I was looking forward to taking my Westie to Tail Gait for his first grooming before Christmas. He's had giardia in the past, so I had a fecal test before I took him to be groomed. The test was positive for eimeria oocytsts and moniezia eggs - the vet assured me these are not parasitic, infectious or harmful in dogs, and pose no risks to other dogs. However, Tail Gate wouldn't accept my scrappy Westie. Perhaps it's good that they're being cautious, but it's puzzling that they'd turn away a conscientious customer. read more

First of all I will say that we have brought our dog to ALL the boarding facilities in the area and hands down, Tailgate is THE most accommodating and flexible. While the other facilities have been clean and the staff all do love dogs as well, the greatest thing about Tailgate is how they go out of their way to make daycare and boarding as convenient as possible. You can drop off and pick up ANY TIME. All the others have restrictions such as drop off is between 10-12am, pickup between 4-6pm, etc. (with even greater restrictions on holidays which Tailgate never has) In addition, you can bring your dog for daycare on weekends which most of the others do not allow. My dog ADORES all the staff there - her tail is always wagging when we walk in. We have also had her bathed their numerous times and they do a wonderful job. I can't say enough good things about this company!!!! 5 stars for sure!!!!!!! read more

Our dog was attacked and was rushed to the animal hospital where she received multiple stitches in several places. It is our understanding that there was a Shiba Inu in an isolated area because it was known to be aggressive. Our dog was allowed into the isolated area by an employee where she was attacked by the Shiba Inu. She was taken to the veterinary hospital where she received the stitches. We went to the veterinary hospital multiple times to treat the lacerations and have the stitches removed. The attack occurred on Friday about 4:30PM. Tail Gate did not attempt to make contact with us until the next morning at 10:45AM (over 18 hours later). I spoke with two of the owners several times about the attack, they were apologetic. Tail Gate did pick up the boarding bill and paid for the veterinary charges in full. However, they did not report the incident to DuPage County Animal Control even after I asked if the attack should be reported. I contacted Animal Control who said the incident should be reported in ... to the animal hospital where she received multiple stitches in several places. It is our understanding that there was a Shiba Inu in an isolated area because it was known to be aggressive. Our dog was allowed into the isolated area by an employee where she was attacked by the Shiba Inu. She was taken to the veterinary hospital where she received the stitches. We went to the veterinary hospital multiple times to treat the lacerations and have the stitches removed. The attack occurred on Friday about 4:30PM. Tail Gate did not attempt to make contact with us until the next morning at 10:45AM (over 18 hours later). I spoke with two of the owners several times about the attack, they were apologetic. Tail Gate did pick up the boarding bill and paid for the veterinary charges in full. However, they did not report the incident to DuPage County Animal Control even after I asked if the attack should be reported. I contacted Animal Control who said the incident should be reported in the event this dog attacks again. It was at this point, a report was made of the attack. I have never written an online review, but thought this was serious enough that owners with family dogs should be aware of who they trust with their canine. Lucky for us, our dog survived and has rejoined our family. read more

We have enjoyed training our dog from puppy class all the way through the AKC CGC classes at Tailgate. Now we are readying our dog for conformation and began bringing her to the clubhouse for additional exposure which has been a good experience. That said, we had a very bad business experience today because of the owners response to a simple inquiry. I asked for an explanation of why we paid for a full half day plus the clubhouse when the dog was just there for the clubhouse. He expressed no interest in our concern, saying, "talk to the trainer," as he looked the other way. Ok, I get it, they're expensive for our particular scenario and this is their model...If you go for just the clubhouse, you will be subject to an additional half day fee of daycare even though you are only there for clubhouse. In our case, that is not a value-added proposition. But, being a businessman myself, I know taking a minute to answer a customers question pays great returns even if you can't accommodate them. He was the most disinterested business owner.. he made no effort to understand our concerns/needs and was just unprofessional, walking away as he spoke. I called later to confirm my understanding, and the receptionist would not patch me through or offer a callback, despite multiple requests to speak with the Owner. So, two things 1) observation - the pricing model doesn't work for our needs which are other than daycare and 2) problem - this particular owner was simply unconcerned to take an interest in his customers when there are questions. Had he at least been interested and taken the minute to explain, he would have left us with the impression he valued the business. That said, the trainers of Fine Canine are quite good. This review in no way reflects on them. We remain grateful for the trainers work. But we won't be back to tailgate. read more

I have brought my dogs here for years and will never again. Their are new employees/management that are not friendly nor show much care for my dogs. I asked questions about my dogs when I picked them up. No employees knew how they did at daycare and I wasn't allowed to speak to the "employees in the back" who actually watched my dogs. When I picked them up, both had severe kennel cough and possible canine flu. The employees told me that there were multiple confirmed cases...AND THE DOGS WERE STILL ALL PLAYING IN THE BACK TOGETHER!. Any person with common sense would know to isolate all of the animals as best as possible when there is a viral breakout. After spending over $300 in veterinary bills, I called Tail Gate to seek some sort of reimbursement. They were uncompromising and would not offer any compensation. This was a terrible experience for me and especially my dogs. Tail Gate has now lost all of my business as well as my family/friends. read more

Tailgate definitely isnt what it used to be. Sadly its gotten much worse. With new changing of staff members, a lot of the better staff is now gone. For one, the dogs in the play groups used to be able to play all day or the whole time they were there. Now they introduced this new method of "breaks" where the dogs are in a cage for an hour or 2. They are to receive these breaks multiple times during their stay. I feel ripped off that I have to pay a full day of daycare for only a couple hours of actual play. If your dog doesnt get along well with other dogs then forget it. They say your dog will receive one on one time with staff members but those dogs are kept in a kennel 90% of the day with very little to no human interaction. A lot of the hyper dogs and iffy pitbulls they kennel up immediately while their owners think they are playing with other dogs. That seems a little sketchy to me and a bit of false advertising! They let them out for a few minutes to go to the bathroom and then thats it. When watching my dog play through their play window, i witnessed some of the staff being very aggressive with some of the dogs. At times they yelled and even hit the dogs with the leashes that they carry or would violently grab them by the collar, corner them and make them cower, and the dogs looked very scared. They also squirt them with squirt bottles. I dont really see that as safe. Their cleaning methods are not the best as kennel cough seems to run rampant in the place quite often. I talked to one of the owners a couple times on the phone about issues with my dog and they were very rude. I feel the staff is extremely under qualified for their job and really need to do a better job with handling the dogs. The kennel manager there IS very amazing there however and a couple staff members that are the only reason i took my dog to tailgate. They seemed to actually really care about the dogs and went out of their way to accommodate my baby. Two of those staff members have since left and because of that, my dog did too. Its a real shame because tail gate used to be a really nice place. If you dont mind your dog sitting in a kennel for 1/2 the day or not getting to play, then this is the place for you. They also dont have webcams which makes it easier for the staff to get away with atrocious behavior. steer clear! Go to a place that has webcams where you can watch your dog whenever you want from wherever you are! read more

If your looking for a down to earth dedicated crew, look no further! My dog is my baby and I am very particular on the vibe I feel in daycares for him. Ever wonder what goes on in the daycare when your not around?? Other facilities frown upon "disrupting" the play and walking back into the play area. Tail Gate has nothing to hide! They welcome you and are enthusiastic about having you see how enjoyable their spatious indoor/outdoor facility is! This is also a great place for a dog to learn social manners. The trainer and staff at Tail Gate spend their time truly getting to know each dog as an individual and how they interact with others. I have been truly impressed at how my baby pup has been treated as a king! It helps my week go smoother when my dog can run off his energy AND be under the superb care of the Tail Gate crew! Come and join the fun, the dogs at Tail Gate are ready to play! :) read more

I was VERY disappointed with the service that this facility provided for my dogs. I had heard positive things so I decided to board them for almost two weeks while we were on vacation out of town. They post pictures on their Facebook page and I barely saw my two dogs there. It was clearly very overcrowded. Two days before we were to return home and pick up our dogs I received a phone call from one of the managers stating that my one dog appeared to be sick with possible kennel cough. I was very concerned and they made an appointment with both of my dogs at a local veterinary hospital. Tailgate brought my dogs there because we were not going to be able to return for another day. I was told by them that the vet did not know for sure what they had but they were given medication for what tailgate stated was possible kennel cough. The following day I was able to pick up both dogs who were both sick now at this point. They were very very lethargic and I could clearly see that they had both lost weight during their stay there. Tailgate added the centenary fee of almost 300 dollars to our bill. I immediately called the vet when I left and they told me that in fact my dogs were diagnosed with canine influenza. That was what the medication was for. Needless to say I was beyond upset as I felt I was lied to and that my dogs got sick under their care. The vet had treated several dogs from their facility that week for the influenza. They also were under the impression that Tailgate was paying for the medical bills however Tailgate asked the vet how much it costs and then just gave me a price. When I had gone in there I asked for a receipt from the vet and they told me it wasn't sent over yet. They lied about the illness, the vet, and took absolutely NO responsibility for the fact that my healthy dogs were handed back to me deathly sick and then lied about it. They did not cover anything from the boarding fees, their vet fees, and then myself having to take my dogs to get checked out by my vet and all the medications they were on. They were sick for nearly a month before they appeared and acted more like themselves. Canine influenza can be a deadly disease for dogs. I keep my dogs healthy and I put them into the care of a facility that I thought would be safe. Yes they were able to play with other dogs and socialize, but they took in a dog that was sick and get many other dogs sick as well. As the vet that they took them to said, it was an "epidemic" and I hope no one will ever have to go through what I did with my dogs. I paid them over 1300 dollars for boarding and the vet fees they charged me for. They did not even apologize and take any ownership about the situation. They gave me back very sick dogs so I am going to make sure I get the word out that this facility is not worth even considering so no other dog can be subjected to their terrible care. read more