Desperate Dogs

Desperate Dogs All Inclusive Canine Hotel Resort & Doggy Day Care No one ever refuses a meal at DD! Separation anxiety? No problem!
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Desperate Dogs is a luxury dog boarding hotel, canine adventure daycamp and a place where troubled dogs come to shake off some of the world's stresses....
Run by experienced canine behavior counsellor Penny Miller, her husband Peter and Ranch Manager Kristen Snyder, the dogs have the most incredible off leash experience to be had anywhere in the state of Georgia! There are 8.5 gorgeous acres of se

curely fenced meadows, woodlands, streams, a natural swim hole, a swimming pool, a huge covered barn for wet weather indoor/outdoor play.....the fun just never stops! For resting and sleep time, the Desperate Dogs Ranch experience is unlike anywhere else your dog has ever stayed. There are couches everywhere, carpeted rooms and soft, plush dog beds for your precious baby to sink into, enjoying the deepest of sleeps. Mealtimes are a major gastronomic event with fresh succulent meats and vegetables cooked daily and to each dogs' unique requirements by our 'doggy chefs' for our eager guests. DD is the perfect choice if your dog is thunder phobic; not only are our staff incredibly skilled with thunder phobia cases and have years of handling experience, the construction of the house, in sturdy 1960's block and brick with a buried basement, means that we have the perfect noise-muffling environment for the most thunder phobic dog. Our unique phased-integration and relationship-building protocols mean your dog will feel at home, comfortable and part of a new family in no time. Our whole ethos is to let a dog be a dog.....to explore, to breathe, to move freely and to exercise all of the natural drives that dogs have. This, coupled with all of the touches of home, create an atmosphere of relaxation and comfort that bring about a state of mind where learning can take place, social skills can be learned and stresses can be cast off. Dogs always return home calmer, happier and more able to cope with life at home....and they often sleep for three days straight! We use no shock collars, pinch collars, choke chains or any other torture techniques; we do not engage with clients who use such devices unless they throw them in our trash.....all of our work is relationship based, kind and gentle. Think of us as kindly aunts and uncles who love your dog as much as you do, and who will go to untold lengths to achieve his or her happiness. Pooch Paradise exists.......and its right here in Winder, Georgia.

When your mom sends your sweater and you roll around in the woods until it comes off because you prefer to go “au natura...
01/24/2025

When your mom sends your sweater and you roll around in the woods until it comes off because you prefer to go “au naturale” no matter the frigid temps.

Chilly days and big smiles 😍
01/23/2025

Chilly days and big smiles 😍

Sunday’s Best 🥰
01/20/2025

Sunday’s Best 🥰

Friday’s Friends
01/18/2025

Friday’s Friends

01/17/2025

Fancy a game of catch me b***h?

Lovely faces at the DD Ranch
01/15/2025

Lovely faces at the DD Ranch

Monday with the best guests!
01/13/2025

Monday with the best guests!

What a beautiful Sunday as the snow melts at the Ranch
01/12/2025

What a beautiful Sunday as the snow melts at the Ranch

Snow day at the DD Ranch!
01/10/2025

Snow day at the DD Ranch!

Unless you have a Great Pyrenees, or a wolf, you have no business leaving a dog out in this weather. They will die. BRIN...
01/10/2025

Unless you have a Great Pyrenees, or a wolf, you have no business leaving a dog out in this weather.
They will die.
BRING THEM IN!

“I heard something about snow tomorrow? The kitchen will stay open tho, right?”
01/09/2025

“I heard something about snow tomorrow? The kitchen will stay open tho, right?”

01/09/2025
Our friends at Off the Chain are providing wheat straw for any dogs living outside. We BEG YOU to please bring your pets...
01/09/2025

Our friends at Off the Chain are providing wheat straw for any dogs living outside.

We BEG YOU to please bring your pets inside in this freezing weather. Many animals, particularly older pets who cannot regulate their body temperature, die in these freezing temperatures.
Don’t be a murdering a$$hole, bring them inside!
If you know of a dog or cat being left outside, please tell Animal Control immediately.
You have my permission to throw sloppy dog$hit at anyone who leaves their dogs outside in freezing temps.
If you have no choice but to leave a pet outside, (hmmm, really though 🙄?) wheat straw is better than blankets to insulate them from the freezing ground. We recommend blankets ON the dog, and wheat straw UNDER and AROUND the dog.
Make sure the dog’s shelter is facing out of the wind and has even a makeshift door/ flap/ anything to cover the entryway to keep any warmth in.
Give warm food to help improve their circulation, and heat up their system a bit…even warm water on dry kibble is better than nothing.
Make sure the dog’s water bowl is not in a place it can freeze.
Get as many layers of insulation, even cardboard if that’s all you can do, into the dog’s shelter as is practical. They need to be able to stand up turn around in there but insulation is SUPER important. Even a tarp or two placed and secured over the outside of a wooden kennel or igloo, shed or whatever the shelter and large objects like wood panels placed around it will lower the blast from the freeze.
For feral cats, provide a shelter from the storm by taking a box or plastic storage bin, cut a hole just big enough for the cat to get in or out and fill it with wheat straw. Face it away from the wind and put a little water bowl and some food in there.
Off the Chain is GIVING bales of straw away to anyone who needs them.
Please take advantage of this wonderful help. And please SHARE this post far and wide!
Let’s make this the year some dick’s poor dog doesn’t have to die!
Peter Miller Desperate Dogs

Only eight bales have been picked up as a five minutes ago at 1:50 PM. We hope this means lots of dogs will be spending time inside tonight. 😔🥶🙏🏻 please help if you can.

🚨🥶 Attention Dog Owners! 🥶🚨

If your dog must stay outside (though an indoor bathroom, garage, or laundry room would be much safer), and you can drive to Braselton, Off the Chain will gladly provide a bale of wheat straw to help keep your dog warm!

Don’t have a truck? No problem! A 55-gallon trash bag (available at dollar stores) can hold the straw and fit in your back seat without making a mess.

There’s no excuse to leave your best friend in the cold—protect them from the dangerous weather tomorrow and in the coming weeks.

Pick up details:
📍 Outdoor Environments, Inc.
🕗 Tomorrow (8:00 AM - 5:00 PM)
❗ Friday will be too late.

Contact or stop by:
📞 +1 (706) 658-2783
📍 68 Zion Church Rd, Braselton, GA 30517

Let’s keep our outdoor friends safe! 🐾

It’s sweater weather!
01/09/2025

It’s sweater weather!

Stay warm out there folks, and please let animal control know if you see a dog left outside! Take shelter, blankets and ...
01/08/2025

Stay warm out there folks, and please let animal control know if you see a dog left outside!
Take shelter, blankets and warm food to them immediately if you fear that the dog is in crisis. Pets will freeze to death in these conditions so please don’t sit back and think ‘someone should really help that dog’… that someone should be you.

We are reposting this today in the hopes that Charlie will find her forever home. The clock is ticking on this one, DD F...
01/07/2025

We are reposting this today in the hopes that Charlie will find her forever home.
The clock is ticking on this one, DD Family, Charlie needs a home ASAP. She is a lovely, joyful girl and is most definitely worthy of a meet and greet for any family that has the home she needs.
PLEASE SHARE< SHARE< SHARE!

It had to happen... after almost ten years building and running an award-winning senior dog and hospice facility, 2 year...
01/05/2025

It had to happen... after almost ten years building and running an award-winning senior dog and hospice facility, 2 years running a free pet food pantry outreach and almost 3 years running our free advice service, we got our first bad review for Senior Solutions and Andy's Place.
For those who don't know, this is a free advice service that we operate to help those with any kind of pet problem we can assist with...be it behavioral issues, simple medical issues, natural cancer protocols, end of life advice, hospice care tips, helping to rehome pets if people are in a dire situation, providing pet food, recommending local professionals, the list is endless.
We get so many calls and emails, it really is a full time thing, but we love doing it because every now and again someone says 'Okay, this makes sense, you're right, we can manage this, I'm going to keep my dog and not turn him into the shelter', or "Thank you, I'm going to give this new natural cancer protocol a go before we put him down."
I know some people love to write reviews, but I guess I am more used to people doing so when they have invested their money, or time, into something and feel like they didn't get out of it what they were promised, so this was a bit of a surprise.
Now, before I deep dive, I have to make clear that I don't waste too much time worrying about what people think of me personally, I am thankfully past all of that. Realization hit me a long time ago that the road to disappointment and anxiety is when we try to be anything but who we are, and that being your authentic self might not make you popular, but it is not living a lie.
I am here only for the dogs, and I think by now, everyone knows that.
I have zero tolerance for people who don't care for their dogs, those who keep their dogs outside, those who chain their dogs up, and, in general, those who neglect or abuse these gorgeous creatures.
Seeing the beauty, wisdom and grace of the senior dogs we work with every day, and having nursed my own oldies, willing them to keep on living, clinging on to each breath with gratitude, I want to strangle anyone who doesn't appreciate what they have.
Thankfully, in our beautiful forever home sanctuary, we deal with the best of humanity...the kindness of volunteers, donors and our staff is a joy to behold.
Through the advice line, though, I very often have to deal with the dregs of humanity.
You know them, those who see a p*e stain on that perfect white rug and immediately seek to rehome their dog. Or those who let their kids crawl all over poor old Max when his arthritis is killing him and then want to give up their dog because he snapped at their child.
The suggestions are met with horror....
Just stop the dog from going into the 'posh room' if it’s that important to them?
"No! Perish the thought! That would require effort and environmental management! We haven’t got time for that!"
Protect poor old Max by instilling some good behavior and boundaries in their child so it doesn't ruin the life of the dog?
"How dare you suggest that I train my child? My child should be able to do anything he wants to a dog!"
Or worse, those who won't even give a reason for wanting to boot out their dog, they just think they have a God given right to own a dog for all the good years and then boot the poor old fella out when he starts to cost a little bit in vet bills and dump the 'problem' on someone else.
On New Years Eve, I had a lady call me at 7pm asking if we take Pitbulls. When I asked her why she needed to rehome her dog, she sighed dramatically and snarled "Jesus, I don't have time for this, do you take f*cking Pitbulls or not? I need him gone now!"
Turns out some people don't feel the need to be well-mannered when they are asking for help.
So, the review.... Isa was her name (I can share that because she has given it out on the awful Google review she did of us).
Isa wrote to me last week and asked if we could take her 11-year-old Lab whom she'd had since a puppy because she was going through 'life changes'.
Now, as you all know, there are life changes...and there are life changes, so I asked her to explain.
You see, last week, we helped a young lady in a domestic violence situation who had gotten herself to safety but needed help for her pets and somewhere to stay.
Every day, we help people who are facing homelessness.
Every day, we help people in unexpected poverty who can't afford to care for their pets, people struggling with the death of a family member, people who are facing their own death and need to rehome their pets....these are the kind of life changes necessitating rehoming a pet, though not for everyone, thankfully.
We always ask what the situation is, because first of all, we need to see how we can help.
In many cases, we can stop people having to give up their dogs, and that is what we set out to do every time. That is our stated purpose.
When someone refuses to give any more information than simply ‘life changes', of course we have no clue how we could help her.
I asked again for her to be more specific and explained that we have to know the reason she needs to rehome because unless she gives us information on her situation and the dog, how do we know how we can help, and how do we even know it's hers?
Let's be honest, as any rescuer will tell you, it's tough times in rescue these days and folks are sometimes economical with the truth.
She could be a dog flipper who got stuck with a dog she couldn't shift (happens more than you think), she could have just found the dog and been turned away by the county shelter but need somewhere to dump him, she could have even stolen the dog to p**s off an ex (had that one quite a few times)! Her dog could be a bite case and killed another dog (had that one tried on us more than a few times from people trying to dump their dogs) but she doesn't know where to put him.
Let's face it, it could be ANYTHING.
Or, on the flip side, she might just need practical help with free pet food or her dog may have a chronic illness, we try to help in every case like this ... but without ANY information how do we know if we can help?
Well, with all the entitlement of someone who doesn't see the need to take responsibility or answer for her actions, Isa let off a volley about how I'm a terrible person, basically, because I wanted to know more about the situation. Apparently 'God judges people like me.'.... And I'm very unprofessional🤣.
Meh, she may be right there, but when we might take 50-60 calls and e-mails a day, do we have time to be anything but direct?
Even though I pointed out that she's asking a complete stranger for help that might cost us thousands of dollars, she literally felt affronted that I needed to know more about her dog and the situation she was in. I guess it didn't help that I accused her of having a tantrum and being entitled when she got so angry at being asked to explain herself.
Truth is, we don't judge anyone who has a valid reason for needing to give up their dog, but 'dog dumpers' we sure do.
So we said no.
I told her "We won't help you until you are willing to have an open and honest discussion about why you have to give your dog up."
Well, that just sent this woman into apoplexy.
Clearly what we should have done is thanked her profusely for giving us the opportunity to take her problem off of her hands, thanked her for the opportunity to possibly spend thousands of dollars caring for her dog, bent the knee at the opportunity to risk so much on a dog we know nothing about (no, not even a photo or veterinary information to go with the emails she sent me??).
Clearly, we should have told her that we LOVE people who try to dump their dog on a stranger they just found on the internet, no questions asked and walk around with an "I refuse to answer for my actions" attitude.
Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, with all kinds of risks, risks that we have a whole team in place to try and mitigate before we take in a dog or help to place one.
Information is the key to everything and in our opinion 'no questions asked' is the sure-fire way to sp*ed contagious diseases, proliferations of human or pet bite cases, or hefty vet bills.
No thanks.
So, I have to ask, do you think she has a point? Was she right to go on Google and give us a bad review?
I would love your feedback or comments on here, because in all honesty, this one threw me!

What a week to start the New Year 😍🐾
01/04/2025

What a week to start the New Year 😍🐾

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653 Gainesville Highway
Winder, GA
30680

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Desperate Dogs is a luxury dog boarding hotel and a specialist residential rehabilitation center for dogs with issues like socialisation, fear, aggression and separation anxiety, to name but a few... Run by experienced canine behaviourist Penny Miller and her husband Peter, the dogs enjoy hours of off leash activity in the three acre fenced meadow and the swimming pool; they sleep, as all dogs should do, on a couch!!! Decorated just like home, the Desperate Dogs experience is unlike anywhere else in the Southern States...no concrete runs, no kennels, no cages unless we are potty training, dogs here quickly get to feel at home and to feel very relaxed. This relaxation and comfort bring about a state of mind where learning can take place, and so dogs always return home calmer, happier and more able to cope with life at home. We use no shock collars, pinch collars, choke chains or any other torture techniques and do not work with people who do....all of our work is relationship based and instills trust in the dog so that he will not fear humans ever. So, whether you have a problem dog, or you just want your dog to have the time of his life while youre away so you can have a guilt free vacation, give us a call and arrange a visit. Penny Miller took her first foray into the world of dog behavior eighteen years ago while living in Trinidad and Tobago where she and her family rescued and fed street dogs to teach her children value and compassion for all living things. Upon the family's return to Britain, after an introduction to dog behavior through British behaviorist Kendall Shepherd, she formally studied dog behavior and earned professional diplomas in Canine Behavior and Psychology, studied canine nutrition, wolf behavior, worked with British obedience and hunting dog trainers and studied the Amichien Dog Listener methods under Jan Fennell and Tony Knight. She has continued her education with distance learning of international dog behaviorists and attending seminars and workshops both here in the US and the UK. This provided the foundation of the work she does today, but nothing impacted her knowledge as much as the hands on work that she has done with shelter and rescue dogs. To date, Penny has worked with literally thousands of dogs, many of them last chance dogs that the shelters had deemed unadoptable, unmanageable and unplaceable. It was with these dogs that her most intense learning took place, and continues to do so. To date, she and husband Peter have fostered over 120 'problem' dogs, each of them with unique issues and thus a wealth of learning opportunities. Over the last seven years in the US, Penny has worked with countless rescues, including Alcovy Pet Rescue, Gracie's Place, Atlanta Lab, Gwinnett Humane Society, Hall County Humane Society to name but a few, and all pro bono........ Desperate Dogs gives a minimum of 20% of its time, talent or treasures every year to local and international dog charities and it is the goal to continue this mission that drives this unique business. Last year, Penny was approached by the Gwinnett County Sheriffs Department to work with their incredibly successful Jail Dogs Program, to work hands on with some of their aggression and fear cases. She now advises regularly at the jail on their problem dogs and provides free rehabilitation work on an ongoing basis. Penny is not a dog trainer, and doesn't pretend to be....her speciality is seeing life from the dogs perspective and solving dog problems using the dog's unique psychology and drives. This work is completely instinctual and differs from dog to dog, as no two cases, just like no two dogs, are ever alike. Whether she is working with a 120 pound German Shepherd with severe aggression issues or a tiny Maltese with fear issues, she works every case herself, hands on. Her belief is that if she can't handle your dog, then how can a client trust her to fix the problem? Plain speaking, to the point and with a very British sense of humour interwoven into everything she does, Penny has become well known for fixing the cases that others can't.....the Desperate Dogs Ranch has successfully rehabilitated hundreds upon hundreds of dogs that were otherwise destined for rehoming or euthanasia. This is achieved by a combination of instinctual dog handling and the building of close relationships with both the owners and dogs that continue long after the consult has ended or the dog has left the facility. The Desperate Dogs mission is to find simple solutions that are workable for both the human client as well as the dog, as continuing compliance with any methodology is only going to be achieved if the human client can find time and enthusiasm to follow it. Instinctual Dog Handling is a completely different approach....it's hands off, gentle and does not require mountains of food to be administered to the dog every second to get the required result. It does not allow for choke chains, shock collars or pinch collars and does not require dogs to be so called 'calm submissive'. It's about empowering the dog to find confidence and happiness within itself, and setting the dog free from the its own pain and fear.