Dogtopia of Decatur — Attraction in Decatur

I have been taking my greyhound to Dogtopia of Decatur for about 1 year (maybe 2) now and he loves it there. It is hard to find a doggy daycare for this love bug due to how fragile he is (little information about greyhounds, Yes they run fast, yes they have energy and get bored and need some interaction. Only thing that makes it so hard to give a greyhound the interaction that they need is that they are fragile. They have thin skin and unfortunately this thin skin can make playing with other dogs difficult because they can get hurt a little easier). I am mentioning this because I am aware of the risk I am taking to give him the fun, love and interaction he needs through him attending daycare at dogtopia. A few months ago, my dog did get hurt at dogtopia and I could not be happier with the response I got from Gabrielle, The Assistant Manager. She even called me after hours (they close at 8 and she called me after 8 to discuss how to manage the situation at hand). I had a pretty steep vet bill from this injury he endured. She helped put me at ease, looked through all footage of the day the injury took place (which there was no unusual footage, so we were both trying to understand what happened--he is a dog playing with other dogs, sometimes things happen) and explained that a refund for the vet bill will take time due to dogtopia's support team needing to access the situation and let's face it, take the time they need to figure out what to do. Gabrielle did exactly what she needed to do to keep things on track and to push through to her support team to help with some of the costs and it worked. I received a refund, my gentle giant healed and all is well. I am very thankful for that because I know that she truly cares about my dogs wellbeing. The entire staff shows this care for all the dogs as well. This response to my dog's needs is the very reason I take him to Dogtopia. I know that he is loved and that the staff is paying attention to him. When I bring him in, they greet him with love and when I pick him up, they give me feedback about the day and always give him the extra cuddles he wants before he leaves (he will take extra attention anytime). I am writing this review because I want others to be aware of how wonderful Dogtopia of Decatur truly is. I highly recommend.

Big bonus: the daycare is indoors. That means my thin skinned greyhound will not over heat or get sunburn (Yes, a dog can get sunburn) or be freezing during the...

I wanted so much to love this place because it is so convenient to my home, but several instances of poor communication have finally made me decide to seek care for my pups elsewhere.

The last several times I’ve taken my dogs, there’s a new “policy” that impacts either, how much I pay, when and how I book, or whether I can book daycare at all. I’ve asked several times to see a copy of their policies so that I can make sure that I am prepared for any hiccups going forward and have been told each time that they “do not have anything that is open to the public, but this is our policy.”

For example, I’ve been surprised by things like: suddenly requiring that I pay for my dogs to have a bath after 3 days (even when I had grooming appointments booked elsewhere) when that had not been a requirement for at least a dozen previous stays. Or a requirement that despite being frequent visitors, my dogs needed to have a “reintroduction” day if they’d been absent for longer than 3 months (I mercifully had a stretch without work travel and didn’t need boarding or daycare) and declining my request for daycare until I brought them for a reintroduction. Or requirement that I pay a “deposit” (that was actually the full cost of the stay) before booking if the stay included a holiday, when every other booking was paid at pickup.

If these were truly their policies, I wouldn’t have an issue meeting their requests. But it seems that every time I visit there’s a new rule or expectation that wasn’t there before. I’ve suggested on a number of occasions that if there are changes to procedures or new expectations of pet owners, that those should be communicated - they send emails and texts inviting customers to book regularly, so it seems they could send one updating their policies too. That has never happened. Instead I get a surprise text after attempting to book care and am left scrambling to find...

I cannot say enough GREAT things about Dogtopia in Decatur. We brought our 2 year old super sweet, but timid, mini-cockapoo here for her first boarding experience. We scheduled her meet & greet and at the recommendation of Dogtopia, another 3 hour daycare visit (which was free of charge!), leading up to her stay to help her get acclimated before boarding. I was given an on the spot tour – it was quiet, no loud barking, the staff was super nice, professional & knowledgeable - the entire place was immaculately clean, the daycare rooms are separated for large dogs and small dogs, all very clean with staff that were engaging with all of the dogs. There is a spa/bathing room with all animal safe cleaning products. I really appreciated this transparency, since I was already worried about this being the first daycare/ boarding for our dog, this tour completely put me at ease knowing our pup would be in such a clean and professional environment. After the meet & greet, we received a report card about how our pup did. The best part is that we were able to see our pup on the Dogtopia App Webcams!! This was GREAT because we were able to see that she loved it – the staff danced, blew bubbles and loved on every dog! The staff also did an amazing job in managing all of the different pup-personalities. You can see right away the professionalism of each staff member using real tactics for behavior and training. There is also a naptime every day, which drop-offs and pick-ups are scheduled around to guarantee this window of quiet time. At the end of each boarded day, I received a text of a picture and a little note – which our family loved! We all felt so happy knowing that our sweet girl was in such good hands. We are SO happy to have found Dogtopia Decatur & I will definitely...