If you want your dog to eat healthy, natural food, try making homemade kibble. Here’s my recipe and personal experience — step by step.
Why I Started Making My Own Dog Kibble
For years, I searched for a way to provide my dog with healthy, nutritious food — especially when traveling. Commercial kibble is often full of additives and preservatives, so I decided to make it myself. The result amazed me — my dog eats with joy, and I know exactly what ingredients go into his bowl.
Preparing the Meat and Vegetables
2 kg (4.4 lb) organ meats 1 kg (2.2 lb) fruit 1 kg (2.2 lb) vegetables
I started with about two kilograms of organ meats, finely chopped and lightly sautéed. Then I added the rest of the meat and cooked everything together until tender. For vegetables and fruit, I used what I had on hand: apples (sweet and firm), zucchini, sweet potatoes, carrots, and regular potatoes. Once everything was cooked, I strained the broth and set it aside — that nutrient-rich soup can later be added to meals.
Blending and Shaping the Mixture
I placed the cooked meat and vegetables in a blender, added a little of the reserved broth, and two ice cubes. The ice helps create a smooth, creamy texture and makes blending easier — much like preparing hummus. I blended everything into a fine pâté. Next, I lined a baking tray with parchment paper, spread the mixture evenly, and smoothed it out with a spoon. I trimmed the excess paper to make it easier to remove the kibble later.
Drying in the Oven
This process is similar to industrial production — the kibble isn’t baked but dried. I set the oven to the lowest temperature and placed the tray inside. Drying takes about 3–4 hours (depending on the oven and whether you use a fan), but patience is key — slow drying removes moisture and gives the kibble the proper crunchy texture.
When the kibble was completely dry, I stored it in a glass jar with a lid. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one month, always ready to use — whether at home or on the road. My dog enjoys it just as much as freshly prepared meals.
Worth Every Minute
Making homemade dog kibble takes some time, but the result is worth every minute. I know exactly what my dog eats — only healthy, fresh ingredients with no chemicals or fillers. My advice to all dog owners: try it at least once. After that, it’s hard to go back to industrial food.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that food is medicine. By preparing your dog’s meals, you are not just feeding their body, but honoring their life. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
You often hear the sentence: “My dog is on hypoallergenic food and everything is great.” And that can be true but only on the surface. The problem begins when hypoallergenic dog food is accepted as a permanent solution instead of temporary support. The goal is not for a dog to live with allergies forever.
What Is Hypoallergenic Dog Food Actually
Hypoallergenic food — most often hydrolyzed food — is industrially processed to such an extent that:
Proteins are broken down into amino acids.
The body no longer has to digest them, as the immune system does not recognize allergens.
Allergy symptoms disappear.
These processes are achieved through high pressure and extreme temperatures which break food down into its most basic components. The result is that the dog’s body can immediately use nutrients without effort, without reaction, and without inflammation. But that is not the same as healing.
Skin symptoms are the most common sign of allergies in dogs.
Why Symptoms Disappear but the Problem Remains
Both humans and dogs need about 93 percent macronutrients daily, which include proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals make up a small percentage. Vitamins are largely produced by the body itself, similar to hormones, while minerals must be provided through food.
Hypoallergenic food allows the dog to function without reactions, but at the same time:
It does not strengthen the digestive system.
It does not restore the natural ability to digest food.
It does not train the body to process proteins.
In other words, the body adapts to avoidance instead of solving the problem.
When Hypoallergenic Food Makes Sense
Hypoallergenic food can be useful:
As a temporary recovery phase.
In acute conditions or after strong allergic reactions.
While the body stabilizes.
But if a dog stays on this type of diet for years, it often means we have stopped looking for the real cause. Allergy is not the enemy — it is a signal.
A Symptom Is Not the Same as a Solution
If a dog is “doing great” on hypoallergenic food, it means the trigger has been removed but not the reason why the body reacted in the first place. The long-term goal of caring for a dog is not permanent avoidance but understanding:
Why the digestive system is not functioning properly.
Why the immune system is overreacting.
How to gradually restore the ability to digest food.
Hypoallergenic food is not bad. But it is not a final solution either.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that true health starts from within. We teach you how to understand your dog’s signals and provide care that heals, not just masks. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
In this story we explore how fear of life, trauma, and family order shape our decisions, through a moving story about Roberto and his dog. You will learn how painful partings can become lessons in acceptance and freedom.
When Parting With a Dog Becomes a Mirror of the Soul
After the previous column, most reactions came to the part about Roberto and his dog. Many asked, “How could he leave him” People wrote to me about their own painful separations from dogs. Some expressed anger, others felt touched by their own unresolved grief. Almost everyone wanted to know whether the decision was really his or whether he could have chosen differently. There were far more questions about the separation than about the sexual abuse the child endured in his family. And that is exactly why I want to stay with this topic. Because in that one scene, in which a boy cannot bear to look at his dog and decides to give him away, lies a mirror of much bigger questions, about free will, about destiny, about our tendency to judge, and about what it truly means to accept life. At first glance, Roberto “simply” made a choice. He had a dog, the dog made a mess in the house, and Roberto decided he could no longer look at him. He chose to take him away, and with that, he ended their relationship. But that is only the surface. Behind that choice stood an unbearable truth, the truth about the violence Roberto experienced from his father and grandfather.
The dog, through his act, became an unconscious witness to everything that could not be named in that family. His presence became a mirror that reflected what was forbidden to see. And suddenly, the boy could no longer endure it. The dog revealed the family secret through his body. And the child, powerless before that force, did the only thing he knew how to do, he ran away. And this brings us to the essence, did Roberto really choose
Free Will and the Order of Love
Free will is not what we imagine. We like to believe that our will is a sword that cuts through life and that we can direct everything by ourselves. But free will is only a thin veil. Behind that veil are forces we do not see. Family loyalties, inherited destinies, unspoken grief, suppressed fears. Our decisions are often not truly ours. They are movements of a system in which we are only one piece. Roberto could not have acted differently at that time. His action was the movement of a child’s soul trying to protect his mother from the father’s brutality. Trying to hide the shame and violence they lived with. Sacrificing himself to keep the family secret untouched. On the surface it looked like irresponsibility. In the depth it was a powerless sacrifice, an attempt to save what a child cannot control. It was the same movement that later pushed him into prostitution, alcoholism, and drug use, all in a paradoxical attempt to survive. Was it worth it It is easy to say, “A bad man. A coward. A traitor.” But what happens then Bert Hellinger once said: “Everything is in its place. For the creative force of life there is no better or worse. Everything serves something. And whenever we judge, we lose connection with this force. We become weak. Those who judge always end up alone. Because whoever stands next to someone who constantly judges soon withdraws. Judgment isolates. It impoverishes us, and every time we judge, something precious is lost forever.”
The touch of hand and paw – a moment where love transcends judgment.
The Dog’s Look Without Judgment
When we look at Roberto through judgment, we see only the act of leaving the dog. But we do not see the powerless child, the young man trying to hide the pain, or the adult who had to survive a burden greater than himself. And who eventually found his way back to himself, his heart, and his life. Judgment closes doors. Understanding opens them. What hurts us most in these stories is that dogs do not have a concept of betrayal. They do not understand our human constructs. When we leave them, they may look back once more. But in that look there is no judgment. There is only what is. It is a look that, paradoxically, frees us. It reminds us that there are relationships beyond judgment. That harmony can be found even through painful separation. When we judge Roberto, we see only the act of leaving the dog. But we do not see the child who was powerless, the young man who hid pain, the adult who survived what no child should, and the man who eventually returned to himself.
The River of Life, Acceptance of What Is
If we imagine life as a river, we believe we are standing on the shore choosing when to enter, where to swim, and where to leave. But in truth, we are already in the river. From birth we are in the river of life. The water carries us. It carries us to its mouth where we will look death in the eye. The river is sometimes calm, sometimes wild, sometimes pushes us into rocks. Our freedom is not in stopping the river or choosing its direction. Our freedom is in surrendering and saying yes to what is. Yes when it hurts. Yes when we do not understand. Yes when we wish life were different. That yes does not justify violence or erase pain. But it frees us from the illusion that we could have changed everything. It frees us from guilt and endless rethinking. No, it could not have been different. But yes, it can be different from now on. Free will means surrendering to the river of life and swimming with the support of all who belong to that river, all who came before us, all who were excluded, rejected, condemned, or forgotten.
The River of Life – flows without judgment, carrying us toward understanding and freedom.
When we recognize everything that was, and when we say yes to everything that was and everything that is, the door to tomorrow opens. We do not have to build what is already created. We only need to learn how to open our arms to life. Our partings with dogs are lessons about life. Some part with a dog because he gets lost. Some because circumstances pull them apart. Some because the dog leaves first. And some, like Roberto, because they can no longer bear what the dog reveals. In all these situations we feel pain and the question returns, did we really choose Or were we chosen by something larger Perhaps true freedom is not in choosing. Perhaps true freedom is in stopping judgment, both of ourselves and of others. To say, “That is how it was. At that moment it could not have been different.” And then the inner battle ends. The feeling of betrayal ends. Peace comes. The look of a dog, even when we leave him, may be the greatest gift he leaves us. Because in that look there is no judgment. No contempt. No label. Only life moving forward.
Perhaps that look reminds us of what we ourselves must learn, that life is not about judging, but about accepting. That love is not always beautiful and easy, but often painful and paradoxical. And that we stop being lonely only when we stop judging. Only when we stop running from life. Only when we say yes to life as a whole and open ourselves to a future we could not imagine. Roberto did not “just” leave a dog. He was pulled by forces larger than him, part of a wider family system. His act was painful, but it revealed truth. And it left us with a question, how much of our decision making is truly ours Dogs remind us of what exists beyond judgment. They return us to connection with life, even through separation. And perhaps right there, in the moment we stop judging and say yes, true freedom begins.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy:Linktree Sasha Riess
Many owners believe every dog must love walks. But the truth is, some dogs experience walks as stress — not pleasure. When a dog reacts intensely outside, it doesn’t always mean disobedience — it might be a reflection of your own emotional tension.
Don’t Force Walks If Your Dog Doesn’t Want Them
One owner shared: “We’ve had one dog for five years, and the other has been with us for five months. Every walk with him feels like a risk.” There is no such thing as a “pleasant walk” with a dog that doesn’t want to walk — it’s like forcing someone having a seizure to dance.
For such dogs, walking is not enjoyment but stress. Everything around them is overstimulating: other animals, people, smells, sounds, interactions. When a stimulus activates, the dog reacts. There’s already a fixed neural pathway between an external trigger and the central nervous system’s response. In that moment, you can’t bypass the reaction. If you expose the dog to triggers, he will simply — react. That’s when you need to withdraw, return home, and work on removing the cause — not “fixing” the dog.
Is Your Dog Too Attached to You — or Are You to Him?
Many owners say, “My dog is too attached to me.” But the real question is — is he too attached to you, or are you too attached to him? Pause and ask yourself honestly: Do you allow your dog to be a dog — a free being with emotions and boundaries? Or is he your support, the one who fills the emptiness you carry inside?
Excessive emotional entanglement often creates stress for the dog, even though it may look like love.
Emotional Attachment Isn’t Love
In The Alchemist of the Perfect Relationship, it says: “I wanted my dog to look at me the way I wanted my parents to look at me.” That’s what many people unconsciously do — through their dog, they seek the gaze, understanding, attention, and love they never received. And they hope that if they love their dog enough, someone else will finally see them. But real love for a dog doesn’t come from need. It comes from freedom.
Looking for the Cause Within
None of this is about guilt — it’s an invitation to awareness. When you start looking for the causes of your dog’s behavior within yourself rather than in him — that’s when true growth begins. Your dog isn’t “attached to you” as much as you are attached to what you’re experiencing through him. You might be doing everything “right,” yet something still doesn’t feel aligned — that’s a sign you’re emotionally entangled. That’s not love — it’s a bond that suffocates both of you. Only when you let go — when you allow your dog to simply be a dog — the relationship becomes healing and free.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
Dogs simply react to the environment we create for them. We assign them rules and behaviors we believe are correct. Every owner wants the best for their dog, just as we want the best for our children.
At the end of a dog’s life, we often see how successful we were in that intention, or how much we struggled. That final “reflection” of our love brings back everything the dog has lived through, and that is what frightens us and hurts us the most.
Lessons We Learn Through Caring for a Dog
The choices we make are rarely wrong because we wanted them to be. More often, we simply did not know better. However, the problems and challenges that arise become more intense over time, and the responsibility carried by the dog’s owner becomes greater.
How Supporting Dogs Can Transform Their Experience
Through attention, proper nutrition, and understanding their emotional needs, we can reduce a dog’s stress and offer them a healthier and calmer life. Supporting dogs through nutrition and daily care is not just an act of love. It is also a form of education for the owner, a chance to understand how our decisions affect them and how we can correct our mistakes.
Bone broth for dogs: A natural recipe to support joint health and immunity.
Separation anxiety: Understanding why a dog cries when left alone and how to build their confidence.
Modern challenges: A dog in an urban environment is a symbol of how city life affects canine wellbeing.
Dogs live through our choices and carry the weight of our environment.
Nutritional Support as the Foundation of a Healthy Life
When we understand that supporting dogs through nutrition directly affects their immunity, behavior, and resilience to stress, we realize that food is not a small detail. It is the foundation of their stability. If we want to truly be their sense of safety, it is essential that we show that care through the way we feed them, offering what their body and mind genuinely need.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
The prong collar — a metal collar with pointed links — divides the dog training world into two camps. While some defend its use, Sasha Riess makes his stance clear: “It’s not a tool — it’s a symptom of our misunderstanding of dogs.” This discussion goes beyond training — it questions the very essence of the human-dog relationship.
What Is a Prong Collar and Why Is It So Controversial?
The prong collar, also known as a “pinch collar,” tightens around a dog’s neck when pulled.While some trainers claim it’s an effective tool for quick correction, others see it as an instrument of fear that damages trust. Ivan from Super Dog Academy explains that, used properly, it can prevent bigger problems. However, Sasha Riess points out that many countries have already banned it — and not without reason.
Sasha Riess: “There Is No Such Thing as Justified Cruelty”
Sasha poses an ethical question that cuts deep: “Can there be such a thing as a little abuse, a little slap, a little pain?” He emphasizes that dogs don’t misbehave to provoke us — they act out to communicate. When we pull them with a prong, we teach them to fear their own instincts.
“The problem isn’t the dog — it’s the human who can’t control their own emotions.”
The Effects of the Prong Collar on Dogs
Research and practical experience show several potential consequences:
Physical pain and neck injuries.
Increased stress and anxiety.
Loss of trust in the owner.
Suppressed reactions that can later develop into aggression or fear.
“If the Dog Suffers and the Human Feels Powerful — That’s Not Training”
As Sasha Riess concludes: “If a tool works by making the dog suffer while the human feels stronger — that’s not training, that’s therapy for the human.”
The prong collar is currently banned in over 20 countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Norway, and Sweden.These bans reflect an evolving understanding of animal welfare. Even where it remains legal, the world is moving toward more humane training methods like positive reinforcement, redirection, and emotional awareness.
The Final Thought
The prong collar is more than a training tool — it’s a mirror of our relationship with dogs. True strength in a trainer lies not in control — but in the trust they build. The more we understand dogs, the less we need extreme tools.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
There was a time when dogs died peacefully in their sleep — without clinics, diagnoses, or “final visits to the vet.” They passed quietly at home, beside their humans. They didn’t have medical charts thicker than novels or endless appointments with specialists. The dogs of our grandparents lived and died with dignity — simply, as dogs.
The Judas Kiss at the Last Heartbeat
Today, dogs are consumed by diseases that have become the new normal — tumors, epilepsy, autoimmune disorders, and chronic inflammation. Instead of facing the truth of how our choices brought them there, we choose euthanasia. We call it “mercy.” But it’s not mercy. It’s helplessness — and hypocrisy.
Dogs no longer die suddenly and quietly. They die slowly — day by day, month by month — not because their time hasn’t come, but because they feel us. Their hearts keep beating even when their bodies have already given up — because they are still bound by our love, our fear, and our inability to let go.
Loyalty and the Right to a Dignified End
They stay because they believe it’s their duty to be there for us. They stay through pain and exhaustion because we’ve never freed them from the idea that they are our “angels” or our “only joy.” We never gave them permission to be simply — dogs.
We hold them back because it hurts to imagine life without them. And when that pain becomes unbearable, we choose to kill them — calling it “release.” But the truth is harder: We do it because we can’t bear to face what their final days reflect — the reality of what we’ve become.
The Hypocrisy of Our Lives
Isn’t it hypocritical? We work jobs we hate, share beds with people we no longer love, and stay in relationships that drain us. And so, when faced with pain, we choose what we’ve already chosen for ourselves — death as escape. Only this time, not for us — but for them.
The Other Way: Love and Freedom
There is another way — a life lived in love and harmony, where we learn that death isn’t an ending, but a transition. Where we can look our dog in the eyes and say: “You can go now. Your mission is complete. I’ll stay until my time comes. Thank you for every moment of love and service.”
When those words finally come from the heart — they understand. And then, they can go. Quietly. Freely. Without injections, without the “ceremony of goodbye.” They simply lie down and drift away because we released them.
When our pain becomes unbearable, we choose to kill them.
Euthanasia Is Not Love
Euthanasia is not love. Love is letting them go when their time truly comes — without fear, without control, without disguising weakness as compassion. As our hand trembles above their body, we call it “mercy,” but what we give is often a Judas kiss — an act that appears gentle, yet carries the mark of betrayal.
We owe them the right to a dignified end — the same dignity they offered us every day of their lives. From the very start, they must know they are free — never bound to stay longer than destiny allows. Love doesn’t hold. Love releases.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy:Linktree Sasha Riess
Stray dogs are not just a problem on the streets; they are guardians of order and a mirror of our society – showing how deeply we understand the nature that surrounds us.
I know this column may bother some people, but I have no other way to write it. My view of this phenomenon isn’t neutral. Street dogs are neither just a problem nor a solution. They are a reflection of the world as it truly is – overflowing, filled with hungry eyes, and with traces we leave behind but refuse to see. For me, a dog is not merely a stray; it is a guardian of order we never learned to respect. If it disappears, a part of our defense against the chaos we create will vanish too.
This truth has no price for me
In the midst of new laws, proposals, pressures, and actions from shadowy figures – in a time when conspiracy theories always find their place – a question hovers over us, painted with the color of our empathy: What will we do with the dogs on our streets?
As the world divides between regulations and emotions, between politics and daily life, the issue of stray dogs becomes more than a communal concern. It becomes a mirror: how much do we really understand nature, and how much do we simply want to sterilize it into an image that doesn’t disturb our sense of order?
The Western „Solution“
While “northern dogs” in Canada await execution because they are supposedly a public health risk – even though they are perfectly healthy – a new initiative emerges: the random killing of dogs. And we act surprised, though it’s been part of the Western “solution” for decades. In the United States alone, about two million dogs are euthanized each year – healthy, unwanted, and without necessity.
Behind all this lies one deeply ingrained idea, almost taken as truth: overpopulation. Back in the 1990s, scientist Ray Coppinger estimated that there were around one billion dogs on Earth. If we follow the growth of the human population and ecological trends, that number today likely approaches one and a half billion.
According to Wikipedia (Free-ranging dog), only about 20% of the world’s dogs live under human control. The vast majority are free-ranging – the dogs we see on streets, in villages, in the peripheries, and the ones we never even notice. In other words, when we speak of dogs, we are really talking about a planet populated mostly by dogs without leashes.
The Mirror of Human Excess
And here’s what most people don’t realize: these dogs didn’t appear just because of “irresponsible ownership.” Of course, some were abandoned, but in relation to the global dog population, that number is tiny – a drop in the ocean. By focusing only on “discarded pets,” we miss the forest for the trees.
Free-ranging dogs are not an anomaly of modern times – they are a natural canine form as old as civilization itself. They have always lived at the edges of human settlements, near landfills and fields, feeding on our excess. Their history is woven with ours – but never completely under our control.
The dog has become what no other animal is – a mirror of human excess. A dog exists where there is surplus. Where we throw away food. Where we leave traces. Where we consume too much. The dog is a symbol of what could be called human hunger – not for food, but for love and wholeness.
Lesson from Yellowstone: Removing a natural regulator always invites chaos.
When the street dog disappears — who replaces it?
We always ask: How do we remove dogs from the streets? As if they’re the only surplus in our society. But nature doesn’t tolerate a vacuum. Remove the dogs, and other animals take their place – usually rats.
Rats have lived beside us since ancient times. They didn’t just bring noise; they brought disease. The plague that wiped out a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century spread through fleas carried by rats. We may think removing dogs means safety – but history says otherwise. Dogs are not the problem; they are part of the defense against chaos. When they disappear, silence fills the space – and in that silence, the rats multiply, carrying diseases we cannot foresee.
The Ecological Cascade of Yellowstone – a Lesson on Absence
Nature already showed us what happens when we remove just one link from the chain. When wolves were eradicated from Yellowstone National Park in the early 20th century, people thought it would bring balance. Instead, it triggered an ecological cascade that became a catastrophe. Only when wolves were reintroduced in 1995 did balance slowly return – the trees, the bees, the birds, even the rivers came back to life.
What happened in Yellowstone can happen in any city if we remove street dogs. They are our “urban wolves” – not predators, but regulators. Their presence keeps other opportunistic species at bay. Their absence invites a quieter, more dangerous kind of chaos.
The Dog as Guardian of Order
A dog is not just an animal living beside humans – it’s a symbol of order. In mythology, dogs guard thresholds and gates. Even today, street dogs stand between our world and nature’s disorder. We dislike their presence because they remind us of failure – that we tamed and then abandoned. They show us we cannot control what we once invited into our lives.
But in that discomfort lies truth: A dog is our indicator. It shows where we waste, where we overconsume, where nature returns balance to our excess.
Why not sterilize all rats and pigeons?
When we say, “We should sterilize all dogs,” it’s worth asking: why not do the same with rats or pigeons? They are just as opportunistic, just as problematic. But we don’t see them as “ours.” The dog is too much ours – and not enough. It’s both family and foreign. That’s why we punish it more severely – under the mask of empathy and “mercy.”
Can Dog Populations Be Stable?
Maybe the question isn’t how to eliminate them, but how to coexist within order — without chaos. Perhaps the answer begins with something simple: stop throwing away food. Our waste is not just trash – it’s a signal. It invites nature to expand, to reclaim, to remind. Dogs are here because we call them – they are proof of our insatiability.
The Pain of These Words
This column won’t please everyone. Those seeking solutions, sterilizations, removals, and euthanasia will say I exaggerate. Dog lovers may say I’m too harsh. But the truth is simple: dogs reveal our world. When we see them on the streets, we aren’t looking at them – we’re looking at ourselves.
If they disappear, we won’t find peace – only emptiness. An emptiness soon filled with rodents and disease. Cities without barking but filled with the faint scratching of rats behind the walls. And history will remind us: pandemics always rise from that silence.
The dog is a symbol of human hunger – a mirror of the excess we refuse to see.
Dogs are the guardians of our order not because we tamed them, but because they show us the limits of how much we can consume and waste. They are witnesses to our excess – and our unwanted allies. So next time you see a dog on the street, remember – it isn’t just a “stray.” It is a sign. A symbol. A mirror. If we remove it, we remove our subconscious alarm. And nature will answer – quietly, relentlessly – through sickness, through rats, through the invisible plague that always waits in the dark.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
The English Bulldog would not survive in nature. Few people truly ask themselves which dogs would not survive in nature and what that means for us who choose to breed or adopt certain breeds. Once a human steps into canine genetics and begins deciding what will be combined, they take on enormous responsibility for the life that is created. Nature is simple. It does not forgive weaknesses and it does not preserve mutations that make survival difficult.
Which dogs would not survive in nature and why
Some breeds were created as a result of human choice rather than natural selection. This means that without humans they would not be able to survive even for a few days.
The most well known examples include:
English Bulldog: Cannot breathe properly, cannot run, has difficulty regulating body temperature, and often cannot give birth naturally.
Dachshund: Extremely short legs and a long torso would make it an easy target for predators. In the wild it could neither escape nor defend itself.
Pug, French Bulldog, Pekingese: All brachycephalic breeds suffer from breathing difficulties, problems with heat regulation, and limited physical endurance.
In nature, natural selection would simply remove such individuals.
The Dachshund and short legs as a genetic mutation
The Dachshund is an example of a breed whose short legs represent a genetic trait that would be a serious handicap in nature.
Genetic mutations like short legs would make survival in the wild nearly impossible.
Genetic mutations: what happens when humans help nature
Genetic mutations occur in all species, but in nature only those that enable life survive. In domestic dog breeds, the problem arises when humans take a mutation such as short legs or a flattened nose, consider it cute, and then deliberately breed that same mutation further. The result is dogs that would not be able to survive even a few hours without our care, medical assistance, and controlled environment. At that point, the breeder must be extremely responsible, because they take on the role of nature itself.
Why mothers sometimes reject puppies with mutations
In the wild, a mother immediately recognizes which puppy will not survive. This is not cruelty. It is biology. If a puppy has a severe mutation, difficulty walking, inability to nurse, or congenital diseases, the mother will not care for it. She knows what humans often do not want to see: that puppy is not capable of life. But when a human intervenes and saves every puppy without reflection, the mutation is preserved and passed on.
Which dogs would not survive in nature and what that means for us
Breeds such as the English Bulldog, Pug, Dachshund, and many others would not be able to survive in nature. They survive because of us. That means the responsibility lies entirely with humans:
To understand genetics.
To avoid breeding dogs with severe mutations.
To care for what they themselves have created.
If we create life, we must be ready to protect it.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
Dogs are more than loyal companions — they are bridges between the world of the living and those who have passed. Through them, we often feel the presence of those we’ve lost, because the love we carry inside doesn’t end with a physical goodbye. It simply takes a new form — a warm gaze, a gentle wag of the tail, a closeness that can’t be explained by reason.
Dogs Reflect Our Souls
There is a special connection between a person and a dog — one that goes beyond feeding, walking, and play. A dog recognizes in us what we often forget we have — quiet sorrow, tenderness, and a longing for peace. When we lose someone dear, a dog often becomes a channel through which we learn to love again, to embrace, and to believe that nothing in the universe truly disappears — it only changes form.
Love Beyond Presence
I can love you even without you. Love isn’t about possession — it is a state of being. When a dog enters our life, it doesn’t seek to replace what’s lost; it reminds us that love is always there, within us, needing no physical presence to exist. Through our dogs, we often embrace our memories— a parent, a child, a friend — and for a brief moment, all pain fades away.
A man and a dog share a moment of silence and understanding – a bond that knows no words.
Dogs Connect Us with the Souls We Love
It’s not uncommon that through our bond with a dog, emotions we’ve buried rise to the surface. Dogs sense grief, loss, and unspoken pain. When we lean into their warmth, it’s as if we are holding those who are no longer here. They become bridges between worlds — and that’s why their presence carries such healing power.
The Dog as a Spiritual Guide
When we open our hearts to a dog, we are actually opening the door to our own soul. A dog does not judge, ask, or demand — it simply loves. And within that simplicity lies the deepest spiritual truth: love is eternal. Dogs teach us to love without condition, without fear, and without end.
At Integrative and Holistic Grooming Education, we believe that communication is felt, not forced. We teach you how to listen to your dog’s soul instead of just commanding their body. Explore our philosophy: Linktree Sasha Riess
