Have you been around these parts long enough to remember Koda, our first vizsla? David and I got her together before we were even married and we adored her. Our hearts were ripped out when she got canine lymphoma at 7 and though we were able to provide her an extra year of good quality life, she ultimately crossed the rainbow bridge at 8 years old.

It took us a long time to open our hearts to the idea of another dog, but we finally got there a few years later. I had started noticing vizslas around us at the soccer field or on hikes and started asking people where they had gotten their dogs. Two beautiful and vibrant vizslas I came across had told me the same answer, so I reached out to this breeder in western North Carolina for more details.

Connecting with her was exciting, as was the idea of a new puppy! However, she was committed to naturally rearing her dogs and if you planned on buying one of her pups, you were required to make the same commitment. And thus began my journey into dog health and natural methods of raising dogs so we could bring Finley home with us in 2021.

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I’ll be honest, a lot of it was really intimidating at first, and some of it still is, but Finley at almost 4 years old is thriving. So in case this is something you’re interested in as well, here are some of Finley’s favorites!

Finley’s Favorites for a Natural Approach to Dogs

• The natural dog book to start with: The Forever Dog
• For deterring fleas and ticks naturally: this daily supplement
• For a raw food diet that is hands-off for mom: raw dog food delivery
• The yummiest food add-ins: canned pumpkin, sardines, blueberries, eggs, cottage cheese, carrots, Greek yogurt
• For long off leash hikes and good listening skills: the mini educator
• What mom sprays you with before hikes during bug season: Wondercide
• To enjoy instead of raw ride because you know mom won’t let you have that: bully sticks
• For when bug bites bother you: ledum
• When you get green junk in your eyes: Eye-C
• Toxin-free and easy to wash: stainless steel dog bowls (the blue rim is for water)
• For the once a month bath mom insists on: lavender dog shampoo

Finley’s other Favorites, Just in General

• When the weather gets cold and you’re a skinny but outdoorsy dog: this dog coat
• When mom wants to hang your leash on something cute: this dog hook
• Dry dog food that is used for my treats: Orijen
• The snuggliest bed to sleep in each night: the snoozer bed

Finley is a much loved family member around here, so much so that she even has her own room! It’s actually a funny story, as when we were designing the house we had no intention of building a room for our dog. However, right next to the kitchen there was a deep closet under the stairs that had no dedicated purpose. We figured we could put a vacuum in it. On one of our visits to the house while it was under construction, Hailey jokingly mentioned how it would be the perfect sized room for Finley and then we looked at each other with a twinkle in our eyes. She was right!

We mentioned it to our builder and thus began the transformation from closet to dog room. We tiled it for easy cleaning and put on a split door so we could close the whole thing or just the bottom half. The bottom half of the door has a wire mesh in the middle, crate style. We added a hook on the wall to hold her most used items, and just like that, Finley had a room!

The funniest thing to me is just how often we use the space. I can see out the front from the kitchen so when I see delivery trucks, neighborhood kids, or friends arrive, it’s so easy to pop Finley in her room so she doesn’t greet them barking at the front door. It’s an easy place to put her when I have meat on the counter (she’s known to counter surf). It’s a comfortable place for her to hang out when we leave or when we have guests over that aren’t big on dogs.

She doesn’t sleep in there at night (she sleeps in her snoozer in our room), but she does love going in there to chill. When we first moved in I started feeding her in there and hiding treats for her to find, which cemented the idea in her mind that this room is a happy place where good things happen. Now it has its own command. A simple “Finley, room.” has her hop up and trot into the space. I’m so glad Hailey saw this vision because we use it so much more than we would if it was a vacuum closet.

You may also like: Finley at 4 months old and Finley at 1 year old. We sure do love this sunshine-spot seeker, constant mom shadow, hike-loving, chicken-chasing pup of ours and do all we can to keep her healthy in hopes we have many years together.