We bring our dog here about once a week to get him out of the house and let him enjoy himself. Today, we received a call claiming our dog had "latched" onto another dog and that staff had to use force to separate them. Our dog was raised by professional trainers from a young age, is highly socialized, and has never shown aggression toward another dog. When we arrived to pick him up, we waited over 30 minutes to view the footage of the incident. After the delay, we were told the video "couldn't be played," leaving us no option but to blindly accept their version of events. Staff then admitted they struck our dog with a broomstick and punched him with a closed fist--yet somehow, the other dog had no injuries whatsoever. No marks. No blood. Nothing. That explanation simply doesn't add up. If a strong dog were truly latched onto another and couldn't be pulled off, there would be visible evidence of an injury. To make matters worse, they also admitted that the two dogs were already known not to get along, yet they still allowed them to be together. This shows a complete lack of judgment and responsibility on their part. What's most disturbing is not just the incident itself, but the refusal to provide transparency while openly admitting to using physical violence against a client's dog after knowingly placing him in a bad situation. If I were you, I would think very carefully before bringing your dog here. You may have a normal experience--or you may be the one they decide to handle with force and deny accountability afterward. read more

My dog Tundra has a blast at Playful Pack and I love the pictures they send ! She comes home so tired! read more

Playful Pack - Pet Boarding Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

My pups love it here! They have cameras so you can checkin during the day and 2 areas the dogs can play in. The pups are always monitored and they have fun activities during the week for the dogs! You also get a report card with photos and a little blurb on how they did after every day. they have an overnight attendant for boarding, your pups can be in a kennel or out in the open area sleeping. I always get happy and tired dogs back- sometimes a bit dirty or smelly but that is expected when sending your pup to daycare! They also have a wash during daycare option so then no smell/dirt!! read more

Playful Pack - My two at daycare! Photo is from the report card you get at the end of everyday - Pet Boarding Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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They take great care of the dogs and have good pricing for the DMV. Always hard to get in for Xmas so beware they have high demand :)

Jojo is a 5 month old Golden/Lab mix. She loves Playful Pack in Alexandria. Every time she goes in she is excited and ready to play and when she leaves... she doesn't want to go ... hahaha. Everyday we get a cute little report card and pictures of her in action throughout the day. So how do they compare to other day camps out there.. Playful Pack definitely has a few advantages. Small group of dogs. There are maybe 10 to 15 dogs at camp from what I have seen. She gets that one on one attention. The staff is very consistent as well. So if there are concerns or issues, they really do know your dog. Webcams. You can see pretty much everything during the day. You dog is pretty easy to find as well, there are maybe two cameras that cover the whole open space. Planned events. Everyday something is happening. Whether it be a disco party or bobbing for toys. It's not just running in circles all day. All the dogs and staff are engaging with each other. Pictures. If you missed them on webcam, the staff at Playful are dog paparazzi . They get several pictures during the day that come with daily Report Cards. Report Cards. Everyday your dog is in day camp, they pick a few highlights in demeanor for the day and short blurb. Hours. This place has the best hours! It has been really difficult to find a dog camp that caters to early commuters. It's almost impossible to find anything open before 7:00 without early arrival fees. Playful Pack in Alexandria is open at 6:30 am everyday! No long wait to check-in either. The staff is just as excited as the dogs to get camp started. They close at 7:30 pm! No crazy rush home, I can hit the grocery store, change clothes or even go out for an early dinner. Playful Pack is really quite perfect for my family needs. Let's talk cost.. I feel like Playful on the higher side BUT for the hours, events, etc... more than worth it. A full day is $39 at Alexandria as of 10/21/2022. They do charge for feed your dog $3.00. If you want to use their house food it's $5.00. If you get a package 5-10-20 day, there is a discount. Right now they have evaluation day and 2nd free with first five day packages starting at $125 (this is $50 off regular package). Which is 7 days for $125 (not including food services) not bad at all! The due have in-house bathing services for $25 as well. My only con is that they charge to feed your dog with the packages. It's kinda odd to immediately lose your discount and it's not prepaid. So everyday I will get charged $3.00 to feed my dog lunch I brought from home. Hopefully that will change.. either that I can prepay for the charge or it goes away with the packages. I highly recommend giving Playful Pack at any location a try. Jojo is definitely happier here. She comes home not overly tired but the puppy energy is definitely worked out ... we could not be any happier... read more

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3 months ago our dog was attacked in a way that was completely preventable and due to the negligence of the staff and we were not informed for more than a hour that our dog was attacked nor that he needed to go to the hospital. The Owner Agreement you sign essentially absolves them of any and all liability of anything that happens to your pup whether it's due to their staff's action or inaction. Under no circumstance would I recommend you send your dog to any playful pack location. Their temperament test consists of pulling 1 or 2 dogs at random out with no restraints and putting them in the same room as your dog while you watch on camera. It was our first time at this facility and we were told that after the test, they would monitor our dog and let us know if anything seemed off. I repeatedly checked the cameras only to see my dog being 'bullied' for lack of better word, by a couple of dogs getting aggressive with him in a non-playful way. Our dog enjoys playing rough, but it was very clear from him running away, tail tucked, backing into a corner, and following the employee around that he was not happy. He would start to relax and play only for these 2 dogs to come back and try to get into it with him. I watched as my dog was bitten on the neck and a fight broke out. At no point was my dog or the other 2 dogs removed or separated. I immediately went to pick him up and in the 20 min drive over he was attacked by the same dogs and one additional dog to the point of needing surgery for a massive hematoma and months of recovery. NO ONE called me to report any of the previous small incidents nor did they call about the attack. We sat waiting to pick up our dog for 35 minutes while the employee kept stalling with no knowledge of what happened only to see our dog on camera in a back room, bleeding, bandaged, alone, with the employee taking pictures of him and then leaving him alone. They told us to pick him up from the back of the building to save face and we had 0 questions answered. We were told there was a mix up and they didn't know who our dog belonged to which is why we didn't get a call. When the owner called he explained that "unfortunately these things happen" but seemed genuine in his concern of what occurred. However, after we went the next day to see the footage after requesting multiple times for it to be sent to us it was clear that both owners wanted to be done with the situation. We were told "maybe our dog just doesn't like daycare" (he's been to daycare for 4 years) and they took down questions that we had while they "investigated" and never followed up even when we reached out for answers. They cut us one check for the surgery and didn't pay for a single follow up or medication and it was extremely clear from their responses to us that they felt that "we would be satisfied". I went from initially feeling like the owner was truly apologetic at that first phone call to feeling like after they cut that first check that it was to buy our silence and basically wash their hands of the situation. read more

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**Edit: I received a call today from Mike, the regional manager. He was very kind and understanding of our situation, and noted that Playful Pack had dropped the ball during my dogs stay. He said that there are protocols in place to handle situations like ours, which don't sound too far off of what I had asked them to do. He acknowledged that the staff did not follow them. He said he was going to speak with the Alexandria staff to prevent this from happening in the future. He issued me a full refund for our dogs boarding. I still don't think I'll be bringing my dog back to this location, but I do feel better about the company. **Original review: We needed to travel suddenly two weekends ago and boarded our dog with the ALX location - the only thing I'll give them credit for is how accommodating they were with our time crunch. This is the first time we had ever needed to board our dog, and I was nervous about leaving him with strange people and dogs for two and a half days, so when we dropped him off I made it clear that he was crate trained and that I didn't mind if he was removed from the group should he be uncomfortable. (He did ok during his evaluation the day prior, but it was clear to me when watching him on the cameras that he was nervous about his surroundings.) Whoever I spoke with at drop-off made it seem like they understood my concerns. They took his overnight bag and brought him into the back. Throughout the entire first day of his stay, whenever we would check the camera feed that they provide - our dog was being humped. Let me just say that again for you - WHENEVER WE WOULD CHECK. The ENTIRE first day. Little to no intervention from the attendants. My boyfriend calls, no answer. I email, no answer. It was a helpless feeling being so far away and not being able to do anything about it. Saturday AFTERNOON the apology phone call finally comes in. "We'll keep a better eye on him today. We didn't remove him because he wasn't the problem." In case you were wondering, they didn't remove the other dog either. An overall awful experience for us, and we will not be going back. read more

My pup LOVES this place!! The staff is amazing and super knowledgeable! They give my dog so much love and attention. Not only that, they take photos and do report cards at the end of each visit! Such a cute addition to know my baby is safe! read more

They are the BEST - 100% recommend!!! Everyone here is so kind and professional. We are so grateful that they are close by! read more

I was looking for a nearby daycare to take my 1 year old poodle to and came across this one. I took my dog in for an evaluation which was 4 hours and included monitoring my dogs temperament for 2 hours while they interact with staff and other dogs. If they have no issues, theyre allowed to stay for the full 4 hours or until close. I really like that they have cameras so you can check in and see how your dog is doing and make sure they're ok. There is a staff member or 2 in the rooms while the dogs play too and lots of ramps etc for the dogs to use. They also have themed play days like bubbles, disco etc. my dog hasn't gone on those days, but looking forward to it so I can see if he enjoys it. He was really tired after a day at daycare, so I think it's safe to say he enjoyed himself. read more

Wish it was bigger but nice workers willing to work with our dog's needs. Easy to get in and out location. Always nice to support a new business. read more

Playful Pack - Pet Boarding Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I wasn't familiar with Playful Pack but heard a location was opening near me. I'm always looking for a daycare that that adds a personal touch and really engages with my pup. My little Luna absolutely LOVES this location and the staff! The staff adores Luna and are all familiar with my "princess" I love the floor to ceiling window offering not only a sneak peek of all the action, but also a lot of natural light into the daycare space. My pup is always tired after a full day there and super excited when I drop her off. The online portal even lets me see how her day went with pictures and I get a report card. Luna and I are happy and loyal customers and definitely recommend this Richmond location. read more

Love the Alexandria location! I boarded my dogs here for a long time weekend & they did an awesome caring for them. I loved that I could check on them with the webcams & daily report cards. It was so cute seeing the staff interact and love on the dogs. read more

After the firing of the employee that abused my dog, the staff, management, and owner have been amazing in trying to help get him back and comfortable again. I don't have anything bad to say about them and am happy that they did a great job in dealing with the situation. read more

We've been going to Playful Pack for a few years and we've been very happy with the staff and the service. Most importantly, our dogs love going there. read more

My dogs Bucky and Snickerdoodle get so excited when coming to playful pack. And each of the associates I have met have been super friendly and informative to me and caring and loving to my dogs. Kia has been a specially friendly and kind to me and my dogs. Very comforting to know when I drop my doggies off that they are well taken care of! read more

Playful Pack - Bucky and Snicks ready to go to Playful Pack - Pet Boarding Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The employees of PP Alexandria are absolutely amazing! I've used them for both daycare and boarding now, and have felt confident in leaving my pup, Birdie. They take care of her like she's one of their own and I know she's comfortable hanging out there! I also LOVE their hours, as I work quite a bit and can't leave Birdie home alone (she'll tear everything up!), so it's great to have early and late hours, even on the weekends. read more

Playful Pack - Pet Boarding Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

We absolutely love Playful Pack! Our dog Milo has been going since they first opened. He has gone for daycare as well as boarding. We always feel like he's in such amazing hands with the staff! Every day they have special events like bacon bubbles or story time and Milo always comes home exhausted from an awesome day of playing. It's such a clean facility as well. They send out daily report cards with photos as well as have a camera you can watch your dog with! We love it and highly recommend to anyone in the area! read more

After months of waiting for them to open, their staff and services exceeded my expectations. My puppy absolutely loves coming here. She is always well taken care of and they spoil her, when I pick her up she is pooped from all the playing and exercising . I absolutely love this place. It's my pooch home away from home. Very nice staff, they are very clean and accommodating. read more

Good place for my pup to release her extra energy when I need to be away for the day. They love her.

Brix and Walter always have such a wonderful time at Playful Pack. I enjoy the webcam that lets me peak in at my fluffy boys.

What an impressive, safe, caring, clean environment for my one year old dog, Pearl. Front desk staff is welcoming and thorough in response to all questions. Pets are separated by size during their stay. Pet attendants provide consistent, loving care and a unique, special activity each day to entertain the pets. Having access to a webcam at all times during the day to see Pearl is an exceptional benefit and very comforting to me. I visited several other local pet care businesses, but Playful Pack definitely stood out by far as the best. Thank you Playful Pack for your excellent service. Pearl, thanks you, too. read more

Staff is friendly and helpful. They appear to know and love on Piper. I appreciate the webcams being available. I do wish they were on the entire time they're open though. read more

Absolutely love this place! My dog has been coming here since August. They always remember his name and plan exciting activities for him. Definitely recommend! read more

My 2 dogs, Clover and Midnight have had a great experience with Playful Pack, Alexandria's daycare. The staff are friendly, professional and genuinely care for the dogs in their care. I love that they have daily activities for the dogs! I would highly recommend Playful Pack. read more

Such a great place! I have a goldendoodle and she loves to play with the other dogs! The staff is great and super personable as well!

Just boarded our dog here for the first time and he had a great time. I really like the webcams so you can check in during the day and see your pup at play. Every time I took a peek, the staff were interacting with the dogs and I really appreciated that. It's also reassuring that someone is there throughout the night. Thanks for taking good care of my boy and we'll see you again! read more

I started bringing my dog here as soon as they opened and we love it! The staff is super nice and best of all, I trust them with my dog! He has two or three staffers who he especially loves, but he is completely comfortable with all of them. The facility is clean and unlike other doggie daycares, they have actual activities for the dogs to do. Whenever I pick my dog up from a day, he immediately falls asleep, letting me know that he had a full day of playing and exercise! read more

Our chocolate lab LOVES daycare at Playful Pack in Alexandria! He usually attends 2 or 3 times per week. The daycare is clean, the staff are themselves dog owners and love the doggies in their care. I enjoy watching our dog on the camera throughout the day! The calendar of daily activities is on our fridge : ) read more

We use Playful Pack Alexandria for all our dog sitting and boarding needs. They are competitively priced, while treating our mini labradoodle, Garvey like their own. They have scheduled activities for the pups, and he comes home tired from a fun-filled day. They also take specific instructions regarding feedings and medicine very serious. I also love the 24hr webcam that allows for us to see Garvey play and interact throughout the day. The pups are divided by size so that the small and larger pups can have a great experience. I highly recommend their services. Oh, they also offer a bathing service, which comes in handy between groomer visits. read more

My dog loves Playful pack. She loves to see her friend both human and canine. The staff is fun yet professional. I feel my dog is safe and happy when she is at Playful Pack. The hours are long enough to ensure if I get tied up with work that I know she is taken care of. read more

My dog didn't even make it through the door before I left. I reached out multiple times to be sure they could accommodate a dog that is timid toward new people, but loves other dogs. The employee grabbed my dogs leash without saying anything to me beyond asking the dogs name, and began pulling him toward the door. When my pup didn't want to move right away, he began dragging him by his harness toward the door, still making no effort to really acknowledge me or the dog. I'm the first to admit my dog is on the more sensitive side, but that is why I had tried to reach out before his evaluation. My dog has done just fine at daycares in the past where employees were kind and patient with introductions. Based off the way this employee acted toward my dog and I, I wouldn't recommend this business. While cameras are great, you never truly know what's happening behind closed doors, and i wouldn't trust someone like this with my animals. read more

I have to say that I am very disappointed. I sent my pet to Playful Pack from 13 December -27 December 2022. I will state that my pet was perfectly healthy prior to her placement. My dog became ill, she ended up having to be hospitalized and placed on several drugs. She got pneumonia. I am very disappointed because the management staff directed me to send the bill to them so that they can forward it to the company owners. I was called by Mr. Tyler, he told me that he couldn't help or compensate with the bill but only give back refund for boarding cost. I also thought he was a bit insensitive in the statement that all dogs are getting it and there is nothing he can do, plus his dog got it from the groomer. Well, my question to him on this platform is did your dog have to be hospitalized, did you have to pay almost 3,000.00 to get your pet to recovery stage? Well, that is what I had to do, my dog is still not right she is still very sick. To compare my dog in which I entrusted in your care to your dog going to the groomers and or sick because all dog's got sick is very insensitive. I placed my dog in your care because I trusted you would care for my dog as I do. The comments of Mr. Tyler to me today were very unfair and very insensitive/not compassionate. He didn't even apologize for his company's negligence. While I understand that this maybe going around. I did receive word from other pet parents that one, they accepted sick pets all holiday season despite others closing. I also was informed that as I am writing this there is a sick dog in the daycare in Alexandria as we speak. This is very irresponsible. I will note I placed another one of my dogs in the Ole Town Pet spa, she did not come back sick. I must quarantine my house now and hope she doesn't have what the other one has. My point it is possible for dogs to not to spread this virus. I really do believe that this business should be paying my dogs vet bills because it was their businesses fault that my dog is sick, and I believe they knew about this and didn't bother to inform the consumer. I had an issue at Pet Smart years ago with one of my pets ( she became sick) and it wasn't this bad at all, they still paid my vet bill for her. This whole service is unacceptable, and I will not patronage this business again. They do not care about your pets! If you want them healthy and safe do not take them here. read more