Top Dog Kennel — Local services in Swannanoa

We boarded Adeline here from 5-7-23 through 5-14-23. I told them I would bring her food pre measured in individual bags because she cannot have other food, which I did and explained they only get once a day feeding. The evening of 5-14 when we arrived at home with her from the kennel she had explosive diarrhea. 4 1/2 days later she still has uncontrollable diarrhea and just went on our bedroom floor( 2 accidents on our homes carpet now)! So I decided to call the Top Dog Kennel back because I knew something had been fed to her that was foreign. Sure enough the lady did admit, thankfully, that they had given her multiple feedings of wet dog food to encourage her to eat throughout the week. Why on earth would they do this? No one called to ask permission or even our thoughts on giving her foreign food. Who knows what treats we’re fed to her. Today, our vet explained to us that foreign food should never be introduced to a dog with a strict diet because it will cause upset stomach and diarrhea. Hhhhmmmmm? She also explained that dogs who do not eat while boarding are perfectly fine and a lot of times it’s normal due to stress, and just need water and usually will eat when they get hungry enough. Hhhmmmmm? I explained this to the owner (Nick) and after cutting me off and mumbling over me instead of letting me finish telling him what the vet just explained to us, he disagreed. I said you realize a Dr of Animal Science just told us this before calling you. Apparently Nick at Top Dog Kennel is a Dr, or superior to one for that matter. The vet recommended us giving her a bland diet of 2/1 chicken and rice in small increments throughout the day and if it doesn’t clear up in a couple days, they recommend her going to the clinic for a checkup with blood work and fecal samples. Yay! Unfortunately for us until the diarrhea clears, we will have to wait to book a carpet cleaner. Some may have had a good experience here, ...

I took my dog to this kennel religiously every time we went out of town before moving to a new state. I should have wrote this review about 2 years ago when I had just taken my dog to a new kennel but it slipped my mind 🤦🏽‍♀️. Long story short, when we arrived at the new place my dog immediately began whimpering. He peed on the floor and ran to the door trying to leave. HE HAS NEVER ACTED LIKE THIS. (And he’s not a puppy or a senior, he’s trained.) Everyone looked concerned. (And trust me when I say, I know MY dog.) Then it dawned on me that the last time, I left my dog in the “care” of someone, was at this kennel. I wasn’t here with him and my dog can’t tell me what occurred but I can only assume something occurred here that left him traumatized. I have no idea if the person may still work here who could have done something to him. But this is just to warn other dog parents... I’d never want another dog to act the way mine did that day. I felt beyond terrible. It’s sad because I had liked this kennel for the most part. But ever since the incident with my dog occurred. I really don’t trust kennels and I try to take my dog with me whenever I can. It’s sad that people do...

This was our first time ever boarding our beloved dog, who is a 90 pound Alaskan Malamute mix. We decided to add on additional playtime and it was the best decision! Our dog had never actually interacted with other dogs and had never been separated from us (he's almost 6 yrs old.) One worker (did not catch her name) noticed that he enjoyed being outside, and left his outside kennel door open for him to sleep outside in at night. They also did a "test run" to see how he would interact with other dogs his first time, using a sweet older lab, and once they confirmed he was not aggressive or a threat to the other dogs, they allowed him to play with all the others! When I left I cried from sadness and anxiety from having to leave him, but after picking him up I cried from pure joy at how well he was treated, how well he did, and how happy he was. Now I will always use Top Dog Kennel when I need to leave my Fur Baby with trusting hands - Thank you for taking care...