have fed both raw/kibble for many years. In Dec of 2018 our 12 year old girl Becky went into CHF. She only had a grade 2 murmur and she had a very enlarged heart. She had gained over 2 pounds of fluid in her abdomen. We worked with our Veterinarian and started her on lasix. We had to continue to increase the dosage she would stabilize and then again begin to retain fluid. This went on for a little over a month or two. Finally one of my nurse friends said, “You need to get the sodium down in her diet.” I looked up kibble that was low in sodium and we tried some… it was better, but she still required the lasix to help with the fluid. We were sure euthanization was just around the corner for our cherished old girl. She was really struggling. I dug out a book I had purchased previously “Yin & Yang Nutrition for Dogs. Maximizing Health with Whole Foods, Not Drugs” by Judy Morgan DVM and Huge Grant” I read it cover to cover. That was the point which launched me into looking at nutrition for my dogs very differently. I started with the Draining Diet for Heart Failure, as that was the first thing I needed to tackle with Becky. We needed to get the fluid off her. Within a very short time the fluid was down. Two pounds, came off of her without belly tapping. We began cutting back the Lasix and she was able to maintain. Over the next few weeks we removed all the Lasix medications. She was only on Vetmedin. We did another x-ray and the enlargement in her heart had also reduced in size.

Becky maintained with only diet changes for 9 more months with no Lasix medications. She went on to live 18 months after her initial diagnosis of CHF. When we finally made the decision to say goodbye, it was because her body was failing, not her heart. She was having issues getting up, even with rubber boots on her feet on our wood floors. Once her quality of life was in question, it was time. It was so hard to watch our girl age and her body fail. She left us just prior to her 14th birthday.

Becky’s experience changed how we look at nutrition.

Spay and Neuter
We hand out the article Rethinking Spay and Neuter by DVM Karen Becker- originally published in Healthy Pets, in every puppy packet. Again our heart is to educate our puppy families to make the best decisions for their pets. Dr. Becker shares from experience why she changed her stance from early spay and neuter to other desexing or sterilization options. Many health issues are now being linked to spaying and neutering… She discusses Shortened life span, Atypical Chushing’s disease, Cardiac tumors, bone cancer, abnormal bone growth and development, higher rate of CCL ruptures, Hip dysplasia amongst breed specific effects. Please research these options for yourself.