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Frequently Asked Questions

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It typically takes about a week for us to schedule you into our normal routes. To get started with a Rascal membership, please first fill out our Rookie Rascal application. Once that’s done, we will setup a call for you to meet Vicki and schedule your first trial day.

Sorry, Rascal Ranch is strictly for the dogs! We offer free pickup and drop-off to our private five-acre coastal Ranch. Our members experience Rascal Ranch through their custom Rascal photo album that is regularly updated.

No. Our membership is designed to be a unique off-leash experience. We offer free pickup and drop-off to our coastal Ranch where your dog can play, roam, and relax in wide open spaces. Vicki‘s Little Rascals is more than a walk — it’s a total outdoor experience.

You bet! Rascal Ranch is a great way to help socialize puppies. Your puppy must be at least 16 weeks old and have all of their third round vaccinations. Please note that your Rascal must be spayed or neutered by the time they are 8 months old, or sooner if there are behavior issues.

Sorry, we are only open weekdays! Our memberships are available Monday through Friday. If you are a Rascal member, you can request dog sitting on weekends but it is subject to staff availability.

How it Works

All new dogs are specially supervised by our team in a separate fenced "Rookie Rascal" playground. We first build a relationship between your Rascal and our team to ensure that your dog recognizes us as the “top dogs” at the Ranch. We then oversee controlled, safe one-on-one introductions between your Rookie and each of our current Rascals to reduce stress and overexcitement. Once we think your Rascal has responded well to our team and exhibited friendly, confident behavior, we determine the best playgroup for your Rascal and let them join their new pack.

We guarantee at least two hours of off-leash play at the Ranch, plus one to two hours in the car for all of our Rascals’ pickups/drop-offs. In general, we take care of your Rascal for about three and a half to five hours total per day.

It’s up to you! If you choose our membership for 3 days (Silver tier) or 4 days (Gold tier), you can also request additional days for the week, subject to availability. We are closed on weekends, but our Platinum tier (5 days) guarantees Ranch visits Monday through Friday, every week.

No, we only offer visits to the Ranch Monday through Friday. However, if our staff is available we do offer overnight care and weekend dog walks for our members — just contact us to request additional pet care!

Not home? No problem! We’ll work with you to determine the safest way to enter your house. We typically ask our members to designate an area outside with a lockbox and key (no copies required, we don’t keep your key with us). You can keep track of your Rascal’s whereabouts by logging into our Member Portal, and we’ll send a notification once we drop off your Rascal for the day.

We have adopted new procedures to increase the safety and well-being of you, your Rascal, and our team. You can review our coronavirus protocols here.

Pickup & Drop-off

Depending on your location and our routes, your Rascal will be picked up between 9 and 11:30 a.m., and will be safely returned between 1 and 3:30 p.m.

Our team of Rascal Wranglers and our trusty fleet of minivans will arrive at your house between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m., based on your location. If you aren’t home, we’ll work with you to determine the safest way to enter your house. We typically ask our members to designate an area outside with a lockbox and key (no copies required, we don’t keep your key with us). Our goal is to quickly get in and get out within five minutes so that we can pick up all of our Rascals up in a timely manner. Our team is highly professional and dependable, and we treat your home with the utmost respect and privacy.

Due to COVID-19, we have enhanced our safety measures to ensure zero contact. You can review our protocols here.

Our trustworthy team works together to ensure the safety, health, and fun for all of our Rascals. All of our Rascal Wranglers complete extensive pet care training from the Dog Gurus so that they understand how to communicate with dogs, avoid unnecessary injuries, stop chaotic behavior, and provide a fun and playful environment for dogs.

Typically one team member will handle your Rascal’s transportation, but we also rotate our staff to ensure everyone is familiar with our routes and pickups and drop-offs procedures. You can always login to our Member Portal to check your Rascal’s status, and see who is driving them to/from the Ranch for the day.

Our Ranch, located in the Half Moon Bay area, is a private getaway for dogs only. Your Rascal membership includes free pickup and drop-off!

We have a small fleet of minivans that offer various seating options, including crates for the little guys (or those that get a little carsick). Each van maintains a temperate 68 degrees and is equipped with plenty of water.

View a map of our current service areas here. We can only accommodate a single pickup and drop-off location. Please note that all memberships include pickup and drop-off, and we do not allow you to personally visit Rascal Ranch due to our insurance coverage.

You can log into your Members Portal at any point throughout the day to see if your Rascal has been picked up, and we send notifications once we drop off your Rascal for the day!

Days at the Ranch

As long as public schools are open during a storm, we are open too! If schools are closed due to severe weather, we cancel service and reschedule as many Ranch visits as possible. We do not offer credits or refunds due to rainy days. Despite what us humans think of the rain, most Rascals love it! However, we provide covered areas at the Ranch for those who don’t love getting their paws wet.

We also ask all members to provide two to three towels that are easily accessible during your Rascal’s drop-off so that we can quickly dry off and wipe down potentially muddy pups and paws (let us know where your hose is in case they need a quick rinse too). You are welcome to provide special rainy day drop-off requests, such as putting your Rascal in their crate or a confined area to allow them to fully dry off.

In the event of a heat wave, we practice safety first. We keep the AC on in our fleet of minivans during transport and provide plenty of water and shady areas at the Ranch. Since the Ranch is off the coast, Rascals typically get a break from the Peninsula heat on most days. However, if we are concerned for the safety and well-being of Rascals, we reserve the right to cancel Ranch visits and instead can drop by your home to check on your Rascal and let them out for a potty break. If your Rascal is pre-dispositioned for breathing issues, please let us know!

Yes. For a small fee we will ensure your Rascal is fed or given prescribed pills, but we do not provide medicinal injections or sub-q fluids.

Daily totals vary due to our membership model where Rascals visit the Ranch a set number of days per week. Typically, two of our team members oversee a pack of 10 to 14 dogs per day.

Depending on our van capacities and existing routes, we will try to accommodate any special requests that differ from our typical schedule, but this isn’t guaranteed. We offer the following membership tiers:

• 3 days: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays (these days are subject to change based on van capacities and routes)

• 4 days: Mondays through Thursdays  (these days are subject to change based on van capacities and routes, however we find that Rascal parents like to take off on Fridays and don’t need Ranch days then)

• 5 days: Mondays through Fridays 

Keep in mind that you can always request additional days at the Ranch if you have a 3 or 4 day membership!

We only offer Rascal Ranch visits Monday through Friday based on your membership. Members can also request weekend and/or overnight pet care — contact us to learn more.

Yes, we are closed for the following holidays every year:

• Presidents Day (the third Monday in February)

• Memorial Day (the last Monday in May)

• July 4th and 5th

• Labor Day (the first Monday in September)

• Thanksgiving and the day after

• The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day (typically December 24 through January 2)

Behavior

Sorry, we don’t offer one-on-one training, but we do require a baseline level of training and socialization to become a member.

While we aren’t a training facility, many of our Rascals have vastly improved their recall, manners, and basic training commands from consistent Ranch visits. Our five acres of fun offers the perfect daycare environment for your Rascal to exercise and socialize with other dogs. Our daily routines usually help improve Rascals’ behavior to be calmer and more content at home.

For the well-being of all of our Rascals, we can only offer memberships to socialized dogs. If you have adopted a rescue and are not sure of your Rascal's history, we recommend undergoing a dog trainer assessment. We will do our best to work with you to see if Rascal Ranch will be a good fit.

Rascal Ranch is a great way to provide consistent socialization with other dogs, and our safe, enclosed five acres allows them to get all of the energy out. While we don’t offer one-on-one training and can only accept socialized dogs, many of our Rascals naturally fit into the pack once they get into our routine. Contact us to setup a dog trainer assessment and we’ll evaluate your Rascal to see if the Ranch will be a good fit.

Yes! We have plenty of space to get that energy out. Rascal Ranch is a great place for dogs that like to play — with our five acres of freedom and fresh air, your Rascal will love us way more than an indoor doggy daycare

Absolutely, our Rascals come in all sizes and temperaments. We specially place your Rascal into a play group based on their personality, and have fenced areas throughout the Ranch for private play zones. If your Rascal prefers solitude, there is plenty of space for them to roam and relax on their own.

However, you might be surprised who your Rascal befriends at the Ranch! We have many entertaining pairs of fur-riends — like Mishka the Pug and Pepper the Golden Retriever, or Ruby the Husky and Winston the Bulldog. Our tried-and-true approach to getting to know your Rascal helps us give them a safe and fun environment to make besties.

All of our Rascals are members-only, and we review and evaluate all new Rascals to specially place them in a playgroup that matches their size and personality. With 20 years of doggy daycare experience, we know that regular play time with familiar dogs reduces stress and threatening behavior. Our memberships are designed to give your Rascal a routine of fun with real fur-riends!

Memberships

All memberships are subject to availability based on your location, our van capacities, and space in our Rascal playgroups. If we can’t add you into our schedule now, we keep an ongoing waitlist and will notify you as spots open become available.

We are committed to providing a safe environment for everyone, and strictly follow the following requirements for all of our Rascals:

• All Rascals must pass a temperament evaluation.

• All Rascals must be spayed/neutered by 8 months (or sooner, if behavior issues are detected).

• No bite history towards humans or other dogs.

• All Rascals must be up-to-date on vaccinations, including rabies, parvo, distemper and bordetella. Canine flu vaccinations are recommended, but not required.

• All Rascals must be on a monthly flea/tick and heart worm preventative.

You bet! Rascal Ranch is a great way to help socialize puppies. Your puppy must be at least 16 weeks old and have all of their third round vaccinations. Please note that your Rascal must be spayed or neutered by the time they are 8 months old, or sooner if there are behavior issues.

Yes, the more the merrier! Here’s our membership rates if you have two Rascals:

• Cost for each additional Rascals at the same pick up address is : the membership price plus an additional $45 per day per pup..

If you have more than two Rascals, please fill out our application and we’ll determine if we have space in our vans.

We offer flat rate memberships, which means we don’t guarantee credits for missed days. If your Rascal needs to miss a day at the Ranch, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can adjust our routes. We understand that unforeseen medical restrictions can occur at any moment, and will do our best to reschedule your Rascal. However, due to our normal schedules’ van capacities and routes, we may or may not be able to provide make up days for your Rascal.

View our Doggy Daycare Memberships. We offer three different membership tiers based on Ranch visits per week, and offer separate rates for one or two Rascals from the same household.

We bill our memberships through our online Member Portal, which also includes the ability to schedule additional Ranch visits or overnight pet care. We require ACH payment setup and do not accept checks or credit cards. Your account will be billed on the first of the month for membership that month. You can cancel your membership at any time.

We require 30 days advance notice to cancel your membership. Contact us to let us know you’d like to terminate your membership.

Payments are due at the first of the month. Any payments made after the fifth of the month incur a $50 late fee. If invoices are not paid by the sixth of the month, your Rascal will be removed from our schedule and your spot will be offered to another Rascal family on our waiting list.

Members can schedule additional days at the Ranch beyond their normal scheduled days for $80 per day. These requests are subject to availability based on our normal routes and van capacities.

We do our best to accommodate all member requests, but it is based on our availability and van capacity. The sooner you book, the easier it is for us to plan and arrange for additional care! Visit the Member Portal to schedule requests.

About Rascal Ranch

After 14 years of providing dog sitting and dog walking services, Vicki transitioned her business to the next level in 2015. Her years of experience and deep understanding of her community’s needs helped her build a doggy daycare experience like no other — Rascal Ranch.

Rascal Ranch was designed around the dream of a private, off-leash play land utopia for Rascals. All Rascals are hand-selected to ensure a safe and friendly environment where dogs can spend their days in an open, natural play environment. Rest easy knowing your beloved four-legged family member is having the best day ever, every day!

One Rascal inspired it all — Vicki’s beloved Golden Retriever, Henry (2004-2015). “Henry was my right hand, my best friend, and the face of Vicki’s Little Rascals for years. He was and will forever be my why for every decision I make for my business. He is my barometer and as my team knows, Henry set the Golden Standard for safety and our commitment to giving our Rascals the best day ever, every day.”

Our company credo is simple. We make every decision by first answering one simple question: If this were my beloved dog, how would I want the situation to be handled?

Our coastal Ranch is located in Half Moon Bay on five private acres.

Yes, we are fully insured through State Farm Insurance.

Our team, affectionately known as the Rascal Wranglers, are a small group of certified puppy lovers! We are highly professional, dependable, and trustworthy and go to every length to ensure your Rascal’s safety and your peace of mind.

All of our Wranglers undergo background checks and complete dog training so that they understand how to best communicate with our Rascals.

We are always looking for dedicated dog lovers to join our team of professional Rascal Wranglers. Learn more and submit an application here.