Camp Canine is the best in the area but unfortunately that doesn't say too much. I used them for 1.5 years before moving out of state. I'm giving them 4 stars because the staff is truly wonderful and the business is well intentioned. Some of of my favorite things are the adorable "report cards" that are given after overnight stays and when they take photos of your pup and put them in a daily Facebook album. There were so many counselors there that my dog absolutely ADORED and with each visit, his socialization around larger dogs in general improved. There's also a pool for those dogs that like to take a dip on hot days and you can bring all the comforts of home (blankets, crate, toys) for overnight stays.
Having said that, there are several areas that could use improvement:
- The pricing model is unnecessarily complicated, requiring a yearly membership on top of regular costs. Membership itself isn't straightforward either. There are various levels, many of which come with one or more discounts in all sorts of combinations (i.e. daycare, overnights, baths). It's a nice idea but awfully confusing in practice. They also offer package deals but you can only buy them when you renew your membership. In order to take advantage of them you would need to accurately estimate how many times your dog will need to go to Camp Canine for the entire year.
- They are always promoting extras like a bedtime story, a holiday day party, or a treat. All of these are thoughtful in principal but I can't exactly ask my dog if he got the $5 bedtime story I paid for. I understand that the cost covers extra staff time but again, I'm not sure why anyone would pay for this. The most baffling ones to me are the (dog only) holiday parties that take place during normal business hours.
- If my dog spent more than one consecutive day he would come home with a sunburn on his nose and little nicks and scratches on his paws/legs. I get that this is to be expected sometimes but my dog has been to two other overnight facilities in different parts of the country (sunny California being one of them) and I've never seen any sunburns or scrapes to this extent.
- I really wish they had a person on premise for overnights. Instead, each dog spends the night in a little bedroom. My dog, and I imagine many others, does *much* better in an open environment with a person.
- About a year or so ago there was an incident where a small dog was fatally attacked by a larger one. This was covered by local news so I suggest doing some independent research to get the full story.
Overall I have mixed feelings about Camp Canine. I am grateful for their services but there were a number of things that I wasn't 100% happy with when I was a customer. read more