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Frequently Asked Questions

What are your rates?

    Rates do vary for different breeds, temperaments and frequency of visits. In order to provide a cage free, safe, and fun atmosphere for our customers, we do not mix animals from different owners until we are confident there won't be any problems. Rates start at $60/day and go down once we can accept other dogs during your dogs stay. We may quote a $60/day rate and then charge less (if behavior allows for it and yes it has happened) when you pick up your dog but we will not charge more than quoted.

What is your availability?/ How much notice do you need?

    Before we accept an unfamiliar animal we may require a familiarization visit. We do not accept non spayed or non neutered animals. We recommend booking as far in advance as possible to secure a spot and cancelling as soon as possible if your plans change. 

What is a familiarization visit?

     A familiarization visit or "fam" visit is a chance for us to see how your canine family member(s) interacts with ours, as well as a chance for you to meet us and discuss any concerns you might have. 

We will meet you at the gate, calm the dogs down, and allow the dogs to meet in a controlled way. Then we will do a lap or two around the yard and discuss habits or concerns while the dogs get familiar with each other. We try to create an enjoyable experience for your dog(s) while they are around ours so they will want to join our group.

What to expect depends a lot on what you bring over.

Puppies and young energetic dogs - Dogs use touch as a means of communication and there is a lot to communicate to an immature pup. The message the males are trying to get across is “I am big and strong but don’t worry I won’t hurt you.” This is conveyed by pinning and releasing. It can look rough, but please don’t worry, our dogs are very gentle. No pups have ever been hurt. Pin and release are an attempt to encourage play.

Older mature low energy dogs – These dogs easily fit right in. After initial greetings dogs that fall into this category can enjoy the property at their leisure. The girls like to hunt or fish while the boys play ball.

Skittish unsure dogs – We've met a lot of dogs and our dogs recognize if another dog needs space. If your dog is a little snarly or snappy at the start of a fam visit it is probably because they have had a hard time from a dog in the past. Our dogs will give them space and once your dog is sure nobody is out to hurt them, they tend to relax and join the group.

Got an Alpha? - As long as your dog is submissive to humans, we can usually work them in. Our dogs have never had any reason to fight, life is good for them, so although they may not follow another Alpha they won’t chase or cause conflict either. It can take longer for some dogs to trust another human so some might not be submissive to us even though they are to you. We’ll figure that out during the visit.

Conflicting personalities – One of the great things about dogs, is they don’t fain niceties. If they start posturing and circling, as soon as they meet then we don’t have the best place for your dog to stay. It’s not you and it’s not us, some dogs just have conflicting personalities. I’m sure we could find common ground to start a relationship but that requires a lot more time than a fam visit allows for.

There is no fee for the visit and it’s a onetime thing. Even if you don’t need us right away, once the fam visit is done and all went well with the dogs; we are here for you whenever you need us (as long as we are not booked up).

Can you administer medications?

   We can administer certain medications on your behalf if we are given the direction and authorization from you. Pills, eye drops, ear drops are okay with us but we will not administer needles, I.V. bags, or suppositories. 

How do you deal with communicable illnesses?

    We do want to know/have records of immunization and who has provided veterinary care. Unfortunately , as with our influenza vaccine, vaccinations for illnesses such as kennel cough do not guarantee that the virus won't be transmitted. We take additional measures to guard against such illnesses by periodically adding vitamin "C" to water dishes and limiting the number of dogs we have at any given time. If your dog does become ill to the point of requiring veterinary care and you, your emergency contact, or your vet are not available we will transport your dog to a licensed vet to administer treatments and/or care as necessary and you will be responsible for any fees incurred. 

How do you deal with ticks?

    We don't get a lot of ticks on the property but they can creep in. We keep the grass cut, trim lower branches on trees, burn brush piles promptly and spray around our yard periodically with a homemade tick deterrent that is not harmful to the dogs. 

How do you deal with blasto?

    Not much is known about this deadly fungus but it is known to live in dark wet soils of acidic pH in areas with lots of dead woody material. We take precautions against it by thinning the trees to let the sun and wind in and using wood ash to neutralize the soil pH.

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