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FAQ's

1. What is my dog likely to eat at Desperate Dogs?
Your dog is a carnivore and needs to eat flesh to satisfy his digestive system, his teeth, and his
brain....his 'primal' need to eat flesh. Todays commercial dog foods very rarely have a high
percentage of meat, they use cheap, filler proteins like corn and nasty by-products or even, in
the recent pet food catastrophe, melamine, in the case of the Chinese Gluten additives. Yes,
melamine is the stuff kitchen counter tops are made of. Go figure......
We feed a top quality home made wet food that is based on the dogs dietary needs of fresh
meat and vegetables. The protein we use is always top of the range human grade [of course]
turkey, beef, lamb, fish or organic chicken. We stick to around 25% protein, although for puppies
and older dogs, we increase the protein ratio and calcium intake with free range eggs and dairy
foods like cottage cheese.
The vegetables we use in the food are cooked root vegetables like potatoes, parsnip, carrots
etc, and very lightly cooked green veggies like spinach, green beans, peas, turnip greens, etc.
We also add fruit like cranberries, apples or wild blueberries as these are full of antioxidants
and a powerful resource in the canine body's fight against infection.
We either feed this wet food on top of brown rice, or atop a  high quality holistic dog food with
no preservatives or filler, soy, wheat or high salt levels.If a dog needs fattening up, we use rice,
if a dog needs more nutrients, and has expended al ot of energy that needs replacing, we use
the dog food as a base. Every case is judged individually.
Some of the dog foods that we use as a base are Halo Spots stew, Instinct, Holistic Select,
Orijen and Acana.

2. Won't my dog get sick changing up his food? Shouldn't it be mixed by ever increasing
ratios over a week or two to stop him getting diahorrea? Hes been on the same dry food
for three years and the vet says we should keep him on this food as it provides
everything he needs.

I hate to say this, but most vets get very little nutritional schooling at veterinary school. Of the
three vets I use, only one has studied nutrition in any great depth.
Firstly, no one brand of dog food is going to give your dog all he needs. It may have a whole
spectrum of goodies in it, and a list of vitamins a mile long but it won't/can't give your dog
everything he needs just like you cant eat beef stew with vegetables every day for the rest of
your life and not be nutritionally deficient.
Your body, and your dogs body, needs different protein sources, different levels of fat,
different levels of carbohydrates to cope with many different changing environmental and
physical factors. What the dog needs in the winter might be totally different to what the dog
needs in the summer, if the dog is running all day and working, hes for sure going to need a lot
more protein on those days than on days that he is resting. Would you eat that beef stew if you
were recuperating form a surgery or a cold? Or would your body be crying out for an omelette?
Would it be saying 'chicken soup please'?
Think how on a hot day, would not you be crying out for a salad? Thats your body telling you what
it needs to cope with its environment and climate.

If you eat a chicken salad on tuesday and a plate of Thanksgiving dinner on wednesday, are you
going to get sick? No. And neither will your dog.
The advice vets give us about sticking with the same dog food and never changing it up for fear
of a bad stomach is born out of a scare tactic employed by pet food companies that wish to instill
brand loyalty. When those pet food companies sponsor veterinary colleges, they have a unique
opportunity to spin the same craziness to veterinary students, and it is mostly believed sadly.
Here at Desperate Dogs, we have been looking after dogs for years and pretty much the only
time we see upset stomachs is when the dog in particular cant eat a certain food item [one of our
regular visitors cant entertain beef liver, which was only discovered because he had it here!] or
the dog has been vaccinated in the previous ten days.
We give a varied diet to give jaded dogs back their palate, to bring happiness to bored dogs who
have been eating the same thing for years, and most importantly, to give the widest possible
amount of nutrients, thereby increasing the dogs health.
When we walk down the stairs with a steaming pot of turkey and vegetables, noses are up, tails
are wagging and everyones excited.Fresh food smells better, it tastes better and it IS better
for you and your dog.
Not a single living creature was designed by God to eat the same dehydrated, dehydrolised,
processed, extruded junk every day....but we humans do it to our dogs all the time!
We never mix the food in increasing ratios, as it would be too complex a mix of proteins, and
would create way too much confusion in the digestive system. Would you put 25% turkey and
duck food in a bowl with anchovy and herring based food as the remaining 75% and not expect
problems? Thats an awful lot of confusion going on in the poor dogs stomach. Regular change
works with more limited ingredients though. Our clients are living proof of it.

3.  I dont agree with a thing you just said and want my dog to have the experience of
Desperate Dogs but bring my own Iams/ Pedigree/Science Diet dog food. Is that okay?

No, Im afraid not. Desperate Dogs Ranch is a mainly holistic facility that will not entertain poor
quality dog foods on the premises. Plus, how fair is it on your dog when everyone else is eating
chuck steak, roasted veggies and greens that smell divine and your dog is stuck with a bowl of
cardboard full of artificial colours and preservatives? We feel thats like Santa Claus leaving a
child out, so we won't do it.

4. My dog has medical issues that mean he can only eat a certain brand of dog food. Is
that okay?

Yes, we can accomodate those types of situations but we will need an explanation from your vet
as to any medical issues that would affect your dogs stay. We would also ask you to consider
speaking to our holistic pet practitioner to see if certain fresh foods can be introduced in to the
diet to help with healing.

5. Do you charge for administering medications? My dog has to have diabetes shots twice
a day.

No we dont charge for that, all we ask is that the meds are clearly labelled and that your vet
knows that we are taking care of your dog in case we have questions.

6. Why dont you offer multiple dog discounts? My last boarding place did and I have two
dogs.

We offer a quality service based on small numbers and provide attention to detail and individual
care to each and every dog in our care. It doesnt make any difference to us if we have two dogs
from the same family or from different families, we still only have couch space for about 8 large
dogs!
Some facilities that can take large numbers of dogs offer discounts because they maybe can put
two or three dogs in a pen at one time saving space and allowing up room for other guests. We
pride ourselves that all our guests are cage free [apart from potty training puppies and dogs
that prefer crates in thunder storms etc] and enjoying a true hotel experience here. More
guests mean less care per dog, so we do what we do in a smaller way and give each dog more
attention because of it.

7. My dog is old but needs more care than being left in a concrete run all day, can he
come to Desperate Dogs Ranch and have fun?

Oh yes! First of all, old doesnt mean finished...it just means slower! We temperament test all of
the dogs that come here and try to book older dogs in at a time when we have a less
energetic/frenetic pack staying. Having said that, we have separate suites decorated like your
living room at home where the older dog can rest comfortably if he or she requires a little more
peace and quiet and we are more than happy to walk older dogs or recovering dogs separately.
One of our favourites, Bear Nelson, was a beautiful old boxer of 15 who  came to us like a
sedate old gentleman but actually found his mojo at the ranch! He was chasing around one of our
younger female guests like a love sick teenager much to our amusement and had the time of his
life. He left here with a spring in his step for sure.....We miss you Bear, rest comfortably old
friend.x

8. My dog has some issues socialising with other dogs, does he have to be kept separate?

It depends....As a behaviourist, I notice that most dogs have issues socialising when their owners
are present and are perfectly fine when their owners are not there. Whilst that sounds unkind,
please think to your own actions when you take your dog out and how much you influence your
dogs behaviour. Perhaps you tighten the leash in your hand when you see two large pitbulls or
great danes approaching? Or perhaps you pick your little pomeranian up when another dog comes
along in case the other dog bites him?
All understandable in the school of human thought, but to a dog, those actions rob him of
conversing with his own species on his own terms, at his own pace. The dog doesnt realise that
hes tiny, but by picking him up, you make him 6 feet tall and give him an attitude cos hes got
momma at his back, not a great idea really is it?
And would you interfere in all of your daughters interactions with her school friends, talking for
her, standing in front of her so she cant speak, not letting her look at them? Not a great idea for
her social development is it?  And not for your dog either.........
Dogs that are fearful/ apprehensive require two things...time and distance. If we give them that,
and ensure that all other dogs do too, they can pretty much figure things out on their own and
grow in their confidence learning experientially and vicariously. Thats what we let them do here
at the ranch. Theres always a human in charge. No one is allowed to bully or be bullied, but
everyone interacts together in time.
That being said, we do take in dogs from time to time that have more serious issues than mild
socialisation issues. If we feel that other dogs would be at risk, we keep those dogs separate;
they use a separate entrance and are not allowed to interact with guest dogs while we work with
them. With these dogs, we operate a board and train programme starting at $75 per day, and
we work with them to socialise them using our own concierge dogs as our training partners to
help show them what acceptable behaviour is. The two dogs that work with me to rehabilitate
dogs, Levi and Freddie, are incredibly experienced in these matters and bring a wealth of
confidence and unflappability to aggression issue problems. We are happy to discuss your dogs
unique situation and advise on a course of action accordingly. We have many success stories we
can share with you.

9. With all these dogs running around off leash arent there lots of fights?

We understand here that dogs arent robots, and that fights might happen but we take huge
steps to minimise the chances of fights by understanding the psyche of the dog and what causes
most fights.
Firstly, territoriality.....None of the dogs that visits here owns it, this is neutral territory for all
of the dogs and they all understand that.
Secondly, no toys or possessions belong to the dogs...... I dont want you to bring their favourite
toys or dog beds or blankies, as they will get possessive [as they should!] if another dog tried to
get it off them. We dont do toys here as nature has provided us with a million sticks, sand to roll
in, puddles to jump in and meadows for running. We sometimes put out a football if the dogs are
the pack that can play with it nicely, or a tug rope, but only for certain groups. Every situation is
judged individually.

They are all quick to learn that this is my territory and I say what happens here. It is not that I
am a megalomaniac, its just that a human has to be in charge for any domesticated pack to work
and flow correctly. If things get out of hand, I m the one to say a sharp No, or a loud 'AANK
AANK' to break the moment. At times we will drop a metal bowl to use a sound diversion if one
of the dogs is 'fixing' on another.
We do not allow bullying tactics, such as one dog biting another on the back of the neck in play as
that is a very predatory behaviour, or one dog forcing another onto its side. If dogs attempt
such things, we either use 'no or 'break', if we are ignored, we throw a metal bowl to the
ground. In very rare circumstances we may utilise a water spray to halt a threatening behaviour.
We never wrestle dogs to the ground and put them on their side, we never use the punch that
has become so popular since Cesar Millan started airing on TV, we prefer to lead in a more aloof
hands off fashion.
If you open the door to aggression with any dog using force methods, they will walk through it. In
the same way that bullying a child teaches them to bully others. Its no different really.....

10. My dog came home from your place and didnt talk to me for two days.......do you
sell Prozac to help him cope with coming home?

Ha! This is a real question I get asked all of the time with clients tongues firmly in their cheeks!
Re-entry is a problem for some dogs, particularly those with no freedom at home or no big
fenced yard,dogs that are left alone for long periods of time, or maybe those that arent allowed
to sit next to their owners on the furniture.
At the Desperate Dogs Ranch, we try to be the equivalent of Sandals for dogs! Your dogs'
entire stay is going to be all about his comfort, his need for adventure, friends and conversing
with his own species, which is, in itself, very comforting.. a tough act to follow when they get
home. Whilst it may be tough seeing your dog pout because he had to come home, just think how
comforting it'll be every time you go away, having no feelings of guilt that your beloved pet is sat
in a concrete box, no one to talk to, nothing to do. We have a 100% return rate here at
Desperate Dogs because clients have such a great time and their owners can see it!

These are just the most frequently asked questions, if you have any other concerns,
please give us a call on (678) 936-2771.