“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

At first glance, this verse speaks to our personal lives—how we should live with strength, love, and discipline rather than succumbing to fear. But what if we take this message deeper, applying it to the way we care for our animals, particularly our dogs? A sound mind, after all, is not just about controlling our thoughts. It’s about discipline, wisdom, and taking responsibility for what we allow to influence us. In the same way, it is about how we lead, protect, and nurture the creatures entrusted to our care.

The Sound Mind: A Mind of Discipline and Clarity

A sound mind is not just a peaceful mind—it is a well-balanced mind, one that knows how to direct thoughts, control emotions, and make decisions rooted in truth rather than impulse. It is a mind that refuses to be ruled by fear, choosing instead to walk in knowledge, discernment, and trust in God’s provision.

In the realm of dog care, this principle is crucial. Many dog owners act out of fear—fear of their pet getting sick, fear of social pressure to vaccinate, fear of deviating from conventional norms in pet nutrition. They are bombarded with messages from mainstream pet care industries, often told that kibble is balanced, that annual vaccines are non-negotiable, and that medications are the only solution for illness. But when we step into a sound mind, we step into discernment. We learn to question what we’ve been told, to filter information through wisdom rather than panic, and to make choices based on truth rather than convenience.

I remember when I was first transitioning into natural rearing. The fear of doing something “wrong” was suffocating at times. The veterinarians I once trusted pushed back hard against raw feeding, and even well-meaning friends would tell me I was taking unnecessary risks. But fear is not from God. Clarity, discipline, and confidence in truth—that is what He gives us. And when I followed that truth, I saw transformation.

Fear vs. Power in Our Choices

Fear-based decisions never lead to true health—not for us and not for our dogs. Many pet owners live in a state of anxiety, obsessing over every minor symptom their dog exhibits. I’ve seen it firsthand—people who rush to the vet over a single missed meal, who medicate instantly at the first sign of a symptom rather than observing, understanding, and supporting the body’s natural healing response.

Fear creates dependency—on drugs, on external solutions, on systems that are designed to keep pets in a cycle of illness and treatment. But what does God say? He has given us power.

Power is the ability to act with authority. It means standing firm in what we know is right, even when others doubt us. It means not surrendering to fear when faced with a challenge, but instead using the wisdom God gives us to make strong, confident choices. When Momoci was suffering, I had to make a choice—continue the medical route that was destroying her body, or take a leap of faith into a natural approach. That decision wasn’t made in fear. It was made in power. And that power saved her life.

Love: The Foundation of Care

We often think of love as soft, as gentle. But love is also strong. True love protects, provides, and refuses to take shortcuts. Love means saying no to convenience when it compromises health. Love means taking the time to understand our dog’s biological needs instead of relying on mass-produced solutions.

It is not love to ignore the effects of processed food simply because it’s easier. It is not love to blindly follow a vet’s orders without researching the potential harm of over-vaccination. It is not love to neglect the emotional needs of a dog, to treat them as an accessory rather than a sentient being that thrives on connection, structure, and purpose.

Love is waking up early to prepare fresh, species-appropriate meals.
Love is advocating for your dog even when others call you extreme.
Love is learning about natural remedies so you are not dependent on pharmaceuticals.
Love is trusting that God designed these creatures to heal and thrive when given the right tools.

A Sound Mind in the Face of Worry

A sound mind does not mean we will never have concerns. It means we know how to process those concerns. It means we don’t allow anxiety to rule over us, dictating our choices and stealing our peace.

Worry is the enemy’s foothold. When we worry, we keep things in our own hands instead of placing them in God’s. When we overthink, we lose clarity. When we dwell on fear, we lose power. When we focus on problems rather than solutions, we lose love.

Many times, I’ve had to let go and trust.

• Trust that my decisions to avoid chemical preventatives were the right ones.
• Trust that my dogs were strong enough to handle minor illnesses without instant intervention.
• Trust that even when something seemed like a setback, God had already made a way through.

When we surrender worry and instead focus on action, things change. We start seeing our dogs respond to proper nutrition. Their eyes brighten, their coats shine, their energy returns. We begin to understand that their bodies were created to heal, just like ours, and that by supporting them, rather than interfering, we allow God’s design to function properly.

Conclusion: Living Out the Spirit of 2 Timothy 1:7

As caretakers of God’s creatures, we are called to reject fear, to embrace power, to act in love, and to walk in a sound, disciplined mind.

• Reject fear: Do not let the world’s pressure dictate how you care for your dog. Seek truth and stand firm in it.
• Embrace power: Know that you are capable of making informed, wise decisions. You are not helpless.
• Act in love: True care is rooted in dedication, research, and doing what is right, not what is easy.
• Walk in a sound mind: Discipline your thoughts. Do not dwell on worry, but instead fill your mind with truth, with scripture, and with the knowledge that God has already provided what is needed.

I have walked this road. I have seen the resistance, felt the doubt, wrestled with the fear. But I have also seen the victory—dogs who have been healed, lives that have been changed, and the undeniable evidence that God’s ways are higher than the world’s ways.

Let us walk boldly, caring for our dogs not out of fear, but out of wisdom and faith. Let us trust that when we align with nature, with truth, and with the sound mind God has given us, we will see the fruit of our labor—in their health, in their longevity, and in the deep, unwavering bond we share with them.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

When people approach me, frustrated that their dogs are not recovering despite doing “everything right”—feeding a raw diet, eliminating toxins, providing the best supplements—I’ve learned to look deeper. Because health isn’t just about food. It’s about the entire environment we create for our dogs, and that includes the emotional and spiritual atmosphere we cultivate.

Dogs, by nature, are attuned to the energy of their pack. In the wild, they rely on this instinct for survival—sensing danger, adjusting to leadership shifts, keeping the balance within their social structure. But in our homes, they are no longer the wild, self-reliant creatures they once were. They are deeply bonded to us, feeding off our emotions, mirroring our internal struggles, and working tirelessly to bring balance back to the relationship.

This is where so many people unknowingly go wrong. They do all the right things externally—buying the best meats, adding the best supplements, avoiding vaccines—yet their dogs remain unwell. Why? Because their own internal world is in turmoil.

The Emotional Burden We Place on Our Dogs

I can’t count how many times I’ve worked with owners who were endlessly complaining, living in a cycle of negativity, constantly anxious about their dog’s health—only to find their dog was carrying the very burden of those emotions. Some people remain in a state of frustration and victimhood, overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for their pet’s needs. Others are trapped in grief, holding onto the pain of a past loss, unintentionally projecting it onto their living dog. And their dogs, ever faithful, absorb it all.

I’ve seen it time and time again:

• A woman struggling with deep depression, unable to find joy in anything, whose dog developed chronic fatigue and joint pain.
• A man who was constantly complaining about everything in life—his job, his family, his financial struggles—whose dog had persistent digestive issues despite a perfect diet.
• An owner paralyzed by fear, terrified of making the wrong choices, whose dog remained anxious, restless, and reactive no matter what training methods were used.

The common thread? Their dogs were reflecting them.

Dogs Are Seeking Balance—But Are We?

Dogs, by design, are harmonizers. They work to bring stability back into the energy of their home. They don’t intellectualize their role; they simply react. If their human is stressed, they absorb that stress. If their human is always worried, they live in a heightened state of vigilance. If their human is bitter and angry, their body tenses, their digestive system locks up, their nervous system stays in overdrive.

This is the price our dogs are paying for being stripped from their wild, self-sustaining lifestyles. In nature, their health was dictated by movement, fresh air, sunshine, and an instinct-driven approach to food and healing. But now, bound to us, they rely on us for every aspect of their survival—not just their physical needs but their emotional well-being too.

And when that bond is out of balance? They do what they can to restore it. Sometimes that means mirroring our emotions. Other times, it means developing physical symptoms as a manifestation of what we refuse to acknowledge within ourselves. They become our healers at the cost of their own vitality.

A Sound Mind: The Key to a Thriving Dog

This is where 2 Timothy 1:7 becomes so powerful. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. That sound mind—one of discipline, balance, and trust—does not dwell in worry. It does not live in negativity. It does not remain stuck in cycles of hopelessness.

A sound mind knows how to cast burdens onto God rather than carrying them endlessly. It knows how to choose joy even when circumstances seem difficult. It understands that healing is not just about eliminating bad things but about cultivating good things—in both our dogs and ourselves.

This is where many natural-rearing dog owners struggle. They start with all the right intentions—feeding fresh food, minimizing toxins—but they fail to address their own internal environment. They still live in fear, in stress, in a state of constant “what if?” They think healing is about eliminating problems rather than creating a state of peace.

But peace is active, not passive.

• A sound mind disciplines itself against negative thoughts. It resists the urge to spiral into anxiety over every symptom.
• A sound mind embraces gratitude. It sees what is improving rather than obsessing over what isn’t perfect yet.
• A sound mind leads with faith, not fear. It trusts in the process, knowing that the body (both human and canine) was designed to heal when given the right tools.

How to Shift Your Mindset for Your Dog’s Sake

If you’ve done everything “right” and your dog is still struggling, I encourage you to look inward. Ask yourself:

1. What is my energy like on a daily basis? Am I constantly stressed, worried, or fearful?
2. Do I speak life over my dog? Or am I always talking about their problems, reinforcing their struggles with my words?
3. Do I actually believe my dog can heal? Or am I constantly second-guessing, expecting setbacks?
4. Do I spend more time being frustrated with my dog’s issues than celebrating their victories?
5. Am I modeling peace and stability, or am I living in reaction to every little thing?

A dog’s body, like ours, was created to heal. But if they are living in an emotional environment of negativity, uncertainty, and fear, their healing is constantly disrupted.

Practical Steps to Change the Atmosphere

• Speak life over your dog. Stop focusing on symptoms. Instead of saying, “My dog always has gut issues,” say, “My dog’s gut is healing, and I support that healing every day.”
• Choose gratitude daily. List the small victories. “My dog had more energy today.” “Their eyes are brighter.” “They played more.” The shift in your focus will shift their energy.
• Let go of the need to control every detail. Trust the process. Healing isn’t linear, and fear won’t accelerate it.
• Pray over your dog. Hand over the worry to God and trust that His design is greater than your doubts.
• Check your emotions before engaging with your dog. If you’ve had a stressful day, take a deep breath before interacting with them. Dogs shouldn’t carry what isn’t theirs to carry.

Final Thoughts: Healing the Whole Pack

I have seen dogs bounce back from illnesses that seemed insurmountable simply because their owners changed their perspective. When an owner stops worrying, the dog stops absorbing worry. When an owner starts believing in healing, the dog’s body follows suit. When an owner leads with a sound mind, the dog can finally relax into balance.

So today, if your dog is struggling, take inventory of your own mindset. Are you walking in fear or power? Negativity or love? Chaos or a sound mind?

Your dog is looking to you for balance. Be the leader they need. Not just in what you feed them, but in the spirit you carry every single day.

To thriving beasts and lasting health,
Timea R. Bodi