Was really torn on whether to post this review or not, as my dog and I have come back to swim here 3 times and the prior swim sessions have been great--5 stars even.
However, today, my interaction with one specific person in the place (I think she is the owner) left a bad taste in my mouth and I won't go back because of it.
I have an 11 month old labrador puppy that's reactive and hyper--the type who'll want to get your attention, bark, and try to jump if you're not giving it attention. We found that swimming makes her calmer and she enjoys it a lot -- particularly when she interacts with the man and the other lady who I usually see when we come.
Today, however, another woman was there and was part of the session. After the swim at check-out, my dog was barking at her while on the lead so I went outside to calm her down a bit and hand her to my wife. I come back and pay. The lady then remarks that I should really think of getting a trainer for my dog "because she is really unsafe." She points out that my 11 month old lab has been barking at her and "growling" at her so I guess my dog is "unsafe." I was caught off guard and told her a trainer has been working with her and it hasn't helped so far. She then replies, "well, she needs more training." I left and have been thinking about the comment ever since.
My lab puppy is obviously not perfect and she is reactive. That's why we wanted her to get into swimming in the first place to work on her focus. And I implicitly thought that the owner and staff would be patient enough with her. After all, we're paying $45 for an individual 30 minute session without other dogs around to minimize the chances that the dog would be distracted/reactive. But I certainly did not expect my puppy to be openly judged and me implicitly berated by someone from a company whom I thought could be helpful to my puppy's training. The "unsafe" comment was also a bit surprising, since this lady had been part of the swim session with my puppy. And in that swim session, my puppy did not exhibit any signs of aggressiveness, aside from barking at her to get her attention when we were at the cash register after the session.
At bottom, it's extremely disappointing to write this review because I really liked going to the place. If you have a well-trained dog, or
if you're someone who doesn't mind being judged, I think this is a great place. Because of my reactive dog, I don't think I'm coming back, and it's a pity, since my dog likes the two other people working there and loves swimming. I guess for dog owners like me, this place isn't a good fit--hence my 1 star review. read more