HI-BK Doggy Daycare — Local services in New York

For context, we have a golden retriever who goes to dog parks every day and consistently goes to daycare with his many dog friends. He is very well trained and has experienced many levels of energy from other dogs and environments.

I went back and forth on this review, but after the email I received I was really upset to read an email explaining to me that I may not know what is best for my own dog when they have never even met me or my dog. There was so much underlying judgment that I may not understand that having a grooming appointment and temperament check in the same day may be an irresponsible decision as an owner or as if I had not considered the best interest for my dog. They also mentioned that they would highly recommend I wait before bringing him to day care because we recently moved into the area, but we have all been a family on the move for a few years now and we have really loved the community we have experienced through past day cares. We do not bring him to day care because we are away, but just because he has always loved getting to meet new dogs. We needed to book boarding for when we are out of town, but he can just stay with our friends. He loves staying with many dogs while we are away, more than with 1-2 dogs, so I wanted to bring him here, but after being told multiple times I need to reconsider I will just write this review and not take my dog here.

Their website also accept amex credit cards, but then they told me that they cannot accept amex cards and then they gave my reservation to another customer immediately. I updated my CC within seven minutes of receiving an email asking me to update my CC. When they said the original appointment was no longer available after asking me to provide another CC, it makes it seem like they did not want me to come in as I updated my CC as soon as they asked. You also have to schedule the temperament checks via email so it is a manual decision from the staff members to schedule these. It truly felt like they were explaining to me how best to treat my dog in a way that was explaining how I may not have realized what may or may not be stressful to my own dog. They said, “In regards to the email that you sent us yesterday; I have a couple of questions for you.” and then proceeded to explain how stressful moving is for my dog and they don’t want me to do a temperament test until we have been here for longer when my dog is already really happy with his current day care. My dog loves meeting new people and dogs, and any temperament test he has gone to he passes with flying colors. He only goes to day care once a week, and it’s so fun for him to meet new friends. We wouldn’t have tried to find one for him right away if we weren’t 100% certain that he loves going to hangout with a bunch of friends during the week.

They continued to explain how they would highly advise my dog to not come in for grooming to make sure he does not associate negative feelings with the day care. However, we have a dog who is completely comfortable with baths and has done this many times before. They said if even with all of their concerns I would still just bring my dog, which sounds like they simply disagree with how I treat my dog, then they sounded like they would unwillingly take my dog. I felt like that they completely did not trust me and felt so surprised to receive such a strongly worded email.

I think when an establishment thinks they know our own dogs better without considering we love our dogs so deeply, it makes me think they think they are truly not empathetic to how much the owners who bring their dogs here love their dogs. As a dog owner, it is very hard to bring our dogs to a place where we trust in the first place and sensing so much distrust and judgment from the initial email made me very hesitant to trust this establishment. I am very glad many dogs seem happy here from the reviews, but I think to build trust with owners I also wanted to come from a place of mutual understanding that we both would want the best for our...

I've gone back and forth on writing a review, but after seeing Michelle's review, I feel compelled to chime in, as I had a similarly negative experience with Rich.

I brought in my dog for a temperament test, which was a positive experience. For context, my dog has regularly attended daycare for nearly 5 years prior to HI-BK. He attended two different daycares and absolutely loved going to both. While my dog is timid by nature, daycare has been a godsend in helping him open up and interact with other dogs. His past daycares have said that he adjusted very quickly and became much more comfortable after his first full day. Given that HI-BK was a new place, my dog was naturally anxious at first, but I expected that he would adapt quickly as he's done in the past. I was also reassured by one of the handlers at drop-off that they have a separate play area upstairs where they play classical music for more anxious pups. This sounded great and it definitely seemed like they were committed to accommodating dogs of all temperaments, which I’m sure all dog parents can appreciate.

At pickup, the handler shared positive feedback with me, which was also noted in his report card (verbatims: calm, quiet, sweet, observing, curious... started exploring the space but seemed unsure, yet not too nervous... joined main dog run and didn't hesitate to enter... settled in quickly and laid down on dog bed or crate to watch the other dogs). Like Michelle mentioned in her review, nothing was presented as a problem. The one recommendation they shared was to bring him in for half-days on non-peak days to ease him into daycare. Though I understood why they may have given me this reco, I did not feel like this was really necessary given my dog’s positive experiences at his past daycares and the fact that this has never been recommended for him. Additionally, dropping off our dog for half-days is not something my husband and I can realistically do, as we both work from the office during the week. Even if one of us WFH one day, we would just keep our dog at home, like many people do.

Since my dog passed the test, my next step was to call HI-BK to book my dog for his first full day. This was when things took a downturn. I recognized it was Rich on the phone- when I provided him with my dog’s name to pull up my account, he immediately told me that he does not recommend bringing my dog in for a full-day because “all his report card says is that he was nothing but nervous”. This was incredibly bewildering because the report card clearly did not say that. Even if he was nervous, I was reassured by the handler that they could put my dog in a calmer, separate play area upstairs if needed. I explained to Rich that my dog was obviously nervous because he had never been there before, but that this has never been an issue at his past daycares where I brought him in for full days right off the bat. In response, Rich says to me with an attitude, “Well if you want to bring him in for the full-day, then by all means go ahead, but if he starts showing signs of being stressed, we have the right to cut his day to a half day and you will need to come pick him up”. I did not appreciate his tone or response at all and it was clear that he was not willing to deal with what he deemed as "bothersome” behavior. They may claim to accommodate different temperaments, but it’s clear that they want dogs with specific personalities- dogs that aren't “too much” whether it’s excited, anxious, barky, etc.

t’s truly a shame because the facility itself is nice and well-maintained. The dogs did look happy and they do provide fun photos and videos of your dog in the report card. The handler I spoke with was very sweet and kind, but the whole experience was marred by Rich, who appears to be the common denominator in most of the negative reviews posted here. With that, we have decided to take our dog elsewhere where he has adjusted well after just two days of full...

My husband & I chose Hi-BK b/c on paper they ticked all the boxes. Our puppy passed the temperament test so we assumed that the staff were willing to accommodate him & help him navigate daycare. I wish they had been honest that they preferred calmer dogs instead of energetic puppies. It would have saved all of us the heartache & discomfort.

When my 8 m/o Lab puppy finished his temperament test over a month ago, they said he had a lot of puppy energy but we could keep bringing him. His daycare experience seemed to go well overall. The only comments were his energy & play style. Nothing was presented as a problem. He never showed any aggression according to Hi-BK staff. He just hasn’t figured out how to channel his excitement when making new doggie friends.

We also boarded him for one night. After a rocky start (first time away, so expected), there weren't any issues raised when we picked him up.

About 3 weeks ago, my request to board my puppy over Memorial Day weekend was approved.

The issues w/ Hi-BK began last Wednesday. When I picked up my puppy, Rich took an intense tone & said that my puppy doesn't know how to recognize when another dog doesn't want to play. I asked Rich if he had any tips I could do to improve this behavior. All he said was “you really need to get him a trainer.” My puppy has a trainer. Rich also complained that our puppy barks & it's “disturbing” to the other dogs. I left feeling like I was doing something wrong. Rich’s complaints bordered on attacking my puppy-parenting.

On Thursday, my husband came w/ me to pick up our puppy. When Rich started complaining, we tried to engage w/ him & ask for tips, but were met w/ more complaints.

After drop-off on Friday, I stayed to watch my puppy’s entrance which was one of Rich’s complaints - that his entrance was too excitable. When my puppy & handler entered into the hallway, the dogs in the playroom went to the gate. I assumed because they knew that when a human entered the hallway, there was a new dog coming & they wanted to see who it was. My puppy entered the play area, yes very excited. The handlers helped him calm down & after a few minutes, the energy levels of my puppy & other dogs calmed. I watched my puppy trot around & play. He was not barking, others were. This seemed ok & I left. When I picked my puppy up I had a conversation with Geraldine. As we were finishing, Rich entered the lobby & immediately jumped down my throat. He said “unless I see a drastic improvement, I can’t guarantee he can stay here. You need a plan B.” It was Friday evening, we were dropping him off Wednesday morning. I didn’t know what kind of improvement Rich expected in 4 days. I asked Rich what happened & he just said “it was worse than yesterday.” When I mentioned I watched my puppy's entrance Rich argued with me and told me my puppy wasn't like so and so. I was becoming frustrated b/c this was not the first time Rich compared my puppy to another dog in a negative way. It was becoming clear that Rich wanted a specific personality of dog and my puppy was not that. Geraldine & a handler witnessed this whole encounter.

W/out a plan B, my husband & I decided to cancel the reservation. Soon after, I got a call from Geraldine. She was extremely apologetic for how the conversation went down and said they had a lot of ideas to make sure my puppy was set up for success. She said they were willing to honor the reservation, and that takes some dogs longer to have a "good entrance," referencing one who needed 3 months. Rich's behavior showed he wasn't willing to give my puppy 3 months. While I appreciated the call, Geraldine was not the one who owed me an apology. I told her this wasn’t a good fit and I wanted a full refund of...