I adopted Mya at the end of 2020 when she was three years old. From the beginning, she was on what was considered a high-quality commercial raw food, recommended by a certified dog nutritionist. We were working with the nutritionist because Mya had digestive issues when she came to us. We tried different probiotics and proteins and followed every recommendation, but her symptoms never really resolved—until we transitioned her to the Natural Diet, which took some time but made a big difference.
In December 2023, when Mya was six years old, she tore one of her toenails during a hike. It split lengthwise, right up to the quick. We kept it dry and wrapped for walks, hoping it would heal up with time.
On January 1st, 2024, we officially started her on the Natural Diet. A couple of months later, by March, the nail still wasn’t right. It had become inflamed, was starting to rot, and had a terrible smell—necrosis was setting in.
We took her to the vet and were told she needed two weeks of heavy antibiotics. They warned us that the “infection” could reach the bone, which might lead to surgery and even bone removal. They firmly stated that the nail would not heal on its own without antibiotics.
By that point, we had been deep into learning about species-specific nutrition and natural healing, and with Mya already on the Natural Diet, we decided to take a different path—we chose to support her with a water fast.
It was our first time fasting her, so we were a bit nervous. But Mya did incredibly well. She lost a little bit of weight—nothing drastic—and stayed her happy, bubbly self. We kept walks short and easy, and she drank plenty of water. The fast was harder on us than it was on her.
By day six, the swelling, smell, and inflammation were completely gone. The nail healed up beautifully, with no medication, no surgery, no medical interventions at all. And she hasn’t had a single issue with it since.
Now, a year and a half later, Mya is thriving on the Natural Diet. That experience really opened our eyes to just how powerful the body can be when given the right conditions to heal, and left to do what it was designed to do.
