The Watering Bowl — Local services in Brentwood

Read the fine print, and don't rely on staff to give accurate information about hours and services. Also, if you buy a package, know that they are location specific. They seem to take good care of my dogs, with the exception that they don't do a good job of cleaning their ears. They will charge you for every little thing, even if it's their fault, and point to the fine print of their website if there are any questions. Not very customer friendly. Examples below.

The first time I utilized The Watering Bowl, I dropped both of my dogs off at the Brentwood location for boarding while I was out of town. My mom had to pick them up because one of my dogs will occasionally cough due to allergies. OK, they're cautious about kennel cough. I understand that. Inconvenient for me and my family, but I had the vet confirm he just has allergies.

The second time I dropped them off at the Grove location for boarding, bath, nails, and ears. We walked in to pick up at 10am (pick up cut off time). After speaking with the front desk and them having issues with their card reader, the invoice was time stamped at 10:07. I was charged for half a day of daycare due to being "late." When I called and said I was there at 10, admittedly cutting it close with our long drive, but was there on time, she referred to the 10:07 time stamp and said even if you're 2 minutes late, you will be charged for daycare. OK great, I'll be sure to pick them up at 9:30 next time and pray there is no line. In addition, my dogs ears had a bunch of ear wax and it didn't even look like they had been cleaned.

Yesterday I dropped them off for daycare and a bath at the Brentwood location. The girl checking them in said I could pick them up whenever. I asked for clarity on the pick up time and explained that I would be going out to Ste. Gen until at least 5:30pm, and I'm not even sure what time I would be getting back. She said oh, that sounds fun, yeah you can pick them up any time. When I got back into town and went to pick them up, there was no one in the lobby and the door was locked. I called twice and no one answered. While I was standing there, a worker just happened to walk into the lobby and explained that they closed at 4pm, and that they had tried to call me. He told me I could pick them up at 8am, because the night crew can't check anyone out. Okay, well why didn't the front desk inform me of this when I was dropping them off? I could have arranged something at that moment or planned better with the correct information!

To add insult, they charged me $200 for boarding and when I asked if I could use a boarding package I already purchased previously (at the Grove location), I was informed I could not because packages are location specific. Wonderful.

Like I said earlier, they will do EXACTLY what their fine print says. Nothing more, nothing less. Do not expect any flexibility in their policies or any accommodations if emergencies or sudden changes occur. Do not expect the front desk staff to give you correct information and always read their policies and their...

There are so many things I love about The Watering Bowl. The staff is always friendly and seem to care greatly about the dogs they're trusted with. Front desk employees have a lot to manage at once, sometimes, and I've never seen any of them be anything but polite and helpful. The staff out in the yard always seem attentive and communicative with each other - they truly look out for the pups in their care. Management is compassionate and knows when and how to make the right call for the good of all their clients. We've boarded with them multiple times and never had a problem. They always tell us plainly if they notice any behavioral or health concerns while our dogs are there, and I've never had a reason to distrust them.

Two experiences that I find exemplary... One of my dogs is people-averse. She's a rescue, and it takes her time to build trust. She once lashed out at another dog while at TWB, and the staff handled the situation with such compassion and professionalism on both sides - they made sure both dogs were physically safe; contacted me immediately; were incredibly reassuring that they understood she's not aggressive but was just scared; and they didn't bar her from returning. They communicated plans that we could put into action with their trainers and helped us get her back on track. It could have been an absolute nightmare for both people and dogs, but I'm so grateful for how they responded.

Our other rescue is high-anxiety, and we tried so many things in the first year to address that. We were at our wits' end when we started working with Tyler, one of TWB's trainers. Tyler is so knowledgeable and good at reading a dog. He has a great presence that works really well for our dude. He showed us how to communicate (verbally and non-verbally) with our dog in a way that makes sense to dogs, and now we understand how to adapt our behaviors to new situations to help him process and grow through his anxiety. The methods Tyler has taught us are constantly returning the results we were looking for. It's such a relief to see our dog happier and healthier and living a better life. We wouldn't be there without Tyler's help.

TL;DR - The Watering Bowl has built an amazing staff of individuals who care very much about all aspects of the work they're doing - you, your dog, everyone else's dog, their excellent facilities, and the STL-area community at large. I recommend all of my dog-owning friends and...

Full disclosure: I'm not really the reviewing type. I read a lot of reviews, but I rarely care enough about a business to spend time commenting on it (sorry). That said, I have zero qualms about reviewing The Watering Bowl, maybe because I am a crazy dog mom, or maybe just because they rock. When you work a 9-5, live alone, or even just have a house with wonky schedules, you feel bad leaving your dog alone. You should, anyway. When I heard about dog daycare, I thought it was nuts. Now, I can't fathom how people DON'T use dog daycare. Watering bowl has convenient drop off and pick up times, so I keep the bosses happy. The dogs just run around all day and play--this is a cage-free facility. Every dog has to go through a process to make sure they are going to play nicely with the others, and vet records must be on file. There are plenty of humans working at all times, making sure everyone is behaving, filling water bowls, and taking pictures and videos of the pups. They even put the pics and videos on Facebook every day so you can check up on your dog! There is a huge inside area and large outside one with turf. They have pools for when the St. Louis summers are awful, too. The best part is that your dog comes home super tired from playing with his pals all day. For us, it's helped our dog with socialization and gives him lots of exercise, which I really appreciate. Jeremy (the owner) has put a great team together, and I feel comfortable dropping off my dog. The staff is very personable and know way more about dogs than I ever will. I really can't recommend The Watering Bowl enough. I'm sort of jealous of my little dude-- he has way more fun than I do at work,...