Dogtopia of Bloomfield — Attraction in Bloomfield Township

Not a good place for every dog ...

I was so excited at first with the facility thinking it would be a wonderful fit for my puppy. After buying a whole package with them and attending a handful of day care days there, I found out it was NOT the place for my dog. Not to say this place might not be right for other dogs, but the set up, structure and employees ended up negatively affecting all the hard work and training I had been doing outside of day care, with a personal dog trainer.

Characteristics and behavior my dog has NEVER exhibited before at ANY other day care, boarding facility or with other dogs started to develop ... but ONLY when he was at this specific day care. That in itself is a clear indicator to me that the problem was Dogtopia itself rather than my dog. The crates are all set up in a circle in the play room along the wall, which from some dogs might be comforting but for my puppy, this caused him anxiety and really aggravated him when everyone else was playing and he was the only one in his crate getting a 'puppy break'. It doesn't seem logical to me to crate a dog in a room filled with other dogs playing, making him feel left out and jealous.

Also, it became clear to me when watching the video footage from daycare on their website, that the workers in the room (which should always establish dominance and control of the room), corrected only certain bad behaviors, not ALL bad behaviors. Say for example, rather than correcting the behavior of other dogs annoying or bullying my dog, they corrected only when my dog was fed up and tried to make clear to the bigger dogs, he no longer enjoyed being stepped on and pushed around. If you know how dogs play and how they communicate with each other, its obvious this is standard dog behavior and a totally fair response from my dog.

That being said, while the owner and workers at Dogtopia claimed to have tried to work with my dog who seemed to be struggling to feel comfortable and SAFE while at day care (otherwise, why would he feel the need to stand up and defend himself?), they really did not put forth much effort and did not seem like they could be bothered with a change in routine to accommodate my dog, that is still just a puppy! They suggested at one point to have my puppy on a leash while the others dogs are playing, which is absolutely absurd since they weren't even considering how this might cause leash aggression in my puppy that is still learning how to socialize.

They claim to be trained and educated in this matter but both me and my personal trainer (who is well known in the whole state of Michigan for having successfully trained thousands of dogs) think this is a terrible facility for all young puppies that are learning how to socialize with other dogs, and more nervous or sensitive dogs. I work with my dog in personal training 3-4 times a week helping my sensitive rescue puppy adjust and learn how to act. I explained to the owner, that his socialization issues only started at Dogtopia because of his negative experiences their and she did not consider to give me a full refund of my day care package. Instead, one of her employees, told me the other day my dog is "not welcome back because he shows true aggression" ...

Not sure where they get off calling a dog that they know nothing about 'aggressive', but I guess that's a good representation of how they run their business. They have no clue what my dog has been through and how hard both my dog and I work every single day ... yet they can go around calling other people's dogs aggressive when they don't want more work. Seems professional. My trainer and I will tell everyone looking for a daycare facility to never go here, because I can tell you for a fact there are PLENTY of other day cares that put more effort into their work and express more understanding for 'difficult' dogs that are still learning how to socialize.

Good...

I love everything about Dogtopia of Bloomfield and the services they provide. I mean, they know I love them over there. They take such great care of my girl, Phoebe. Always going the extra mile. About a month ago Phoebe got sick after eating, what we later found out, was poison ivy. She was out of daycare for about a week, and this was after she had been going about 3x a week for the past month. They called in to check on her and see if she was okay, which is so nice. I'm assuming it's a part of their job to follow up and check in on pups that haven't been in for a few days all of a sudden, but it didn't seem like they were just calling because it was part of their job to do so. They seemed genuinely concerned about her when checking in. It was so sweet. Since she got sick, her diet has become somewhat demanding with her digestive system being so sensitive. As she's slowly gone back to daycare, I've been sending her in with bland chicken/rice lunches that have included specific written instructions for mixing in stuff such as her kibble or probiotics, and adding water and broth and warming it up so it's not cold, and they follow the instructions to a tee and let me know if she ate everything okay, and if she took her medicine okay. I know it's a hassle with those instructions and I feel so bad writing them, like they obviously have so many other pups to take care and get their lunches ready, too, but they never complain. Phoebe was sick with an upset tummy during her most recent visit, but I had to bring her in that day, so I did. She was feeling not great and I could see on the webcams that she was sitting off to the side. The canine coach, Chris, noticed and more than once he went over to her and tried to cheer her up. She got sick and threw up that afternoon during open play. I happened to be checking in on the webcams when it occurred and texted that I was coming to get her, and Liz texted back immediately because she was already on it and reaching out to me. I was upset and worried when I picked her up, and basically a hot mess over my furbaby being sick. Liz was so understanding and sweet and she comforted me, and then Erin emailed shortly after to check in on me and make sure I was okay. It was overwhelmingly nice and touching of both of them to do that. They take care of Phoebe always, but they also took care of me that day. It meant a lot. What I like about your services is that you execute them with care. You're all paws on deck over there. You check in on your pack members. You make sure the hoomans know that their baby is taken care of. I will never run out of good things to say about Dogtopia of Bloomfield. They never cease to impress me over there. And Phoebe loves them so much!! I'd recommend this place...

Update: this situation has now been resolved to our satisfaction.

Up until 2 weeks ago, we were having a positive experience at Dogtopia. My fiancé works in the office, but I work from home. We wanted our dog to have some socialization and of course, work out some energy. I normally would set up my tablet so I could get some serotonin boosts by watching the cameras. There were a few times that I would catch something and not be overly thrilled with it, but I just brushed it off. It's a lot of dogs so it looks like things can get chaotic. However, 2 weeks ago, I noticed what I thought was going to be a cute moment- my dog climbing up on the outside chairs next to the Canine Coach to snuggle. But she pushed him away. Then I saw her kick another dog, so I grabbed my phone to start recording off my tablet. She proceeded to be hyper focused on her phone, and then she stood up on the chair with her arms flailing and it was obvious she was screaming at the dogs. Then she stomped off and climbed to the top of the playscape and put her head down. My dog, being the sensitive kind, walked around the playscape, looking like he wanted to console her. He ended up putting his paws on the playscape by her, and she kicked his feet out.

I immediately called my fiancé to go pick him up and I told him what I saw and recorded. When he got there he asked to speak to the manager, and he said he would review the tapes and call us back. My fiancé wasn't even home yet (about a 15 min ride) and he got the call that he saw nothing inappropriate. And said something to the effect that the Canine Coach is a small girl, so she has to use more force to correct the dogs.

Obviously I had recorded proof, and it wasn't until I posted it on my social media that a deeper review was started. I was told that immediate action was taken and then on that Monday (this happened on Friday) that a discussion would be had with HR on next steps. I didn't hear anything Monday, and it wasn't until I reached out Tuesday afternoon that I got any updates. Because the girl didn't hurt my dog and didn't intend to, it was basically a slap on the wrist. Oh and she never had an incident in her 3 years there. But on the latter reason, I imagine there was never a recorded incident by another dog parent so I don't trust that there wasn't a history of inappropriate treatment.

If I hadn't recorded this, I would have been brushed off as a dramatic Karen, because that was what happened until I posted proof.

Incidentally after posting, I had several other people say how they witnessed inappropriate treatment and they too, felt that they were being overly dramatic about what they saw. Interesting how gaslighting works.

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