Paws of Fun — Local services in Sydney

I have previously given Paws of Fun a five star review because the girl who had been working the afternoon shift, on the first four occasions when I picked up my dog, is absolutely lovely. Each week she had a 'report card,' accompanied by a treat, ready at pickup time.

Today, however, when I went in to Paws of Fun to collect my dog, I was met with the information that my dog had eaten her Lupine harness. When I asked how this had happened, I was told that the dogs had all had their harnesses put on a 1/2 hour earlier (that would make it at around 3:30 pm) in anticipation of they're going home -- and that my dog had managed to swivel her head around such that she was able to chew through her own, snug, harness. Given that Paws of Fun is open until 6 pm, this means that the carers there expected the dogs, in their care, to wear their harnesses for up to 2-1/2 hours.

No apologies were given for not having noticed my dog (or, more probably some other dog) eating the harness.

No suggestions were made about perhaps keeping my dog's harness off, in future, until she is actually picked up. I presume that, if I were to continue taking my dog to Paws of Fun on a weekly basis, then I would now need to budget for the additional cost of potentially losing one dog harness a week.

And certainly no offer was made to replace/offer reimbursement for the harness. This lovely harness, which always garnered compliments, was part of a set with an extra long lead and a collar. Alas, I have already checked and the particular pattern appears to have been retired, so it looks like I will be unable to replace it.

This whole situation is so sad because my dog seems to genuinely enjoy going to Paws of Fun each week. However I have to wonder: how long were the dogs left to their own devices if a dog could chew through it's harness; why it seemed like a good idea to put harnesses onto dogs in the middle of the afternoon; and, finally, why the carers, who were responsible for the sequence of events leading up to the damage being done, couldn't have just apologized and at least assured me that this wouldn't happen...

Disappointed and frustrated. I’ve been taking my 5kg poodle, Mishmesh, to this groomer for several months. While the grooms themselves are usually well done, the constant surprise charges are unacceptable and feel like a cash grab.

A full groom is listed at $90 for a small dog. I’ve always paid $120, which I understood included a scissor cut instead of a shave, something I was happy to pay extra for, especially during winter.

However, during one visit, I was told mid-groom that she was slightly matted and they’d need to charge another $10–30. I agreed, expecting the lower end, since I brush her regularly. I was hit with a $150 bill. No warning. No breakdown. Just max charge by default.

Still, I gave them another chance. I booked only a wash and blow dry through their website, which lists $45–55 for dogs under 5kg (and even $55–70 for dogs 5–10kg). Mishmesh is 5kg — yet they charged me $81. When I questioned it, I was told they “worked backwards from her full groom price” because she’s “fluffy.” That logic is absurd — pricing should reflect the listed range, not arbitrary justifications.

To make things worse, the groomer refused to come speak to me. The front desk staff were kind, but clearly left to deal with the fallout of poor pricing transparency and questionable business practices.

$80 is what you charge for a 20–30kg dog’s wash and blow dry according to your own website. This is not only overpriced — it’s misleading and unfair.

At this point, I won’t be returning. Charging customers randomly and avoiding accountability is not how you build...

Been taking my two dogs here for 5 years and historically the experience has been fantastic.

I am super diligent when it comes to brushing both dogs (weekly at a minimum) and make sure to keep their coat in the best possible condition.

Occasionally there is matting which generally occurs when it’s been wet, but otherwise their coat is always well kept (to the point I get stopped on the street regularly to get asked what I do).

I brushed them yesterday and today I took them to the groomers today, to receive a call saying they are so matted they need to shave them instead of the usual style. This was very unusual as this has never happened before.

I am not sure if some kind of mistake occurred during the groom which is okay if it did but the coat was certainly not bad enough that it needed shaving.

I was then offered by reception a discount for the inconvenience and told the same price I usually pay anyway which I pointed out.

I would otherwise continue to be a regular customer but the whole interaction really lacked...