Collars Dog Resort — Local services in Kansas City

I did not have a good experience during my first visit with my dog. First, they weren't the most friendly/comforting when dropping her off. They just took her and I didn't get to say goodbye. I didn't even know the check in process so I kinda stuck around waiting for someone to talk to me to tell me what what was happening. I eventually was like, um am I good to go or? and they said yes and they told me about the cameras.

This is where my biggest concern comes in because when I logged in at work. I then saw the trainer not only grab my dog by her collar, but she did this to other dogs too, and dragged her from one side of the pen to the other. I then saw her pick her up off the floor by her collar. I wasn't sure I was seeing what I was seeing, so I pulled over a few coworkers (we're all in vet med and animal health) to check, and I also had a dog trainer from another resort that is a friend of mine log in to make sure this behavior was abnormal. She let me know she would be fired the moment she lifted a dog by or touched it's collar and that is not how you redirect dogs. I also saw them try to move her by kneeing her side. I ended her first day "temperament test" early needless to say.

Often the associates were just on their phones and not even noticing what was going on. I saw multiple dogs fighting each other without them even noticing.

Also, I wasn't aware the temperament test meant putting her in a pen with over 20 dogs. They have way too many dogs in one area together, and the outside is so small. We were all shocked to see how many dogs kept being thrown in, because the amount just kept growing. I understand separating dogs by energy level, but one of the biggest STATS in ER VetMed is Big Dog Little Dog fights, so it was interesting they placed all sizes together. Even if a big dog has the same energy as a little dog, that doesn't always mean it's good thing.

Other places normally give you a tour of the facility to show you around, they tell you what your dog is going to do for the day. The dog spends time with one person and then get introduced to one dog first, not just thrown in. They don't just get automatically thrown in. That is really unsafe. My dog is SUPER friendly, but that doesn't mean it's safe for her to be around 20+ dogs in one area with people not paying attention.

Lastly, when picking up they handed me her and said "He's a good boy, and he's welcome back." I normally don't care if you misgender my dog because it's hard to tell, but since it was our first time- I was nervous about leaving her, it would have been good customer service/care to talk to me at pick up to let me know how SHE did, tell me any behaviors you noticed etc. It was more here's your dog we don't even know or...

I have a mixed review of The Collar Club, it was great in some ways and careless in others.

I recently brought my pup in for a temperament test and boarding for the weekend. My puppy was very excited to go back after his first day/temperament test, which was great! At another day care, he was scared to go back the second time, so we waited till he was a little older and sought out The Collar Club after a recommendation from a coworker. Upon drop off, I walked into the door to an empty waiting area and greeted the front desk worker with nice "Good afternoon!" and was ignored. I stood there for a couple minutes with no response or even a glance up at me. I followed up asking, "I'm sorry, this is my first time here, should I be taking my pup somewhere?" The woman responded saying no, just give her a minute to finish up tagging other boarding materials. This isn't a ridiculous interaction by any means as I imagine she likely assumed I had been there before. However, since it was my first time, I was a little off put by her blatant disregard of my greeting or even acknowledgment that I was there and felt very confused as to what I was supposed to be doing with my pup. The initial interaction really turned me off and I thought maybe I made a mistake bringing my pup there for a whole weekend. Another worker came up front shortly after and gave off a completely different energy. She was much more welcoming and chatted with me about my pups prior first day. Overall, she made me feel much more comfortable with leaving my pup with her. In my experience, she really made up for the initial interaction.

When we picked him up, we were informed he had an accident and they were washing one of his toys. My pup is under a year. Accidents happen, no big deal. They managed to wash his toy and get it back to us before we left which was great!

Buuuuut....when we got home, he had multiple chunks of dried poop on one of his front legs. I don't expect a full bath for an accident, I'm sure it happens with many pups, but I would have hoped for a wipe down? At least get out the chunks? He is a black dog, so maybe they missed it? I'm still not sure how I feel about it. My pup seemed really happy regardless of having a couple poopies on him and because of this, we will likely give it another go...

I have to give the biggest shout out to Shastie Clendenin and the entire staff at The Collar Club for doing such an amazing job with my special needs boy, Oscar.

Despite being a complete angel when we're just relaxing at home, grooming is a major trigger for Oscar's behavior issues. I've tried and failed for over a year to groom him myself. I decided last week to support local small business by seeing if Collar Club would be up for the challenge grooming my problem child. I exchanged many messages on Instagram with Alan, one of the co-owners, and set up an appointment.

When I dropped Oscar off at the social distance circle, I met one of the staff members and Shastie who both made me feel at ease with leaving him. He was scared but they handled him gently and with care. When Shastie called a few hours later to give me an update, she was genuinely focused on Oscar's wellbeing. He had hit his max for the day and she asked if I'd be willing to do take him home to rest and give it another go over a few small session throughout the week. I was floored at the dedication to my pup and agreed.

When I pulled up to pick him up, he was happily cuddling in the arms of one of the caregivers. He had jumped into her lap himself and was happily being loved on. It takes a special staff to make my anxious boy feel so safe even after a morning of such fear.

When we arrived for his 2nd session, he was much calmer and the staff was so happy to see him. When I picked him up that day, I was shocked to see his muzzle was off and he was happily prancing around the parking lot on leash with Shastie. He was bathed and mostly trimmed and seemed like a whole new dog!!

For his final session, Shastie had me bring some of his favorite treats to try to help keep him distracted so she could finish up his feet and nails. He was almost happy to see her! She finished him up with another bath and a nail trim and advised me on an upkeep schedule to continue to build his trust with her and keep him nice and clean.

I couldn't be happier with the results!!!!! He's got a sleek summer cut for playing outside, smells amazing, and is napping peacefully by my feet. If you're looking for a groomer, I'd definitely...