What would I do
for my own pup?
What you really want is a vital, natural puppy.
What you really want is a vital, natural puppy. One who is born to vital parents, who comes into the world with very little inherited chronic disease, and goes on to live a long, vital life with you. Pure bliss, right?
I hear you. And here’s what I would do to achieve that lovely goal
There are several places that vitality can get impaired, and I’ll address the ones I’ve seen most commonly through my 20+ years in homeopathic practice. That means you can take advantage of my years of practice experience and use my knowledge to meet your goal.
To the extent that you can mindfully address each of these areas, you’ll enhance your pup’s chance of living the vital life into old age, free of the common chronic diseases that plague animals today.
The following 10 step protocol calls upon the innate intelligence of the pup’s immune system, and bolsters that with proven immune enhancement and nutrition and homeopathy.
I’ll paint the best-case scenario, where you have already made contact with the breeder (who even more ideally, has been breeding generations of dogs naturally — see Recommended Resources for a list of Natural Rearing breeders).
But, even if you haven’t started early, or you opt to rescue a wee bairn from the pound, read on, as most of this protocol will still help ensure a healthy, natural puppy who lives a long, vital life with you.
So, this is how I would do it, were I to be buying a new puppy:
Chronic Disease and Vaccination — Look at the Timing
The chronic diseases have many names, including arthritis, hypo- or hyperthyroidism, allergies, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, repeated ear infections, skin disease, heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, and the current #1 killer of dogs over 6 years of age: cancer.
What makes them nightmarish is that they linger, they are not easily cured, and they are slowly, progressively degenerative, meaning the patient declines in health over the time they are present.
The best that conventional medicine can do with chronic disease is to control symptoms through suppressive therapies. This is fraught with problems, including side effects from the drugs, and apparently “new,” more serious diseases arising from the continued course of suppression.
Vaccinations:
Your Biggest Decision, Bar None
Knowing the risks inherent in vaccination, you’ll do well to minimize them in your new bundle of joy. I urge you to read the pages I’ve linked above before you make any vaccination decisions.
But you do want her protected from the possibility of getting acute infectious disease, especially parvovirus diarrhea and distemper, both of which are potentially fatal.
1. Ask that the breeder not vaccinate your pup, even if the others in the litter will be vaccinated before they are sold.
Add Immune Intelligence
2. Ask the breeder if it would be permissible to send a supplement to give your pup, to be scooped into the food as early as food is offered.
If that’s acceptable, send a can of Rampart, with instructions to follow the label for dosages. This will extend the deepest immune protection possible by continuing to supply transfer factors similar to those in the dam’s colostrum, keeping the immune system of your pup on high alert for any pathogens.
Each scoop has the power of transfer factors and synergists for immune enhancement, plus a great balance of nutrients and probiotics to enhance your pup’s resistance, generally and locally, in the gut.
Mom's Good Input
3. Ask that your pup not be weaned before 8 weeks if possible.
While this was the norm for many years, in the last several years it has become fashionable to wean earlier, often at 6 weeks of age. In the wild, wolf pups would nurse longer, 8-10 weeks commonly.
Mom’s milk has both superior nutrition and immune goodies for your pup. Try to take advantage of that as long as you can.
Your Turn: Mom Stays Behind, Pup Comes Home
4. When you take possession of your new pup, transition to a raw food diet if you can.
The best dog food is raw and balanced, and it starts being valuable even before weaning from Mom. Grow Your Pups with Bones, by Ian Billinghurst is a great companion book to Give Your Dog a Bone, available through the same places (see Recommended Resources).
If you’d rather not do the food prep yourself, I have links for you on this page and this one that include home delivery of the best raw diets. And don’t buy the sales hype that the best puppy food is somehow different than adult dog food. It’s not. Balanced raw dog food is great food for your pup.
If all-raw food is not within your scope, then follow the Kibble+ Plan for dogs.
5. Continue using the Canine Immune Complete long term, at least through the first year of life.
It may be beneficial to the immune system to “pulse” the transfer factors by giving none for a weekend per month, then resuming. When you join our free Vital Animal Pack, you can benefit from my Insider Immune Protocols ebook as a bonus with several tips on best use of the transfer factors in prevention.
6. Use homeopathic nosodes for parvo and distemper.
These are remedies made from the disease discharges and should not be used in animals receiving constitutional homeopathic care. When I use them in youngsters, it’s only for the first 9 months of life. Check with your homeopathic veterinarian if you wish to use these. I have them available on this page for purchase. (Be sure to download my free protocol on that page, so you know how to best use them — lots of misinformation spread across the internet on nosodes yearly and such.)
7. If your animal will be an outdoor animal some of the time, give one rabies vaccination after at least 4 months of age, preferably after 6 months of age.
The resulting immunity at this age will likely be lifelong, though laws do not presently recognize immunological outcomes. I commonly administer an “antidoting” remedy before and ASAP after vaccinating.
I also make sure that anyone getting vaccinated (for anything!) is on the Canine Immune Complete, as I feel it will help stem the immune system confusion that results from vaccination.
8. Watch closely for the first week or two after vaccinating, as I’ve seen animals get sick from only this one vaccine, given only once.
Even itching a month later, or ear infections, may well be due to the vaccination, so stay watchful and go for cure if you see these manifestations of vaccinosis. If illness shows, consult your homeopathic veterinarian.
9. Critically Think About Neutering
While I used to think “one size fits all” for neutering, I now know it’s not that simple, especially in light of recent research showing illness associated with loss of gonads in dogs. More on this page for you to ponder.
10. Use a daily detox on your pup
Let’s face it: our environment is now more toxic than it ever was. RoundUp residues are in ALL of us, according to testing, and “body burdens” of toxins have been found in newborns of our species. I have no doubt they’ll be in puppies as well.
We’ve developed an all-natural, powerful detox product to keep the body cleansed of the toxins now inherent in food, air, water, and our soils and lawns. We call it Vital Animal Detox, and it’s a perfect daily companion product to our Canine Immune Complete. Dogs of all ages will benefit from “clean machinery” via our detox and strong immune systems via our immune support.
Put it all together...
So, start with good stock from a breeder who sees the big picture. Add to that several carefully considered decisions and a few products that help stack the deck for your pup to be Super Puppy and Healthy, Long Lived Dog, and you’ll be on your way to many years of shiny health together.
Puppies!!! Have a blast.
I am the proud owner of an unvaccinated labrador puppy, and I deliberately looked for a puppy without vaccinations as I’ve been following you for several years and I’m 100% committed to the natural approach, including a raw diet. I’m about to start transitioning her to raw food now that I’ve had her for just under 2 weeks. As I’m now UK-based (I lived in the US for 13 years until last May), I’m unable to purchase your products, but I have purchased your Smart Vaccine Alternatives course and have purchased nosodes from a UK supplier. Unfortunately, naturopathic/homeopathic vets are few and far between in the UK and are in such demand that they have a waiting list for new patients.
Thank you for all the great information you share, I appreciate it very much.
Great work, Jan, and you’re living where rabies is not present, so vaccine free will be relatively easier there in the UK. If it’s too hard to find an opening with a UK homeopathic vet, you could always hire a long distance No. American one. My video here helps sort them. This pup will likely be your healthiest yet!