The best boarding/daycare facility in the Capital Region! My dog is a Belgian Malinois mix named…read moreTroy, and he's a suspicious, wild puppy whose still learning to trust people and adhere to training. However, the team at Dog's Retreat had no problem earning his trust, and created a safe/fun environment that helped build Troy's confidence and burn his energy. Not only could I relax when Troy was at Dog's retreat, their prices are beyond reasonable and the staff is super friendly. They even stayed open late so I could pick Troy up after my flight was delayed beyond their closing time. It's an amazing business and you can tell that they care. I really appreciate everything they did for Troy/me and encourage anyone who loves their pet and needs boarding/daycare to use Dog's Retreat!

Our boy loves Dog's Retreat! Charlie had been a day-camper and boarder for nearly three years now…read moreand Teresa and the rest of the DR staff are fabulous with him. In the early stages, they worked with him to get to know his quirks well so that he would feel comfortable in a new environment. He now literally jumps out of the car when we arrive to drop off. Teresa is super accommodating with our travel schedule, and works to be flexible when our days/times have changed for drop off or pick-up. We appreciate it so much. This crew is fantastic and we are so thankful for the kindness and love that they give to our Charlie!

Beware of this daycare! We have been bringing our dog here fir the past 5 1/2 years no less than 3…read moredays/week on average. She was recently out for a month with a serious gastrointestinal infection as well as an infection on her foot which resulted in two of her toes being removed. After reaching out to have Amber return to daycare with a veterinary clearance, we received the following e-mail: Hi, We hope you guys had a wonderful weekend. We miss Amber as well and are happy to hear that her vet doesn't have any concerns. That being said, daycare can be extremely active, and messy as well during play (when pools are out, mud, etc), and we would never want Amber to get further hurt or sick in a vulnerable state. Due to her extreme and sudden onset of medical issues, we feel as a team that we can no longer provide the level of specific care Amber needs at this time. As much as we would love to continue seeing her, we feel that it would not be the best decision for her medically. I appreciate your understanding, I apologize for the inconvenience, and wish you all the best. WTF??? Is upper management now veterinarians too? Who are you to override a veterinary clearance? We thought that is why you have EVERYONE sign a waiver which releases you from liability. What we see here is ageism plain & simple - you do not want to attend to a senior dog who can walk, run & play because you have no staff and cannot be bothered oh, by the way, this is after we, as loyal clients did not sue you after our dog was severely attacked at daycare by a bully dog who had only just joined. Yes, we are loyal clients, we came back, we recommended you to others, you used our dog as a test dog for meets & greets with potential new clients! We have never been in arrears for payment, oh wait, we actually paid in advance! This is NOT how you treat clients! We will be taking our loyalty, money & sweet girl elsewhere, this is all on you, you should be ashamed as there is no reason why she cannot come back, but after the way you just treated us, never again at UCA.

Re: Facebook offer for online course - Buyer Beware!: I had no idea that when I purchased the $27…read moretraining course to address my dog's reactive behavior - as advertised in the Tom Davis's FB video - that addressing reactive behavior wasn't included in my purchase but rather required my buying an additional $197 worth of classes in order to get to the real reason for my purchasing the $27 program in the first place....Regretably I didn't realize sooner that this was a "rabbit hole" disguised as a $27 investment to bait people like me into spending almost 7 times more to learn how to fix a dog's reactive behavior. I stopped before purchasing the additional $147 program for learning how to enjoy walking my dog... REALLY?!!!...walking the dog wasn't even part of the $27? ... figuring that after that they'd be something else to purchase following by something else to purchase, etc., etc... I requested a refund for which I received a HARD NO in response.

About a year ago, I took my dog Pepper to All Dawgs for a few days, and I've held off on writing…read morethis review because I didn't want to hurt someone's business. But after seeing the lasting impact it had on my dog, I feel it's important to share our experience. We bought a brand new collar for Pepper specifically for this daycare. When we picked her up one day, she had a completely different collar on. The staff told us she "chewed through it" -- something I found highly unlikely, especially since the damage looked like it had been torn or yanked, not chewed. I emailed the owner, who repeated the same line: that it was chewed through. Is this were the case, why was she left alone long enough to do that? When I asked about supervision, I was shocked to learn that the dogs are only out of their crates for 60-90 minutes per day, broken up into small 15-20 minute chunks, and crated the rest of the time. So not only did my dog somehow lose her collar in a way that was never fully explained (in my opinion the collar was yanked off of her, maybe by another dog, or one of the trainers) but she was also spending the vast majority of her day in a crate -- something we were never told up front. This place is not what they advertise. It's poorly run, and in my opinion, more focused on making money than on your dog's wellbeing. There are so many better options out there. Pepper now goes to a different place where she's treated like family and goes on hikes during the day -- and she absolutely loves it. I truly regret ever bringing her to All Dawgs. Please don't make the same mistake. (P.S. I've posted screenshots of the collar and my conversation with the owner where she admits dogs only get an hour or so of playtime a day. Do the math -- this is not a place where dogs get real interaction or care.)

The business states when you pay the invoice that there are no refunds however the business failed…read moreto keep my dog safe. They failed to notify me when they had cases of kennel cough the day prior to my dog attending daycare. I requested they refund the five remaining days that were pre-paid for daycare and the dog was unable to attend after contracting kennel cough in their facility. Their website claims concern for the health and safety of the dogs however their refund policy discourages clients from keeping their sick dog home. I also incurred a vet bill and my other two dogs also contracted kennel cough. When I contacted her about my dog's illness she stated that she informed me that kennel cough was at the facility on the 22nd but no communication was received. He was at the facility on the 23rd and the 26th and came down with kennel cough on the 27th, And he was nowhere outside the home or exposed to any other dogs, It is clear he caught the kennel cough at the facility, despite her claim that he could've gotten it anywhere. Her response to me regarding he could've gotten it anywhere and a story about a coworker's dog contracting it from her clothes. She lacks empathy and displays a lack of accountability and responsibility. I can only assume that she does not properly clean her facility daily. It is a poor business practice to withhold refund when the cause of the dog not being able to attend is caused by her facility. She Offered only 2 days to be credited to the next invoice. At the very least she could have offered all of the days on the next invoice, that would have been a reasonable answer. She stated that he could come back after 48 hours with no cough suppressant, however, I have three dogs in my home and per her Explanation about secondary infection, I do not believe it to be advisable to return him to dayCare while my other dogs are coughing. I believe she is negligent for my dog contracting kennel cough. It's not like there is such a demand for her daycare slots like she claims. Ask around- there is plenty of info about her no refund policy, lack of cleanliness at her facility, constant upselling, poor treatment of her staff. These were all red flags I initially missed. The crux of the problem I believe is that people don't keep their sick dogs home due to her strict no refunds policy. There is so much more to say- but we are just in a much better place now.

5 Stars!!! Liz is an amazing dog trainer!!! She cares so…read moremuch about dogs and wants all dogs to be happy and well cared for with loving families. I called Liz totally desperate after bringing our adorable puppy home at 8 weeks. We were having a very difficult time with crate training and really had no clue how to take care of a dog. I had read plenty on the subject before bringing our sweet new puppy home, but with the reality of a little ball of furry sweetness wreaking havoc on our household, my research and reading was just not enough. We needed HELP!!! We were a family who never had a dog before with limited positive interactions with dogs (many negative ones on my end as a child and young adult). We had no idea what we were doing! Liz was so patient and understanding with us, I honestly don't know what we would have done without her! She helped us to understand what goes on in a puppy's mind and taught us what to do in terms of crate and potty training, biting, chewing, jumping, impulsivity, general commands like "Wait" and :sit", as well as very important commands like "Come" and "Leave it". I never felt alone while Liz was working with us, even when she wasn't training at our house. When I texted her with questions, she always got back to me in a timely manner. She never made me feel like I was a nuisance or was bothering her, and she always made me feel like I was supported throughout the training period (and she still does!). We started out as trainer/client but now are more like friends and family. Cannot express how grateful that we found Liz when we did. She has so much knowledge and presents it in such a kind and caring way. When you work with Liz, you feel like she is a friend or family member rather than someone you are paying to teach you how to train your dog. She's the best! Hire her, you will be so glad you did!!!.

In just a few short weeks working with Micah we have seen a huge improvement with our dog. Micah…read morehas taught us how to work with our dog, and improved our communication skills and relationship. She's very flexible with her schedule and well worth the cost

Rachel is amazing! I couldn't believe how quickly my dogs responded to her training. With her…read morecoaching, I was able to enforce the training and rules in my home so that my pups responded and listened to my commands. Now our dogs are calm and listen when the doorbell rings, and wait for guests to arrive rather than charging and barking at the door. She also showed me how to loose leash walk my two dogs, which makes our long walks a lot less chaotic. So happy we were able to work with her!

"Santana", my 18 mo old lab did the 2 week training camp. He left my home exuberant and bouncy and…read morereturned well behaved and more pleasant than ever. I can't say enough about K9 training and the peace of mind I have because my dog listens/behaves so well. It's such a joy to have a mindful dog. When I walk my dog in town, off leash, people often stop and watch. They are so amazed that I can walk him on the busy sidewalks of a city. Lindsey, our trainer, was so accommodating. I feel like she really listened to my concerns and addressed them. She took care of my dog as if it were one of her own. She really cared and made the whole process easy. She picked him up and delivered him back even though it was a fairly long trip. I am so happy with this company and have recommended them to several friends.

Buyer Beware. Do not sign a contract with Off Leash K9…read moreTraining without understanding what you are agreeing to. Their contract is written with so many loopholes that they can change any major element of your program -- trainer, location, dates, even the structure -- and still refuse to refund your money. Trainers are not consistently trained, and the company presents them as following a "standard OLK9 program" even when they have never attended OLK9 seminars or formal training and have only been with the company for a few weeks. You have no guarantee of who will actually be working with your dog. Each franchise is individually owned and operated, which means there is no accountability and no consistency across locations. If anything goes wrong, leadership will not step in to help you. You are left dealing with the franchise alone, even when the franchise is the one who changed the terms of your program. If you value transparency, consistency, and accountability -- look elsewhere.

My dog Harry and I learned a lot during Basic Manners training. Shannon is an excellent trainer who…read moreis very tuned in to what the dogs need to succeed.

Shannon is not only a great dog trainer, she is amazingly tactful and patient with the real…read morestudents, the owners. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a reward-based training program.

James is incredible. We sent our 7 month puppy to James for four weeks last year. We were, and…read morecontinue to be, so happy that we did. She did not have any problems (and continues to be a wonderful dog and that's probably because we sent her to James). She had basic commands down. After James, she became excellent at multiple commands. She would sit at her bowl for hours if you don't release her (by verbal command). You can leave her with steak in the next room and won't eat it if you don't release her. You get the picture - James knows what he is doing and will set you, and your pup, up for success. He was very thorough in explaining what to expect and how to continue her training at home. We could not be happier. Our pup is also happy, and she loved James. When we brought her back for boarding a couple nights she couldn't wait to hang out with James. We had to save up to send her, and it was worth every penny. We would do it again. Highly, highly recommend. For any pup!

We got a deaf Miniature Bull Terrier @ 13 weeks old that after 6 months, seemed hopless to train,…read morejust basic commands. As a last ditch effort we called James @ Empire K-9 2.5 hrs away from our home. After 5 weeks of training with Ross he was transformed into the best dog we have seen anywhere. James spent a whole day with myself and my whole family to train us on how to handle and communicate with our new family member. Here we are over a year later and if we call James with a question he is quick to respond back with a helpfull answer. When we need to board Ross we drive him down to James @ Empire K9 2.5 hours away because he is the only one we trust with our Ross. Thank you James for this gift of being able to communicate with our deaf dog, you have no idea how much joy this little Miniature Bull Terrier bring to our family now.

Hounds on the Hudson has moved from Albany. Last year, a sustainable clothing store moved into the…read morespace. I don't wish to delete my previous review because I really did have difficulty getting a response from the business, but the owner did eventually contact me. I think it was months later. She seemed very nice. She was very apologetic. She said she never noticed my phone messages or emails. The business was having technical difficulties and she assured me the problem was an aberration. I'm happy to see that the business has a better website and is doing well enough to expand to two locations. Sending my best wishes.

The most amazing experience I have ever had working with people, outside of family and friends,…read morecaring for my dog. My 7 year-old Maltese, Frederick spent this last year being walked twice a week by several of the staff at HOTH. I receieved gracious notes, he had the opportunity to meet other dogs in the neighborhood, and I was always treated in a caring, professional, and thoughtful manner. Fred also made two stays at the Bed and Biscuit, being cared for round the clock by HOTH staff. I have NEVER boarded my dog, so leaving him with someone outside of family and close friends was a choice I made very carefully. The cost for walks and overnight stays was reasonable and something I could afford living on the very small budget of a graduate student. I always felt wonderful knowing Fred was getting some love and attention during my long days at work. I can't recommend their services enough to coworkers and friends with animals. One of the only reasons I am sad to be leaving the Albany area for a new job in St. Kitts, is not getting to work with Hounds on the Hudson!

Bernie loves going to Puppy Play as we call it!! He got a bath, nails grinded and had a Play Pal…read morewhere he didn't quite feel like playing, so it was Cuddle Time, his fave!!

Our dog loves it there and the staff is amazing. If I was rich I would let her go every day just to…read moreplay for a while