Special Needs
From time to time, we are asked to take dogs in that have special needs...perhaps they are missing a limb or have skin issues, or are severely thunder phobic, the list is endless.
At Desperate Dogs, we specialise in giving these dogs a very special vacation.
Take for instance, Hope, the German Shepherd.
Hope's owner was very concerned about boarding Hope as she had some separation anxiety issues and has only three legs, which left gave her feelings of physical insecurity so was not great around other dogs.
Hope came to us for a week while her owner went on vacation to Mexico. In that time, we worked at Hope's pace, slowly integrating her into our pack of dogs here at the ranch until Hope felt comfortable, and then taught Hope to feel comfort with her carers being at increasing distances from her. Within a few days, Hope was able to leave her carer's side, and play with other gentle large dogs at around 50 or 60 feet away in comfort.
We worked on her mobility too, with specific exercises to increase her sure footedness, like climbing onto tree trunks and getting down again, weaving in and out of positioned poles and stepping into tyres and out again.
While simple, these exercises made Hope consider her movements and the way her body reacted to height differences, plus, every time she achieved something, it made her confidence grow and grow.
We have several amputees among our clients and find that these simple things can make a whole lot of difference to the dog.....there is no fancy scientific term for what we do in these cases, its purely confidence building and strengthening muscles that need to carry a little more weight than they normally would.
We like to try and help every dog that comes to us here at the ranch, to give those dogs a gift of confidence and strength to take home with them. Give us a call today to discuss your needs and we'll tell you if we feel that we can help you.
Click Here to check out the story about Hope and view pictures on our Facebook Page.