Every Doggie Has Its DayCare — Local services in Peoria

A friend recommended this place, and she probably does not even know what I am putting here. In the extreme heat of the summer, we are hard pressed to even be able to walk our two dogs. (neither one of us are early wakers) I thought taking them to a doggie day care could help them continue to get some exercise. I took them for their evaluation to make sure they were compatible with other dogs and they were. We took them two times after that. They had told me they were in an air conditioned play area inside and had ready access to outside and play pools, etc. You are not allowed to go into the dog area and as of today I know why. After their second paid visit, one of our dogs got a very bad lung infection and we had to go to the vet and have her on meds. (I know, even day cares for kids have germs) Our second dog also got sick within a couple of days, and another vet appt and more meds for two weeks for her as well. We still thought we would take them back. Today, when we went there with the dogs, I asked them about the air conditioning as both dogs were always VERY warm and thirsty after their visits there. I also very nice informed the person (turns out he is the owner) at the front desk that my dogs had gotten sick. I was not blaming him, just letting him as a business owner know. He got very defensive and was insulted that I thought the dogs could have gotten sick there. He told me the air was set on 86 in the dog area. ReALLY? That is air conditioned? This is the information the vet gave us in reference to the temp a dog/cat should be kept in. "In general, you should set the thermostat between 75 and 78 degrees F when you're at home in the summer. If you have a large, long-haired dog, such as a Husky or Samoyed, around 75 degrees may be best. If you have an elderly short-haired cat, 78 degrees could be preferable." No wonder they were hot and thirsty (water bowls are there). And I am sure this is more of the reason you cannot walk into the back area. The front area was very warm as well when I was there all four times. I try not to pass judgement on many businesses as a former small business owner myself, but this was just BAD. Our dogs came back home with us, and will never go back. Just be informed if you go there, and know that it is not indeed air conditioned there. Even their website states that an alarm goes off IF THE BOARDING AREA goes above 86 degrees. Really??? Oh my. Live and learn for us. I am sorry I put my dogs...

EDIT: Over the weekend, I had my dog here for boarding. I received a phone call that, letting me know that my dog has been banned for "provoking" a fight with another dog. They informed me that she was put in time out, brought back out and then it happened again, with the SAME dog. The kept her in her suite until I picked her up. The morning after I got her home, I noticed that she had a bite wound on the inside of her hind leg. While I'm not upset about that happening, because like kids, dogs who play hard, are going to get hurt. It happens. She has been boarded there before, without any issues. I've taken her there for half days to keep up her socialization and I was never informed of any issues or hard play. I couldn't figure out why all the sudden, she went from being fine to suddenly not being fine. Once I saw the bite wound, it all made sense. That's the circumstance that changed. She got hurt, got mad and got snappy. Some dogs are like that. They didn't bother to check the dog over to see if anything was wrong. Some dogs act out when they're in pain. I spoke to them today and was told that my dog likes to "play hard" and initiate "hard play" and most dogs will play along with it. She's a large breed dog but not full grown yet (11.5 months old german shepherd). I was told "it wasn't safe" for her to be there. I asked them to relay a message to the owners regarding what happened. We'll see what happens but now I'm on the search for another boarding facility.

I toured multiple boarding facilities and I came across Every Doggie has its Daycare. I toured their facility and instantly knew this is where I wanted to board my puppy. The front staff is very welcoming. They took great care of my puppy while we were out of town. I love how I can see pictures and videos of her on social media. It makes me feel better knowing I can see her. My girl comes home happy and exhausted from all her playtime with the other dogs. I would definitely recommend this place for boarding...

I will start with the pros because I think reviews should be thorough and fair. Things started great here. My dog loved coming and staff is friendly. Pricing is also reasonable. They said they were sad to see our dog leave and seemed somewhat genuinely sad things came to this. So kudos there I guess.

Now the reason for the 1 star. My dog was kicked out today. (We have been coming here for a while and our dog often comes multiple days a week while we are at work or traveling. He has been door guarding lately causing issues for other dogs entering and attenting to "assert his dominance" so the removal is understandable. However, a few staff members have stated that this is a habit he didn't have when he started...a behavior they didn't see until recently ..and that the behavior had progressively gotten worse over time.

When the issue was first brought to our attention we asked what we could do as let owners/ parents to help correct the behavior that he doesn't exhibit at home. The owner assured us that they would work on it with him or put him up if needed to he wasn't at the door when dogs showed up.

Fast forward to today. They stated it's the worst it has ever been. So I am mostly upset that a behavior that he must have learned at daycare is what's getting him kicked out. He didn't show up as a dog that guarded the door but now he has picked up that habit.. seems weird but ok. Again I understand the safety of the dogs and the staff but to inform us it was a habit he didn't come here with speaks volumes. So ultimately it's frustrating and unfortunate that this was the outcome.

Update: as stated the removal was understandable for staff and safety of other dogs so a review regarding an emergency trip would have never been necessary. But thanks for...