Dogtopia of Roanoke — Attraction in Roanoke

I am a original client of the old owners The Pet Mansion before they sold it to Dogtopia and I never had any issues with them. I thought that the staff and groomer stayed the same but I was wrong. I’ve had my chow chow for 6 years and have never had issues with telling a groomer how to cut and I’ve lived with him in two different states. I usually get cuts every 1-3 months depending what I can afford because his grooms cost $130-$160 each time. When Dogtopia took over and I had my first grooming I asked for a normal cut and my dog came back looking like he didn’t even have a trim so I nicely asked for this to be fixed and it was fixed to a medium cut which is the norm to me and I was satisfied. 1-2 months later I called to schedule a grooming again and could not get anyone to answer my calls or voicemails. I ended up texting the groomer from the first groom and she said she would give the message but I still couldn’t get a call back. I put in a complaint per their email surveys and I got a voicemail left the next day saying my dog was scheduled out for the rest of the year. I should of taken all of this as a huge hint they did not like me or did not want my business. Because when it came time for the second groom, I asked for my normal cut (which to all the groomers I worked with in 6 years is a medium length cut.) I went to pick up my dog and came to found out the groomer shaved my dog down to the bare skin less than half an inch of hair left. My dog is a chow chow. This is the worst thing you can do unless you really needed to. They replied that he was extremely matted but from talking to my family that I live with and they stated he was not extremely matted that he needed to be shaved down this low. His ends were icky and he needed his normal groom to prevent this, which is why I always tried to get him groomed every 1-3 months. We also comb him and stopped bathing him ourselves to prevent matting as we found out us bathing him ourselves can create more matting since we can’t dry him as well. I ended up cancelling the rest of my appointments and will not be back. The receptionist ended up calling me and talking and I was very polite and told her I don’t think I am a fit with their groomer and and she stated their manager would call back and remedy but to this day I have not received any call. At this point I don’t care for one as I will not be going back but I do think this deserves a review as I tried to be as understanding and polite as possible and work with them. Fully shaving a chow chow can affect the way their hair grows back, if it grows back fully, and will take 6 months or greater to grow back. Luckily my dog doesn’t understand what happened to him of course and is still...

My husband and I decided to check out Dogtopia as a backup for our dogs’ current daycare and boarding. Dogtopia is also conveniently located five minutes away from home. We scheduled our meet and greet with our two dogs for this past Saturday. The initial impression via phone calls and text was decent. I liked that they contacted the dogs’ vet directly for their vaccination records before the meet and greet.

However, the meet and greet was a disaster. Our dogs are extremely shy and protective of my husband and I. They will bark up a storm initially until they feel comfortable around new people and dogs. The black-haired female employee that first made contact with our dogs became visibly frustrated and gave up on bonding with our dogs easily. The blond-haired female employee that took over looked more willing to diffuse a tense situation. She kept feeding our dogs treats to help them get comfortable but it wasn’t working.

While we were still in the lobby with our dogs, my husband and I were asked a bunch of unnecessary questions by the employee. It felt more like an intake for prison than doggie daycare. In addition, the lady that seemed like the manager of the establishment later said she had some questions to ask us. What else do you need to know? Our blood type? My mother’s maiden name? Well, we never found out what those questions were because the manager never came out from behind her desk. Speaking of prison, the feeding and resting policy is to feed and have the dogs “rest” in crates exposed around the other dogs that are playing. There is no privacy or really time to rest because there are dogs constantly around. One crated dog in particular that I kept seeing on the webcam was looking out at his friends desperate to come out and play. I felt bad for him.

Disappointingly, the staff all stood behind their desk like frozen statues offering no help to an already uncomfortable situation. The other young female working behind the desk did nothing but side eye us the whole time. It was very unprofessional and uncalled for.

We will continue to take our dogs to Camp Bow Wow in Grapevine. I highly recommend y’all stay away from Dogtopia if you...

My wife and I decided to schedule a meet & greet to, perhaps, have a backup to our dogs’ regular daycare. The initial communication was excellent, as was the offer for Dogtopia to reach out to the vet to obtain medical records. That is where the good ends. Our dogs tend to be shy at first and will bark up a storm until they settle down and acclimate to new people. The girl that began the meet & greet rolled her eyes at our dogs and gave up too easily. Someone else had to take over. Then there was another girl just standing at the checkin counter constantly giving us the side eye. It was a sign that things were not going to end well when Jasper was reluctant to go meet the other dogs. The whole time he was in the play yard, he was backed up against the exit door. The indoor play yard is a decent size. What really set me off is their handling of feeding and boarding. There are crates lining the periphery of the play yard. It is in these crates into which dogs are placed for feeding and boarding. No privacy. No rest. No seclusion to have their meal. Once I confirmed this with the girl that took over the meet & greet, I promptly ended the meet & greet and asked her to retrieve Jasper from the play yard. Nina was still with us and had not yet been taken to the back. I got a bad vibe from a staff that came across as disinterested and...