The Dog Tank — Local services in Mendota Heights

I'm giving 2 stars for this place only because the facility and pool were nice, well kept, and cool despite the hot and humid weather we're having. If I gave a review solely on the experience and customer service, it would be a 1 star.

We went for our 25-minute introductory class with our 2 dogs today (a goldendoodle, and a bernedoodle), and after the experience we had, we will certainly not be back. The trainer we booked with was Gina, and she was the only staff member on site (at least the only one we encountered), which we expected with it being a Sunday afternoon.

We got there early and there was another group finishing up, so we waited in our car before going in. We were told to walk ourselves into the pool area when we were ready, so we did. The prior group was wrapping up and the trainer, Gina, was saying goodbye to them. Gina did not introduce herself to us, nor did she ask for our names or our dogs names. In fact, she didn't really even greet us or the dogs, which was odd to me, as this place seems like very much a "dog person" kind of place? When she finished saying goodbye to the other group, she gave us a brief blurb about how the pool is different than lakes and rivers for a lot of dogs because it smells and looks different- she said that many dogs misjudge and fall in and panic, so we will need to reach in and pull them out if that happens. She asked if we needed lifejackets, and we said we didn't think so since one of our dogs is a known good swimmer, and the other we were hoping would at least get in the water today, since he's pretty timid. That was the only direction we received during our lesson. Beyond that, the trainer barely interacted with us or our dogs; she did fish toys out of the pool with a net when they were out of reach for one of our dogs.

This was a very self-directed session, despite the trainer being there. The only comments we had from her were about the type of toy we decided to bring (large softball sized chuck-it balls, which our goldendoodle loves and has played with for years) and how she had seen SO MANY DOGS DIE from playing with those balls and getting them stuck in their throat. The other comment made was relating to how bonded our boys are. She told us "that's one of the big problems we see with dogs like this- they won't do anything without the other one and so the younger one ends up getting aggressive or reactive because of it, you really need to separate them more". These comments wouldn't have stood out to me so much if there had been other instruction and dialogue..but as some of the only things that were said, they left us feeling judged and unwelcome more than anything.

My dogs had a good time nonetheless- neither JUMPED from the dock as we were never let into the turf area for that to even be a possibility, but they did chase balls down the ramp and into the water. I'm not sure if this is typical for an introductory class, as nothing was explained. I saw in other reviews of people having their introductory classes with pictures of their dogs on the turf, so it doesn't seem typical. But again, I wouldn't know, as nothing was explained.

Finally (and probably the most off putting part), Gina walked out on us when it was time for us to leave..? We knew exactly when our time was up (there's a big clock on the wall- we were packing up at 2:28, our time was up at 2:30), and we wrapped things up with 2 more tosses of the ball into the pool. She asked if all toys were accounted for while we were leashing up the dogs- I confirmed that they were and said "thank you for having us" and she walked out of the room. I figured she was grabbing a brochure or something, or maybe coming back out to talk with us about scheduling again, but she never came back. We looked through the window to see if she was at the desk, but she was literally nowhere to be found. So we ended up just assuming we were finished, and we saw ourselves out of the building.

Overall experience left us feeling so unwelcome that we won't...

As the owner of a reactive dog, I was looking for ways to build her confidence, and swimming lessons seemed like a perfect opportunity. Our trainer Chelsey O'Connor demonstrated exceptional patience and professionalism during our first session. Despite my dog's initial anxiety and barking, Chelsey remained calm and encouraging throughout the lesson. Her understanding approach helped us make significant progress, and I was so impressed that I committed to a package of private lessons. I appreciate how Chelsey creates a supportive environment for reactive dogs to learn and grow. Although our future most available time doesn’t work with Chelsey, still looking forward to meet other trainers and seeing my dog's confidence continue to develop through these...

I'm not quite sure how we heard of The Dog Tank but it's an excellent facility and experience! We took our dogs to their pool and had a trainer for our first experience here (more to come!) and he coached us, got the pups used to the facility and the ramp and docks...in minutes one of our dogs was sprinting 20 feet and diving after a toy. So cool!!

The prices seem reasonable for an indoor pool that only your dogs access - it's an above ground pool, so maybe not what you're thinking when you hear pool? There's a ramp that leads into the pool, and then two separate levels of docks by which they can jump. I think more services and opportunities are offered here as well...more to explore!

But overall, really good experience and...