Camp Bow Wow Columbia MD — Local services in Columbia

My first experience with Camp Bow Wow was this past April of 2016. I was referred to the location by a family member last year but because I had heard some good things from one family member and then some NOT so good things from another family member and an old coworker it took me a year to finally go and see for myself. I too agree with a few of the other reviews that it felt like the first day was a hard sell and I felt some pressure to purchase a package up front that were what they called "Exclusive Offers " only available the first day. Although, I didn't purchase the packages the first day my pup has probably done 3 or 4 overnight stays while my family has gone on travel. Most recently I made a reservation for this upcoming holiday weekend but initially I did it online and only reserved 2 days (@ 54.00 per night) and was called a few days later to be advised that holiday weekends required a 3 night stay and although I didn't need it, I added the additional day. I received the email confirmation 08/27 but was informed yesterday after business hours that the out of town event that I had planned to attend had been cancelled thus I emailed and called today to cancel the reservation only to be told it required a 7 business day cancellation and was informed that I would be charged 50% of the 3 night stay. Now most places I have used before required 48 maybe even 72 hours cancellation and I'm thinking ok Im good, I wasn't scheduled to drop off until this coming saturday but no HOLIDAY Reservations require 7 days in advance cancellation. Ok so I'm thinking there has to be an exception, I didn't anticipate cancellation of my event and surely because I've used them in the past and plan to use them in the future, I could speak with a supervisor that would work something out with me just this one time. NOT!!! The supervisor advised me this was the same as a hotel reservation. I explained that even hotel cancellations are 24-48 hours cancellation in advance by 6pm and asked the supervisor, "what hotel do you know that has this 7 day in advance cancellation policy " only for her to advise, "she is not sure she is not an avid traveler and hasn't stayed at many hotels "....WHAT???? So why did you offer the hotel analogy if you don't even know one with a 7 day in advance cancellation policy. So I asked if there was anyone else that I could speak with that would be willing to work with me because I personally work for a Fortune 50 company and even with our policy and procedure, I have witnessed many times these type of isolated events and we are always able to at least offer the customer something to keep their business with us but her response was still NO. She advised she was the supervisor and there was no one else that I could speak with. I asked if anyone would be able to approve maybe one day of camp or an overnight stay to be used at a later time for the $81 plus dollars that she is advising I will be charged for canceling and again the answer was NO. So I am really disappointed and really not in a position to pay $54 times three days for my pup to be at Camp Bow Wow while myself and my family are here in town and also am not happy that the $81 charge could not have resulted in something that would at least have made me feel like she wanted to keep as a future customer. I am really weighing my options as to whether I will just pay the cancellation fee and search for another camp for the future or keep the reservation and let this be my pup's last stay at this place and still look for a new camp for future use. I'm so disappointed in the way it was handled today that I think I will just never use them again because any company that is not willing to work with their customer's is not a company that I want to do business...

(Edited below)

I had concerns about lack of professionalism pretty early on based on the fact that someone (presumably the owner or manager) parks in the “customer barking” daily and employees smoke out front. I worked much further south in crappy restaurants in high school that didn’t allow that. But, they were convenient to work and had cameras. My dog was ok most of the time. I saw on camera once he was sprayed repeatedly with a water bottle by an employee for being snippy with a dog who had been following and humping him since I dropped him off, which seemed inappropriate and the employee didn’t even get up and the dog harassing him was not corrected. You can hear them yelling at the dogs from the front and sometimes extremely loud music which is probably stressful for the dogs. I really should have pulled my dog out then and gone to the better less convenient daycare I tried in Rockville.

I dropped my dog off one day and realized shortly after that he wasn’t on camera. I was immediately stressed but tried to give benefit of the doubt and I had to be in meetings. I figured if he wasn’t back I’d worry then, maybe he needed a wash or something. He never got back on camera. I left work immediately and at pick up they said nothing. I said my dog hadn’t been on camera in two hours. An employee coming from the office said she’d put him in a kennel for throwing up some bile (totally fine train of thought, I wouldn’t expect them to keep a possibly ill dog in playgroup) and that he had been “chilling” in his kennel since.

My dog was going to daycare because he has separation anxiety, which I mentioned the first time I dropped him off. He can’t be crated, and gets very stressed when isolated. It was very obvious he was not “chilling” because when he was brought to me he was covered in stress drool, absolutely soaked, and panting harder than I’ve seen him after a run. They must have put him in the kennel and never looked at him again. Had they called me to say he was having a hard time I would have come to get him immediately and cancelled the meetings. I blame myself for not trusting my gut, but i don’t think I expected too much for them to call me if something was wrong. He was terrified, and I’ve lost a tool in our separation anxiety toolbox. We will not be back, and I would not recommend this daycare. It seems fine for some dogs, there are definitely dogs playing happily on camera, but the employees are not able to handle dogs who are there due to anxiety or that may be nervous or stressed.

EDIT: Jennifer, the owner reached out and informed that they had taken this experience seriously and had made changes to policy/reminded staff of policy regarding professionalism and contacting owners when there are incidents at daycare. Policy was already in place that owners were supposed to be contacted, and they have made sure that isn’t overlooked in the future. I was also told that the employee who used the spray bottle was fired as that action was against policy. I think these changes will be great for their clients, and i appreciate Jennifer reaching out! It seemed she was genuinely surprised that an experience like this could happen and worked hard ensuring it doesn’t happen to...

Please exercise caution when boarding your dog here.

I sent my dog to Camp Bow Wow for two nights while I was out of town. He had completed an interview day two weeks prior with no issues. I spoke with staff twice during my trip and they confirmed he was doing great. At pickup, this was confirmed again- no issues. The staff was incredibly accommodating with his medication needs and also very friendly.

We got home with him and immediately noticed that he reeked of urine, head to toe, as though he had laid in it for hours. It took two baths to get the smell off.

Secondly, both of his legs where they meet his hips on his lower belly were absolutely covered in deep red scratches. These scratches do not resemble what you would expect normal “rough play”, and looked more like he had been repeatedly clawed at. There were several other scratches on his body, but these were much smaller and seemed consistent with what a dog would receive from hours of playtime.

I immediately sent an email with photos of his injuries to Camp Bow Wow, politely informing them of my concerns and asked if they had noticed either of these issues. I hadn’t heard back by mid-morning, so I placed a call. I’m not sure who I spoke to, but I was informed that the injuries went unnoticed and that my experience was “not what they aim for”, no further apology issued. They were unable to explain how he became drenched in urine but explained that he couldn’t have been bathed due to facility renovations- which I understand.

I also took the opportunity to ask, for a fourth time, if there were any issues during his stay. FINALLY, I was informed that another dog humped and mounted my dog repeatedly and actually had to be removed from the play yard as a consequence. I informed the staff at drop off that he does not take well to being mounted, and this information was readily available in his camper profile as well.

This absolutely should have been reported to me without having to ask what happened when my dog was returned with abnormal skin wounds and reeking of urine. I find it hard to believe that they couldn’t see the scratches when putting his harness back on him at pickup.

I am supposed to be hearing from a manager but I have not. I will not...