We were repeat customers of Shipyard Dog. Before our young dog, we entrusted our elderly dog to the…read morefacility for daycare and boarding for several months before she passed away. We returned because we had previously had a positive experience. We appreciated the cleanliness of the facility, the convenience of the online reservation system, and, most importantly, we trusted them with our pets.
Our young dog began attending at approximately four months of age, and for several months everything went well.
This spring, we were told he had been "humpy and displaying dominance" during a previously scheduled boarding over school vacation. We immediately followed Shipyard's recommendation upon returning by temporarily removing him from daycare, having him neutered as soon as possible, observing the recommended recovery period, and even offering to pursue additional training if needed. After doing exactly what was asked, Shipyard accepted additional boarding reservations, giving us every reason to believe he remained an appropriate candidate for their program and that any concerns had been adequately addressed.
While returning home from a recent trip, we received another message stating that our dog had "incited an altercation" and now needed to be removed from the facility for several months. This meant coming home and unexpectedly needing to start over in finding future boarding after relying on Shipyard Dog for our travel needs, which had recently increased due to a death in our family.
After reviewing the 13-second video provided, I was left with more questions than answers. The footage did not clearly demonstrate to me that our dog was solely to blame for the altercation, nor was I given any objective explanation regarding the specific behaviors that led to that conclusion or what "improvement" would actually look like for him to return. From the video, our dog appeared increasingly overstimulated. He was open-mouth panting, sat down while several dogs continued to approach him, and rather than the interaction de-escalating, additional dogs continued to converge around him until a fifth dog approached him directly face-to-face, at which point he reacted. I was also surprised that there appeared to be no consideration of simply removing him from the playgroup or modifying his boarding experience, particularly given that he had been recently neutered, before deciding to dismiss him from the program for a "few months." The video also showed two playgroup monitors nearby before the interaction escalated.
What ultimately led us to make other arrangements was the complete breakdown in communication. At no point were we told that our dog's place, even as a boarding customer, was in jeopardy despite accepting four future boarding reservations throughout the summer. When I raised concerns about how this was handled, I received no response.
When you board your dog, you should be able to travel, even under difficult family circumstances, knowing your pet's needs are being thoughtfully managed. Instead, we were left worrying about unexpected behavior messages while traveling and scrambling to find new boarding arrangements afterward.
I recognize that every facility has the right to determine which dogs are the best fit for its program. My purpose in sharing this review is not to dispute that right, but to help other owners understand our experience. I encourage readers to draw their own conclusions. If you rely on a boarding facility for travel, I encourage you to ask detailed questions about how behavioral concerns are managed, how much communication you can expect if concerns arise, and what alternatives are considered before a dog is removed from the program. Those answers may ultimately determine whether a facility is the right fit for your family.
