I was recommended Dogtopia due to location, friendly staff, and webcam access…read more
Pros: Friendly staff at the front. Automatic payment and easy app to navigate. Smooth drop off/pick-up if it's not during the rush. Signage on the lobby door for only one dog/family in the lobby at one time, which is very helpful for reactive dogs. lots of parking spots.
Cons: Costs are high. They used to allow us to roll over any days not used for the week/month for free but that changed abruptly with little verbal notice. staff/coaches working in the playrooms not so great. Multiple times I have seen on the webcam, staff ignoring certain dogs, carelessly spraying cleaning chemicals on dogs while cleaning, and not cleaning after dogs. I've had multiple instances in which another parent was given my dog or I was given the wrong dog at pick up. Recently I noticed the webcam feed would go up later and turn off earlier. I used to be able to watch as early as 7:45am and late as 6:30pm but sometimes I won't see anything until 8:30am and the feed will turn off at 6pm. Webcams all go offline from 12-2pm for dogs to rest and/or eat their lunch/meds, and staff to clean. No outdoor area for dogs to play or relieve themselves. The owner Cindy has confirmed during my meet and greet that many dogs have regressed on their potty training if they are trained to go outside. Going back to the webcam, I have on multiple occasions (minimum 10 different occasions first two months) witnessed my dog being humped on by other dogs but staff do nothing to correct the behavior. My dog did not hump other dogs, people, or their toys until I started to send them to daycare, and I recognize this is a natural behavior, but this behavior was very noticeable after daycare. My dog also seems to actively avoid certain dogs at daycare, and it's most likely because these same dogs keep going after mine. It does not look like playing or wrestling. It's always the same doodle, rat terrier looking dog, and sometimes a beagle bothering my dog and the staff just watch then walk away. I saw a canine coach job posting for this location, and it seems that staff get very thorough training (lots of practice and supervision) but pay seems to be $16 an hour? work 4-5 hours about 3-4 times a day minimum AND have to stand around the whole time cleaning up after dogs? At least pay them more? Hire more staff? Consider ways to maintain staff retention and lower turnover? Maybe they'll look less upset and have more drive to perform better at work?
My biggest issue is the lack of cleanliness and slow to action coaches working in the rooms. I am paying a high price but I don't believe dogs are getting the full attention and care they deserve. At least 5 instances within the first 2 months of starting daycare in which my dog came home with poop crusted on his rear, pee on his legs or back, and random chalk smudges on his legs. I was notified only once about this at pick up, and that was because the staff had supposedly washed off my dog so he was very wet at pick up. However, upon brief inspection, there was still full remnants of poop and pee on my dog. If you were going to wash off the dog, at least do a better job? Inside is well updated, so I know there is a nice grooming area with bath to clean off my dog. But also, why wasn't I notified more consistently?
Furthermore, staff in the back are not quick to clean up after dogs when they poop/peeps. I do recognize there is only 1-2 staff members working with at least 5-7 dogs and up to maybe 18 dogs in one play room, so it's absolute chaos, but it's frustrating seeing poop picked up 5-10 minutes after, pee barely mopped up with the same mop, over and over again. I have watched this multiple times on the feed and it's very disturbing, especially when I think about other dogs stepping/running all over it and coming home. I wash my dog's paws and wipe him down after every daycare day, and it's tiring after a long day of work, but it's definitely needed (especially with how the dogs smell after spending time with other dogs in a small and enclosed space).
Anyways, this place isn't terrible if you're not very particular about cleanliness and attentiveness to dog care. I think this is the only daycare in town? There is another one called pawsome care or something (still same prices but no webcam I think) but no reviews so Dogtopia it is. Also location is somewhat convenient. And my dog already knows this place so it'll probably be hard for him to readjust somewhere new. And if you're looking for grooming, I recommend Sydnee's. Prices are considerably cheaper than Dogtopia, Petco, and Petsmart. I was recommended Sydnee's too, and went at least twice.
I'm no dog professional or business owner, and I'm new to doggy daycare so I hesitated for months on posting this review. But somethings had to be sad so hopefully this helps someone.
