I'd like to preface my review with two items:
1) After our experience at SPOT, I sent an email to the main email address explaining my concerns and asking to speak to someone. I received a call within 2 hours from the location manager. He listened patiently to my concerns and did explain that some disciplinary action may be taken against the employee we interacted with.
2) Because of #1 above, I actually wasn't going to write a review - I felt like it was wrong since the staff did try to make amends from our bad experience. However, since visiting SPOT, Luna has now been to two different daycares no less than a dozen times (not to mention dog parks and playdates). She plays with up to 30 dogs big and small. She has never had ONE SINGLE issue - and believe me, I've asked. The experience has been so overwhelmingly positive that I felt the need to say something about SPOT. (We take her to both Countryside Pet Estates by my office and The Ark Pet Hotel & Spa and I have written reviews for both if you're curious about how different the experience can be). I also say this to make it clear that, while my dog is NOT perfect, I'm also not just a crazy dog parent.
We adopted Luna from a shelter a few months ago and were looking for a daycare option for her. SPOT came recommended by a friend, so I reached out to them by phone. I explained - in great detail - Luna's history and my concerns about a daycare environment for a shelter dog. I was reassured multiple times by the very nice woman on the phone that the first day would include a "temperament test" where Luna would be introduced very slowly (key words here) to members of the pack. She reassured me that she herself raised numerous shelter dogs and all of the staff were well trained in dog behavior, and told me she'd be there when I dropped Luna off.
From the minute I walked in, I had a bad feeling. SPOT has one very large pen area and two smaller pen areas. The large pen had about 30+ dogs in it, and it was pandemonium. I'm not exaggerating, and like I said, I've been to two other daycares since then. Barking, squealing, dogs peeing on the floor, dogs being humped by other dogs, dogs aggressively playing with each other, and one employee "supervising" them. As I was leaving, I pointed out two dogs who were fighting to another employee, and got a response of "yeah, I guess I'll let someone know." In the other pen, there were no employees present. I saw no more than 3 people the entire time I was there, to at least 60 dogs. I was later told that 4 staff members were working that day. Other reviews about the smell are accurate.
I don't care about the staff's age, but I care that the young man I interacted with was completely checked out. He handed me some paperwork, waved me in the direction of the lunch bucket, and walked off. As he dropped off my dog (now shivering with her tail between her legs) with another staff member, I overheard "wellll, she's a rescue." EXCUSE ME?! I've discussed this in detail with the manager, but suffice it to say: it takes two minutes to make a new dog parent feel comfortable.
I received a call NINE MINUTES after leaving that my dog had failed her "temperament test" and to come pick her up. Apparently SPOT's idea of a "slow introduction" is to put her in the small run, on leash, and start dumping dogs one by one into the same space. It's an unfamiliar environment and unfamiliar people, and if you have time to introduce her to two dogs in nine minutes, that's not a "slow introduction." In any case, she barked and growled at one dog, she was deemed "aggressive" and "unfit for daycare," and I was told to come pick her up. I was later told that they "rushed her temperament test because they needed to use the run for other dogs."
Don't tell me that you're a "small mom and pop shop" full of "dog people" who can assess a dog's behavior after nine minutes. You didn't even take a few minutes to make my dog comfortable before throwing her out. Anyone who knows anything about dog behavior will tell you that a loud environment with limited supervision is going to cause dogs to engage in aggressive behavior thinking they need to be in control. Introducing dogs on leash can aggravate this behavior. I won't go into detail, but the other two daycares took multiple hours making her comfortable before even introducing her to another dog.
I'll finish with this: I have two friends who have taken their dogs to SPOT, and BOTH of them have had their dogs bitten or attacked there. Sure, the offending dogs were quickly removed, but those aren't odds I like to play with.
If you have an extremely well-socialized dog who is comfortable with noise, all other dogs, no supervision, rolling in pee, being humped, and learning bad behavior, this is a conveniently located daycare. I would recommend that any other dog parent, particularly those of rescue dogs, look elsewhere. I am happy to provide recommendations to that end. read more