Alex Brooks Canine Center

I wanted to let dog owners know that they should be careful about boarding their dog with Brooks Canine Center. Our dog spent five days in the hospital and two days in ICU. My dog was attacked and nearly killed by a “bully breed” dog while in their care. They permit bully breeds (pit bulls, American bull dogs and mixes) in open play with other dogs. We were shocked. To further complicate things, my dog was not immediately taken to the vet for treatment. Brooks Canine did not even call us to tell us of the altercation and injuries until around noon the next day when the situation worsened. By then, he couldn’t properly walk on his leg and was running a fever. Anyone searching “dog bites” on the internet can see that dog bites require immediate medical/veterinary attention. Brooks' delay allowed infection set in and spread systemically. Brooks Canine did eventually take my dog to the vet. Upon seeing our dog, the vet immediately referred him to the emergency animal hospital for surgery and IV antibiotics. On the advice of Brooks’ lawyer, they will not be paying my thousands of dollars in vet bills. Brooks response: You are just upset because your dog was beat up on the playground -- literally!! We were told we knew the risks. Would have been nice to know that (A) they permit this type of dog in open “play,” (B) that they don’t remove dogs (regardless of breed) from open play when they begin to show aggression and (C) that they will permit an injured dog to significantly worsen on their watch. I post here so that others know the REAL risks of boarding at Brooks' Canine Center (Des Plaines).

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It was a very nice space. I was looking for help getting my dog into the groomer. Alex was nice enough to give me some tips for free.

As a business owner I was bothered by the fact the neither owner was willing to call me directly. Instead the front desk staff was the go between. She was really lovely but had no decision making power plus I am sorry that the owners family member was ill but no call back ever???? It's not how you treat customers. Another day I dropped off my dog, trying to use up our money that was invested. I said to the front desk person, who was a young man, that I was told that there was a discount for that day of the week offered - and quot;why did she tell you that?and quot;. Nothing is worse than feeling that you are taken advantage of as a customer.

They are probably great with the dogs but in my experience horrible with the owners and at customer service.

She seemed very happy and not at all traumatized, as she was at the last place we used.

They are very dependable and professional. They are also extremely responsive and love the animals. The trainers are also very good and I am very pleased with their quality of service.

We were very happy to find a place where the dogs would be happy and be watched. One dog has a seizure disorder, so we did not want to leave her alone. Every one we dealt with was very pleasant and they all seemed to like dogs, an important quality!

Very satisfied with the general care and skills of the trainers and caretakers. The facility itself isn't real pretty, but then the entire business district of Des Plaines is a crumbling, uninviting mess in desperate need of urban renewal.

I have used Alex Brooks for training and boarding for ten years and can't say enough about their professionalism and service, as well as the care they give the animals and the humans they train. They have trained my Irish wolfhounds, which is a very difficult breed to train once they decide they are not interested in parking their butts for a sit or stay, etc. Their patience in working with the lazy lugs is fantastic. From the basic training to taking them places for socialization, they applied their training techniques for the breed's learning style. In the past, before Alex Brooks, I'd taken my various wolfhounds to training where the instructor expected them to react like a German Shepherd or Poodle, with joy, obedience, and a love of the training. Alex and Mike, the two trainers I've had, know the wolfhound breed and their expectations were on par with what the dog could and would do, rather than expecting them to be an A plus dog student. I also had a mixed breed dog trained at the school. He had a lot of issues which included nipping my 18 month old granddaughter. I was about to put him down since he started trying to bite her whenever he saw her, and thought "why not see what they can do with him". So they trained him, but more importantly they trained me, and Max is so much better. He really loves obedience unlike the wolfhounds! He just loves to attend class there and see his buddies and friends. I also have boarded my dogs here and they have treated them as they would their own. My elderly female wolfhound (12 years, which is very old for a wolfhound) died on them the day before I was due to pick her up, heart most likely gave out. I could tell when Alex personally called me in the morning at 7:30 AM that she had passed since his voice was shaking and he was tearing up in the message he left. I had kennel and training staff in tears telling me how wonderful she was. They took care of getting her to my vet for cremation and making sure I was okay, as well as making sure my other dog understood that Kenya, my old girl, wouldn't be coming home again. One of the things I really appreciated was the love they showed her. She was always leaning against the staff wanting her ears scratched or wanting petted. They told me the night she died, she had eaten dinner and seemed fine when she settled to sleep down around 8:30. The head of the kennel went around 9:30 to give her her nightly rubdown, which she loved, and discovered she was gone. I know from the many kennels that I have used over the course of 30 or more years, that in the majority of them she would not have been found until morning. So I was so thankful he found her early and was able to give her the respect and care I would have. The entire staff came in to comfort each other. And over the next week they in turn comforted me. They gave me more sympathy, hugs, and tears than most of my friends and family did! So like I said, I love this place! But more importantly the dogs love it too.

Alex Brooks School of Dog is the best animal boarding place we've ever used. The surroundings are beautiful. The fact that they offer dog training while they are boarding is especially nice. You have to pay extra for this but it's worth it. The facility is also very clean and the people who work here are highly qualified and professional.