What Is Natural Rearing?

Natural Rearing is a term that was coined by the great pioneer in natural feeding & rearing practices, Juliette de Bairacli Levy. An English woman, in 1930, who started studying to be a veterinarian. She began feeding raw foods and rearing her Afghan Hounds naturally and treating diseases with herbs. Her book, The Complete Herbal Handbook For The Dog And Cat has been used by dog owners and breeders for many years. Natural Rearing can actually be called a “preventative” in that it is the feeding & husbandry method that most closely raises your dog’s overall general health and builds and maintains a strong immune system. Natural Rearing proponants view the animal as a “whole” individual being, much more than just the sum of its parts. This method is actually as old as mother nature herself and it basically requires that your animals be fed a diet and be cared for as close to how they would live and eat in the wild, Along with this includes living in a pack environment, on clean ground, having plenty of free access to fresh air, sunshine, clean, pure drinking water and plenty of free running exercise. Bitches and Queens are allowed to raise and wean their young on their own schedule (that is without humans removing puppies or kittens from their mothers care to “artificially wean” them) and along with this goes the all important disciplinary lessons taught by the dam to her young! It is part of a natural method of learning canine/pack or feline/pride social skills and is extremely important in the formation of stable temperament!

Nutrition is of utmost importance and the canine and feline diet should reflect the dog’s and cat’s carnivorous design. Dogs and cats fed a raw, meaty bone based diet enjoy overall superior health, evidenced by clean white teeth, fresh breath, pink healthy gums, shiny eyes, glossy, odor-free coats, small firm odorless stools. There is no substitute for fresh, wholesome food, clean water, exercise, plenty of fresh air, sunshine and avoidance of chemicals and drugs to the greatest extent possible.

One of the goals of natural rearing is to minimize the need for any veterinary assistance. Prevention of ill-ness and fostering of well-ness can be achieved if a total program is followed. Providing your animal with the best chance of “being all that it can be” is a lofty goal, worthy of the extra effort it takes to accept the responsibility and think for yourself. Eliminating the over-vaccinating of our animals and not using chemicals in, on, or around our companion animals. The basic principals of natural rearing are both simple and elegant. Yet to the newcomer, the wealth of detailed information can be overwhelming. Probably the hardest part is first “un-learning” what we have taken for granted for most of our lives. Simply stated it means going back to nature, keeping things as simple and true to species as possible. The Natural Rearing Breeders Association is here to provide you with accurate and time tested information, education and support whether you are a breeder, a pet owner or care giver.