If you are the type of owner who loves and cherishes your dog as if it's one of your own children, please heed my warning: DO NOT board and train your dog with this company. I adopted Mac, an older beagle mix, 8 years old, who is extremely fear reactive to other dogs. When I adopted him, Gwinnett Animal Control told me they found him wandering on the side of a busy road.
Thankfully, he's never bitten another dog, but he does lunge and bark aggressively. Otherwise, he's the perfect dog and to people, at least, he's as sweet as a meringue pie.
For awhile, I researched different trainers in the Atlanta area and ultimately discovered Frogs to Dogs. After reading all of the gushing reviews across the web (including Angie's List), I knew I had to give them a try.
This year, our family decided to host a reunion-sized Thanksgiving. I figured this would be the perfect time to send my dog to a board and train program, allowing our big soiree to go off without a hitch while Mac is getting some much needed socialization. I currently live in Fayetteville and can't attend the weekend classes without a long drive into the city. So, I thought perfect! This is exactly what I'm looking for. For $95 a night, I can have some of the "highest rated" trainers develop a customized plan specifically for the needs of my dog Mac. And next month, I could continue with classes to reinforce what he's learned.
On November 12th, I had an evaluation with Zsolt and Tom. My Red Flag meter started vibing, when I arrived to an empty parking lot in Avondale Estates. Still yet, because of all of the positive reviews, I squashed those uneasy feelings. I told them Mac is already housebroken and knows basic commands. Upon meeting Tom, he immediately was less than enthusiastic about working with Mac. Nonetheless, Zsolt assured me that he'd worked with similar dogs before.
So, I paid for three weeks in full. When I arrived for the drop off at the same Avondale Estates location, those unsettled feelings still didn't disappear. Tom showed up with an unmarked van and barely said two words to me as I handed off the leash. I gave him a care list for my dog along with his up to date shot records, two bags of Wellness Senior and my dog's red food dish. I almost couldn't bear to let my dog go, he's truly apart of our family.
Tom told me that at the end of training he would send me a Youtube playlist of the progress the dog has made. Sounds like BS, right? Unfortunately, I was naive enough to believe it. How could so many perfect reviews be wrong?
Let me just say, at least communication wise, whenever I reached out to Zsolt he always responded. If not immediately, then at least at some point the same day. Tom, on the other hand, never returned phone calls and probably texted me twice the entire 18+ day stay. I got a picture from Zsolt on Thanksgiving and complete white noise from Tom. He pretty much went AWOL the day after I released Mac into his care. Five days before I had to pick my dog up, he sent me a less than 30 second video, "proving" the progress my dog was making.
The whole time I only made one real request. I asked Zsolt to take my dog to the groomer. I figured, it would be nice to get Mac cleaned up before I took him home. That wasn't some huge request, especially given the fact that Frogs to Dogs does not only train, but also pet sits and has a dog taxi business. I made an appointment with the groomer the day prior and had given Zsolt all of the details 24 hours before.
The following day, I called the groomer at the time of the appointment and was told Tom had showed up late. Tom insisted, that instead of meeting at my home, he wanted to meet at the parking lot to do "transfer training" during one of their classes.
So, on Dec 3rd, the big day arrives and I show up on time excited to see Mac and ready to learn. The first thing I noticed was Tom didn't have my dog in his possession. He approached me and literally said, "Oh, let me go grab your dog from my car."
Tom had my dog locked in his car not even taking part in classes. When he emerged with Mac, he could barely control the dog himself. From the outset, it seemed as though nothing had changed from the day I dropped my dog off to be trained. My dog still lunged wildly and barked with little control. It became obvious that Tom just kept my dog and didn't do much else. I had to beg Tom to return my items. Even worse, I looked down at Mac's front paws and saw large sores all over his front legs. Please view the photos.
Worried, again I asked Tom about the Youtube Playlist I'd receive to show the progress of my dog's training. I got nothing. I'm crying even as I write this. My dog may have been neglected or worse abused. It's not even about the money. I'm sorry this is long, but I cannot standby without warning other dog owners. If you love your animal, read these reviews with a grain of salt. Or, like me, you may truly and utterly regret it. read more