HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Please do not simply ask your veterinarian if your dog is “up to date” because your veterinarians’ requirements might be different from ours. Your dog needs to have all the following shots completed at least a week before his/her stay with us. We will not accept your dog if vaccinations are administered in the week prior to his/her stay.
Roscoe’s Ranch has very strict health requirements for a reason. We care about your dog and we want to do everything we can to ensure that our environment is clean and free from contagious illnesses. Our requirements may mean another trip to your veterinarian before a stay at the Ranch. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes you. Please take comfort in knowing that your dog is going to be staying at a kennel that has the highest possible standard of cleanliness. If you have any questions about our health requirements, please feel free to call us at (360) 668-6139. We would be happy to discuss them with you.
IMPORTANT: Please have your veterinarian fax proof of vaccinations, and fecal test results, to us at least a week before your arrival. Fax# 360-668-8035.
Rabies
We require all dogs to be current on their rabies shots. Most adult dogs are on a 3 year booster shot. That is fine as long as they are current.
Bordetella (a.k.a. kennel cough)
We require dogs to have received a bordetella vaccination within the 6 months before a stay at the Ranch.
Distemper/Parvo
Many veterinarians have different names for this combination shot. Please just ask your veterinarian if your dog is vaccinated against Distemper and Parvo. Many adult dogs are also on a 3 year booster for DHHP. That is fine as long as they are current.
We will accept a titer test for this vaccination for adult dogs (already done with his/her puppy shots and is ready for booster shots). We require the titer test to have been done within the last year if you choose not to vaccinate for DHHP. As with all vaccinations, please have your veterinarian fax over proof of titer test.
Fecal Float
We require a negative fecal float, for each dog, within 3 months of your dog’s stay at the Ranch.
You do not need an appointment at your vet to get tested. Simply drop off a fresh “sample” at your veterinarian and they can usually give you the results within one business day. Depending on your vet’s pricing, the test will cost somewhere between $10-$25. There are different kinds of fecal tests, some more expensive than others. Please ask specifically for a “Fecal Float”.
If your dog tests positive for parasites, you will need to complete the full treatment cycle and pass a second fecal exam before we can accommodate him/her at the Ranch. Giardia can be treated in about one week, while roundworm treatment is spread out over the course of several weeks. Because some treatments can take up to 4 weeks, we recommend conducting the fecal test a month before your stay. The 3 month time frame was chosen for two reasons. It is recent enough to try and catch most cases while still providing you enough time to treat your dog in the event of a positive test.
You may think this is excessive but believe us, it’s not. We have had to turn away many clients due to positive tests even though the dogs in question appeared healthy. It is not uncommon for a dog to be infected with worms, or other parasites, without exhibiting external symptoms. Based on our own experience, worms are a more prevalent problem in our environment than most people realize. This is especially true if your dog frequents off-leash dog parks.
Worms are particularly concerning because their eggs are microscopic and easily passed from dog to dog in parks and other common places. When an infected dog poops on grass, even the most diligent clean up job cannot prevent the eggs from staying in the soil and on the grass. A clean dog can then ingest those eggs in a number of ways. They might pick them up on their paws which they lick later on. They can also eat the grass or the soil and become infected.
Most of our competitors do not require fecal tests. We believe it is necessary because these parasites are very easy to transmit in commons areas. Here at the Ranch, our two pastures are used by all of our guests and we have a responsibility to each of our customers to ensure that our property is parasite free.
As with all our requirements, ask yourself if you want your dog staying at a kennel with lower standards than ours.
