Dogtopia of South Waterfront — Attraction in Portland

I've never written a 1-star review in my life, but I'm so horrified by every aspect of how this business is run that I need to say something. Hopefully my review helps out some dogs whose people are considering sending them here. Long story short: don’t do it!

Last Saturday, I was excited to drop my dog off for his first day of daycare at Dogtopia South Waterfront. His meet and greet went well, and the people who worked there seemed nice, so I felt great about trusting them to take care of my dog. Let it be known that I went into this whole thing with a positive attitude and every expectation of goodness. But I was betrayed.

A few hours into daycare, I tried checking the webcam feed to see how my dog was doing, but it turned out I didn’t have access. No biggie - the staff helped me get set up. It took a few hours and it seemed like no one knew what they were doing, but it worked out in the end and I wasn’t upset about it.

However, the webcams were off. I asked why and was told that it was naptime. The webcams would be back on at 2. Why would they need to turn off the cameras at naptime? Still not upset, but definitely becoming skeptical.

2pm rolled around, and then 2:15, and the webcams were still either turned off or not working. With the general vibe of disorganization and the lack of transparency, I started to get a hunch that something was wrong and decided to go to the location and see for myself what was happening.

When I arrived, there were already 2 people in the lobby waiting to be helped. I rang the bell for service, and no one came. So I decided to peek through the windows into the playroom to see what I could see, and what I saw was pretty disturbing. The dogs were all caged, barking like mad and looking distressed. My dog, for example, was drooling, barking, and periodically wretching. There was no one in the room with the dogs.

I came back to the lobby and rang the bell again, and again, no one came. Over the course of about 15 minutes, I alternated between looking through the playroom window and ringing the bell for service. I didn't see a single employee this whole time. I was now panicking because my dog was clearly in distress but unreachable.

Finally, someone came out and asked which dog was mine. I told them his name, and they looked confused, like I had said something wrong. Then they said, "he's a big dog, right?" No - he is a Boston terrier mix. I started to get really worried because why don't the staff know which dog is which?

When they finally uncovered the mystery of which dog was mine and brought him out, he was more stressed than I've ever seen him. He was drooling, panting, and had his back hunched in fear.

I asked how long the dogs had been caged, and the employee said, "oh, only 2 hours, from 12-2". ONLY 2 hours!? Also, please note: It was now about 3pm, so that couldn't be true. I asked for a refund, and she promised that I would get one. She said she'd talk with the manager to get the ball rolling.

It took us about 3 hours to get our dog to calm down after this experience. We had to take him out for a half-hour walk plus playtime in the backyard in order to get him back to baseline. This dog goes to daycare elsewhere all the time, and he's wiped out from playing for the rest of the day when he does. This was not a dog who had been playing and having fun all day; this was a dog who had been caged and stressed for hours.

Anyway, every day from Sunday through today (Tuesday) I contacted Dogtopia S. Waterfront to ask about the status of my refund, and I either received no reply or a standard "I'll check," and then no follow-up.

Finally, today, I was able to talk on the phone with who I believe was the same front desk person who promised me the refund, and they said that since what I purchased was a promotional item, they could not give a refund.

I am now waiting for a response from their regional manager about that refund because - and you'll be shocked to hear this - they don't have a manager at South...

This is the first google/yelp review I have ever done, but I feel as though I must for the safety of other dogs and for pet parents considering this daycare. We have been taking our dog here for a few years and were satisfied…..except things changed sometime this past summer (2024) and have only gotten worse including management change, staff quitting en masse, dogs being crated throughout the day (not just during nap time) and generally unethical practices.

The final straw for me was a few weeks ago. They did not inform me that they were short staffed, yet again, and did not tell me that my dog would crated every hour because they had only one person to supervise the 3 rooms of daycare during the hours of 6:30am-12:00. That day, I ended up needing to pick my dog up right before noon (when they begin the 2 hour nap period), so I texted and called multiple times but got no answer. When I arrived, the door was locked, no one was at the desk, in the office, in the hallways or with the crated dogs. I could see the crated dogs from the street window and so I waited…..for over 35 minutes. Not one human being came through to check on the dogs, no one answered my texts or phone calls, one dog has his leg sticking out under the crate bars the whole time (possibly stuck?) and another large dog had a full bucket of water on top of the crate and every time the dog barked and bumped the top of the crate, water sloshed on top of the poor animal. My dog was crated next to a dog that kept barking and snarling.

35 minutes later, 2 employees arrived at the front door from the street and another followed about 10 min later. I do not believe anyone was in the building with the dogs for over 30 min, perhaps much longer since I don’t know when the doors were locked. The temporary manager, however, said there was someone in the back doing baths, but I don’t believe that to be true as I think he was actually referring to the 3rd person who walked through the front door. Also, neither of the first 2 employees knew how to contact management as the cell they had on file was not in service, nor were they able to provide me with any paperwork and/or agreements pet parents sign because neither employee had computer access. They had both been there for a week and reported that they had been given very minimal training. The 3rd employee was quite defensive with me and the other 2 employees before I even had a chance to explain my concerns and kept telling me that there was “no one in the world who loved dogs more than she did”.

I got my dog finally, had them delete my credit card and will...

the staff and management are all passionate about dogs but the company’s main priority is sales, this sales oriented culture is reflected in overbooked playrooms, overpriced boarding and daycare packages, last minute / cheap craft activities (that cost money) and refunds that often take a minimum of 3 weeks to complete despite many recent complaints regarding double & over-charging, meanwhile, the dog room attendants are often undertrained or overwhelmed by large quantities of dogs or forced to take on more work than they should, this is why the cameras are often off and the dogs can be crated more than usual, this happens when there is only one dog attendant for both rooms

This said, dogtopia south waterfront is the least busy location in Portland and there’s usually never more than 25 or so dogs in each room, they also donate to many dog oriented charities and some of the playroom activities are specifically created to fund these endeavors

If your dog is injured at a dogtopia location, dogtopia will not cover your vet fees. most physical injuries aside from minor bites and crate rub are uncommon, but illnesses such as giardia, and digestive issues (diarrhea, vomiting) spread on occasion, this said, all accepted dogs are vaccinated against major illnesses like Rabies, Distemper & Influenza

If your dog is still young I cannot recommend bringing your dog here, dog coaches (the playroom attendants) are not certified trainers in any way and dogs often unlearn trained behaviors or pick up new, negative, behaviors such as poop eating, demand barking, humping, jumping, and nipping. poop eating is the most common learned behavior and often leads to digestive issues spreading throughout the rooms

Unless a suite was purchased for your dogs stay, Most dogs at all dogtopia locations are left alone in crates at night if they are there to board, though bedding can be brought or provided for them. there are no playroom attendants, managers or security people in the building at night.

Dogs are not walked and there are no outdoor activities at this location.

Though this location closes at 7:30 pm, the doors are locked by 7:00, you will have to call ahead in order to be let in if the front desk sales representative is not there to let you in.

Overall, Dogtopia south waterfront provides a valuable service to its customers, if one can afford it, but there are many things to be aware of if you plan to bring...